FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 March 1918, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY.

KAUiP'OKONUI HEED-TESTING ASSOCIATION. The following is a summary for the 30-day period ending February 20:

Tiie average Association cow gave (ioOlbs milk, 4.4 test, 29.931bs butter-fat. The highest individual yield was 1423 lbs milk, 4.0 test, 57.0t)1bs butter-fat. The lowest individual yield was 2851bs milk, 3.G test, 10.2Glbs buttcr-fat. / From August 1917, to February 20, 1918, three cows have given over ioOibs butter-fat; fourteen produced over 350 lbs; 44 produced over 3001b. The best record for number of days in milk is being put up by a pedigree Holstein owned by Mr. ,T. Imlali, of Kaupokouui. her record to 2Gth ult. is 390.70 lbs fat for 148 days. THE POTATO BLIGHT. RAVAGES IN CANTERBURY.' Potato growers complain that the ravages of various pests, but more particularly blight, have caused great destruction in all parts of the province, says the Cljristchurch StaT, and serious fears are entertained that the yield will be distinctly disappointing. In | the early part of the season, the maj jority of crops gave, promise of prolific returns, particularly after the Janu- ; ary rains had stimulated growth. The weather conditions, however, proved favorable for the development of numerous diseases, especially blight, which has already made serious inroads.

Only in isolated instances has much digging yet been done, but where digging operations have taken place the returns have been far from satisfactory. the proportion of tubers unfit for use in many instances running to ninety per cent. This condition can be attributed chiefly to the weather conditions of the last six weeks, which, although satisfactory from a growing point of view, brought many diseases, the chief of which is the "blight, which, onee it attacks a crop, is almost impossible to eradicate.

TWspite the fact that labor is expensive in New Zealand, it has always seemed to me that we' ought to grow far more ,of our seeds here, ("avs the Manawatu correspondent of the Fanners' Advocate)j Ryegrass and cocksfoot we do grow, arid crested dogstail we can manage easily, although in the case of some of the grasses the .merchants import a little to be able to tell farmers how cheap theirs ought to be when they are showing the sample. Of oats, wheat, barley, we <lo grow the seed. "We go the length of growing peas at per bushel for English merchants, who put a few of our peas in packets and sell them to us at about 100 per cent. With a:t increase of (180.32!) sheep in the North Island last year (wcr the previous year it is anticipated (says the Auckland Star) that the amount of wool to he dealt with in the Auckland province this season will be considerably greater than the amount dealt with last season. Figures compiled at the end of January partially confirmed this opinion, for the wool in store showed an increase of 3652 bales, as compared with the corresponding period of the previous season. A more definite idea of what the increase will be is obtained from last Saturday's total—SO,o64. bales of greasy wool, as well as thousands of bales of scoured and slipo wool, the wool in store being a record quantity for Auckland. The early clip is attributed to the fine weather during shearing operations.

FIVE BEST HERDS. Cows. Lbs. ralik. Test. Lbs. fat. 8 S«G 4.8 42.21 v lfi 890 4.4 40.45 11 '' . 70!) 4.4 34.21 2!) " 050 5.1 33.51 36 ' ;042 5,2 33.71 FIVE WORST HERDS. SO 443 4.4 10.73 5!) 511 4.2 21.08 44 042 3.0 23.42 7 015 3.8 23.74 31 538 4.5 24.48