FARMING NEWS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 53, 31 January 1938, Page 5

FARMING NEWS.

RURAL raisings; Rabbits are idle. First large, ex store, are nominally quoted at 23s 6d.—London cable. A record consignment of 750 tons of New Zealand butter will bo shipped to Canada by the ' steamer Surrey, whirlr is due to leave Auckland at the end of this week. This is the second larjrc cargo which lia.s been exported recently in an effort to relieve the serious shortage in Canada and at the current London dictation it will mean a return of over £BO,OOO to the Dominion. Although it was expected by the local authorities that a further shipment of about 250 tons would bo mado to Canada later, no arrangements have yet been made by the Primary Products Marketing Department. For tho 1937-38 ''season, the major garden experiment for schools in tho 'Wellington Education Board’s district is sugar beet.' Throb pounds of seed from each of three varieties "which it was considered woidd thrive in the Wellington district wore received from the Ministry of Agriculture, London. The seed which had been harvested in the autumn in England and sent by air to New Zealand, was planted in all the school plots in August. It thus missed the winter and the result in all cases wfs 100 per cent, germination in all the school plols. At last week’s sale of sheepskins and hides at Auckland values were slightly easier than at the last sale a fortnight ago. Tanners bought freely, but owing to the weakness in overseas markets shippers were not so keen. Dry and salted skins and tallow were unchanged. Offered for, sale by auction in Napier on Saturday, tho Glongarrio property, at present in the hands of the estate of the laic Mr Donald McKinnon, failed to elicit a bid. and was passed in for private sale. For rnanv years the property was controlled by Mr Duncan Carmichael, and following Fie death it changed hands several limes before it was taken Over by Mr James McKinnon, son of the late Mr Donald McKinnon. ■ The surprise crop of the season in Canterbury is oats. The manner in which crops over a wide area of the province were brought on by the rains is astonishing. Two months ago some of the oats crops appeared as if cutting would be only a waste of time, and now many crops in widely scattered districts may yield returns approaching the best for a long time. Disease in ryegrass in Southland is not nearly so prevalent this season as in other years. This improvement hns been caused by the dry period in early December, when the ryegrass was between the flowering stage and the setting of the seed. It is at this period that disease caused by wet weather in Southland takes toll. of the yield and germination properties of the seed. It will be another three weeks or a month before freezing works in South Canterburv will be working to capacity, according to the manager of one freezing works interviewed last week. Lambs are coming in very slowly, he said, and the freezing companies operating in the area are working broken time.