DISTRICT NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9383, 1 March 1909, Page 5

DISTRICT NOTES.

From Our Travelling Correspondent. During the last three weeks the weather has been all that could be desired !for harvesting operations, and the threshing machines are hard at work all over the district. Unfavourable weather laid many heavy crops low and delayed harvesting in some districts, but will have little effect on the general grain return's. At the present moment everything points to cheap oats and chaff. The grain is turning out somewhat better than was expected and the supply appears to be greater chan the demand, consequently prices quoted by the merchants for oats and chaff are low and not altogether satisfactory to the producer. Some of the farmers talk of storing their grain until the market improves, hut the question is whether it will pay for the keeping for there is always a.certain amount of lost weight caused by shrinkage and waste, and it is doubtful if the price wil> bo very much higher later in the season than that which is offered at present. Farmers are commencing - to speak about rain and I think it wouldjjnow be welcomed by all. _ The ground is becoming dry and parched .and the grass is burning up. If the present fine weather continues much longer there will be a shortage of feed for the stock and of, water for domestic purposes. , A few farmers in the Stanway district ate turning up the stubble and sowing turnip seed. Favoured with mild autumn and warm showers occasionally they hope to have a good crop ready for the stock before the close of the winter. One farmer washes his seed in turpentine, afterwards drying in the sun as a preventive against the small fly which attacks the plant just as it shows above the ground. Another uses kerosene in the same way for the same purpose, and says that the fly has not attacked his root crop 'When he has taken this precaution. I have spoken to a number of farmers who have rape and are anxious to buy store lambs, but they inform me that it does not pay to purchase this class of stock at the present market price as there is very little margin in prices between lambs suitable for rape and fats. Those who breed stores for sales should ha well satisfied with themselves this seasons. There is a nice bit of sheep country owned by Mr U. A. Leicester, of Auckland, a few miles “from Waitnna which carries about 6000 English Leicester sheep throughout the year. Mr A. McDougall, who manages this farm, informs me that nothing hut the junglish Leicester has grazed on that land for the past seven years. He cannot speak too highly of this class and reckons that the Leicester is a poor man’s sheep. First of all it has constitution and form, it clips well, the mutton is of good quality, the ewes are excellent mothers, lambing percentage is high and they prove to be among the best lambs for fattening. The clip this year from 2000 lambs, machine shorn, averaged pounds. This year the lambing percentage was 100 while last year from four and six tooth ewes the percentage was 180. Last season Mr Dongall had 328 lambs on the rape, and from these Mr Gillett, buyer for the Meat Export Company, selected 314, remarking that they were some of the best he bad handled that year.