FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 269, 2 April 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

TIIE WKATHER. —The temperature at nights during the past week has been abnormally low for this season of the year, and on low-lying ground the frost has been heavy, nipping off pumpkins and other vegetation susceptible to its influence. (Jrasa is making but little headway, the frost seriously checking it. Rain is now wanted to give recentlysown grass a start, and to reduce lea land to a more suitable condition for ploughing.

Wheat Market.—The English wheat market, which was reported weaker in tone last week has recovered and is again linn. Although, however, the market was flat last week, there was no drop in prices, and they are to-day much the same as they have been during the last month or six weeks, viz., from 37s 6d to 425. Canterbury quotations remain as they were last week ; growers still holding out for 4s at country stations, and some of them have secured this price. In Dunedin the market is good and a brisk demand is reported at present prices, which range from 4s 5d to 4s 7d for Tuscan and re I sorts, to 4s 9d for prime velvet (bags extra). We notice that one of the Auckland mills is importing from New South Wales, where wheat is ruling at 4s. As there is an import duty of Od per cental, it is hard to see the advantage of purchasing from that quarter, unless it is done with the view of bearing the price down in the local markets. There appears to be some sort of a game of "tit for tat" proceeding amongst the millers this year, which, so far, has slightly benefited those growers who sold to the pioneer buyers. Recently an cutsicle buyer (whether he hailed from the North or not we are not told), visited the Oamaru district, and by purchasing a few lines at 4s Gd a bushel forced the price in that district up to that figure, thus creating a fictitious local value, below which, of course, the farmers, not seeing the move, were not disposed to sell to the local millers. At the same time, however, that he was buying to a limited extent in Oamaru at 4s Od he was buying largely in Canterbury at 4s. It was a linn of Southern millers who recently operated in this district to die extent of a few hundred bushels, buying at 4s Od. Can it be that this was their " tit " in return for the other man's " tat?"

Chaff axd Oats.—Chaff is scarce, being firmly held by the grow-ers. The price has advanced, locally, from £2 15s (at which figure it was quoted three weeks ago) to £3 10s, and there is little disposition to sell even at this figure. From Canterbury, where oats are hard to obtain under 2s 4d, there will be little chaff for export this year, aud in Dunedin it is reported scarce, new being quoted from £3 5a to £3 17s 6d, and prime old from £3 17s Gd to £4 10s New season's samples of oats are now coming forward in Dunedin, and this has caused a slight depression in the market. Prices range from Is lOd to 2s for ordinary to 2s Hd for good heavy feed and prime milling. Locally, the pri:e offered for Waikato oats is from 2s 6(1 to 2s 9d.

Milking a Cow uefoke Calving.— " There is a difference of opinion," says an agricultural writer, "as to the propriety or otherwise of milking before the calf is born, but my own observation is in favour of it in the majority of cases where the bag is hard and full, the skin tight, and any appearance of shiniucss in the area around the base of the teats. There is, I think, less liability to garget as well as so-called milk fever, greater comfort to the animal and increased disposition to lie down. In practice one learns to distinguish between a hard udder, tender from engorgement, and one that is actually inflamed. In the former case much good will often result from the homely remedy of copious inunction of lard, as it permits the skin to stretch, and thereby eases the vessels and nerves, alluys pain, and, if the milk is drawn off, effects a cure; but it needs a patient and painstaking man who has not to milk a lot of other cows by a specified time when the cart goes to the station."

Leitek's Wheat Deal : His Profits. —Young Joseph Leiter, the new king < f the wheat murket, can scarcely fail now to make liis investments very profitable. At the end of December he owned all of the surplus wheat at Chicago and neighbouring points. To-day (January 30) he has in his possession 9,000,000 bushels carried by the Chicago storehouses, and 0,000,000 bushels more stored at various points within a few hundred miles of that city. No one else has any considerable quantity of wheat to sell for delivery at this time or during two or three weeks to come. The price has been rising rapidly, an advance of 10 cents a bushel having been scored in the last two days. As the average price paid by Leiter was 91 cents a bushel, the sale of his holdings at present quotations would give him a profit of more than 2,000,000 dollars. Believing, as he says, that the American surplus for export has been exhausted, he is selling his contracts for transatlantic shipment and holding his grain for the home market. But it is not true that the country can spare no more wheat to be sold abroad. For a novice Leiter has been very successful,, but a great deal can be accomplished in the wheat market by a young man who has brains and is permitted to use part or the whole of his father's fortune of 30,000,000 dollars.

