Farming Column

Hokitika Guardian, 25 June 1932, Page 8

Farming Column

AUSTRALIAN FARM LIFE. VIEWS OF FINNISH JOURNALIST. Packing a gun in case of truolilc and full of enthusiasm, Miss Solveig Borg, 23 years of age, a journalist from Finland, passed through Auckland on board the Niagara. She landed in Adelaide on March 7 from the Finnish barque Fabell after a trip of 145 days, and walked to Sydney with the object of studiyng fanning conditions in order to write a series of articles for publication in the “Huvudstadsbadet,” a dairy paper printed in Helsingfors. “The Australian farmer works under very different conditions front those in Finland,” said Miss Borg. “The Australian goes in for much more machinery, but he arranges his work badly. His home life is in noway up-to-date. The fanner’s wife has to work far too hard. This is bad. In my country it is quite different. The farmer’s wife has her maid. She can employ her for about 5s a, month, and that is a great help.” Asked what were the prospects ol the maid as far as her future was concerned, Miss Borg laughed. “These women have never been, used to anything else,” she said. “The v have no other pretensions. There is a much wider difference between the classes in Finland and those in Australia. They are what you term ‘very democratic’ in Australia, but the women and children on the farms are asked to do too much and get up too early in the morning. What Australia lacks is the peasant class that has never been used to much and never will be.’’

DENMARK’S METHODS

BALANCING TRADE WITH BRITAIN

Denmark is concerned about her market in Great Britain, and is making a practic'd effort to retain h.

An Aucklander wfiio recently returned from abroad noted the activity of Danish buyers at the British Industrie,s Fair. They had been advised by their Government to buy .from Britain as much as possible. The campaign is being carried right to the Danish consumer, especially the farmer, and has the support of many farmers' organisations. Denmark’s concern is easily understood. Roughly three-fifths of her exports, worth about £32,000,000,’ are absorbed by Britain. On the other hand, only one-seventh (valued at £14,000,000) of her imports ai'e British. The disproportion prejudices any pica she might make for admission ho tariff preferences. So Denmark is trying to correct a fop-sided trade condition to support her claim to keep her position on the British market,. Her action is eminently practical, and should not be mst sight of in New Zealand, her chief competitor in selling dairy produce. Certainly our trade with Britain is ’of so iT-bnlaiiced. We --ke 40 <o 45 per cent, of our imports from Britain, and sell her 80 per cent, of our exports. Nevertfio'.css the proportion coiiul be much improved, and, if the Dominion will see its own interest as clearly a.s Denmark realises hers, the outcome should not be in doubt.

NEWS AND VIEWS. The Breeding Problem. There is a very big difference between in-breeding and line-breeding. It is necessary to refer to this matter as even men who are regarded a.s authorities are apt to confuse the terms, some asserting that they are much, the same thing and others explaining that line-breeding is merely a modified term for in-breeding. The latter statement is nearer the truth, but still it is a loose way of stating the position. In the absence of any acknowledged definition of either term it is safer to regard in-breeding as the mating of very elc.se relatives and line-bleeding as the mating of distantly-related animals in order to bring in again to an animal’s blood the blood of some famous ancestor. If tin's famous ancestor (a great producing animal) is only a generation or two removed then ini''educe bis or her blood where it lies been combined, even for several generations, with unrelated blood. To continually introduce strange, unrein led Ido'd to a herd is the surest means of introducing variation and disappointment, but it is decidedly dangerous tiling t<> closely in-breed unless the animals treated have great constitution, and unless one is prepared—and who is?—to drnsti":Tly cull. The safest course is to bring in a relative carrying in addition to some unrelated blood the best blood line in the pedigree of the animals being mated; and even then the new sire, for instance should have undoubted constitution. Subdivision of Farms. Probably more progress lias been made in Australia than in New Zealand in the proper grazing cont'ol <>! cr"ss. An indication of the being ma ’o in Victoria at least is the staleinent of a Victorian friend of the writer that a Melbourne surveyor is making quite a good living out of surveying schemes for farmers in connecI .'on with pasture improvement work in I hat. Stale! Lrmb Trade. It is not only in Ausl alia, that a reorganisation 'is necessary, hr private reports indicate that Stale consignments and jealousies are hampering the developments of the lamb trade

