GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1965, 23 January 1914, Page 10

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

■Harvesting operations in the'Ashbiirtoii County appear to be ahead of those: in South "Cau'torbury. BetKWii trie lower side of tho Riiiigit-at-ii River and Temuka comparatively..little- crop '.ha's ,, been out (says the ,"Guar'cliari")..- Many machines are, of course, at. work, few liiindrcd acres are in stdok, but, the' work is by, jjo.means general,yet. Sdme niagiiificent crop's are.-to.be'-seen, sftlfn-riidly-beaded.'.and.of a uniform growtli.' Given line weather for a few days a large amount of crop should be harvested, and if no windstorms arc experienced the returns should show record yields. One or two crop's of potatoes look to Jiave escaped the blight. The rape and turnip crops in South Canterbury are the best that have been grown for some years. ■ ■

As evidence of the intense heat which lias been experienced during the last two <>r three weeks, the Hastings ."Tribune , ! is informed that among the sheep composing piio at least of the larger floekn of the district there have been more deaths, from heat apoplexy than during any other summer for very maiiy years.

It is not generally known (says the "Wa'ipa Post") tliat'Ohaupo gains very considerably from the fruit-growing industry. From off a comparatively small areajlof land riiariy thousands, of cases of stone fruits are sent to the markets, and this week a medium consignment was 1 seiit to Tarana'ki. TK« tmio is- fastapproaching when the fruit-growing industry, arid llifl.consequent closer .settle-' meat, will claim an iniport-ant place in the commerce of the district.

The following are tlie amounts ..paid out for Diecem'ber butter-fat by some .of. the dairy companies in the neigh-;; . b,Qurhood of New Plymouth, tlie figure's , ' iii parentheses showing the amounts, paid out for December, 1912:— Mangorei, £4767 19s. (£4137 2s. 10d.); Oa-; kura;'£lß3o. 4s. Qd.-(£1739 10s. Id.); Omata, £1155 16s. lid. .(£IO4O 14s. 5d.).; Frauldey Road, £420; Tarurutangi, £824 os. (£463 6s.' 9d'.). Tho Kaitawa Co-operative Dairy Company (Paliiatna) paid out £800 today for milk supplied to its factory during; December. .Payment was made at the rate of ll}d. per , jb; .of butter-fpt. The Wtal exceeds tlio paymeiits for the correspondins month of last year by £140, and is, the larßest nionthl.v payment riiade by the corapariy since its inception.

■- Farmevs\aro ? ..woll forward ..with their work in the Halcombe district, says the FeiMing "Star. , , , l'lven the threshjnj;-- mills are gettihe: to work. The only thing th'oy feel crieved-.iboiit' is the backwardness of-the rape crops',- which are thin iu larje patches. The shearing is done,'-excepting'for soriio lambs:; Tlie wool has turned out fairly Kood. ■ Taken by and large, farmers- in that corner of the footstool have every rea,ton-to be thankful for tlie success of the season and the prospects ahead. • • ;

The wheat and-oat crop's in ISo'rtji Canterbury are reported by the "Press" to be looking estremely well at present, but while there is every prospect of a big yield and a sue'ees'sful harvest, it is stated that the ravages of caterpillars are very ,tharked.irt sonie places. A recent visitor to the district stated yesterday that, t-lieso pests are to be seen in thousands in some places.