RURAL TOPICS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 2994, 19 September 1908, Page 6

RURAL TOPICS.

(By Agricola).

THE WEATHER.

The time of the 'vernal equinox will soon be at hand, and in the usual course of events we may expect the strong westerly winds which pertain to that period of the year. J Already .seme of these, anything hut gentle zeuhyrs from that quarter, have visiteu us. On Tuesday night these gave place to light warm rain, which continued till Thursday afternoon, n.aking glad the heart of the farmer a d pastoralist, as moisture was much required to advance the growth ot crops and pastures. A great deal of snow melted from the hills during the brief, but mild period, anu as a result the river systems of theWairarapa were filled with a moderate amount of flood water. Unfortunately these beneficient conditions soon came to an abrupt end yesterday afternoon, the wind chang' ing to a southerly direction) the temperature falling rapidly, and sou'west ram setting in. The rainfall in the early part of the week was most welcome and did much lo promote the growth of vegetation of all kinds, and it is to be hoped that the cold snap we are now experiencing will not be followed by frosts, which will have Che effect of setting back t»je growth. THE VALUE OF STOCK.

There i» aa yet very little advancu in this locality—the Forty Mile Bush-in the price of fat sheep, wethers ranging at an average of about 16s. In strong contrast to thia state of affairs is the satisfactory results obtained at the Johnsonville yaras on the 15th of this month, viz., heavy wethers, 22s 4d to 27s 7d; light wethers, 18s 5d to 19s 8d On the face of this it would appear that it Would pay to send Wairarapa "fats" to these yards for sale. The position is somewhat similar to that which obtained some years ago when sheep in Canterbury realised such high prices as compared to those ruling in this district.

SHEAKERS' ACCOMMODATION. The accommodation of shearers is a subject which is agitating and causing a great deal of comment among a large section of the sheep farming community at the present time in consequence of the proposed legislation now before Parliament. As there are many individuals who are not cognizant of how drastic the provisions of the Bill are, p.nd to what expense they may be put to to comply with it, if passed in its present form, the following short abstract of its principal features may be of interest: —(a) All buildings for the accommodation of shearers to be separate from those used for shearing sheep and distant therefrom not less than 150 ft, nor more than 900 ft, and not less than 100 ft from any killing yard or piggery ; (b) buildings used for sleeping, cooking and meals to be maintained in a clean and healthy state by. the employer; (c) not less than 240 cubic ieet of air space to be allowed to each person in such building; (d) the height of studs of every sleeping room to be not less than 9ft; (e) bunks to be provided, but in no case shall more than two tiers be allowed in each room; (f) in every sleeping room a fire-place with proper chimney tote provided; (g) mattrasses of sufficient chaff or straw to be provided where spring mattrasses are not provided; (h) sleeping rooms not to be used for cooking or serving meals: cook and assistant to be provided with ' separate sleeping room; (i) sufficient light and ventilation to be provided in each sleeping and dining room; (j) sleeping room and dining room to have wooden floor; (k) proper and sufficient cooking utensils and table accommodation to be supplied by the_ employer I jn each cooking and dining room; I (1) a sufficient supply of good water for drinking, cooking, and washing to be supplied, convenient to any building in which shearers are accommodated; (m) a room containing boiler and bath to be provided adjacent to such building, with necessary utensils for washing clothes; (n) sanitary accommodation to be provided situate not less than 100 ft from building in which shearers are accommodated, and not less than 200 ft from the water supply used, for cooking, drinking or washing purposes; (o) a book of instruction on first aid, and a proper and sufficient medicine-chest to be provided and maintained for the convenience oi shearers; the price charged for anj medicine supplied not to exceec nearest town rates, with cost of cartage added. The prii.ciple objections to the proposed Act is undoubtedly on the score of expense that aheep-owners will bt put to in erecting buildings if it comes law, and also that some of the provisions are impracticable am harassing. It is even a question ij the shearers themselves desire, oj have moved in the direction of having such a Treasure placed on the Statute Book, for it must be presumed thai when beforo the Arbitration Courl that they set forth their demands ant requirements, and an amicable ar rangement was come to between botl employer and employed. As a mattei of fact the larger proportion of sheet breeders have of late years improvec the accommodation for their employees, and every reasonable con dition that could be expected to bt provided for those who like shearers: and shed hunds ara only employed foi a few weeks or even days at shearing time. There are many instances in this district where ample accommoda tiou is provided, but because the bujMiiigs are a few feet either inside or o jiside the prescribed limit set oui on the Bill the owner would have tc erect fresh structures or remove tho e already in use at great expense;. Every consideration shoulc bo given tu the health and comforl of employees, but when it comes t( providing fireplaces in each sleepine ruo.n, a book on first aid, and a medi-cine-cheat, it may be a3ked are nol matters going just a little too far' In tie summer, the period wher: shearing takes place, it is obviouslj handy necessary to resort to fires. Oil very many stations simple medi cines such as pills of various descriptions unJ Epsom salts, etc., can be proeutt/.i at reasonable cost. From many y-ars experience on sheep stations the writer has come to the conclusion that the greatest amount of sicknehs is caused through an insufficient supply of vegetables, and if an innovation took place in thai

direction it would be found more beneficial than books on first aid or medicine-chesty. In south-west Queensland, in order to defeat the stringent provisions of a somewhat similar Act, the settlers are acting in concert in erecting cooperative shearing sheds, at which the sheep of any particular group of settlers can be dealt with. This system of co-operative shearing sheds hat) several advantages, and the system might be carried out with good results among the small sheep farmers of the Dominion. GENERAL ITEMS. Very satisfactory accounts still continue to come to hand indicating a good percentage of lambs, but with a rather high death rate among lambing ewes. On the whole the prospects of the pastoral industry as regards increase in both lambs and wool is decidedly good. Docking is now in operation, not only on the small farms, but on some of the larger holdings. Shearing will commence at several of the large sheds between the middle of and the enJ of October. Already some small lot 9 of lat shetip have been denuded of their fleece. Conversing with a settler well up in the doings of the wool market, the opinion was expressed by him that there would be no very appreciable rise in the value of crossbred wools. There was still a large quantity of such wool on hand.