FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 104, 10 August 1910, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY.

A COMPARISON. | In comparing the conditions in dairying districts of the Commonwealth with those of this country on his return from Australia, Mr. D. J. Nathan, of Wellington, remarked that notwithstanding the higher price of good dairying land in this country it was decidedly cheaper, taking everything into consideration. He was offered in Australia a place of 0000 acres for £l2 an acre, which was carrying 1000 cows and 500 young stock. Mr. Aathan was told the carrying capacity could be greatly increased with irrigation. A sniiall calculation would show, however, that good Manawatu and Taranaki land at £3O to £4O an acre would be cheaper than this Australian country at £l2. In one district, where the land is irrigated, farms could be secured with difficulty at £IOO an acre, while the choicest sections realised up 1 to £1.50. How dairying could be made to pay at this price Mr. Nathan could not understand. The milk did not go into Melbourne, but was made into butter or condensed. For buttermaking lid. to liy 2 d per pound was paid for fat, and' slightly higher if the milk were taken for condensing purposes. The trouble, however, which requires to 'be taken in supplying milk to condens'ories is so great that a lot of farmers will not tackle it. The Nestle people are milking their own cows for their Queensland condensed milk factory in order to make sure of a clean supply. The Australian farmer, it seemed to Mr. Nathan, does not work so hard as the New Zealander. He gets his living very easily. The land 'will grow sorgum, maize, .clover, rye, prairie grass and cocksfoot, and these can all be grown with little effort. The Victorian Government has a lot of irrigated land, but the farmer won't go on it, for, although the returns are declared to be enormou's, it means hard work. The Government, in consequence, has appoint:' ! a commission to go abroad in order to bring out settlers to take up these irrigated farms. From the above it will be seen that while dairying is showing a healthy expansion in Australia the returns which are possible in this country should convince the New Zealand milk producer that he is in a stronger position than the Australian dairy farmer.—Wellington Times.

Says the Lryttelton Tirrnv: —The oat harvest of Southland for this year, judging from the amount of grain' carried to date over the railways, shows a shortage of more than 200,000 sacks from last year's harvest. The number of sacks carried up till last Saturday was (>34,671, as against 842,195 sacks curried during the same period last year. Quite a little boom in dairying is taking place in the Nelson district. At a sale a dairy stock at Richmond the other day heifers were eagerly snapped up, anything showing Jersey blood being purchased at good price up to £lO. A Whangarei man has started out in a new line, namely, the growing of mushrooms in vineries, which at this season of the year are not otherwise revenue producing. He is easily able to dispose of all the mushrooms he can grow. The practice of tying narrow strips of some red material around a horse's neck as a means of scaring away the hot fly is largely pursued in Australia. It is claimed that the flv, which generally strikes up between the horse's front legs and settles on the chest, will not do so while the l'el band is there. A piece of red ribbon was used effectively last summer in Southland by several horse-owners.