in England, says a writer in an Australian paper. New Zealand is profiting by our petty bickerings, and is quietly advertising and getting contracts and good class trade because she lias one representative who is a practical man and knows his business. AS OTHERS SEE US. WORLD STRANGLING ITSELF. A. New Zealander, now domiciled m Glasgow, has forwarded a copy of the Glasgow Sunday Post, dated 10, wherein is a full-page article headed ‘The World Strangling! Ttself!—Britain’s Chance to Use the Shears.” The article is very interesting, particularly the reference to New Zealand —so much so that we publish the following extracts: — Britain’s imports for the first three months: 1931, £200,000,000; 1932 £l93.ooo,ooo—down £16,000,000. Britain’s exports for the first three months: 1931, £103,000,000; 1932, £92000.009—down £11,000,000. Total foreign trade—imports plus exports—down £27,000,000. Britain joins the World Trade Strangulation Society. Take another example: New Zealand. Exports, 1930, £44,000,000; imports, £45,000.000. imports over exports £1,000,000. “This margin is not a safe margin for New Zealand, which has big payments to make against loan s and other services. “New Zealand gets its microscone on the export and import factor, and decides that imports for 1931 have to Ik cut.

“In 1931 imports are out to the tune of £20,000.000 actually 42 per cent.

“The idea of cutting imports is t r pot a bitrger surplus of exports over imports—to make a bigger profit on the business company called New Zealand.

“But what happens to the exports?

“Exports in 1930 were £44,000,00.) in 1931 they tumbled to £35,000,000.

“New Zealand lias achieved a favourable trade balance of £9,000,000. But at what a cost to New Zealand and the rest of the world! 1 “New Zealand has lost exports to the value of over nine millions sterling, probably meaning five millions of wages.

“The rest of the world has lose £20,000,000 of trade in goods sold to New Zealand.

“The loss to world trade both way: is £29,000.000. “New Zealand qualifies for the medal of the W.T.S.S. (World Trade Strangulation Society). “Picture this kind of thing happening all over the world. Every nation struggling to cut down its imports—and succeeding. Struggling to in-

crease its expoits, and mostly aili'g. Wherever imports are cut expoits as suredlv fail.

“So the strangulation of the world trade goes oil. So unemployment paralysis grows.

“Even tariffs have not been sufficient to lock some of tiie trade doors tight enough.” The Sunday Post goes on to re c ■ to “the instrument of torture called the Quota,” which it says means “the dead limit!” But We are more concerned with tlie foregoing references to New Zealand. and it is pleasing to find that the New Zealander answered them in tile next issue of the Sunday Post. with the following letter to till’ editor :

“Sir.—ln your issue of May I, ! observed an article on exports and imports not at all complimentary to New Zealand. “You state that in 1930-31 inc!"

ive ex'; orts we: e down by £9,000,000 and imports were cut to the tune, o! £20,000,000.

“As one who lias recently returned 'from New Zealand may I suggest that, instead of condemning, you should rather take off your bat and compliment a little colony for keen economising to pay her way? “You omitted to state that world prices bad slumped. For instance, in 1930-31 wool lia ( ] dropped from 11) (1 per lb. to 4,jd per II).; lamb and mutton by 3d per lb. ; and butter and cheese by a like amount.

“On a rough basis, these work out that, but for the slump, the value of the export would have been up to normal.

“Under the circumstances the Government wjas compelled to restrict imports and economise to the utmost to meet overseas debts. Do you not think this wise policy to be commended?

“New Zealand is the youngest and I need scarcely add. the most loyal colony we have The population is cue and a-lialf millions. In war debts she pt'.vs Great Britain annually £1,740,000 in addition to other loans, etc. “llew can such a voting colony keep (bis going if not (with the rest ol the world) by keeping down imports? “Perhaps the Ottawa Conference may help to ek'ar the ai l ' Should any untoward collapse take place, it may end in a complete break-away of all the colonies. “But. as Mr J. H Thomas lias reiterated, ‘the Ottawa Conference is going lo Ik> no damned 'ailure.’ The writer s endorsement is ‘Amen!’’’ The editor attaches the following fool note : “We gladly publish the above letter. T'.e drop in prices does account, 'or some reductions in imports and exports. Figures from the League of Nations statistical bulletin show that New Zealand’s imports in 1931 were down bv (>OO.OOO lons, and exports were down 1 1 v 103.000 tons.”