LOCAL A. AND P. NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 20

LOCAL A. AND P. NEWS

Tho prospect? for winter feed in t!ie Korth Otago district are now as bad as they were at the same period last year (says Saturday's Oamaru Mail). The shower this morning may have freshened the grass up a little, but the heavy •wind which accompanied tbe rain dried up the moisture too quickly to allow much to pentrate the soil. In the Otepopo district, where the ground was colder, the country remained green up till last week, and there was a good length of feed, bnt even this is now failing as a result of the persistent drought and the warm winds. .Turnips Tcept up " well all over the district, but the lack ot rain is at last making itself felt, and the blight is beginning its operations on them. The stock, partieulaily in the country this side of the Waitaki, are suffering perhaps more from thirst tlian a want of feed. The cieeks are being dried up fa=;t. and the viool is beginning to dinplay that frow'iB.ess attendant on a. 'leartJb /-£ water.. The

benefit of the water-race on Steward Settlement was amply pioved thi« season, the result being that the stock are "in clover"' there as compared with the conditions in many other paits o£ the -district. Fortunately the farmers are not so hea-v ily stocked as they ware la-t c rason, and there will bo plenty o£ straw, which will at least keep sheep alne, although at the best poor nourishment.

The Southland Times of Friday last reports that the recent rams ha\e matle a wonderful difference already in Hie appearance of the country. Pasture still looks clrv and parched, but lias impro\ed considerably in these respects, and the turnip and rape crops now look very much healthier and better than before. Harvesting work is general all over Southland. The oat crop i-s going to turn out a remarkably Rood one, spit© of the drought. There aie some poor crops, of course, but there are also some very fine fields that should thresh out well. The same is not to be noticed as one goes north. Even between here and Diinedin there is a very marked diminution noticeable in the number of stocks in the fields of corn that have been reaped. A very little longer of this ideal harvest weather and the new crop w ill be in stack and in safety.

A local stock agent who returned from a ■\ i=it to Greenfield settlement on Thursday last tajs Ua jicvAt >a.w bctvac <->.9j* ql oa ts.

and wheat in his life. Cutting is practically finished, and there is a threshing mill in the district ready to commence, but the work of threshing is likely to be delavcd for the want of null hands. 6ix of whom are urgently required. The mill managed to overtake the grass-seed crop by one settler helping the other in the threshing, but this cannot be done with the cereals except at great ineor^ snience. — Clutha Free Press.

Signs are not wanting (says the Western Star) to show that there is likely to be a fall in land ralu-e3 Recently considerable sums have been mads 'by speculators in turning over properties, but the highwa.tor mark would appear to ha,ve been reached. Several farms that were submitted privately and by auction failed to iind purchase-re, the figure asked being considered too high.

The following defendants were charged with infringing the provisions of the Rabbit Nuisance Act before Mr Kenrick, S.M., at the sitting of the Magistrate's Court, Balclutha. on Wednesday last : —Peter Smith was charged, on the information of Inspector Gilmour, with failing to destroy rabbits on his property at Stoney Creek. Mr Grigor for defendant, who pleaded guilty. Inspector Gilmour said defendant was unable through illness to attend to the work, which had consequently been neglected. A little work had been done to copo with the pest, but in a very perfunctory manner. — His Worship : How much land has he?— About 300 or 400 acre'. — His Worship • The fine is governed by the area. It is> very necessary the rabbits should be kept down, hut if you don't pies* for a heavy penalty I shall not inflict one this time. Fined 20s and 9s costs. Henry Holgate, Barnego, similarly charged, pleaded guilty, but said he lvsd been doing a lu tie poisoning, which the harvest had interfered with. — Mr Stewart, for the department, said Mr Holgale had been very neglectful, and the neighbours had complained that they had suffered 10«.*.— His Worship said it would not be necessary to call evidence. becau=e deferdant had pleaded guilty, hut in the ca>e ot a second I offence ho intended to make the fines much hcuv ler. Fined 20s and 11s cost*. Wm. Guc^t vva=< similarly charged in yest>eet of hw propei ty nr Ta'Houka. and pleaded not guilry.— Ml" St?wart, for the department, said he was instructed that the rabbits on the farm were picttv Ind. Mr Guest wa= a merchant in B.'k'r. tha. and had not gi\en the laLblts the aH?unon they 6hotild ha k e x reei lvcl, and the i.c ghbours had complained. — Thos. Gilmour. rabbit inspector, ga\e evu'encc that defendant had received the requisite statutory notices to destroy labbus. Witnc:-". at "the request of the agent, inspected the pla.ee on February 3. Found the rabbits very bad. and no sign of anything having been done to destroy them. The* farm was one of about 330 acic*. — The Magistrate «aul it was a ca°e foi a fine, but not a big on?. Fined 20= and 7s co-K On the> following day (Thur-*lay). at the Kaitangata Court, bofoic Mr Kenrick. W. Mar* In 'l was charged with failing to destroy rabbi rs on his farm. — ■ Agi nt Munro and Inspector Gilmour gave evidence that the land was badly infested with rabbit*. — Defendant .said in November and December he killed by trapping 1500 labbits. The boy hp had engage.! killed on an average 4-0 a day for six weeks. It wa* impo-sible to eradicate them on account of the sandhills, and they camp from the neighbouring land of Summcrlull. He trapped all the farm. Did not trap any in January o. February. Never laid poison la=<t year or thb year.— Fined £3 and 7s costs, and warned that if brought before the court .again a much heavier fine would be imposed.

