GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1179, 14 July 1911, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

A.Waimate (Taranaki) farmer-is reported to .have cleared .£I7OO out of dairyiifK .with a 'herd oi about 100 cows last seuioii. Tho amount' given the income from side line?. At this rate the profit per cow. is ,£l7, which is an. extraordinary record for a herd of one hundred. . .-.'-,.. With reference to Mr. Duncan Rutherford's offer of .£IOO towards the establishment of a chemical laboratory in Chri=tcluirch for. the.use and benefit of farmers, Mr. George Gray, F.C.h!... lecturer <;n chemistry and allied subiect? at Canterbury Agricultural College.' states that, in his opinion, the sum necessary to thoroughly equip a laboratory fnr the analysis of soils, manures, feeding stuffs, dniry nro(luctij. etc., .would be about ,£3OO. 'l'iie probable annual, expenditure, including all working -'expenses, and the salary of the, staff, would" be-about -£500. As '.here are at least ten thousand fanners in Canterbury who.could benefit by the establishment, .of siich a laboratory, there should not' fsays, an exchange) bo much trouble in collecting the necessary funds to,inaugurate. siieh an important institution. • . i Very hard frosts are being experienced in -South Canterbury, nnd farmers have expressed the opinion that the pests that were so prevalent last year will have been reduced to a , minimum. The effect of the ■turnip blight is still v.t.v evident, tho swedes .that-survived being hard and stringy; and consequently not of the same value, for fojdiiis? In many cases,'also, they are diseased, and nujtiibers of farmers arc looking for n remedy for the pest or a substitute for t'.ie crop.

Tc Kuiti people declare (jays an cxchanse) that tlioy have never known such •a long spell of frosty weather in the King Country. However, the days are brk'lit, and although feed is not very plentiful, tljcstock are .looking exceptionally well. When a large mangold weighing 801b. was being shown in Kainpoi it was stated tint the crop from which it had been taken equalled 100 tons'to the acre. Strangles arc fairly prevalent just now, in the Waimatc district, more especially in the town itself. Potatoes are now much cheaper down soulli than they were this time last year. It is said that one Southland grower refused an offer of £1 r>s. a ton on trucks a month ago, and that he is now taking .£3 17s. Gd. nor ton. Wlien (he drought and the grub were, greatly in evidence round about Onmaru fanners were led to .exnect great nrices for their clomi. nurid /hilie'rs. biit it would appear that these" hr.pnf'il anticipation* have been (homed to result in disappointment.