SOUTHLAND NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 4030, 9 June 1931, Page 22

SOUTHLAND NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) THE STOCK MARKETS. Transactions in stock at present are almost entirely confined to fat sheep and cattle, and these only from hand to mouth. The Lorncville sale on the 2nd inst. was •very poorly attended by buyers and sellers, many of the regular habitues being in Dunedin attending the Winter Show and other attractions. Fat cattle and sheep both held their values, the latter market being helped by the presence of a northern buyer, and it is surprising the quantity of fat stock that has gone north in small lots this year. As far as country store sales are concerned they are a pure waste of time just now, and most, I if not all of them, should be abandoned for the next three months. Good Romney ewe lambs are being sold privately in little mobs, as are well conditioned wethers, but any quotations as to values are purely nominal. At this time of year there is always talk of a shortage of turnips in Southland, and no doubt a great deal depends on the weather during the next two months, but as a matter of fact the average Southland farmer does not know what a shortage of feed, either winter or summer, means. Growers who shipped their fat lambs Home on their own account are shaking hands with themselves, and one grower who has adopted this method for some years remarked that he believed that he would get back this season what he had lost previously through not selling locally. A COLD SNAP. The month of mid-winter announced itself with a good, old-fashioned southerly buster and a decided fall in the temperature. snow falling in several places on Thursday. The ground, however, is fairly dry in most parts, and work will only be hung up until the weather moderates. The change to winter will cause turnip feeding of ewes to start generally, and it will practically put a stop to lamb fattening to any extent. Apart from ploughing, this is the season for odd jobs and tidying up. Were there any cash available a large amount of fencing would be undertaken, as many farmers had just awakened to the fact that nothing helped their carrying capacity more than small paddocks, when they found that they had no money to buy the materials. A certain amount of drain ploughing is going on, and in this connection it is interesting to note that a big contract was let for drain ploughing in the Western District lately at 10s per mile, while another contract was let for swamp ploughing at 12s 6d per acre. Both these figures are little more than half what used to be paid for the

Work, and even with the low price of horse feed, the successful tenderers will have to keep moving to make any money out of the jobs. THE DAIRY CONFERENCE. The Southland members present at the annual meeting of the South Island Dairy Association are certainly calling a spade a spade, and if all delegates who attend conferences would do the same there would not be the criticism there is regarding wasted time. Mr H. J. Middleton, in his presidential address, said that the time for platitudes was past, and he practised what he preached in his usual able manner. Mr T. R. Eades (Edendale), when moving big remit expressing a lack of confidence in the Dairy Division, probably did not expect to see it carried, and although it was defeated by a large majority, it opened the way for some plain speaking. The Southland member of the Dairy Control Board (Dlr John Dunlop) spoke in defence of the division, but did not break any fresh ground, and the impression to be gained by the whole discussion was that the division has a case to answer, although it would be Unjust to put the whole of the blame for the state of things existing in the industry to-day on their shoulders. It looks as if the dairy business generally is a splendid example of the truth of the old proverb: When poverty comes in at the door love flies out at the window,” with the addition that there is very little true love even before the unwelcome visitor arrived. REGISTRATION OF CARS. On Saturday, May 30, it was hardly possible to get inside a post office in Southland, about 98 per cent, of car owners having evidently put off registering their car until the last day. In spite of the times most people seemed to be able to rake up the £3 10s necessary to register, although, no doubt, a few cars are being left in the garages in the meantime. In a time when every bob counts it seems a •wicked waste to throw away number plates as good as new and buy fresh ones to take their place, and while every one admits that car owners are entitled to pay for the privilege of owning or owing for one, some scheme could surely be evolved making the number plates last at least two seasons. One car owner while •waiting his turn at a country town post office made the suggestion that the railway officials should handle this business instead of the post office staff, and certainly the former have a good deal more spare time on their hands than the latter, while the revenue or commission would help the railway finances at least a little where it is badly needed.

FARMERS AND THE UNEMPLOYED. It has been suggested that Southland farmers are not giving the Unemployment Board the assistance they might und<-" the 4A scheme, especially as regards single men. It is understood that the Southland County Council are not now employing any single men under the No. 5 scheme, as so many married men are offering, and no one can object to their decision. Of course there are a proportion of unem ployed who would not be worth their keep on a farm, but there are plenty of decent young chaps who would rather be getting 10s a week and a comfortable home than 18s a week in town and have to find themselves. Somewhere about 270 men have been placed under the 4A scheme, and although farmers are certainlly not flush of ready money there must be many places that could find a job for a man, and his keep would not cost the farmer a great deal these days. Cases have been reported where farmers, instead of trying to help the problem, have sacked their permanent men, sometimes after years of service, and then made application to the committee for help under the 4A 'scheme. When the circumstances are known they, of course, do not get a man, so the result is one more on the unemployed, but it all goes to show that no matter how many boards or conferences are set up, the only solution of this problem (and many others) must come from individual agreement between man and man.