GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2007, 14 March 1914, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

"The North Island faTmers aro coin ing inonoy. You can soil anything with wool or hair on it this year," said ono of them at the' Feilding saleyarde recently. To support his statement he ■mentioned an incident which took place at tho Waituna sale. AVhilo u pen of sheep was being offered, one prospectivo buyer, who was approaching the yards, got in a threepenny bid while still 1 a hundred yards away, before ho had seen the sheep at all. "Any farmer who is not making money just now ought to give his farm away rather than try to work it. There is not a single fly in • tho ointment, except that a very .small portion of the oat crop was spoilt by the last rains. There js plenty of grass, and look at-the price cffat'lambsl"

-. • Tho total number of meals dispensed by tho Masterton A. and P. Association in , ' connection with tho recent Masterton show and ram fair was 5021. The receipt from cash sales amounted to £284 Is. 6d., and free meals, to tlio value of £294 Is. 6d. were given. to exhibitors, judges, etc.

The Opunake "Times" states that a woman appeared in Court as defendant in a legal suit en Thursday last, who ploughs her own'farm, milks 30 cows night ■ arid morning, drives the milk to tho factory, attends to tho fencing—in fact, ownsand manages tho farm. Mr. H.-Ticehurst, of Nireaha, Eketa. liuna, lia,s. disposed of his 200-acro farm thoTe to Dr. D. G. Johnston, of Carterton. ' i Tho country, from Takapau to Napier is as brown aa a. berry. Rain is badly needed in the northern part, of the pro.vince. To-brittle hoofs that will not hold nails apply the following dressing each other night at tho juncture of tho horn and-hair: —Oil of tar, two parts; oil of balsam of fir, one part; mix. Use it twice a.weok as soon as tho hoofs will hold nails. South Island turnip tops; it is said, have • soldom looked so promising as they do ■ this year, and there is sure now to be an abundance of winter feed. A large-area of this will be utilised for dairy herds , this winter, and as quite a number of larger dairy factories are now equipped with hutter plants, it is j anticipated that there Tvilt bo much more winter dairying than has previously "been done in Southland. Mr. Georgo Aitcheson, owner of the Cardylino herd of cows, in conversation with a Dunedin correspondent, stated that another cow, Daisy, five years, completed her semi-official test for New Zealand Holsteins early last week, and thus established a now record for but-ter-fat returns. Daisy has given 65.01b'. ol Eutter-fat, which increases the average for his tostod cows from GO.Gib. to C 1.911). per cow. Daisy's return is approximately equal to 19,9941b. of milk, or two thousand gallons. Taking tho Ion" standard of ono shilling per gallon or threepence per quart, Daisy has yielded £100.

THE WOOL SEASON. LOCAL SALES KEVIEWED. A clearing-up wool salo is to bo held in Wellington on Friday next when it is expected that sorao 2000 bales will bo catalogued. Messrs. Murray, Roberts, and Co., Ltd., supply the following information: The total quantity of wool offered at tho four sales held in Wellington this season shows a decrease of 6760 bales, as compared with the figures for the previous season,-but this deficiency will be reduced by the amount of the cataloguo to be offered next Friday. The total offerings and. sales for the season are as under:—

The season was delayed at the start for sundry reasons. Tho waterside strike .held up the early shorn wools and the November sale had to bo abandoned. Subsequent wet weather in December delayed,shearing, consequently the wool sent forward for tho salo in that month and January was considerably below the average of previous seasons, and the later sales were augmented by arrivals of wool which should , in the ordinary course hato been, marketed in December and January. ■ The condition of tho -wools this year was distinctly below that of last 'season.- The unfavourable weather early m the winter was probably responsible' for the 'large proportion of tender stapled wool apparent this season, being especially noticeable in,hogget wooL, few Jots being sound right. through tho length of staple. Then tho wet weather delaying' shearing in that month, allowed the utuwai seed to become prevalent in wools which in the ordinary • season would havo been shorn early enough to escape, this trouble. Cotted fleeces were abundant, and tho early. wools woro decidedly heavier in the. grease than last year., comb of tho later shorn wools were on the other hand quite as light as last year, but' in theso, in rcany cases, utuwai seed was very prevalent. The outstanding feature of this season s sales was tho sustained operations of the Continental buyers, who, right through tho season, bought keenly, and'bought wools which formerly were- almost' exclusively purchased for Bradford trade. .Americans bought fairly freely whenever tho wool was suitable,.but a good many wools which would otherwise havo been suitable were dither cotted, or showed seed, or were' badly classed. Yorkshiro lniyors, who, iii tho first sale, were somewhat inclined to.buy sparingly, came in freely, in' the remaining sales, and secured the bulk of the crossbred wools catalogued.. '_..-■•... .

The highest prices realised in Wellington during' tho season were: Merino, 12Jd. per lb; half-bred, 113 d. PQ.r lb.; fine crossbred, llijcl. per lb.; medium- crossbred, ll}d. per lb.; coarco crossbred, lOJcI. per lb.; Southdown, 12-3 d. per lb.; lambs, , 13d.; half-bred pieces, lOid. per lb.; crossbred pieces, BJd.-per lb: Higher prices havo bcmi obtained in the' Spilth - Island for halfbreds and merinos; but the .wools of this "class 'there ■ aro ""Tnfiriitely superior to anything offered'' in" tho North Island. ■ ...

Comparing prices realised here with those obtained in London at the samo time, it is probably safe to say that growers selling hero'have no reason to wmplain. Naturally,, with tho ■ recent, sharp advaiic6 : 'iii I 'pHees, i ' £ tho'' l e]ij'ly'-sol:d 1 wools are cheap;' , "but , -the Samo thing applies to tho wools sold in London prior to March sales, and it must bo borne, in mind that ever .since Decembor prices hero have, been steadily on ; tho. advance,, and.thb .opinion was expressed 'by some of tho. , buyers who wore, here during the season that right along prices hero wero well up to London parity, if not somewhat above it. It is well to remember, also, ■'■hat while. the , wools 'selling in London to-day contain some of tho pick of New Zealand prossbreds, most of the wool sold this month, and a largo proportion of February- sales, were from the back country,..and of quio ■ different character, seedy, bush-stained, and cotted. Tho attendance of buyers was larger than over, and it is being generally recognised that Home and foreign manufacturing firms find it becoming mofo'and more'necessary to be represented hero. -The seating accommodation will require extending and improving, and , this will be.taken, in hand before next season.

Storage space is being extended, and at the present time there is ample show and storage room in ,tho various stores in Wellington .to accommodate eomo 26,000' bales , at one- sale.

■'.•'■■. .> Offered; Sold. Sold. 1913-1914. • • Bales. Bales, p.c. December: sales-... 9,814 7,217 73 January sale ... 12,349 11,304 92 February salo '... 20,602 19,452 95 March sale' ■ 6,441 .6,097. -94 49,206 Ufi'iO 90 Season 19124913 55,966.51,562 92 Seasbu 19.11-1912 42,120 37,401 8b Season 1910-1911 47,500 . 38,348 81