Notes and Gleanings.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 317, 17 November 1888, Page 6

Notes and Gleanings.

Taxing Stallions. — A writer in the Obago Witness says that a 1 tax on Btallions has been strongly advocated by members of oadiny agricultural societiosin New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland, on the .common ground fchat woody and frequently unsound sires inflict serious injuries in the colonies. The services of horses of the class may be had at merely nominal rates, < and intelligent) breeders arc deterred from investing the necessary money in valuable siies. Conaequeiitiy there lias not .been any material or t general improvement in the average stamp ot horses of late years, while-deterioration is plainly evident in a-cousidemblo proportion ot tho young stock in the co ony'., TJio fflcf , lor Jacbit is, is solely attributable to exteusix o use ot inferior sires bocau«e of the cheapness of their f-ervicos. These false ideas of economy obtain widely in circles' where the real interests of breeders should be 1 better understood. As for example, last pqason a wealthy business man! and a .breeder of iioixefa on a small scale, ottered <6be pwrier of a- -prize thoroughbred sire 15s 'j^K, 1 the service -6t the animal. Ot courso ,the oiler was refused, but it was? well uodcrstood.,tl'.ak.ihe sorvicos ot othor horses in th« dibtiicb could be had at the rate, although tr'cir owners ostensibly changed a hii^Jici J'co. Tho imposition ot a stallion tax .would- not only weed out worthless animals, but it would also protect owners • who' have bad the pluck to retain (valuable sires throughout dopiessed times ; and iurtbor, it would directly encourage- tho in- 1 Iroduction of -fresh blood now iheio i& ;i prospect of - higher .prices 'and n bettor demand for superior 1 horses of , various typo-. < t >

"The Cwhjdm Lifting. —s-Al'-jhough the effect may nob be very generally apparent, there can be no doubb (?ays the' Wellington Post) that the i-ecenb rise in- the price of all our staple products has greatly benefited' this colony.* Bepiession &till confcimics, bat ib is not &o deep, and there is 'a "much 'more hopeful feeling growing, up. The advance in wool and in the price of frozen meat has been moot welcome to the sheepfarmcrs, and will relieve them Jb6 a consider-* able extent ot burdens which' -. were • bocoming almost too heavy to'bcar. The prospects ot the agriculturists h ye also been" vastly imr>iovecl by the rise in the value of grain, and by the expansion of dairying,;bo which we alluded more particularly yester-, day. Altogether the pastoral-'and agricultural outlook is iar brighter than ib'has been for some time past ; and it prices of produce are maintained^ or a further advance takes place in values, as is" nob improbable, confidence will speedily be restored,' and fresh enterprise eucouraged. There are al&o, we think, hopeful signs apparent of a 'revival in -mining matt'er.V-in an increased gold production, "and a 'development of, new mineral resource. This colony, too, is likely, ere long, to attract an overflow of English 'oapital which lias, recently been pouring s>o freely into Melbourne, to the great advantage of that city Taken 'altogether thevte is good, reason to believe that the lowest point ot depression has not' only been reached but passed "by this colony.

Reduction of American Wheat-Grow ing Area>. — The entire wheat area of the United Stated for the past season was very nearly 36,30Q,000 acres. Last year it was 37,641,783 aci'es, and as long ago as 1880 it •was 37,986,677 acres. It appears that the ground losfc.'to wheat cultivation in 'the United States is more than made' good 'by an increase in the acreage under oats. The June report of the statistician of the United States Department of Agriculture tells us that the steady enlargement in the area devoted to oats, which has been one of the noticeable features of American agriculture since 1870, has^'bden continued. The'increase in tRe breadth of the crop of 1888, over the crop' of 1887, amounts to '5 per cent.,- or nearly one and a quarter million of acres*, and brings the total area up to more than 27,000,000 acre*. -In ex'e'nt of cultivation oats is oj ceede'd only by two arable 1 crop=», maize and wheat, and since 1884 it" | has been rapidly encroaching ripon wheat, i the area increasing during that time 5,800,000 acres while the breadth of the more prominent cereal has fallen off 3,200,000 acres. This season, asiast, the inciease has been largely at the expense of wheat, it having been sown on very considdrable areas where the original grain was frozen and winter -.killed. '*

I Points i.v Cavalry Horses.— The rules < of the Stilish fioverumenb for guidance in purchasing cavalry horse? bring; oub a number of points of great value to fanners. Reject a horse whose foreleg's jire nob sbiaight. They will not stand wear.; Stand , bfhiurl the. horse as he walks 'away irom you ; and you will be able to notice these defects, if they exisb. ■ Reject a horse which is light below the knee, e^oecially it im mediately below thu knee. ,Tho conformation is essentially weak. Or ahorse with long, or bhortjor upright pasterns. Long pasterns arc subject to sprain -s. Short or upright posterns mdlio a, horse unpleasant to tide, and, on account'of extra concussions, nre apt to cause os&ific deposits. Or a horse with toes turned in or out. The twisA genei'ally occurs at the fetlock. ,Toes turned oub are more objeebionablo than toes turned in.' When toes turn pub the fetlocks are generally, turned an ; otid the animals .so formed are Very apt to cut or'b'rush. Botli, however, are weak" io'inations. Reject , a horse whose hind legs are too t'av, behind. pi'ojjelling poSvfefWvill ■be 'wanting ; aiid disease as a i-esulfc may be expected in' iho hocks.' And a horse which goes eibher very wide or very close behind. And one wiblji very hbraicht or very K bent. ( h'o6ks. The former jcause undue concussion. ' The latter arc apt to give way. Reject a horse which isf' "&plib up'- ' bhab 'is, shows much dayJight bo'tweeri its fchighb, Pr.6peUing power comes from > bfeh'ind, "and' ni'usb be (le/icicnb • in hdises' without du6' mrtseular 1 development between the thighs Reject a horse with flat' or over-large ieet ? or' with very small feet. Medium sixes' are the best. Also a horse with one foot smaller than another. ' ' j '