Agricultural

Horowhenua Chronicle, 28 December 1911, Page 4

Agricultural

At Geelong wool sales recently there was exciting competition for three noted Western /Victorian clips, and . sevei'al; records; for tiie season wore established. Langi Kal Kal secured! the highest pa-ice- for super lambs, six ,-bales at 20d, thus following up the distinction gained for the same line in the. market last year. Cariifiham obtained 19|d for four bales of super lambs, arid 17ad for 10 bales of first lambs, and 18£ d (the highest of the. season) for 10 bales of extra super fleece, 17<1 for 18 bales of super fleece, for 108 bales of first fleece, and three other records in broken, first, and second pieces. Tho Tr a walla clip sold consistently well riglit through, fleece up to 16£ d, and lambs (a line of 22 bales) to 16i{d, and should show a fine return per head. This clip also gained a record—lid for 25 bales of "bellies. : Altogether the occasion was a memorable one, and attracted an attendance of buyers and spectators in keeping therewith.; Tho display made by these three -clips ion the show-floors won unstinted adimiration from rival growers and: oversea visitors. Mr. Edwin Ourrie's Gala clip sold well, the super lambs' making 19|d for 5 bales; iand Bushy Creek, Picarra, Beirambool, Dunrobin, and others provided competition in keeping with the excellence of the display.

The Swiss trade is but a summer one, and-very little frozen meat has boon imported .this season. Messrs Seinct. of Nenchatel, have- handled 100,000Tb of Australian frozen meat. The Minister for, Foreign Affairs at M#>nte Video has received a communication from the General Consulate of Switzerland informing 'him that a compan yhas been formed at Zurich' with the oh jeet of importing frozen meat from Uruguay as well as establishng large., freezers for presorvinnr stocks. The company •bas a capital of -several million francs, and intends to commence work before the end the vear.

The annual report of the Northern Territories of th'e Gold' Coast. (West Africa) for 1010 reports the failure of a - nattempt to introduce English breeds of cattle. In : 1909 this enterprise 'failed, for although the bulls left England in excellent condition, .they did not survive to reach the Northern Territories.-; The animals were of the Polled' Angus variety, and it was resolved.to 'order three more bulls of a type—the re-port-does not mention' the breedbetter calculated to withstand' the. journey and climate. Three were accordingly shipped under tihe charso of a veterinary surgeton, hut unfortunately this second attempt proved a failure., all three animals dying. An epidemic of lung sickness among the cattle, and, possibly anthrax as well, is thought bv the Commissioner of the North Eastem province to have been introduced bv hcufc of Moshi fattle- from French territory, and the : riuestion of miifrollino; f.], o importation of cattle is inidor consideration.

The British Board of Agriculture have made an order prohibiting tho importation of hay-and straw from Sweden, _ . (says -• the "Field) ; . The promptitude with which {Tie order was put into ppertion implies that the introduction of foot iand mouth disease is feared. Tt has been nrovedlthat hay and straw carry the infection, and the Board "were well advised in adopting a policy of ex-cluding-fodder and litter as well as livestock from countries in wihich tho disease is known to exist. Since., the lesson of the 'outbreak in Edinburgh three and a half vears aco. it is understood crefnl rliscriminntioii has controlled business i-< i"iT>nrtnti'r>n of these commodities Tot, it is renin rk a bio that" out breaks havo been more frequent since than -l>efore ihlay and straw were included in the list of scheduled goods . Foot and month discass is prevalent on the Continent, and it is evident that contamina-. tion is conveyed through the medium of 'other Articles besides those mentioned. Tt is for the departmental committee to investigate the range and possibilities of spreading infection, and to suggest low far consideration for the. stock-breeding, interest would be justified in interfering with general commerce. In the meantime.. the position in the area of the latest outbreak in Somerset is steadily improving.

_ Rather an interesting fact, says the tanners' Union Journal, is bi ought out by tliß sJiteGp - returns, in regard to the average lambing, lhe number of breeding ewes is given as 12,324,463, or 190,000 less than last year. The number of lambs are returned in 1910 as 7,073,076; in 1911 as 6,719,024. To this must be added the number exported, which in the first-mention-ed year was about 3,300,000, and say 20,000 consumed in the Domin(vih£in all for the year 1910 10,390,760, or slightly over 83 per cent. In 1911, the number exported was approximately "3,500,000, and add 20,000 for local consumption, would give 10,239,760,- which runs out at about,B3,B per.cent., a really excellent average. Though somewhat roughly arrived at, it is near enough to make* comparison. We are afraid this year it will not reach 80 per cent.