FARM NOTES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 405, 18 October 1911, Page 3

FARM NOTES.

The Roraney breed of shep-p are making good headway in New Zealand, especially in the North Island, In 1905 there were seventy-eight flocks entered in the Flock Book, and last year the number had increased to 200. The sheep returns for the Dominion show that there are 70(5,743 stud sheep and flock rams in the country, and of these 237,210 are Romneys. "It.all depend on sixpence,"said a large shareholder of the Wanganui Freezing Company when referring to the success or otherwise of the company's operation. "If the price received for our sheep goes up sixpence per head at Home, we can present a big credit balance; if the price drops sixpence per head we make a loss. This can be understood when the large number of sheep put through is taken into account.

A Taranaki gentleman, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, state that one of the things that impressed themselves most on his mind was the practice of farmers of planting and leaving trees in nearly every paddock. It is found that the trees assist rainfa 1, keep the ground in the vicinity nourished, and provide shelter for stock.

There are still large quantities of old potatoes in Auckland, and they ar« somewhat of a drug on the market. New potatoes are coming in freely, and the quality is said to be excellent. So far no blight has been reported in the crops in and around Auckland." Last year some experiments were, carried out at the Konini butter factory by Mr Pedersen, of the dairying division, with the object of testing the keeping qualities of butter. As a result it was proved that too much "starter" or acidity v/as being employed.—Wairarapa Age.