GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1011, 29 December 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Recent rains. in ■ North -.Taranaki have delayed work' with the:turnip crops, and caused trouble in the hay fields. It is said th'at' the hay crop is phenomenal at Shannon. Some, of the Manawatu orchardists find that the codiin moth is not quite so prevalent this season as/last. The inoculation' of. calves is proceeding in Taranaki." Between three hundred and four hundred .were treated at Makara one day last: week., . • . Tie Miranui flax mill'(Manawatu) may discontinue working a night shift at the . beginning of the approaching year. It. is reported that all along the west coast .of Taranaki .vegetation is in a prolific condition. The rains of the last fortnight, together'with the warmth of the .sun, have brought everything forward at a. rapid rate, so that/ .notwithstanding that- many farmers have, owing to the scarcity of labour, been unable to get all their crops in in due season, they have come away in, a most promising manner, -and many'who'-had. cause for fears have now. grounds for bright hopes.' : -Some American writers are advocating that draught horses at shows sjiould ba tested by being given' heavy loads to pull. ' The llak.ara correspondent of the "Hawera'Star" says tho'district has abundance .of good . feed and genial weather, and the-farmers aro all being rewarded . .with 'substantial- milk cheques. ! Several suppliers are taking just on 20001b., of "'milk daily., . . ; . .Beekeepers in the Shannon district report a good honey season; and expect big yields. "It is computed by a competent authority ~ that-eight factories doing business in Stratford- produced in November of this year,butter-fat in excess of that produced in November, 1909,,.t0 the extent of about 27,0001b.,."representing some —"Stratford Post." ; - In Queensland there are 32,230 cattle owners,, 28,375. of whom depastured herds of 100 or fewer in . number. The great bulk of the cattle were, held in Herds of oyer 1000, each herd averaging 4397 head. Of-the total number of 19,593,791 sheep, 13,083,924 were depastured 0n.245 holdings, - giving .an average of 53,000 sheep to each holding. -The total number of holdings oii which sheep were depastured was 28S8. The. average siz'o of flocks has continued , to rise from 1002,/ when it. was 3516, to / 'last year, when it was G785 sheep per flock. Sheep 'and cattle, were disposed 'of-for. profit in 1909 in the-following manner:—Cattle,' exported, less number imported, 103,787 (as against 104,584 in 1908); sheep, exported less number imported, 730,288 (424,042 in' 1008). There were 01,153 more cattle avid 075,558 more sheep put -to profit in 1000 than in 1908. Tho 01,158 cattle consisted of 48,000 preserved, chiefly for export,, and. 13,033 required for home consumption. Tho 070,588 sheep :compris.ed 'excess, export, 305,G4G; preserved, 255.211; and used for home consnptioti, , 112,731. . . ■ :

■ A ride of/about 'niilesi on horseback has been made in twenty-six' days; This is an average of s''Aly,);iiles a day. Two popies were used. On September 1 Tom Urubaker, a . coulra'7." started from Glcnrock, Wyo., on a wager • that lie would ride to Chicago by. September 26. Ho started with two ponies, alternately riding one and leading the other, At Jefferson. la., one of the ponies ran a nail into its foot and had to be abandoned. Do rodo tho remaining pony, and reached the City Hall in Chicago at 9 p.m., September 2(i. The pony is a bay gelding about eight years old, M hands 2 inches high. and. weighing at the start .qf the trip 0001b. He is deep of chest and flank, and clean of bone, but after the trip he was rather thin and a triflo stocked. His principal loss', of weight occurred after the other pony was abandoned. Before the trip lie .was accustomed to oats nn'ri hay, and was fed these throughout the'jaunt, which was .covered mainly at a. walk and'running walk, with an occasional "trot.