RURAL TOPICS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2060, 11 December 1907, Page 5 (Supplement)

RURAL TOPICS.

lu conversation with a gout loin an who has travelled much of la to through tho country districts, a “Times” reporter learnt that stock aro not suffering at all by reason of tho recent dry weather. As is well known sheep fatten much better on fairly dry feed than on feed sodden with rain. Throughout tho country the food is fairly plentiful and green and by no means can it he said that it is being burnt up. Crops are hardly in such a good stato. l'ho warm weather lrad brought the groin into ear rather early. ‘‘Land values in Mew Zealand are not stable just now, and are above a normal price,” said Mr Lowno in giving evidence before the Conciliatiou Board.” Tho whole farming industry is in an unstable condition. To compel fariuors to lay out more fer labour at present would simply mean increasing the present unstability. To suggest that increased wages would help to prevent undue speculation and exaggerated land values is only to suggest something that would aggravate the seriousness of the reaction when it docs como.” There are prospects of a record harvest in tho Argentine. Careful investigation encourages tho estimate of a yield of 5,500,000 tons oi wheat as compared with 3,000,000 last year, and 1,500,000 tons of linsed as against a previous output of 750,000 tons. An Edievalo settler (writes the Dunedin “Star’s” Lawrence correspondent) lias -just netted about £12,000 -in a deal in land. About eight years ago lie acquired a tract of 3,000 acres of agricultural and pastoral land at £1 an acre, and later on bought .an adjoning farm of 700 acres at £6 10s per acre. The other day he got £5 10s an aero for the blook, and as the buyer does not take possesion till February, the settler expects to make £IOOO out oi his wool clip. This must certainly be regarded as good business. “If 1 went borne and told the farm labourers there what the conditions, of work in Now Zealand are,” said Mr AV. Lowrie to the Christchurch Conciliation Board recently, “I believe L could bring out ten thousand ■ of them. The trouble is that they don’t believe a lot of what they hear ; .they ..don’t travel, and persist in not travelling, and they don’trealise what the conditions are here”’ Having for some time had only occasional showers, the crops in North. Canterbury still require a two or three days’ rain. Oat's are very short in straw-, and wheat .threatens to be also below- the average in that respect. Some of the early oats ■ have -given indications of sickening,, and also of rust, but these points ■would he remedied if rain came soon. Grass Has been falling rather short,' and the -paddocks enclosed for hay are somewhat light. Ftp to the present the potato,crops look healthy but the turnips are backward a. • Shearers are putting up big tallio with the machines in Australia .hh year. At LarrasLake, N.S.AV., ‘lie team thought that Ihe ringer with 1611. per day as toil to his credit to; “tall,” .but the ringer (E. Dean) a. Terrick Terrictk (Blackball, Q.), put np • 274 ; f0r a day’s work. This is the best record 'in-7 Queensland - -since Powe: 'put?through 315 head in one day Baryena (Q.). The best this. soascr' in New South AViales seems to lie tha of Day, at Brokong, who • machine. 250 in none day. Dean’s record, day tally would ,-come out a_t £3 oa 9d. , Grasshopcrs and locusts are doing . mors harm in New South Wales-thi: year than over before. Vast area: of country aro black with them. Pastoralists who have wire-nettef their runs, and got the weather side of the rabbits, now- find a pest that even wire guage will . net keep out. From the Macquarie comes the re port that the. scourge have destroyed. every green thing, and even eat curtains and boots in the houses.. -V. sorts of remedies aro being c lie rev to the man on the land, but it looas if (as in Argentina) an crganh.ee war must be made on - the scour-; if untold loss is not to accrue. The production of wool in the German Empire is declining annually. In *lß6l the number of sheep w-a: 28,000,000, while in 1900—the only year for which statistics are available —they had fallien to 9,692,500. Based upon an average of Mbs., of a ■per sheep, and Iflbs. per lamb, th, wool production in 1900 would be about 36,000,000 lbs. Some farmers fail 'because they do a lot of work but very little .planning* Others fail because- they; are.experts in planning, but do very, little w-ork. Some dairy'men refuse to keep ' record of - the milk production o. herds, claiming it. is too much /both er. Tho merchant that failed also ’ refused to bother to keep books.