WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 29 January 1908, Page 20

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

It all 'depends on the point of view the individual takes with reTlie gard to the abnormal hot Weather. spell we are now having. The pessimist -who never looks for any benefits that may accrue tells us the country is being ruined, never considering the myriads ot microbes" that are now being destroyed, and given that the drought does not last too long stock of all descriptions will be greatly benefited by what some would have us believe was a time of great stress. Compared with the weather conditions prevailing in Australia, wjg in Kew. Zealand have little io

a complain, about with regard to climate, a Of course we all sympathise with those in the bush districts who are having their q holdings devastated by fires, but the telei. graph man is of the same make as the s cable man, and makes things as a rule t look a great deal Hacker than they really c are. Looking at the fires from a national i. point of view it is questionable whether r they are not doing more good than harm. c Some 10 or 12 years ago a severe fire n passed over a large portion of the Man- \ Chester block, and destroyed a consider- ,. able quantity of fencing and also grass, c and at the time there was a good deal of j hardship experienced by the settlers. But y the good done by clearing off the immense quantity of dead timber and rubbish was ,' incalculable, and sheep have been healthier ,f ever" since, the pastures being ever so c much better now that the land is cleared I of rotting timber. Therefore even fires q have their compensations. So far there y has b&er no grass fires in *Ahis district, s but in case we are in for a~ protracted y drought it were well that every farmer should adopt precautions.. '" There is some r talk of forming* fire brigades to fight the [^ fires should they ' occur, but a shilling's t worth of prevention is worth a pound's q worth of cure. l " Harvesting is still at a standstill, waiting . for the late crop to ripen. °f Gr«ps. Those thatjiad early crops have already ploughed a ' good breadth of stubble and have sown turnips. Should we get a good fall of f ram before the end of the month such ' ' catch crops . may turn out all right, and g even if no turnips grow the laud will be | all the better from being turned over. ]: The manure sown with the turnips will also not be altogether wasted, as it will I benefit whatever crop is afterwards put ™ in. So far the general turnir> crop is doing very well, but <an inch of rain would do them a power of good. T The entries have come in very well, but k the list is not yet absolutely Feilding classed, as entries are taken Show. up till the 24th on paying n double fees. The fat lamb class has upset the calculations of those \ ' who predicted a falling off, there being '" 78 pens entered— four more- than last year. % Fat sheep have filled up well, there being s 68 pens, so that the sheep and lambs \ alone will make a good show. All the ' other classes are also welL to the fore, ! " notably the jumping competitions. y This aseocation ' held! its usual monthly ! ' meeting on Tuesday.' The- • M»n»Tratn only business of more than l " A. and P. local interest was the reAssociation. ceipt of two letters from v- the president aid secretary ■* of the North Island Poultry Association, s which finally settles a Long-standing subject >' of dispute, v The secretary of the Poultry '■' Association concluded ' his letter with, "I 6 am sure we all desire to start with a a clean sheet, and I think in years to come c the settlement of the difficulty will be c seen to be- the best for' all concerned." *; Mr M. Cohen moved that the lelters be d' received, and that they recommend the is Winter Show Committee to secure a license y from the Poultry Association. This mo- © tion, was carried unanimously. — At a recent ft meeting of the committee it was decided il that all the prize money won by Mr 0 , E. White in the pig classes should be » I forfeited, on the ground that several of ■ s I the exhibits were- a few weeks over age. 5- The amount forfeited amounted to £25. •- At Tuesday's meeting the subject was c again brought up, Mr Cohen moving that c the forfeiture be rescinded, with a view 'of r forfeiting the prize money- in the classes r » in which the over-age pigs had won, and y also imposing a fine of £5 on Mr White. A This motion being carried it was then den cided to forfeit £7 10s prize money and i- inflict a fine of £5. The question of alloting the prize money forfeited was left sto the Pig Committee.— The Otago A. and ) P. Association" wrote asking if in the- > : case of an exhibitor being disqualified for 1 | insulting a judge the Manawatu Association i would, endorse the disqualification. It was b decided to reply in the" affirmative. 7 I - •"— ~ ~- — I It '& to be hoped 'that the present urgent f need with many for water Wat*r-tro«glis troughs will have passed nad How over for another term bei to M»ke Them, fore this appears. Hows ever, a few hints as to how " to go about making troughs may be of ' \ value to some who 1 may take to heart the '- lesson given by the dry spell we are having. > i Personally, I have made and had made 1 troughs -of flagstones, concrete, iron, and • timber Flags are out of "the question, or '' any kind of stone in'the North Island, bus • I understand there are places in the South 1 Island where they are at hand. If so, a 1 very cheap -and durable trough can be con- ; structeil, using stone that will split into ' slates 3in or 4in thick, with a width of ! 16in— the longer they are the fewer joints. . ' When I made them 'in Australia it was for '■ large mobs of sheep, therefore the troughs 1 were on a large scale, sometimes four or ' five chains long and 3ft wide, with a fence 1 down the centre so that the sheep could " not get into them with their feet — only iust room enough to get their heads in. The flags or slates should be dressed on one 1 edge lengthways, and the two ends also; level the. Bite with a slight fall toward* 1 the end farthest away from the well or supply pipe, removing all the loose soil so as to secure a solid foundation to carry ' the concrete; set the slates in the ground level along th& top edge, and 1 set thenr together aa closely as posible, making the join with good strong cement. Of course the two rows can be put as wide apart a 9 what is the desired width of trough. After 1 the two lines of slates are set up fill up inside with concrete until the desired depth of trough is reached, and also outside for a couplo of feet, or as far as the sement will go. This is cheaper in the end than having to be always carting metal, as the sheep's feet soon erode holes in the bestmetalled roads. Concrete also does very well for cattle or horse troughs, but for sheep it is hardly possible to make the sides thin or narrow and strong enough. Four inches of concrete will not stand much knocking about, and even that is too much for a lamb to reach over and drink unless tha ' trough can be kept full -to the top. By -> .the way, the sides of the trough should never be higher than lOin on the outside : to allow small sheep to drink comfortably. Those in the bush that can find a good solid i log need not want a short length of trough, : all that is required being a bit of elbow- < grease to chip or hollow it out. In bygone : years, ii the Manawatu, when a trough ! 1 was wanted it was an easy matter to send , 1