Dairying in Hungary.—Miss Eliza Bayncs, the winner of last year's Championship at the London Dairy Show, and a sister of this year's winner, has for some months been engaged in superintending the dairying on the estates of a Hungarian nobleman. Writing from Hungary to a friend in Essex she says : —" The cows they have here are of very little use for butter-making, as none of them exceed four quarts of milk a day, and that is very poor. They arc kept for breeding and for the butcher, as one cow would fetch .€4O if sold to him any day. Some Swiss cows have been imported lately, but they do not seem much better than the others. All cottagers have a cow of their own, also a small strip of ground, which they generally use for glowing hay to feed their cows with in winter. They are now having their third crop of hay for this season, and in carting they use their cows in the place of a horse. When they have a long way to go I have seen them stop the cow and milk her while still in the shafts ! All the butter I make here is sold in Vienna at ls-kl a pound. Everyone seems very pleased with it, and sends in orders for more. The average price in this part is Gd a pound. Count has ordered another separator to be sent out from England to be used at a farm of his fourteen miles off, as he finds they greatly excel the old method used here of letting the milk sour, and then skimming it with a spoon."

Economical Stack Ensilage.—Mr J. L. Thompson, agricultural instructor (N.S.W.), writes in the Australian Agriculturist as follows : Maize and all other crops intended for ensilage should be fully grown, but quite green and full of succulence, the cob well formed and in the milky condition. It should be cut quite close to the ground and left on the land in armfuls, and kept as straight as possible. The sooner it is carted to the stack after being cut the better. A site for the stack should be selected as high and dry as possible. A straight trench should be cut 9 inches deep right round the foundation and ran gradually out to nothing, and the earth so removed should be spread evenly over the foundation, thus raising it above the ordinary level. If possible, ti small drain should be con-

structed to carry off the water accumulating in the trench. With regard to the size of the foundation of the stack, care must be taken not ro make it too large for a given quantity of material ; otherwise, when consolidated, the stack will he too low, and theic will consequently be more waste. One hundred tons of ensilage can be built on a foundation 21 x IS feet, and a 20-ton stack would not require more than 9xß feet, _ The larger the stack and the higher it is built the less waste, and vice verm. A foot of summer grass or green rubbish of any kind should be put on the foundation. This will take the mould and save the good material from waste. In building, stalks should all be laid as far possible one way, so as to pack better, and with a small stack they must bo laid fore and aft, or the long way of the stack, with the exception of an armful here and there to bind the stuff more compactly. By building slowly, the stack will keep sinking, and consequently the stuff will not require to be lifted so high. When a large quantity of ensilage is being made some mechanical contrivance should be made to hoist the material from the dray on to the stack, but for a small stack, of course, it would not be worth while erecting it. A straight pole should be put into the ground 4 feet deep and about 10 feet above ground at each corner of the stack, and one at each side, perfectly plumb as a guide for the builder. This will assist greatly in enabling him to keep the stack in good shape. After all the material is put on the stack, at least 2 feet of green grass or rubbish of any kind should be put on top. This will take the mould, and will help to weigh down the material and save the good fodder, although there arc some excellent mechanical appliances for giving the necessary pressure, such as Johnson's patent. But for a small stack nothing can equal dead weight. This may consist of blocks of wood, posts and rails, earth in bags, or any material that will give sufficient pressure to weigh down the stack. From 150 to 200 lb per square foot will be required to give the necessary weight. Above the weights should be arranged some sort of covering to keep out the rain—either a tarpaulin or a few sheets of iron. No water must enter the stack either at the bottom or the top, otherwise the ensilage will be spoiled. If there are any straggling stalks projecting from the stack, they should be neatly trimmed off with a sharp hay-knife.

The " Whitb-eyk " and Apples.— That little native bird so commonly known as the " white-eye," is becoming more and more partial to the acclimatised fruits brought from Europe. They have recently taken a liking to apples, which they scoop hollow, leaving nothing but a mere shell. They make a hole in one side of the fruit, and often they may be seen fighting for a turn inside the apple.

