AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

' At a meeting of the General Committee of the Canterbury A. and P. Association on Wednesday letters from the Alexandra Borough Council, the Otago Acclimatisation Society, and a private individual were read. The letters spoke of the 6ueoe«s that had attended the liberation of the little owls, and said they had had a marked effect on the small birds pest. Sir G. Clifford said it seemed to him that the introduction of the owls meant the extermination of the small birds. Before the sparrow was introduced the farmers had considerable difficulty with the caterpillar. The secretary, in reply to Mr J. D. Hall, said he had ordered 50 owls for members, and they were now on their way to the Dominion. Sir G. Clifford said that the farmers should go in for a general system of poisoning. It was quite certain that the men who sold birds' heads to the local authorities would see that there was a good supply for the following season. It was decided to collect information upon the subject, and to ask the Acclimatisation Society to assist, - ". A record for quick selling Vas established by Mr O. H. Porritt at hia sale of cows (says the Manawatu Standard). This auctiqnesr sold 40 ep-.vs in the first .60 minutes and 209 heads in four hours and a-half. The cows were all sold singly, and the prices obtained were also in the nature of a record. Of course, the arrangements were favourable, and they made quick selling possible, but all the same the record 1 would be hard to beat Tfoa. West Herts Agricultural Society is founding a sparrow extermination ftindj 4d per 100 will be paid fox the birds,, and 3-1 a score for their eggs. Addressing the- Mangatoki Farmers' Union l«st week Captain Young eaid ho thought farmers would come *o dairying all the year round in New Zealand, and especially in Taranaki His opinion was that ife would pay <the farmers to give it a trial an<f put 20 or 30 cows in the byre all tho winter. Ho explained -how a cow, in tramping about the paddock looking for grass tj the winter, trampled down four blades for every one she ate, and expended energy which ,ii «be were comfortablyhoused would be devoted to milk-productloa and she would need less feed. Besides, tfiey could be better looked after. He added that he was quite convinced that the time was not far distant when tne factories would be fcspt going all the year round, and the milking machines would be of assistance in the matter of labour. That losses were sustained by operator* in colonial butter last season is a fact that has been well understood, and it is, therefore, not surprising to find Messrs Lovell and Christinas, in their annual report, confirming this impression. The report, for the rear ended June 30 last, states that -after prodding for all contingencies there remains, including £23,4-77 brought forward^ £90,367 available for distribution: It is proposed to pay & "final dividend at the- rate of 3 per cent, for tße year, carrying forward 1 £28,667. Throughout the past year trading* at a profit has been extremely difficult. Importers of colonial butter and cheese have suffered severely, in many instances these goods being sold here at less than the original cost in 'tihe colonies. In the opinion of the directors; the most satisfactory feature in the business is that the sales have been Larger than in any previous year, showing that thjp company holds the full confidence cf its numerous customers. During the past year serious loss has been madeby the failure of three companies with, whom a lar<ge business has been done for many years. This loss has- been met by the reserve fund established to cover such a contingency. The net profit for *he year amounts to £66,890. The sixth volume of the Ayrshire Herd: Book of Australasia has just been published. To date 649 bulls have been registered, of which 119 wt're entered in the last volume. The number of cows registered is 2053, of which 372 were registered in volume "VT. The secretary notifies tha^-a large number of entries s.re still on hand. They could not be included, owing to lack of information. It is suggested that the AyrshireHerd Book Society might follow the example of tho United States and Canada, where there is respectively an Ayrshire* Milk Record Committee and a Canadian record of performances for Ayrshires. Farmers in the North Island do not tak» much interest in the Government experimental farms, and organised visits are few and far between; In the Home Country, where the Government has no experimental farms, the want is supplied by the manner •in which some enterprising farmer" or landowner farms hjs property, thus providingan object-lesson, -which neighbours areabrays anxious to inspect. This is instanced by a page report in the- Staffordshire Sentinel of June 19 of the visit of th© Nantwioh Farmers' Club to Spenstone Court, of 2000 acres, which is farmed under the direction of Sir R. P. Cooper's land" agent, Mr Webb. Some -200 farmers must have taken advantage of the opportunity. The estaiie was '>n beautiful order, and on. inspection of the cattle and sheep gave the visitors an idea of what it is possible for sciewtdfi-o cultivation and breeding to achieve, and would probably inspire them wi*h an ambition to improve their own methods and stock. Sir R. P. Cooper is well known as a breeder of shorthorn cattle and Shropshiresheep, and the stock wero inspected with interest by the visitors Sir Richard does not farm his land with the primary abject of profit. His first purpose is to achieve perfection, or something as near to perfection as it is possible to realise. Nevertheless, as a keen man of business he does not carry on operations at anything like a loss. After the property had been inspected thevisitors eat down to tea in the large ballroom, when some speechmakine followed, and Sir R. Cooper and Mr Webb (hi* agent) were iheartily thanked by the visitors. Regarding the approaching -wppl season, there is every reason to believe (says «ie Sydney Mail) that a strong demand is abpuW to be experienced on American account, which should lead to extreme prices for all the be3t wools- The vi«ionß which . were opened up some time Ago, when it was. thought possible that the duty on Australian wools would be removed, are not to bo realised, and our wools have still to faoo an import duty of s£d per Ib. SMS* America's prp-i'^'on is ir;Tea';?ng, and her flocks cann.,l t 7'ir.-»7 'ir.-» t+i^ wool required. The U.S.A. < J .i i "t. London- sales naa been a mark' d i>j .: <.' of late, and ther«

is every reason to belieVe that large orders •will be placed in the Sydney market. Last year U.S.A. usens g6t in early, «ad secured ' the piok of our clip, and there is every probability -tihat history will repeat itself in the coming season. She excuse given by the London Wool Importers' Committee for refusing to re^ commend the abolition of the draft allowance was -that they leered it would lead to friction and increased for short -weight. That there -wiH be a certain amount of friction is only natural, because wool users will not give up 6uch a good thing without some protest ; but there is no reason why an obsolete custom should be continued. As to the matter of claim for short weight, the inventors of this excuse must have been hard put to find & reason to bring forward. As wool is sold in London on out-weigiite, and as tbe draft is only, after all, between 31b and *lb per Dale, it is hard to see now it'affeote tbe matter. The attitude of tbe London authorities only shows thaJt they study buyers before owners, and this is only natural, as buyers are in close contaot with them, while owners are thousands of miles away.