GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 830, 31 May 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Speaking,.at t.feo'annual dinner of the Southland Farmers' Union Conference, Mr. G. J. Anderson, JI.P., said it was a lamentable thing that Southland, "destined to be tho greatest farming and dairying district in the Dominion," had no dairying school. He thought it. would be easy to form a school if the farmers would agree to subscribe'oCl a head. Jlr. Thompson, M.P., agreed with Mr.-Ander-son, and said ho would much like to see <a school established on co-operative jines as suggested, instead of being run by Government officials.

An Ashburton resident, who drew a section in the Clandeboye Settlement on which there is a crop of turnips and mangolds, has sold the crop at the high price of £G per acre.

' Kabbit exporters are. again in trouble in Southland. Through congestion of mutton carcasses in the freezing chambers the Southland Freezing Company is again "blocking" rabbits at the liataura works until further notice. The stoppage is not, however, expected to be of long duration. Reports from Longbeach, .Canterbury, state that, the district is' looking exceptionally well, at'present. Feed is plentiful, and farmers are not overstocked. The ravages of the grass grub are not being felt, and farmers are well forward with-their winter, sowing of cereal crops, of which there will , bo- a-'large area. .Stock are looking well, weather having helped the feed supply.

At tho conference of the. Queensland Chambers of^AfcricuHtircraJt , ; Toowoomlm recommendations-were submitted that the registration of stallions should be made compulsory, that the animals bo classified,. that.tko.ontry,,,of-.any unsound stallion into tho' Stato"'should' bo' prohibited, and that no prize money should bo itivL'ii (o ni:y.:StiiUion ut a. show nuless he possessed'a certificate of''soundness. The recommendations, with'a few unimportant alterations, were x approvcd of, and will ba forwarded to the Government, with a request that they-.be.. given legislative force by. an. enactment-.during the next session. ■* . .

The Nelson fruitgrowers are stated to bo satisfied on the whole with the results, of their experimental, shipment of apples to London. Some -were at first disappointed, but it is considered that a valuable lesson, has been" learned as to picking and packing, and that at small ■cost. :•'■' '■•--'- --■■

A Waimea Plains wueat-'grower, who a little .time ago refused..to accept 3s. 6d. for' his wheat, had last week to he content with a reduction of 3d. per 'bushel •for i his produce—a lino of choice 'Sf Alum's." Another farmer, however, refused to entertain a similar offer, and possibly, says the "Southland Times," lie..will yet regret .his, decision, because the tendency is .for ■a' fall of- current rates. Shipments, to London have probably nearly finished as the English markets .will soon be supplied from the harvest now at hand in tho southern countries of the Northern hemisphere. "With Australia for tho same reason deprived oi its outlet to London. A ustralian wheat and flour will probably find its way to New Zealand, in which case the Dominion. growers will not profit by competition". '••;'- .; '" . • ..■..-■ -.- -

Writing of the decision of tho Government to drain the Whakatane swamp, the "Poverty Bay Herald" says there have ■ been some ' forty settlers at To Toko who for ten years past have, been endeavouring to get the water off -this waterlogged land. They have dug something like 200 miles of drains. 'Where drainage has been • effected they have proved that the soil is good, and will grow anything to perfection. The whole vista is most pleasing. For as far as the eye can reach there is a stretch of fine levety. country which ;/ffeed from ;'water shoula , be able to carry a large population. , ; ' ' .-' ■ -■'

Says the "Southland Times" ■:'—-Mr. Winter, of ..Timaru, has just taken possession'of Mr. G. Cross' farm, at Waipounamu, near Kiversdale. , -.After visit.ing. thy.No'rth Island he -gave Southland the. .preference for jhis-'new placo of abode, and/he considers that,the property at \£ll per acrei (which price lie paid for it) is in no way inferior to land, in Canterbury:.which' of,, a. similar character, would cost from £2t i to .£3O per acre.' '■' ''.-■; : ,-V

It would bo an interesting- experiment, writes, a correspondent of the: Manawatu

"Times," to endeavour to. find how. much a lamb- loses in.- weight and . appearance every twelve, hours j that intervenes between pasture-'and slaughter.. In the writer's, estimation, in '•tho,".first twelve hours, there, would bo a loss of fully one per. cent, at the least, and each succeeding period of twelve hours would bo double; that is, that a.lamb would lose, say, Bozs. the first 12 hours, lib.' in the 24 hours, and so on; that is, under normal or favourable conditions of drov ng and railage, while as often happens they are held for days. Some.may say that when lambs'are in transit the loss falls on ■ the freezing companies. Yes, that is why they cannot afford to pay any higher price.

The following are- the provisional directors of tho South''Otago Freezing Company, Ltd., .now in- course of flotation at Bnlclutha:—Messrs. .John Bens, jun. (Hillend), James Smith (Greenfield), R. Tout (Clydevale),. J. . R.. Mitchell (Lambourne), • John Christie'• (Wnrepa), Jos. Mosley (Inch-Clutha), Jaspar Clark (Lovells Flat), Gc-orgo , Smith" (Balclutha), John Clarke (AS'airuna), Jas. Gumming (Arthurton), Jos. Smith (Stirling).

There are five fruitgrowers'''associations in tho Motueka district,. and, at a meeting last week it was decided to form these into a Motueka District. Fruitgrowers' Association. Formerly the associations were affiliated to-the Nelson District Fruitgrowers' Association. t

Although Canaila figur.es as 1 the leading source of Great- Britain's Cheddar cheese supply, exporting in 1 the neighbourhood of JM,000,000 worth a year,-she is at the same, time an importer of cheese of a different kind. Some three-quarters of a million pounds of soft cheeso are annually taken into. the. Dominion from France and other countries,.

•A': majority of the present successful American Shropshire,breeders, says Mr. H. A. Chandler, stnrted'.vrith five, ten, or fifteen registered ewes,-- and have never made any . additional,">investments that ram money would not pay for, and the flocks now yield -an- -annual income of .£4OO or .£SOO and up to J2OOO.

In his presidential address to the Southland Farmers' Union Conference Mr. H. J. Middleton' said there was just one danger in the"' dairy business. It was leading, and had led, to the very inflated land values, which was not a good thing for the country as a whole, and certainly not a good thing for the individual who had to give tl)c extremo values that were being . given in somo places in. New Zealand for dairy land. They were in the habit of'blaming the Valuation Department for , 'putting up Ihe unimproved values, but he thought I hat farmers themselves were responsible also for putting up land values unduly. People could get into a farm on very easy terms, and they very lightly shouldered an enormous burden, and only by the most strenuous toil could they keep their engagements. .'Where that was done (he land was given an inflated value that was not good for the country, mid unfair to individual farmers.

In almost all districts of New South Wales may now bo seen practical evidence of the way in which fanners and settlers are realising the value of ensilage. Large quantities of feed are bein" stacked ready for any demand that may arise in the future. Silos of every conceivable styte and size are being erected, and the lessons inculcated by tho Agricultural Department in connection with the conservatism of fodder are already producing good results.

At the annual meeting of the Wairoa County A. and P. Association on Saturday, a deputation from the District Association attended and discussed terms of amalgamation. The delegates were met in a generous spirit, and there is every prospect of the formation of one strong society, which-will be largely supported,— Press Association.