A Home-made Tester. —Tako a tall, straight-sided bottle, round or square. On one side of it paste a slip of paper on which you havo marked a hundred lines at equal distances apart, making every fifth line longer than tho others, and every tenth line longer still. Fill with milk from one cow, and let it stand twenty-four hours, and then count the degrees of cream. So test tho milk of each cow in turn, and though it is not a scientific test you will soon know which aro your best cows, and which may not ho paying for their rations. As a comparison test it is as reliable as tho Babcock. + + +

WOOLCJROWINC; IS THE ARGENTINE : Lincoln v. Merino.—ln the opinion of the United States Minister at Buenos Ay res, the production of wool in Argentina has reached its maximum, because the exportation of cuttle to Europe is Stimulating the breeding of that class of animals in preference to that of sheep. The greatest quantity of wool exported in one year was 201,353 tons in 1895. Until a few years ago the bulk of the wool expoited was merino ; but now, inconsequence of the need of inc:easing the weight and improving the quality of carcases of mutton for export, Lincoln crosses have multiplied so greatly that over Co per cent, of the wool exported is of their production. The change has been fostered by the demand for longstaple wcol in recent years in preference to fine wool ; but the stability of this preference is now doubtful, and it is not unlikly that the interests of wool and mutton will be conflicting in the future, as they have been usually in the past.

Pure Breeds. —It is often asked if purebred sdws are prolific. Some answer in the negative. The cause of this is not far to seek. It has in the past beeu very common for breeders of pedigree pigs, as of many other breeds of stock, to study mainly the show points of their animals, with a view to (rain honour and notoriety by winning prizes at live st-ck exhibitions. The original co.-t of this excitement and wild gambling was seldom considered, as in the olden times, before stock-broader* as well educated and enlightened by the reading of the stock and agricultural papers, farmers would give an extravagant price as compared to the real value of the animals for a malo or female fio:n the stock of a successful exhibitor, in the mistaken belief that the owner's stock must be superior in every respect', when, as in far too many instances, the utility points of the successful exhibitors have been over looked. So it was with the pigs in many of the show herds—wide, fat bucks, a thin skin, either without hair or covered with a profusion of curly hair, a tail stoat and long, but not coarse, with a " tassel of fine hair," or a kind of fool's bauble, being a special point, whilst the infinitely more valuable qualities of hardihood, early growth, as well as the production of fat, prolificacy, and milking of the sows, were entirely guored.—Farmer and Stockbreeder, + + +

Experiments with Wheats.—The results of some veiy instructive exptriments with wheats and manures weie recently reported to the Balaclava Branch of Agricultural Bureau in South Australia. The plots were small, and this is the only circumstance which detracts from the value of the information. Of the varieties of wheat grown from 1593 to 1897 African Baart has invariably given the best, returns. King's Jubilee averages next. For 1894-5 Pride of Barossa averaged 25 bushels, but in 1897 only 7A bushels against 20 bushels from African Baart. In the experiment with manures, 2cwt. each being applied on stiff loamy soil, with thin limestone rabble subsoil over red clay, the following returns were obtained ;—Superphosphate, 25 1-6 bushels ; Peruvian guano. 16 bushels; bonedust, 9 1-7 bushels; Thomas phosphate, S 1-5 bushels ; kainit, Gi bushels. 2cwt. per acre of each man ure was applied, the wheat being Cowan's Purple Straw. In oats, in 1897, Cape returned 30 : {- bushels; While Champion, nearly 22h bushels ; Scotch Grey, 21 1-3 bushels ; Algeriad, 19 1-5 bushels ; New Zealand, Sj bushels ; Tartarian, 5V bushels. Some interesting trials were made with wheats sown before and after rain, the results varying in an astonishing manner. African Baart, sown before rain, gave over 20 bushels, after rain 13 bushels, while with Neumans the returns were 12| bushels and 21 bushels respectively ; Club Head, 1-1 bushels and 3 bushels respectively ; and Scotch Wonder, 3J bushels and 14 bushels.

