GENERAL FARM NEWS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 169, 6 April 1918, Page 12

GENERAL FARM NEWS

It will be moved at the Auckland Provincial Conference of\ the Farmers' Union: "THat the conference, deprecates the action of the Government in buying highly-priced land for settlement oy returned soldiers and neglecting the settlement of unimproved lands vithin easy distance of rail and port." In Iliverina there are indications of the "recurrence of the mouse plague, which did enormous damage last year. Mice are present in all paddocks in the Wagga district, and are breeding rapidly. Houses, barns, and stacks of produce are being invaded. Haw wool is going to play an important part in'the economic condition af the world, both duriug and after the war, especially after the war (says tie "Australasian"). In the world's supply of wool for years there lias been a marked decline in production. The' annual slaughter for mutton during the war has been very heavy, so the world is short'of sheep, and of wool for manufacturing clothing. A motion to be put forward at the Auckland Provincial Conference of the farmers' Onion is:—"That the Government be asked to undertake the manufacture of alcohol for motor fuel out of waste agricultural or other products or grant facilities for its manufacture." The injury done by the German armies to the French live stock industry is reflected in recent official figures. Since 1913 the number of horses in the country of our ally has declined by M per cent., cattle by 16 per cent., sheep bv 35 per cent., and pigs by 41 per cent, ilost of the damage indicated by these figures was the result of thett and slaughter carried out systematically by the Germans in the early days of the war. -' American • farmers have found thej cannot get along with horses alone, as evidenced by the fact that they now (says an oversea journal) 'iwn more tnan 1,500,000 automobiles nearly 100,; (KW tractors, approximately .-.OOU.UUI small gas engines, and nearly IM.OM steam engines, besides some electnc power, countless windmills, a few scat tored water-power plants, and latelj they have begun to buy motor-trucks. Thfl v-ilue of all this miscellaneous equipment is somewhat difficult to esti--1,1.- if- luis cost the farmers considerably more than £400,000,000. AddSi to the £1100,000,000 invested ir horses and mules, it totals the tidj sum of £1,000,000,000, which wouli have been a staggering sum to piate three or Jour years ago, belon we got accustomed to military espen di £y farmers (says an agrieultura writer) should not indulge m the ex nensive economy of buying cheai ci'ttle or, for that matter, any otliu r'srU, b«t i» » stances, they also make'the farmer pa; for the privilege of boarding them.