FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3064, 5 March 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Co-oi'KitATios is Amkrica. —Co operation is making immon*e strido* forward in America. Tho difficulties of thn system are being overcome. Tho idea that nnyono could mnnngo thn factory, the store or the band ha* long since been exploded ; and, as eo-operatora now approach their ventures under good direction, failures are becoming fewer and fewer, whilo in tho majority of cases immense dividends are being realised. Tho latest manifestation of tho system is the Kansas Farmers' Alliance, a echeinc by which Btores under one genernl management, with a capital oC £4,000,000, are about; to be built. The American Agriculturist of October mentions several other large businesses which are either fully under way or in the conrso of being; formed. Certain Western .cattle growers have an effective co-operation through which last year they marketed 10,000 car loads of live stock for over 2,500,C00d01., netting 50 per cent, interest rebate on the commissions usually exacted by stock exchange brokers, after paying 50 per cent, interest on the capital employed ! Co-operative banking and building associations ara increasing at tho rate of nenrly 500 per year, with an ultimate eaoital of 1,000,000d01. Their deposits about equal those of all national bnnlta. One farmers' bank alone has reduced interest rates in a whole state, and still has been able to return its farmer shareholders profits aggregating upwards of 700,000 dol. There are old f mhioned co-operative stores which trade to the amount of from 50,000 dol. a year, and regulating if not controlling the business of whole states and cities owned and operated by farmers aud workinir men, and returning 5 to 17 per cent, dividend or rebate to purchasers after paying fair interest on capital. Farmers' exchanges market thousands of cars of produce for hundreds of thousaudsof dollars ; securing better transportation, lower freights, betti-.r markets and more prompt returns, al an iictuuhi"t sa.v- , in" in tho usual Kolling- agents' commissions in one instance amounting to 30 000 dol. and m another case furnishing , all tho capital required for the Farmers' Exchange. I" oth'ii , word*, the fanners get all these immense l> , . nefits.and at the middleman's expense ! Butter and cheese factories almost without number are owned or operated more or less co-opera-tively, and the strictly co-operativo creameries pay much better than proprietary factories. Co-operative associations are successfully solving the problem of how to give tho producer a fair share of what city consumers pay for milk. Farm mutuals or co-operative fire insurance companies in only 10 states carry risks to the amount of 650,000,000 dol. a year. ROAUINO HORSKS.-A proposal has been made to bring Ormonde back to the stud in England, and a syndicate tor this purpose was formed some time ago. It was proposed to limit the horse to 35 foxing mares in each season, at a foe of 300 jruinens per mare, llr Chnplm, president of tho Board of Agriculture was asked to become .i subscriber and in his reply, sent to Mr J . UunicWebstcr, the eight hon. gentlemen gives utterance to such sensible observations as to broediu» from unsound stock that we cannot do better than print hie letter m full, with the preface that his advice holds good i.i regard to ordinary hoists as well as to tho'e for which a covering fee of 300 guineas is demanded, and Iβ equally bouu'l wlienlother;disoases than roaring are in question :—" 21 Berkelysquare, W., 4th November, 1891.-Dear Sir,-I have to thank you for your letter of the 30th October, but I regret to say that I can give vou no assistance in the project of bringing Ormonde back. He was undoubtedly a roarer when he loft this country, and it is for that reason alone that the Duke of Westminister parted with him. KoariiiKis a hereditary complain!:, and hia stocK", although this is the first season they have run, have already shown symptoms of that disease. It Ims greatly increased of recent years; I believe it is still, aud it is far too prevalent among our breed of horses already m this country. I attribute that increase in a .rreat decree to the way in which stallions suffering from that complaint are so recklessly used, as I think, by many breeders of thoroughbred stock, and 1 conceive nothing more injurious to tno broed of horses generally in this country than the at the enormous price of an unsound horse like Ormonde at the present time. It is very probable, I admit, that he would become the sire of a number of speedy animals and ot many winners of short races It is also passible that his return might bs made successful as a commercial speculation, but that it will inevitably tend to stiU further spread the most injurious disease, and to propagate a race of unsound horses through the country there cannot be a doubt to anyone who is couversaut with breeding. For theso reasons I confess, good horse though ho was himseif— and I believe him, with, perhaps, the exception of St. Simon, to bo the best I have ever eeen-that I should much re-ret to see him return, and I can lend you no assistance in bringing it about.— lam, yours truly, He.n'RY CIIAPLIS. LABODK AT fIABVKST-TIME.-The Melbourne Leader says:—Every year as regularly as the harvest season comes round complaints are heard from farmers with reference to the erratic conduct of the labourers they are forced to employ. With the advent, of the busy season the ordinary staff of farm labourers has to be supplemented by recruits from the nomadic class, who come no one exactly knews from where, and disappear when the crops are garnered. These men are usually hired by the day, tho custom being for the farmer to drive into tho nearest township, and hire whatever help he wants at the particular public house favored by the clam of labourers ho is m want of. Very frequently, in order to syet the men to go with him, the farmer has to propitiate their good graces by " shouting " several times, and it sometimes happens that even after this oxpenditure on the employers part, the men refuse to go with him, in the hope that another fanner will come along and treat them in the same way. When the farmer is successful in bringing the men to the farm, his troubles are by no means ended, for after working a couple of dajs and earning a fow shillings, these restless creatures generally insist upon getting «-heir money and forthwith adjourn to the nearest hotel to assuage the thirst that is consuming them. A.s they are hired by the day they have the privilege of leaving their employer whenever it pleases thqm, and they seldom neglect to assert this right at a moment's notice. A check upon this custom would be to initiate the practice of hiriug the men by the week instead of by the day. A few farmers follow this rule, and they find that it works well. Being hired by the week, th« men know that their wages will be forfeited if they leave before the timo expires, and consequently they stay on. After a week's hard work in the field their physical condition is greatly improved; they have to some extent lost the craving for "long beers " and they generally evince a willingness to remain until the job is finished. It is during the first couple of days that the most trouble is with the men, but if they are compelled by want of funds to stay for a week they grow comparatively contented. Tho ptactice of hiring harvest hands by the week instead of by the day is worthy of a trial, and we believe a ehanero in that direction would be attended with good results.