The crops on Moeraki Station, aggregating nearly 900 acres, are now in stook (write* the Hampden correspondent of the ralmerston Times). A paddock of 30 acres of oats wai completely destroyed by caterpillars. After devouring every green blade on the ground the insect travelled up the stalks and nipped off the heads of coin. The crop being heavy, a good deal of it was down, and this suffered most. Th<* wheat crop 3 wore also attacked, but did not sujlsj, 1© the £* n I c ez-kejitv _ Xhej£ aero

numbers of starling? about, but they apf eared to be unable to cope with the pc^t. 'he übiquitous sparrow waa content with the grain-. The following district notes appear in last Saturday's Southland Times: — Waikawa : Mild, gentle rains hare been falling off and on during the Jast three days— just the thing that has been wanting 1 , though sufficient has not fallen yet. Crops and pastures have been drinking it up joyfully, and now wear a, more luxurious freshness. It li&a been the making- of some of the late crops of turnips, which have hadl a sad time of at. The fly has been very severe on tho turnip this year, causingmany bla.nk.3. Harvest is now commencing, and tho crops are mostly stocking up well ■« here grown after turnips, but those on lea. ground have euffered so much through tho dry weather that in many cases they can only be described as poor. Fat and forward lambs have been leaving tho distiiot almost daily of late, and there are now vei'y few lota to be picked up. Tho pi ices have ranged from 12s 6d to 14s, the general figure being L3s for lines with 10 per cent, thrown out. The flax industry J3 almost at a< standstill just now, Messrs Petrie Bros, boing the only one operating. — Fortrose : Welcome rain has fallen, which w ill make glad the hearts of many farmers, especially those who have late-sown, turnips. The early-sown turnips are looking firstrate, and will provide, much winter feed s but late crops ha.\c not been moving much. The present rain will give them a good move along, as they only wanted moisture. The harvest is pretty general. Somo far-mei-s have their crops cut and partly in stack ; others are cutting, while in a few coj=es tbe crops are as green as gras*} yet. The yield will, I think, be about the average of other years. There is a paddock in Otara which is an object lesson on the benefit of manuring grain crops. Mr Jennings, tho owner, treated a part of the paddock with a diessing of artificial manure, and tho part >=o treated came on fully a fortnight earlier, and will thresh a good many more bushels to the acre than the portion not manured. The benefits of limung were shown to the writer and a friend by Mr T. H. Middleton. .On his Uplands farm a few years a°o he was liming a paddock. Part of the paddock was missed, and to-day the dividing line between the limed portion and the unlimed is as plain— as the saying is — as the nose on your face. The difference in the pasturage can bei <a,t once detected by the veriest tyi'o in agricultural matters. Farmers are beginning to Tealise in a more general way these* advantages, and each year sec^ an additional few farms being treated with lime. Farmers close to tho railway have all the "pull" in this case.