BY THE WAYSIDE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 160, 24 July 1937, Page 14

BY THE WAYSIDE

News of Interest To H.B. Farmers BRITISH LIVE STOCK With a view to obtaining further Infoimation regarding the changes in the distribution of live stock as between summer and winter, and assisting in ostimating the probable future supplies of home-produced meat, the British Ministy of Agriculture undertook a voluntary census of live stock on 4th December, 1936. On the basis of the returns made by farmers, it is estimated that the total number of cattle in England and Wales on 4th December was 6,648,000, as compared with 6,540,000 on 4th June and 6,510,000 on 4th December, 1935. The cows and heifers in milk or calf show a slight increase on last year's figure, the number being 3,102,000 as compared with 3,080,000 in Docember, 1935. To obtain additional information . regarding the relative sizes of the beef and dairy herds in the country, farmers were, for the first time, asked to return separately the numbers of beef and dairy cattle. The estimates, based on the returns received, show that there were 4,160,000 dairy cattle and 2,488,000 beef cattle. As might be expected, the beef herds are more important relatively to the dairy herds in Wales than in England, the numbers of beef and dairy cattle in Wales alone being 401,000 and 426,000 respectively. Froducing Olean Milk. A prominent Australian agricultural authority making an iiwestigation of the dairying industry in the Dominion on behalf of the New South Wales Government, has much to praise when speaking of grassland farming in New1 Zealand', but there was -one thing with which he was not impressed, and that was with -the milking sheds of the country, states "The New Zealand Dairyman." After insDee.tincr the mil*ing shed of one prpminent farmer one day,he absolutelv refused to drink milk at the evening meal that night. The Australian visitor expressed his surprise that, in a country where grassland control was so admirably carried out in so many cases, and where he had seen pigs being kept under ideal conditions. milking sheds Tn too many cases could hardly oonduce to the production of clean milk. • • » • Frozen Feas. About 20,000,000 lb. of fresh frozen peas were sold in the United States to consumers in 1936 and found a ready market. New Jersey contributed 6,000,000 lb., aud Wisoonsin, New York, Michigan and California supplied large quantities. • • » u.s. Farming. A national survey has been made by the magazine, "Business Week," and it pronouuces 1937 the best farm market year in U.S.A. since the war. It estimates the national farm income will be about 10 per cent. better than in 1936, and the income will go farther in buying power. It should be a better year for farmers than 1929, the magazine tells its readers. The least favourable spots are in the drought area, it says, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Panhandle, parts of Montana, and to a lesser extent western Washington and Oregon. Meat animals face a prospect, it says, of lighter slaughter and higher prices. Egg prices remain low. Treatment of Seed. It has been known for a long time that the treatment of seed by electricity increases the yield of crops, but the method was confined to the labor* atory only, until the Ukrainian Graia Institute qf Dniepropetrovsk, under the direction of Professor F, W. Kuperman, successfully applied the treatment on a large scale. The experiments were started some three years ago. In 1935 difi'erent sorts of electrically-treat-ed seed were sown on an area of 340 acreb. Last year special stations were constructed to treat seed for the collective farms. In that year over 21,000 aeres were sown to electrically-treated seed. This year, the area sown to electrically-treated seed is 600,000 acres, including an area of 150,000 aeres sown to cotton, 300,000 acres to maize 7375 acres to potatoes, and 28,300 acres to various vegetable crops. The treatment of seed by electricity not only raises the yield, but causes the crops to ripen earlier. JLn some cases the treatment of cotton seed by electricity has been found to quadruple the erop. Treated seed potatoes near Moscow yielded twice as big a crop as untreated ones.