Manuuial Experiments in Stafl-okd-SinitE. —Interesting experiments have for some years been carried out under the auspices of the Staffordshire County Council with the primary object of demonstrating the effects produced on the quantity and quality of meadow hay by the application, singly and in conjunction, of various artilicial manures, and i specially to compare these results with those obtained from the use of farmyard manure. The official account of the past

season's results has just come to hand, and the exact figures, as well as tho observations offered in regard to them, may be studiad with considerable advantage. Summing up the lessons of tho trials briefly, it is shown that on sandy soil the best results were obtained from the mixture of superphosphate -lewt, nitrate of soda lewt, and kainit- 2cwt per acre, although the return was almost equally profitable when the kainit was omitted. On heavy clay land the benefit of the potassio dressing was clearly revealed, the 4cwt superphosphate and 2cwt kainit producing the best result. With lewt nitrate of soda in place of the superphosphate the return was very nearly as good, while the complete mixture followed third, witii the plot where kainit was left out fourth. On gravelly loam the kainit was of little avail, the superphosphate and nitrate of sole alone giving the most profitable return. A medium loam soil emphasised the beneficial influence of superphosphate and lime. Farmyard manure produced heavy yields, but its tendency seeiicd to be to encourage unduly the strong, coarser grasses Nitrate of soda had a similar inclination, while kainit, on the other hand, considerably improved the quality of the heibago.

x x + Care of Farm Machinery.—-So much work is now dote by machinery that the equipmeut of a modem farm is a costly business (says " Brntli " in the Australasian). Many farmers say that the rutlay each year for new implements and machinery eats up all the profit that they can make out of the laud. This is true to a certain extent, but generally speaking it is not the use in the field during tho working season that wears out a machine —it is the idle time, whsn rust and dust are permitted'to do their evil work. Steel is corroded and worn

away by the action of damp air, bearings are exposed to dust and air, and the smooth surfaces arc rusted and worn into grinding furrows, which cut each other and still farther wear out the machine, besides adding consider ably to the labour of drawing and working them, thus increasing tiie exertion of the horses, and causing waste of time in the work. If farmers would keep their implements and machinery under cover, pay close attention to repairs, use oil when necessary, and give an occasional coat of paint, it would surprise many the difference they would find in the working of the machinery, as well as in the time their implements would wear. The cutting parts of machinery should be cleaned, whetted, and then wrapped, as far as may be, in paper dipped in oil. A newspaper, cut into strips Gin wide and then oiled, will •answer for this purpose, the paper to be spirally wrapped around the blades. All the bearings should be cleaned with kerosene and then smeared with a mixture of clean tallow, kerosene, and blacklead. The oiliog holes should be filled with plugs of wood to keep the dust out of the hearings ; the painted work should be cleanly wiped over with a wet rag ; and, finally, the machines should be covered carefully. Reapersand binders, or machinery of that sort, should not be used as fowl roosts or substitutes for gates, neither should they be left in the fie'd at the close of one season's work so that the farmer may have an early start the following season.

A Big English Estate.—Many of

the large New Zealand freehold estates arc a source of loss more than of profit to the owners, who would be very glad to find a buyer in the Government without any compUision under the Land tor Settlements Act. The Duke of Bedford has tinee large estates in England containing 47,000 acres in all, and by the possession of these broad acres the Duke has been the loser of no less than £ 18,718 during the last two years. There are 4000 acres of woods and plantation, and the rest of the estate is considered to be equal to any in the kingdom for grow ing wheat or any other farm crop. The total income from the 47,000 acres in 1895 was £54,315, but the expenditure was £61,486, thereby saddling the owner with a loss on that year of over £7OOO. As showing what taxation on land amouuts to in England

it is stated that the rates and taxes amount to nearly £15,000 per annum. The churches and schools, pensions, compassionate allowances, charities, &c, come to more than £BOOO per annum, so that if the Duke were to curtail the expenditure in these matters he would come out about even instead of making a loss. The Duke admits that iu some

respects the administration of the Bedford estates lias not been conducted on strictly commercial lines, but he s-ays that " when the rnthlessucss of the commercial system is frankly abandoned difficulties arise which foil an energetic and businers like management responsible for financial results." If he were to shut up his churches and schools, turn his old pensioners out of their cottages into the workhouse, and demand a higher

rent from his estates they might be worked at a profit instead of a loss. But the Bedford family are not built that way, and ever since the property came into their hands about 300 years ago the good old •' Bedford system : ' has been maintained at all costs. In spite of his losses the Duke continues to maintain the experimental farm at YVoburn for the Royal Agricultural Society of England at a cost of £BSO a year, although he presented the laud to the soc : cty many years ago. In 1893 the Duke started an experimental fruit farm and no sooner was the farm laid out and planted with trees than the parish overseer informed him that the rates must be trebled, although it will be some years before any return for the hrge out-

