GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2008, 16 March 1914, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Thirty-two new,members were elected at the monthly meeting of the Masterton A. and P. Association on Saturday last. Grass fires are raging throughout the Ureytown district, says our correspondent, and feed ,for cattle and horses is very scarce. .'■ Mr. E. Short, speaking .at Feilding recently on tho Panama Exposition and proposals for sending New Zealand exhibits, said the promoters of the Exposition had made a' fatal mistako j n appointing a man from Kent as judge °J c tl 'P Romney sheep, says the Feilding atar. Kent was only thirty miles across, and a man from' that country know every sheep which went from there. It would be committing suicide tor any breeder .from any other part of tho world to take his sheep there. Mr. bhort thought another judgo should be appointed to act with tho Kent judge. . Ihe -directors of iho Rongokokaho Cheese Company (near Eketahuna) havo decided, to immediately proceed with th 6 erection of a new factory by' day labour.. The old factory was destroyed by hro a few mouths ago. With ■ a vio'v to arousing more iiiterest .among farmers in tho 'affairs ot their union,.- and to augment :tho membership, the president of the Pahiatna branch. (Mr. A.' Eoss), the vicepresident (Mr. A. M'Kay), and the secretary (Mr: J. A. Walsh;, will make a canvass of. the district next week. ' The Pongaroa butter factory, 'which was reopened this season after a lapso ot years, is proving- of considerable nunont- to the settlers in tho Pongaroa and surrounding districts.'. The manager informed n representative of the Pahiatua "Herald" that milk and cream was received from thirty suppliers, • tho majority being home-separated creamsuppliers. Supplies aro received from the Mangatrti, Waihoki, Waikoreru Hamuli;' Waimiro, Makuri) and Pohgarpa districts. . Tlio manufactured article has been grading well, eome of tlid grade notes being as high as 90i and 91 points out of a possible 100 which'is considered very satisfactory for butter made from home-separated cream. The milk tests are fairly high, the average lor tho last tosting period being 4.1 per cent. Tho e'reem tests vary from 40 to 42 per cent. During tho winter, period the factory will bo completely, overhauled: and renovated. Large quantities of oaten chaff are being railed from Carterton to Wellington. A Canterbury sheep-farmer, who has recently visited the Kaikoura, Conway, and Flaxbouriio districts, states that there is abundant evidence that rabbits are on the .increase.' In the districts mentioned, whiph,, I campris,e.:a.-larjo area, rabbits- were to^'be , ■ sec'n'r'm large niim-. bors, and-apparently , the necessity for checking the increase is not recognised by-the Government in-, spectipn can'' . : 'do" something towards 1 checking, the ;pest,'but the responsibility still; rests: with tho settlors to'deal with tho >natter. According to the Nelson ''Colonist," although a number of thu hop crops aro light, .yet nevertheless some ot the pickers-.are making excellent scores. Several'are picking 60 bushels' a day, and one'girl has reached as far as 70 bushels.,. In ono garden of only nine bins the pickers have gathered . 350 bushels'.for the, day, which makes for each an- excellent average. Tho gardens are being stripped fairly quickly, and it'is'thought tlinfc tho end of tho month will seo tho great bulk of the picking over, although it will take ,some of the. growers all their time to get .finished by that date. ' , A serious.bush fire has been burning at Belgrove for some iimo (states the Nelson "Mail"). It started at Pretty.Bridge Valley, and spread: to Trass Valley. ,Mr, E. Batt has-been unfortunate • to. lose some sheep, and Mr. J .Eades; Wai-iti,- has also suffered. .Several stretches of fine native bush hiivo also .been destroyed.' The manure from sheep.has-a higher fertilising value than that derived from any other animal. Next in strength come pig 3 and horses. Cattle manure is less concentrated, but as regards quantity produced cattle come first, then horses, '.while pigs and sheep naturally produce less per animal. The fertilising value, of ■ a manure, however, does not altogether depend on the animal producing it,, as' tho character,of tho food consumed influences iii a great .measure the quality of ' the, manure, and even the manure from tho same animal may vary daily in quantity and quality. Blight has made amongst tile turnip crops in tlio Tokomairiro and Milbimi districts, but little damage has been dono so far. A good downpour of rain would be bonencial to all root crops., Householders'- relying on tank water for domestic purposes are: also eagerly anticipating a heavy rain to replenish their supplies. . - Supplies "of paspalum grass'seed for .New Zealand are drawn from Australia, and it is therefore interesting to find that at present the position is being reversed, some inquiries for the seed having been received in Auckland from the Commonwealth. Since ifs introduction into the Dominion from Aifstialia a few years ago, paspalum grass lias been allotted a permanent placo in North Auckland pastures, where it has been found a success on almost all soils where warmth can be relied upon. It is not customary, however, for farmers to let it go to seed, as to do so greatly diminishes the quality of the herbage. The grass is therefore generally oaten down. It follows that no great demand for the seed could bb supplied from New Zealand. Orders to hand, however, are not very large, and arc merely due to tho fact that there is a lafe harvest in Australia, causing a temporary shortage. It is not considered that the presnnt slight demand indicates any trade prospects. Over 2000 sheep per day ave lieing slaughtered at the Waingawa Meat Works at present. A large niiinber of catSe are also being put through. Tlio season will undoubtedly be a record one. Rabbit-trapping in tlio Himatangi Downs district is a very profitable industry just now, some of tho trappers making- as much as £3 per day. Most of tho raWJi'ts are marketeil !li Wellington.