GENERAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1566, 9 October 1912, Page 10

GENERAL ITEMS.

INUI Jiß i'llUJl I AIUULO BULIILJiO. The first volume of the Clydesdale Ilorso Society's Stud liook is expected to be out of the printer's hands before December 31. It is the intention of,the council of the society tu publish a volume annually. At BriU'ord sheep fair, a record price was paid for a Hampshire Down rani lamb, Mr. James Flower, the owner of the celebrated Chilmark flock, .obtaining 230 guineas for a lamb by Foiithill Leader, bred by the vendor. The buyer was Mr. J. 11. lsinay, of Iwerne Minster, Dorset. Lucerne is perhaps one of the oldest of our cultivated forage , crops. The name alfalfa comes from the Arabs, and it means "best fodder/' The wars of the Persian invasion of Greeco took it to the latter country about 530 8.C., it being the custom for the advance emissaries to pre-' cede' the army ami to plant fields for the sustenance of the herds, which helped support the invading hosts. Front Greece it advanced to Italy and Spain by successive stages, and was taken to Old Mexico by the Spaniards abaut 1519 a.i>. From here it was carried to. South.. America, and later (1851) entered California through the Golden Gate at the time of the sjctivities incident to the discovery of gold in that State, and shortly af.ter found its way to other parts of the world. / At a recent meeting of the Clydesdale Horse Society, the following applications for prefixes and affixes were received and granted, viz.—"Baron," applied for by llr. J. W. Harding, Jit. Vernon;, "Sir,'' by 111 1 . Jam&s Patrick, O'utrnm; "Abbotsford" and "Lord," by Mr. Jas. W. Blair, Outram; by Thomson and Co., Wairongoa; "Record;" "I'arorangi," and "ltoyal," by Mr. Ernest Short, I'arorangi; "Again," by Mr. John liobertson, Auroa; "Premier," by Mr. John Shearer, Ashburton. In an article on the action of the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture in developing the ngriclilturo of Hungary, the International Institute of Agriculture stated that 5551 bulls have been given gratis or at reduced prices to breeders, with 4G-16 boars, 277 ranis, and 35 ewes. With respect to horses, there are now four Imperial stud farms, with 002 service stations for 3010 stallions, in addition to 191 let to as many breeders. • At one of the stallion stations sixteen English'thoroughbreds are kept for service.,, There are 555 co-operative dairies in the country; to which State subventions are granted under certain conditions. The International Congress of Entomo-' logy, which met at Oxford, England, in August, adopted the following resolution: —"That this congress, after a discussion of the various problems incident to the prevention ■ of the spread of insect pests from one country to another, cordially supports the proposed formation by tile International Institute of Agriculture of an International Commission to deal with these problems, in the firm belief that international action is the best means by which the greatest amount of protection can bo secured with the least injury to international trade in natural products." A North Queensland stockowner has just imported two Catalonian jack donkey,s from Spain. They are big, strong animals, and it is their new owner's intention to bvced mules suitable for heavy work on the northern mining fields. The Clydesdale Horse Society has decided that its next annual meeting will be held at Palmorston North. A writer in a farm exchange cites what he is pleased to call the extra signs of a good cow. He says they are.—(l) An owner with a kind and sympathetic heart for a cow, a horn love for the animals; (2) comfort spelled in capitals at every turn; (3) a silo.; (•!) plenty of good feed"; (5) giving the cow the light kind of a father; fG) testing her and keeping a record. All these signs, he says, belong to a gooil cow, and a good cow thrives on them amazingly, so that if they are freely granted her she would hi ashamed to lie anything else than a good cow. .( Over a hundred "Victor" Vats have been ordered; good business! It shows that some Factory Managers are doing their level best to make this a record season, and their etTorts will not be in vain when "Victor" Vats are installed. Delay means loss to you; order right away if you want your Vats early. Albert J. Parton, Carterton.—Advt." The Supreme Court of Leipzig has decided in the case of a wnitress who was dismissed for flirting with customers that flirting was not criminal, and was necessary for a waitress.