lay will be received. The Duke appealed, however, and got the assessment reduced by one-half. The Duke of Bedford's statement of income and expenditure on the Thoroey estate of 10,000 acres shows pretty plainly the rapacity of the taxgatherer. During the last 20 years the total receipts exceeded the total expenditure by £308,281. but out of that £200,000 has been paid in taxation, 'caving £108,00(5 as net iuconie for 20 years from nearly 20.000 acres of land—a net profit of 5s per acre per annum on an average. THE ARGENTINE WOOL CLIP. CROSSBRED LINCOLN WOOL A DRUG. The Buenos Ayrcs correspondent of the Pastoralists' Ksview writing under date December 4th says :—" The price, quality, and quantity of the new clip have been the chief topics of conversation during this last month, and everyone is disappointed. Prices arc lower than anyone expected them to be, especially for coarse qualities, for which, indeed, there is little or no demand and most unexpectedly unremunerative prices. The noil from Messrs Gebbic's o-tancia, near Ranchos, which two years ago tapped the market as being first-class Lincoln ot lodol. per 100 kilos, has this year only realised Sdol. and this is some of the finest Lincoln wool to be found in the province of Buenos Ayrcs. The quality of the wool sent irjto the market this year is, on the whole, better than last, the condition is worse owing to want of rain and the consequent quantity of sand as well as the poor condition of the sheep during the greater part of the year. The quantity is reckoned by experts to be 18 per cent, less than last. There is no demand for coarse wool, very little for crossed Lincoln, and none at all for anything not specially good. In fact, there is a stagnation such as no one has ever seen before. The French buyers are practically alone in the market, the Germans are doing little or nothing, and as the arrivals are always of the coarse class the l<ilo of unsold keeps on accumulating. Thus, in spite of having started the season almost free from any remnant of last year's clip, the stock is now enormous, whib sales in tho camp comparej'.badly

with last year. Wo started tho IS9G clip with a i>i:; surplus from that of ISOS this year we have started with almost a clean iloor ; last year wool was commoted on most of the import snt cs'aneias long before shearing, but this has only happened in oue or two isolated instances this year. Sheep-fanners are very down on th ir luck, for Ihsl year we lost thousands through lung worm and other diseases; this year, though in other respects there has been great causa for grumbling, there is n woeful lack of purchasers. It has been impossible for mo to givo you information in any of my former ktteisas to the outlook of tho clip, for 1 could only have told you then what every # body knows, that wc have any quantity of wool. But when at the oommenooment of shearing there were hardly any buyeis, f timers smiled and Siid. " Oh, they'll come all right a bit later, it's only a ruse on their part," but, sad to say, they did begin to drop in a desultory .-o:t ot way, but the limit they had from the Home firms was so infamously low that

many producers have refused to Sell. And this is not all, but the long, coarse Lincoln, which everybody has been breeding for the last seven or eight years is least in demand of any. The question as to what class of sheep to breed is a serious one, and it is now ask'd by many. " Whal arc we Io breed for, wool or wethers?' The latter always command a good price, whether for export alive or frozen, and even for consumption in Buenos Aires a 45-kilo wether (live, weight) will always command, if in condition, it mii.imum price of 7s Gd. Wool has, so far, always been the first oousider.it ion among our sheep farmers, but in view of tho present condition of the wool market it will not surprise man)'- of us to see the Lincoln giving place to the black face, and wool coming in s.'Coni to mutton. Such is the outlook of our clip, find not a flattering one. There are 27,000 tons deposited in the Central Market deposit, and tho manager has advertised in the papers that ho can receive no more for want of space. It will thou have to remain on tho cstancias until such timo as some of the present st-r ck can be sold off. But as there is little demand, aud sales are limited to a few tons per day, quien sabo when will this be ?" THE WHEAT MARKET. FUTURti PRICES. In a recent article, tho Sydney Mail says:—It is impossible to disgniso the fact we are nearly approaching the time whon speculators will begin to discount the future of tho world's markets. At present it is too early to Bay whether this will be large or not. In fact, as is come to hand from San Francii-co to the effect that the rainfall there has been below the average. Whether this is so or not we cannot say, for such "wolfish" cries havo been beard before Still there are other largo wheat-producing countries besides California, and the chances are very much against a repetition of tho shortage of last year. High prices, as has often been pointed out before, stimulate production. Farmera throughout the country will put in every aero of wheat they can find the means to cultivate ; and should the weather be anything like favourable no doubt tho next world's harvest will bo a bumper oue, In Ju'y-August, the actual position will be known to a certainty. Now everything hangs in tho balance of doubt. Tho chances are, however, in favour of tho crop being, at any rate, an average one, which means about average prices. Ac present prices aro very much higher than those usuallycurrout, so that if the expectations of a large crop are fulfilled a slump must be looked for, four or five months ahead. This is a feature of the market which should bo ever present to holders. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.

