FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 244, 24 March 1915, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY.

SUPPLY OF HORSES.

THE EFFECT OF THE WAR.

Writes John Ashton (now with the Army in '.-France) in the Breeder's Gazette:—

"No one will know how many horses have been required for this w'ar until some time after peace has been declared. Peace will bring great and general industrial activity. Very many commodities besides horses will be dearer after' the war. Stocks of all kinds will be depleted. The enormous losses in human life among the mobilised commercial employees and artisans «ylll result in a scarcity of hands,'and a consequent rise in wages, especially in cities, all the more so as certain necessaries, and the bulk of manufactured goods will have a tendency to.maintairi firm prices for a time. The stupendous wear.'and tear and damage to automobiles find trucks in. this campaign will mean that if !horses are scarce mechanical vehicles will be, in the same Tjoajt.:. A great-recrudes-cence in building,,,activity,, ,will take place in the devalued 'regions. . All this i; ineans many horses., and horses must be had .somehow, the.'fact' that.jthcre will be; a corresponding'scardity and proportional increase in the!price of autos will jirevent operators from turning, horses into auto trucks,;- ■■,:■■■, i| • | : | "Farmers will,,not Ibe greatly inconvenienced, as they ; -will be,able-to work their young stock' ■', and^bo'.j[tempted to sell their'mature horse's, if | they have any left, on account of thelhigher prices. Inj anticipation 'of the scarcity a great number of bullocks suitable for making; oxen have' been reserved by many farmi ers in France, The authorities ,ha,ve .encouraged, this. ' ' ' ''Flier gi'eat' scarcity' all''over 'Western Europe When the' war is ended ) Kvilt be of liard mature horses, six and seven y|(-ars,and[;.upwards, rsuiti>ble ;foi] ..toffii and "ity ,work. This will jje a jjreat problem.' 'How 1 are they to fli'nartY Tn ; spite ; bf'/the" high prices, :it' 'Willi be very difficult to fin the!-demand. There. Will bp.great activity in', horserbroeding a'H ovor'tho world. The colonial farmer keep'more'mitres and work 'artll breed from them wherever possibjo. This is tht- time to begin for those not already ■in*the game. This groat, war. has proved qne"thing"—that the horse is indispensable, and always will be." ~

NOTES. ' : ""."'

; In his,book on "Breaking and.:RTd)ng f "I Mr James Fillis (as translated 1 'b'v th'e late Captain M. H. Hayes, F.R.C.V.S.) has the following remarks, ,on the in-, fuience of the hlimffn voice:—"The hu'man voice has a. great influence on a' horse, but of course it is only the tone which he. remembers. The sweetest words repeated in'a short, high tone will frighten him, ami the most horrible threat!) uttered in a soft voice will soothe him. The voice is the most useful help for breaking; a horse at liberty, in which ease he is turned loose in a riding school, circus, or other suitable enclosure. Thus to teacX a Tiorse at liberty to move forward at a walk, trot or canted, one says 'Walk,' in a comparatively weak voice; 'Trot' in a highar, vjojee, and 'Canter' in a tone of command; 'You , may say 'Canter' in a soft voice and '-the 'horse will remain the walk, but if I you say 'Walk' in a higher/tone the animal will immediately strike off into the canter. ' The voice is also of great use when'breaking a horse which one is riding. It can be used, not only for correction, but also to encouraged and quieten a horse."

In connection with the blackberry pest in 1 Hawke's Bay, the Herald has been requested to state that . the..-Commis-sioner of Crown Lands has received from Mr A. T. Daken.i of AVhangakoko, Marlborough, a sample of the blackberry blight which is doing such good work :n killing off this pest in the Sounds district of Marlborough.; Mr Daken says, in; forwarding the parcel.,of, 'blackberry runners, showing,.:the blight, that 'it,is just hatching now, as you will see by ,the tiny white eggs. I only wish you were able to see it, and what, it has ilono'm the way of killing., tW weeds in these, parts. Tiie bushes arc iust white with' it now." He goes- ; 6n't3 'siiy that anyone communicating with him can have the blight forwarded with instructions how to use or apply* it, to the; growing blackberry bushes. ■ ■ -,r , ;

Mr T. W. Lonsdale, the manager of the Mounmliafei State Farm, had some very interesting remarks to make at a Rangitikei A.Jini iP. social recently with regard to the vaiuc of ; i&rjhrngi Mr Lonsdale said.fie considered that tho farmers were not 'ddfrig enough:: ! Tfey did not seem to realise tho tremendous possibilities if tlie larinf of this country vvas cultivated on:a scientifle basis.,, As a matter of fact/he giild, tho people were too well-off, -ftnijl it was possibly because they got along toa easily that thsy did not bother /to,work Ojitt might he achieved under improved conditions. As an agriculturist.ho could,say, the pos-j abilities, of this' beautiful island' were immense. More land was coming under, cultivation, as might' be gathered from' the steadily increasing dale went on to say that the most pros-'j peroiis countries in tho-world wercMilt up on agriculture. They tiould not have a commercial dr 'a manufacturing Country, in a' prosperous l 'condition with'ottt and- he did not tiling lie i*e> I quired to sWss the point that the nioM | time they to"'agriculture, par- ] ticularly intensive agriculture \ the mora I prosperous would the. country hfi., j Tlie Eketah'iina Express'' states that'a farmer in a largo way in Eketahuna expressed the 'op'itlion 4hat ; 'decent qual- j ity ewes might be expected to be selling fib twelve hence. There is a some - J what''g'eheral, dispositioni-on'thc part r.f farmers to hold on to ewes of: any-'quail:, ity whatever'.:::. "' 1 1 '.-■", .T ,■:'

, -The , Carterton iNews says that the storekeepers at Carterton have received a communication from the secretary oflithe various cheese, factories, jn,Rarterton, that tlie wholesale.jpripe of .cheese,,has [ been advanced, 3d, per is now 'Rid per lb, which'means'a retail'price of 10d per,lb, ...,,. A Windsor settler's crop of about 100 acres df wheat th^dslied^ht 1 at 40''biishols to the acre. This he has-Sold-at nn average price' of 7s' per'bushel. •■;;/.' i Last week the Ballance Co-operative Daily Company paid out £6BBO to supI pliers for butter fat supplied during -the month, this being at -the rate-, of. Is ;>er pound. So far this season the company has distributed- £45,440 among its pliers.

The' war is changing many things (says a Home exchange). A few years ago the public said to tlie farmer: "If the cultivation of wheat does not pay, turn your attention to something else; for instance, one eminent statesman sang the praises of growing fruit for jam and of market crops. Now the public is metaphorically going on its knees to the farmer to say: "Please, Mr Farmer, grow more wheat, In order that the staff of life may not fail us." And the British farmer will do his best, but he will not forget that we import oats to the value of about £0.000,000. and barley to the value of about £8,000,000; and the<=e are essential products. ;,•!'.-