ON THE LAND

Horowhenua Chronicle, 30 May 1916, Page 2

ON THE LAND

I JOTTINGS FOlt .FARMERS. | It has been estimated by the Brit[lisli Boardi of Agriculture that the value t-of seeds for the principal crops eoivn jin Givnt Britain amounts to nearly \ In o;t.er to mitigate to some extent the diffic ilties resulting from the din i nation in the nuin'lier <> draughJt ani 'nuils, tlio authorities in France have ooncei.cl the idea of utilising those automobiles called "poids lourdte," aljiei'ing them to suit various agricultural requirements, when at the end if •the wiar they are handed over by tlio Ttiilitaiy authorities to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry has aipponted h commission to ta.ke charge of the scheme. Pastoriilists in the Cromwell district have experienced an ideal autumn Kenson. Since the period] of dry weather broke, early in April, the rainfall Iras been much above the average, and the i is that pastoml oonnitry is in good order. Already sererail snowstorms have swept over the high country and some fairly haril frosts have prevailed.

It is stated: thaJt oat at the mclb of forty-nine head of ca/ttlc swept over tho Wiairua Falls Jaat Sunday week thirty-two have oeen located or res-' cued, says the Auckland Star. Four beasts are known to have been ltillod. The rescue party was jiard at work last week, their experience® being BomewiKit exciting. A(i .showing tjlie increase in land values in Tfenawtki during the poat foity yeaiw, a New l'Jyniouth pa,per .states that a bkck of land' of 300 acres at the Mimi, owned by Colonel Messenger, was sold originally for £000. Last year a section ot the same land changed hands at £54 per acre, tho balance of the land realising only £26 per acre. The annual report to be submitted to suppliers of the T.ranaki Co-oper-ative Egg Circle must Do considered very satisfactory considering the conditions which have existed. The eggs disposed of numbered 31,694 dozen, as a,gainst 26,975 dozen during the previous year, an increase ot 4719 dozen. The price paid, for last month's supplies was 2s 2d per dozen, and this is tho highest >price tor some years. TOTAL 67,323,000 BUSHELS. The compilation of the returns of tho actual result of tho last whe.'.b haivtsl in Now South Wales by' tho Govenunont Statistician, Mr J. B. Trivett, is almost complete, and it is possiblo now to give the approximate ligurtvi. Estimates have been included for several districts, the returns for which are still outstanding, but it is expected that the particulars nwv furnished) will not be affected materially in the final revision. Since the publication of t'lie December estimate it has become apparent that farmers generally were too conservative in their quotations, and to such an extent that the mid-harvest estimate oi 62,050,000 bushel? hos been exceeded by about 33 million bushels. The State therefore ilias produced a wheat crop of 67 1-3 million bushels, which is 29 million bushels in excess of the previous highest produciton, in 1913-14.

AGRICULTURE LN EGYPT. Lieutenant F. A. C'haffey, 'M.L.A., writing to the principal of the Hawkcsbury Agi-ieu.ltral Col lege, says: — ''Australians are greatly amused at the methods the Egyptians liave ot (.anting,on their agricultural pursuits. But, give .them t'heir due, they thoroughly understand irrigation and how to make money. The filthy habits ot ■tihe people is beyond conception; they seem to have no knowledge of bectcria in connection with their milk supply. I am informed thait the death rate among the natives up to live years of aigo is '50 per cent, and I do nut wonder at it. If this country had wet seasons, nearly all the native villages would be wiped ouit by disease. It is only the continued dry atmosphere whidh saves tliean. The cows are principally a grade buffalo and you see them working in the plough, pumping waiter, serving the purpose of .a saddle horse, and yet at the same time are called upon to give milk." AUSXRiAiLIAX WHEAT POOL, farther gratifying financial figures ui conncotion with tlie operation of the wheat "pool" were made available recently by the Minister of Agriculture, oays the Melbourne Age. Mr Hagelthorn stated that in a fortnight £'500,000 bad been wiped off the 'pools" bank overdraft by returns from the sale of wheat. He was able to state that in one week a- further £'574,000 had been cleared off tihe overdraft, which now amounts to £11,685,000. The Minister added that the overdraft wili continue to decrease »aipidly. According .to the ret/Urns £22,065,000 had been paid on certificates issued, as against a total obligation in this respect of £24,011,000. tt'he total results of the pool to date are £8,952,000. A SCIENTIST'S VIEW. The following extracts were taken from Dr Cockayne's lecture delivered at St. Andrew's Hiall, Palm erst on N., recently. People who make a direct Eearidh for commercial value in things never find it. It is the people who study some seemingly impossible science who diecover it. No one ever dreamt that tihe bacteria which cause scarlet fever and other diseases in human beings are plant® just as much as bacteria which cause disease in plants are plants.

Land l which is supposed to be thoroughly cdfeared and ouilth'ated usual ly contains more weeds than pasture land. The much-despised piuus insignis is going to be the most important tree that has ever come to -New -Zealand:. Trees grown forty feet apart after thirty years' growth have yielded 200,000 ft of timber to the acre. Expense in treo-pianting must T>o worked out at compound interest. On a 4 per cent basis not more than forty years should be allowed for the crop to come to maturity. Totana wh'icn have to grow 500' years before being milled can't pay. Central Otago haß been turned into a desert by the burning of tussock, rabbits andi the greed of man in crowding sheep on the land.