Taking, then, this view of the case, that prices at Mark Ltlnc four or five months ahead are more likely to be lower than higher, it is as well to consider the best course for holders in Ibis colon}' to pumie. If not only the whole of our surplus, but also a portion of that grain which otherwise would have gone into local consumption, could bo shipped away at the present rates, it seems that the very best results »vould accrue to wheatgrowers of this colony. Should, then, prices during the closing half of the year be below thoso now ruling, a larger proportion of our grain will already have been disposed of, and if insullicicnt remains for local needs, what is required can be imported at the lower range in the shape of Californian wheat or flour, as may* be deemed necessary. It seems that there is no other course available. If, on the other hand, exportation were not carried on. 'and local supplies were sufficient for all requirements, then when the fall does come at Mark Lane pricss hero will also cease, and the weight of stock will naturally tend to keep the market in the buyer's favour. STATION LIFE IN ARGENTINA. Among the many young New Zealandors who are gathering experience and trying their fortunes in other parts of the world is Mr George Murray, son of Mr F. C. Murray, of Gracnpark, who spout some time, a few years ago, in Rhodesia, and is now on the cstancia El Dorado, at Vedia, about 180 miles west of Buenos Ayrcs. As the Argentine is already one of this colony's most formidable competitors iu the London market, and is likely to become more so in future, it is just as welt that New Zealauders should know as much as possible of the conditions under which the Argentine run-holder works. Iu a letter recently received by Mr Murray from his son, and kindly placed at our disposal, there are some very interesting notes on Argentine farming. All that part of the country in which Vedia is situated is described as a network of railways owned by English companies, and apparently running in opposition to each other, as freight seems low. The soil in El Dorado is described as a nice loam as far down as Mr Murray had seen it, 12ft or 14ft. The first thing when getting laud is to see that there is a good water supply, as in many parts the water is brackish. Such as it is it can be got almost anywhere by digging holes from 30ft. to (iOt't. deep. The next thing is to get the land sown down with alfalfa (lucerne), which costs about £3 for every four acres, that price including "land, labour, seed, and evervthiug." Laud is cheap. Shortly before Mr Murray wrote a lot had been sold down south, aud it averaged about 2s 2d per acre. As the land was unimproved and a long way from a railway, the price was considered high. " Go south, young man," appears to be the Argentine version of Horace Greeley's famous advice. The country down there is said to be not half explored, "aud everybody you speak to says south is the place to go to for a man to start." With regard to the labouring classes Mr Murray remarks that " as for their being treacherous, they are all right as long as you leave them alone." The natives are fairly good hands with stock, but fearfully lazy, and " do little or nothing unless they are on top of a horse," while the fencing and agricultural work is done by Italians, who arc pouring into the country by hundreds every week. OF LUCERNE AND LOCUSTS. Iu common with every one who writes about farming in the Argentine, Mr Murray has something to say about the wonderful properties of alfalfa, or lucerne, as feed for stock. He mentions that there arc some crops in the country which arc said to have been down 150 years, and arc still quite good. The El Dorado cstancia has about two-thirds of its 20,000 acres in alfalfa, and is worth 30a an acre. It will carry 10,000 cattle, 20,000 sheep, and 7UO horses, and then fatten stock. "There is no doubt," says the writer, "that the alfalfa is good fattening stuff," and this fact is beginning to be recognised here. Some notes on prices should interest Canterbury farmers and graziers. "Fat stock," says Mr Murray, " is worth as much hero as m Canterbury : good bullocks (about 8501 b.) about £0 10s each, fat wethers shorn (about the same time as in New Zealand) 12s to 14s. They arc about 701 b. weight, and much coarser and uglier than ours. In fact," ho adds, " the Argentine stock arc a bad breed, but at the rate they arc importing from England they should be very good before long." On the cstancia there arc over 200 C

