AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 73, 29 April 1930, Page 5

AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

PARAGRAPHS OF INTEREST TO THE FARMER Mice is the strange crop reared on a farm at Rayleigh, Essex. They ar© in demand among scientists for research work and other purposes. * * • T11 June of this j-ear a party of New Zealand farmers will pay a visit to Australia after the manner of the interisland visits that were exchanged last year. It is proposed that the tour should occupy about six weeks, and the cost has been estimated at about £115. * * * "VVhile quite a. large pfoportion of Hawke's Bay's wool clip is Ke'ing held over in the Napier stores from the passing selling season, waiting for the Bradford prices to show an increase, a southern exehange states that very little wool has been lield over in the South Island this year. • * * A Hawke's Bav fariner, in a letter from another of his oalling in Canada, received some interesting infonnatioii relative to experiments carried out rere ntly in Canada in the crossing of beef cattle with bison. The births of, male calves in the experiments resulted in a very high percentage of mortality, both of cow and of calf, and the males that lived were sterile. The female hybrids, liowever, were successful animals, fertile to eitlier bison or domest'icated bull able to "rustle" for themselves in had weather and on scanty pasture, and producing a very good grade of beef, somewhat like that of the Aberdeen Angus. Moreover, crossing these liyhrids among themselves produced an F5 generation, to which the name of "cattalo" was given. These fxhibited the useful qualities of the nrst crosses. * * * It will be news to Hawke's Bay farmers to hear that wool buyers are considering a new system enahling clips to be valued in one centre and sold in another. Poverty Bay farmers are still hopeful of Gisborne becoming a wool centre. Gisborne woolbrokers were surprised but sympathetic when the subject was mentioned to them, and stated that Gisborne had niade its application for iiiclusion in next season' s roster, but it had met the fate of such applications in the past. The bulk of the Poverty Bay wool being held was in the stores at Napier. The oply prospect of getting saies at Gisborne miglit be the congestion of the stores at Napier through growers hokling back wool, as they had done this season. * * * This is just the season for the Hawke's Bay farmer to go seriously iuto the question of top-dressing. A few pounds spent on top-dressing just now, given a little warm rain would be of material benefit in bringing the Winter growth away. ♦ * * The farmers of Hawke's Bayv will join in congratulating the ofBcers of the Fields Division and Plant Research Station 'at Palmerston North in sounding the death knell of the ragwort pest. The new remedy must, from all ' accounts,- he a most • effeetive oue. Mr Deem is a man ■ -wliose opinion must carry, and he is definite- that- the- end of- the ragwort pest .is in sight. What is required now is a- similarly effeetive remedy for the blackberry pest. * * * Hawke's Bay fanners on the lookout for a cattle market will he interested to hear that the first shipment of cattle from Gisborne for the past four years has just been made to Westport. The severe dry spell in Poverty Bay and on the East Coast three or four years ago took heavy toll of cattle, but since then there has been a gradual building up of herds, until now it is believed that Povei-ty Bay will once more be able to supply other parts with at least a portion of tlieir beef. It is thouglit in Poverty Bay that during the coming Winter there will be a profitable market for beef both at Addington and Westfield. Gisborne is at present in receipt of an inquiryj for cattle from Canterbury.

During the past few years there | has been a steady decrease in the numj bers of Hawke's Bay breeding ewes sent . to the South Island markets. Commenting 011 the general drop in the numbers of North Island sheep sold at Addington, one southern writer says : "Tlie principal outlet now for North Island ewes is Taranaki and the Wai kato. where dairy farmers find that it pays them to run a certain number of strong-woolled sheep with tlieir cows. Some authorities express the opinion that this is one of the results of top-dressing the pastures. Wliatever the cause, the_ demand for sheep hy these two provinces has never prevailed before to the same extent as has been the case this season. The demand in the North Island, coupled with. the lower prices ruling in Canterbury, for breeding ewes, put shipment to the South Island out of the question. * * * The returns of the New Zealand Cooperative Herd Testing Association show that 84,184 cows were tested in March, and that the average yield was 5781b inilk and 27.581b fat. The test was 4.7. For the corresponding month last year 68,611 cows were tested, and they gave an average yield of 4101b milk and 20.191b fat. Tlie test was 4.9. The increase in the yield this year is due to the . more favourable autumn and the continued growth of pasture. • * f Latest advices received in Hawke's Bay state that the Bradford tops market is firm, and prices are hardening. Combers are pfactically at a standstill, but several spinners are working. Quotations are: — Sixty-fours, 28-Jd; 60' s, 27d; 56's, 21d; 50's, lSd ; 46's, lo|d; 40's, loid.