GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 871, 18 July 1910, Page 10

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

■ At the, last ni&eting of the Levin Co-operative Dairy Company the directors were asked, to collect evidence respecting . the. pasteurisation of skimrnilk. It is stated..that .the material is ready/to be-placed': before the annual meeting of shareholders to be held on Wednesday. .- "Tho prospects for next season are quite as bright .as last year, 3S far as prices for our produce are concerned, and there is every probability that nest season will be a record one."—Extract from the annual report of the Levin Dairy Company. The bulbs shown by the Moumahaki State arm staff at the Haivera Winter Show are to be donated to the Hawera Technical School. . ,'■'••■' : ■ "Tho dairy business has done a great deal for Taranaki," says Mr. . James Borrie, the chairman of . the Koupolconui Dairy Company. "I remember when the bulk of the.people had to go and gather fungus." v . . New Zealand Hereford breeders will be partiyularlv interested in tho following, which is an extract from' the "Live Stock Journal": —"It used to be said that the white face of tho Hereford cattle was accidentally introduced, tho breed until the latter part of thu eighteenth century having been whole brown or red. Mr. P. Tully gave currency to the statement- that in thu i stock of one of his, ancestors, who lived at Jluntingdon-in-Holnier, a favourito cow produced a white-faced calf. Such a thing had never been known to occur before, and as a curiosity it was agreed that the animal should bo kept and roared as a future sire. Tho progeny of this, bull became celebrated for their white faces." King George has accepted .tbo presidency of tho ttoyal Agricultural So cioty (Eugland). Mr. J. C. Richard, discussing in bia "Natural History of Man" tho hereditary character of acquired traits, tells the caso of the horses bred on tho tablelands of the Cordilleras. ThesO "are carefully taught a peculiar pace, which is a sort of running ambie. Aftei a few generations the pace becomes a natural one, young untrained horsc.t adopting it without compulsion. But what is still more curiouti is< tlio fact that if these domesticated stallions breed with mares of the wild herds, which abound in the surrounding plains, they become the sires of a race to which tho ambling pace is natural and requires no teaching." Glebe Farm, Walkern, Herts, England, was the scene of a disastrous fire, when a spark from a passing traction engine sot the thatch ablaze. Tho flunks spread rapidly, tho entire farm--stetul, outbuildings, and several cottages wore completely destroyed, and damage- was done to tho amount of £10,000. The big prices of- dairying land in Taranaki have' caused much discussion in resent years. A. few days ago a Taranaki auctioneer said, in referring to the subject, that when Waimate Plains land got to £20 an acra the bankors shook their heads and observed: "We're going to tho bad"! When it got to £30, said tho auctioneer, the bankers' wcrcrnearry off their heads. But when it reached £40, £45, and £50, they kept perfectly ' Qiiiet.

Mr. John Jfunnings, of Memlham Roller Mills, Hiirlcston, Norfolk, sent the "Furiner and Stockbreeder" (London) a very interesting extract from nn tiki relic which has been in the family for some years. This document, says Bomo old records in Wiltshire, state that in the year 1339 wheat in that county sold at 8 guineas per quarter; that it continued so for four months, .and that it soon after declined to 10s. per quarter. Four years after it fell to 4s. Cd. per quarter, and remained at tha-t price without much fluctuation for twenty years. At tho expiration of this time, it reached £5, and held that prico till after the year 1534, when, it fell to 2s. 6d. per quarter. [By. Akrangement.l One of tho features of the show is Messrs. Levin and Co., Ltd.'s exhibit of Sheep Shearing Machines, Separators, etc. There are two types of driving gear, the Patent Skew Belt and the Lister Standard gear. The former impresses one at once by its simplicity and silent rami ing qualities,' and is specially suitable for low and frail woolsiieds, in as much as no strengthening of walls is required, and it can bo installed in aiicds that are too low to take ordinary shearing machinery without raising the roof of tho : woolshed. Moreover, there is nothing in/this gear to get out of true, as is the case with friction driven gear. - A glance at the Lister tube is quite sufficient to commend it as the best tube yet placed •on the New Zealand market. It is evident that no "pulley" or "tie-backs" will be required by tho shearer for this tube. ■ Tho Lister shear has many advantages which enable the cost of maintenance to be kept down, and vibration has been reduced to a minimum. It is built on the model of a Wolseloy No. 3 pattern shear, with certain modifications, which, in tbe opinion of Messrs. Levin and Co., Ltd., will be much appreciated by users. All its parts, however, are interchangeable with the Wolseley No. 3 pattern shear. Tho Lister combs and cutters are' practically perfect, being specially designed to meet the requirements of the shearer. They are easy to get into the wool, keen cutters, and consequently ensure big tallies. The Lister grinder has a special' device to take the end play and save rebushing at the end of shearing—always a troublesome business. Though only in. the first year of its existence, the Lkter has reached tho, top rung of the ladder, and already holds tlie New Zealand record for sales of complete stands in any one yea-r up to April 30. .-■ ' •■" ■ Messrs. Levin' and Co., Ltd., Wellington, are ■ the sole agents in New Zealand, and are prepared to guarantee satisfaction; and as they have bad over 20 years' experience as agents for the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine, and have installed more • shearing machines than all other firms in Now Zealand combined, it is hardly neceesary to say that their opinion carries considerable weight. A special feature of their business is' the opportunity given to clients or their employees to . become sufficiently experienced in running the shearing machines as to make them independent of expert assistance. This tuition is carried out under the supervision, of Mr. Alex. Hutchinson and a competent staff of experts, free of charge, and when we mention that nearly one hundred pupils were put through a course of instruction last year, it will readily be seen that this adjunct to the business meets with due appreciation. Messrs. Lister and Co., Ltd., arc one of the oldest Cream Separator Manufac-' turers in England, and a look at their dairying appliances would be time well Rpen'fc by anyone wanting something in f.his line. ' . The Lister Co. are also responsible for a special line of 2}, 4, 6, and 8 M.H.P. Oil Engines, which will enhance this' old-established firm's reputation for turning out the highest quality of nachinery only. Altogether, the Lister stand is one of (lie most interesting and attractive oxV.ibits at this year's Winter Show, and j visit to it should on no account bo uiissed.