FARMERS’ COLUMN.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2112, 21 June 1907, Page 4

FARMERS’ COLUMN.

“If the Government would only lot people alone,” snys tho Timani Herald, 1 was the burden of a short speech lifndo by Mr. Robert Charters, a wellknown farmer and prize-stock brccciei in the Taieri, in moving the usual Farmers’ Union motion ro the hand Hill at iMr. Donald Reid’s meeting at Dunedin on Thursday night. He instanced the stock inspectors, who on mo round enquiring how many sheep, how'many pigs, how many ocoso, and how many chickens a man kept, and quoted the reply made to one rather officious official who suggested that certain land might be utilised to better purposo than that of "grazing. The answer was: So long as the stomachs of men keep nil right wo shall get our pi ices for mutto7i and beef.” , „ , , Some time ago the Marlborough Express gave some account of an cxnt riment in blackberry eradicating by treats. It now learns that Mr Moore, Inspector of Stock, expresses the greatest satisfaction at tin; results of the experiment being carried out, with a view to eradicating weeds at the Polorus Bridge. There aro forty goats fenced on to. a section, and they have browsed, as is their wont, until meat patches of blackberry have been killed right off. At the same time the mass has not been touched, the people, of the district are in entire sympathy with the trial, and do their best‘to protect the animals. In Argentina (says the Timarii Herald) decoy sliedp, known as Judas Iscariots.” are uso dto lead others ill to the stock trains. Thcso trucks are loaded at the end, and stock can walk from one end to the other. In a very few minutes a whole train is loaded or discharged without tho terrible shunting our stock liavo to put up with in New Zealand. Sheep are loaded truck by truck (at tho side) in this country, and every truck lias to bo moved to make room for tho next. A change is badly needed. It is expected that JO,OOO acres near Opotiki and the famous War mana block of 5000 acres, near M hakatone, also the clmrcli mission block rear Te Awamutu, will shortly bo opened up for settlement. The Land Piuchaso Board for Auckland district lias boon examining several blocks noi th of Auckland. The good quality of the weight-cnr-rving hacks of Now Zealand (say*, a cr. riespondont of the New Zealand Farmer) used to bo 0110 ot tli© loading features of our stock world, * it is a matter of regret, to say nothing of the loss that has boon brought about., that the breed has been aliened to deteriorate. There has been some mortality among sheep on turnips lately (says the Timarii Herald),' and a post mortem examination showed that the deaths nere due to information of the bowels caused by the ingestion of sand su allowed with the turnips. Similar losses in the North Island liavo been traced to tho samo cause. The vagaries of the stock market (says the Timaru Herald) were illustrated by the sale of a cow recently. The animal was bought by a board-ing-house keeper for £6, but owing t-i° a dispute, which was settled in court, it was taken to the freezing works as a “dinner,” and there realOne threshing mill in South Canterbury (says the Ashburton Guardian) threshed 87,400 bushels of grain last season in twelve weeks and a half, the quantity put through the same mill the previous year being 87.000 bushels. In tho twelve, weeks and a half the men, .after paying tor I their food, had oarnod a sum ot £4O 13s 6d each, about £3 5s a week Cl *The disparity in the yields of potatoes in the Oamaru district this season (says tho North Otago Times) is shown by tho fact that while, some faimers are digging yields as high as ten and twelve tons to the acre, otii--ers are only gathering two and three tens. In some instances the potatoes owing to the second growth, will not keep for any length of time, and tho latter phase of potato-growing this season applies mors? or less to the whole colony. “The winter will be as bad as the I summer for shortness of feed,” says a Timaru farmer. “The blight lias robbed us of our turnips, and chaff will ■ be at a premium before spring. Stoats anu weasels are literally swarming all over Tapanui district, and there are scores of the impudent weasels in the town alone. , Patea boasts tho largest branch ol the Farmers’ Union. Its membership is sixty-two. , , . The Otago rabbit- export trade is likely to he exceptionally heavy this winter. Tho shipping companies anticipate that it will top last winter s export bv fully 33 -per cent. It is not generally known (says a contemporary) among farmers and those who have to do with the killing of stock for their own consumption that it is a statutory offence to remove the ears from the hides and Skins of cattle and sheep. This fact was clearly demonstrated in tile Supreme Court at Wanganui during the hearing of a cattle-stealing case, several witnesses stating that it was only lately that they became aware that a substantial penalty was provided for those who thus offended. Summarising the progress that has been made in the electro-cult.uro, B. Tolksdorf, a German, finds it fairly well proven that electricity is essential to the growth of vegetation, although the important part played is not yet understood. Professor Lemstrom has found that plants soon died under a wire cage which . excluded atmospheric electricity, while freely admitting air, heat and light. In Spitsbergen and Finnish Lapland large crops are always connected with the early appearance pf the Northern Lights; and in the experiments that have been made—so far on a small scale—tho yield of many plants has been increased by an artificial supply of electricity and water. It is supposed that electricity stimulates the sap exchange of plants, while Lcmstrom has shown that it greatly magnifies capillary power, thus probably enabling the plants to take ill more food from the ground. The rain of the past week (says the North Otago Times) has made a wonderful transformation in the pastures and the late feed stuffs, such as Cape barley, rye, etc., which have come away as it if were spring instead of winter. The reason for this is that the ground has retained its summer heat, and is like a modified hotbed. During the long spell of dry weather the soil and subsoil became unusually warm, and as soon as the rain came the warmth beneath has had the same effect on the croiis and pastures as spring sunshine. A thrifty, intelligent farmer, fkliose land was steadily improving in fertility (says a contemporary) was talking to another farmer, whose farm was just steadily running down. The first farmer was- telling the other what he was doing and how his land had come in fifteen years. “Fifteen years I” said the other. “Why that takes too much time.” “Well,”, answered the first, “It takes about the same time t'o run a farm up that it does to run down, and 1 had rather spend my time running it up. Besides there is more money to he made out of it?” How many farmers -have spent their lives in running their farms down I All tho time they were doing it they could see there was less and less money in it. Still they kept at it.