to the sawmill, of which there was ona situated every few miles. Now there Jfl( not one, except a small one here and there, working up small, inferior wood' that was considered valueless. "Pis said, but true, that in this district timber is nearly a» hard to get as gold, whereas less than 20 years ago everyone was trying how cheapest; to get rid of it. A local farmer who hacl gone to a heavy outlay in providing a water supply by means of .pipes connected with a reservoir on top of a hill, having the pipes laid, wanted some half dozen troughs, and, thi= dry weather coming on, wanted* them in a hurry. Carpenters, like everjr other description o£ labour, being scar'cej it looked as if the summer would be over before they could be made. -However, an old bushman said if the farmer could get """he timber they would be there in z week. Naturally one would think-the-ques-tion wa=i solved ; but not so — nothing; • but heart of totara is worth the trouble -ot manufacturing troughs. So the ordar waa sent to one of the largest timber yards en the coast for about 150 ft of 14in x 2in totara. There was plenty in the yard, but ae'er -a stick would, they sell, the .excuse being that that particular size was all wanted for the sash and door factory carried on in coniunction with the mills and^ yard. None of the other yards "had any" totara in stock. I may say the question of price' was never mentioned, but totara" '3 now 24? per 100 superl' feet. However,after some bother, enough timber was got for one 6ft ti-ough and a wee bit over, and. v the bushman went to work and made oner all of timber, three planks Bft long, 14-in it 2in, making a trough 6ft long;, 14in wide at bottom. 18in at top, and Ilia deep. BucKe trouarh as the above will las£ a. lifetime," especially if well painted and kept regularly painted periodically. However, the-" bushman not being: able to get mbret timber, gob a 6ft x 36in 2A gauge* sheet of: plain galvanised iron, and makinir the ends out of 12in x 2in totara plank, has,goi «' real good serviceable trough, at a minimum cost. The idea is somewhat on 'tKff principle of the wash-tube *>w in use in. most houses, where they are set_ in, only there ia no solder required. The ends of wood being sawn into a # half circle, the iron, is bent round them, giving a trough 18in wide and about 12in deep, a pieote of cloth snread over with lead beincf placed between, the iron and the timber, forming a perfect' ioint, and then a frame is made into whwn ifc is set. In the back country of Australia personally I have made many chains tn. length of trouehmg out of ordinary corrugated iron. Making, the joints by riveting a piec^ of cloth well smeared with lead between each two sheets of iron, a piece of timber being nailed along each edee, .' with a. cross-tie every sft or 6ft, thereby keeping the whole in shape. , „ Three years -ago.- when the- Feilding show waa first mooted^ it was-. 1. and P. pointed out that it would Societies. take a certain support away* from Palm«rston..The argument used was that • Feilding- would- jmlj be subsidiary, and really be a benefit to Palmerston, actmg as a. feeder- for the metropolitan. The pessimist has proved right fo- once, though there is little dpubfc, that Feildiripr is gaimnjr' in " favour, pernapß'slowly, but surely. But there ie room and tospare for both societies if - farmers and others will only awake to their reaponsi-. bil :x ies. Both societies- have special advantagee and otherwise, Palmerston Being' the recognised*- capital of the West Coast, and the iunction of , the railways. But it is handicapped by "having had to incur. heaw liabilities for grounds and buildinjr. Feilding, on the other hand, is the centre" of the stock trade, and has no liability of. any kind, and has always been abie^ to p*y its wa* with a btt in hand l ever since the" first show five ypars ago, which was purely an industrial- exhibition. • ANTIQTJA OVIS.