FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 215, 19 February 1915, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

XlttVS AND NOTES it i.j reported that Mr. i\ "i-r.>„. . intfW '« sit 0 nt Weraiva \ rv v purchased br tire (.'ovenmieni rW c.'os,settlement purport's, 'flse, prico i;" v <'ii , stilted to bo £43 per a on. 1 . v.'hat is termed a "record sale" for the Wauato nt Ohanpo on Wednesday, tt-In-u the l.oan awl' .UwaiitiU ' Company held their annua] sheen fair Over 12.0C0 breeding ev.vs, wether,, and' iambs were yarded, and every !i„e was' sold at prices. "The abundance of f,.<-d i„ tliis dis- j trict,' says the Kketahnna. Kxnress "lias turned the eves of the Wairarapa farmers in this direction—numerous enquirky are reported. It is to be hoped tmit the effect will not he absent landlordism. There is a grave danger that large landowners in the Wairarapa will buy up land hero for tile summer feed. We have had at least two cases of the kind recently." Tt has been decided to offer again for the coming season a guarantee of Id per 11) net return on all apples anil pears .exported from New Zealand to new markets, and to renew the offer of a guarantee of Id per lb net return, with a minimum of £l5O payable thereunder, on peaches shipped to North. America, lliere is no limit in connection with the guarantee on apples and pears. Both guarantees are offered on the same terms as those imposed in 1913, Says an American exchange:—"Necessity is the mother of invention," and the present unpleasantness in Europe is cm. phasising the truth of the old saying, CamoFs hair brushes are used by painters, and are indispcnsible to them, but it happens that these brushes have for centuries been made in Germany. With tl'e supply cutoff one dealer pet aboijt to find a substitute, and sure enough, he found it in the ear of cows. The fineness and other qualities of this hair, it is said, is even an improvement on camel's hair, so that Europeans can keep on fighting and our painters can keep up their art, thanks to the cow. In an interesting letter to a Palmerston North poultry importer a leadin" English firm of exporters of pedigree poultry writes that the war has had a marked effect on the English egg and poultry market. At the time of writing, ordinary laying pullets, without* an elaborate pedigree, were bringing lis each, whilst eggs were selling at 3s per dozen. The leading English poultry journals are advising clients to retain their stock of poultry, as eggs are expected to increase in price. It does not appear to be known why one animal gives more milk than another. Physiologists have made many researches with the object of determining what governs the secretion of milk, j It is evident that neither feeding nor digestive capacity are the secret. °Tt is probable that a substance is secreted in the body somewhere, possibly by some part of the reproductive organs, that circulates with the blood. This substance, whatever it may bo, stimulates the udder gland to produce milk. The I amount of this substance which the cow will produce is hereditary, although influenced to some degree by the feed I and other conditions. The present high prices of chaff were referred to by a gentleman interested in tlie position, in the course of a conversation with a Standard reporter. At tlie present time chaff rules at from ,£(1 to £6 5s on trucks at Marton (sacks extra!. This is a considerable advance on what has been paid in past seasons, and it. was stated that the price is likely to obtain. The reason given was that there seems to be a general shortage in chaff-growing districts this season, "The fact," he added, "of the price being so high must necessarily lead to a diminished consumption, and the use of other foods, which would not be availed of in ordinary times, such as wheat straw chaff, oat straw chaff, and probably hay." One of the features of tlie present harvest season (writes the iSoutli Island correspondent of the Farmers' Union 'Advocate) is the unusual number of swaggers one sees and meets along the roads. Not only on the main roads, hut also on the side roads one finds men looking for harvest work and finding none. Some of them have left up-countrv jobs in order to make a bit of a rise down country, but they have been disappointed. There appears to be a ranch greater supply of men than tfiere is work for. Some of them are citv laborers who have been forced out of th ( . town by the fact that the building and allied trades are slack. It was thought that when stacking and threshing commenced the surplus would lie absorbed, 1 such is not the. case. The harvest is proving to be a short one, and there is less handling in the crops than usual. The peculiar feature in the situation is tliat this surplus labor exists, though many thousands of men haw left the country for the front. There must be a big restriction in employment somewhere, and I do not think it is on the farms and stations.

A recent visitor to Bliulttim. who travelled by car from Rangiora (reports the T'rcssl states that tin' country north of Ola;en:e is s'.i froiii a drought more severe lis:! 11 any previously experienced in til,, memory of the earliest settler. No rain worth speaking of has fallen iluriii'.: the part eh:ht or nine months, anil the hills are entirely hare of p'rass. Sheep are dyinjr or hein<r killed by the seore, anil manv of the settli'rs have to earfc water for stock an 1 liousehohl purposes for many miles. A patch of J green lneerne here anil there relieves the barren appearance of the ilats frontim; the foothills, ami aft'onls pa.tore for the cows ami horses. Oil the heavy, rich soil in the neighborhood of the town of lilenheini the crops of wheat anil j peas are turning out fairly well, lint there will b" :\ s'Tinu-. shortage in the yiehls jfi'ii'-ri'lly. It, has been a trviny season for the many flioii-anils of apple and other trees planted let winter on the fruit, farms in the vicinity of lilenlietui. The hewi ver. es-e-ially those on Ihc Yi"ai;aii orchard hinds, have withstood (he ilvesM'ht remarkably well. Those that have not made ven considerthlo growth of shoots have rooted well, and with favorable weather conditions i next season should make rapid headway. There is a line show of fruit in the older ■ i -taMi died orchards. Over l:i.IH)I( calves have brill iiH.nllslt"d to dale in the Stratford district. Inspector I'oere. ot the- iitveninieni . Stock Department. reports n decrease I i-o'iMiand with led. but on the other 1 j land | li.-ip cnih'd ii.ii mm-'l superior. . i \ ii ■!-' in i' . ii'vin:;, a fter maki:!'/ j an ev\:"i:s !ibn of !'. > milk V'tenc j " ■ . • -■ - --e ri' SenMikod factories, has come to the conclusion r ' !-ir l«:;!k of dairv '■> ' .. ;>vm i|i, e have Inks .cwliil'- i- I'-v:' , wliYh a"'" a'' ■ i. t I "i I -1 ' ■. ; (Ill":'' . l" ;M"' ill t arc" ■. a i' : sT's> e\-"r:i"-"' return •< ') | t |'l is • •••"; ••• i IT"j of hnt(er-fa.(

r annum, when it should he i.litib at iraxl, if proper eaic wore exercisr.d in j iL'li'cti.m of the sire and reason- j i-U careH'.l weeding 0: llu: herd. 'L'ili- | 'iVi'Ciiee represent, per annum per •on 10 the dairy farrow. as the pom' I.ilkcr takes as much feeding as the ~,od milker.—Otnntmi Standard. There will be few crops in the whole 1' the Canterbury province that are as vy as one —50 acres in extent —that , as been grown 011 a block of the Tvdlelton Government Settlement by Messrs I'.cerswiiiiiie lirotliors (says the Ashl'urton Guardian). The crop was soid, when standing, a lev; days ago to Messrs Ellery Brothers (who are farming a. portion of the UlacUridgc Ustate) , and to Mr. Goss (an lud'eUoi: Settlement fanner), and the paddock in which it is stooked presents a wonderful picture. .There has been an extraordinarily good growth. The sheaves are big j and heavy, the stooks are large, and are all very close, together. All indication j of the size of the crop will be gathered j when it is mentioned that the reaper I used up 05 balls of twinu for the acres. One ball of binder twine to the acre is generally allowed. The present owners of the crop intend to cut chaiV from it, and they expect to get a yield of from three and a half to four tons to the acre.