Shropshire owes, pure, or nearly so, and 2500 Lincoln ewes, nearly pure, and about 1000 head of cattle of a iiice breed, but the rams would only make ordinary wethers in lS T ew Zealand, " and then they get ±.'lo each for thorn." Store stock is cheaper there than here. Subsequently referring again to the alfalfa, Mr Murray says that the manager, Mr Stent (who' by the way is another New Zcalnuder, hailing from Wangauui and Ilawera), told him that he anticipated cutting a lot for seed. "He reckons if he gets fair luck he should have about fGOOO or £7OOO worth of seed, and possibly £IO,OOO, but, then, if locusts come badly he may not get any at all, so that is the kind of country this is." In spite, however, of the drawbacks of the locusts and the Government —and the winter is evidently not quite sure which is Iho worse—lie is emphatically of opinion that it is a good country. Probably, however, it is not all as good as the cstancia El Dorado appears to be.—Press. fUIEEP AND WOOL. A correspondent writing to an exchange, supplies the following COMMON -SENSE REFLECTIONS. The better the condition of the ewes, as a rule, the larger number of twins. Put the ewes into a thriving condition by increasing their feed and giving them access to salt and water. This will ensure more uniform breeding of the (lock and a more uniform lot of lambs.

As the lambing time approaches feed more liberally, and after the lambs are dropped and the owe has resumed her natural condition do not neglect this part of the programme. The feeling against sheep in some farmers' minds is nothing short of a "fad" and an unwarranted prejudice. The ABC of profitable wool-growing is first to ascertain what breed of sheep do best in your district, aud when once you have chosen keep to that strain, and class against climatic conditions and iufluauce. Fix a mental standard of the kind of sheep you wish to breed, class up to it, and use only one breed of rams.

I have observed this, that sonic shecpfarmers have never succeeded simply because they listened to and acted upon all the cheap advice readily given by those who knew more of their business than they knew of their own. Brown tolls them that his sheep cut half a pound more wool than theirs did, and so they immediately got some of the rams that Brown breeds from. Don't do that; cull heavier and you will soon beat him. It is this ticklencss that lias turned many a sheep man out of the road to success lie was in into a by-path of swamp to afterwards miserably fail. A strain of blood that produces a profitable sheep in one district where the conditions of food and climate arc favourable to it may be quite a failure in another. It requires years of practical experience to gain a full knowledge of the powers of a particular breed or strain of blood to adapt itself to a given district to produce a sheep with a profitable fleece and to carry a good crop of wool with age. What is to be the future of the wool industry ? is a question that is being pertinently asked and considered by sheepowners throughout the wide, wide world. Observation and experience lead one to say that experts who purchase the wool are apparently as much at sea in this matter as the sheep-owners. An Australian llockmastor lately asked a, woolbuyor if he would advise him to alter the breeding of his flock so as to grow wool to suit the present taste, and if he would guarantee the present fashion to last three years. The reply of the expert was: " I would not guarantee that it will last three months."

Notwithstanding the depression in wool, it would not be \vis9 for any sheep-farmer who lias a well-bred flock to alter the type of his sheep. No matter what the breed, it would bo almost a sin to destroy the purity of blood by crossing it with other strange breeds.

It has taken many years of careful breeding to raise both the merino and our English pure breeds to the high standard of excellence they now exhibit, and by hastily adopting an extreme cross to meet the possibly fleeting fashion of the time irreparable injury may be done. There are ample grazing grounds all over the world that will raise strong, coarse wool, but the pastures arc limited that will grow to perfection the bright, soft merino wools of the Southern colonics.

By proper care and strict attention to the details of sheep-raising, the farmer can continue to keep sheep even under present conditions and prospects. Any man who attends strictly to business and is a practical sheep man will find as much money in a sheep as in any other live stock, if not more. It is the wise man who can find or see some good from every evil. Sheep men think they are the most abused class of farmers to-day, yet they have, in a way, greatly benefited as a body. During the past few years the rlockmasters have graded up their flocks to a higher standard of excellence than formerly. Much difference is seen between the sheep coming to market nowadays and those of a few years ago, although sheep men arc making much less money than they used to.