For the last five years, excepting the present olio (says the North Otago Times) the Oamaru district lias been barely able to eat off the feed for stock it. has grown, but this year there is a decided shortage, and the south lias been drawn on for straw and turnips. To meet the demand for root crops in tins district, a local firm has purchased tlio turnip crop of an 1 ucli-Cluthi). farmer, of which tliirtv tons arrived last week, with more to follow. The necessities ot farmers are so great that these turnips, which are a capital sample, have “gone off like hot cakes.” It is a good thing for graziers that the south can be drawn upon for feed, otherwise tiie outlook would be anything but pleasant for those who have stock and little feed. , , , Many endeavours have been made to determine in advance the sex ol eggs, but with very doubtful results. A recent suggestion conies from Mrs. Premier, a- poultry-keeper at Montreal, Canada, who believes that she lias discovered a method to control the sex as well as a test by which it may bo determined. She says;— “After many years of persistent experiment, I have been able to learn a system by means of which I can produce pulllets or cockerels as I wish. 1 had- frequently noted that old liens mated with a cockerel gave about 75 ner cent-, pullets and Ho per cent, cockerels, whereas the opposite mati„,r of young pullets with all old cock crave a greater proportion of cockerels than of pullets. Hens mated with a male bird of the same age and pullets mated with a cockerel produced about an equal number of pullets and cockerels.” She goes on to say that carefully examining the eggs, she noticed that- the position of the an-s'pace at the large end varied in like proportion. mid an experiment found that where ilws air-space was perpendicular to the long axis of the egg a male bird was hatched; when it was set obliquely, a female. This holds good for three-fourths of the cases—in many cases a whole brood showing no exception. The examination is bestmade through a tester from the fifth to the tenth day of incubation.