AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 256, 1 December 1930, Page 5

AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

JPARAGRAPHS OF INTEREST TO THE FARMElt. Whereas almost right up until the last moment it was not thought likely that the araount of grassland in Hawke's Bay en= tered for ryegrass seed certifica= tion this year would be anything like the original estimate made some weeks ago of 5000 acres, entries came in so fast on Satur= day, the closing day, that it is now anticipated that an area of 4000 acres will he harvested this year. The crop froin this 'area will not, however, be as large, I should imagine, as it was per acre last year. * * * This year the area. to be coverctl by the Departinent of Agriculture ofiicers engaged. upon the work of tield iuspection will be considerably enlarged, for outside of the Hastings tiatlands, applieations for eertificatioii have been received from tlie Hatuma, Waipukurau, Waipawa, Elsthorpe, Fernhill, Puketapu, Eskdale and Waimarama distriets. * * » 1'articular interest.is being taken by Hawke's Bay farmers iu tlie trials wliich are being carried out in various parts of the province by the Agricultural Department with Herning's swede seed. The particular variety of swode lias the reputation of being allnost entirely disease resisting and .very successful trials have been carried out in the South lslantl. In the past it lias been very difficult to achieve any great success with swedes in this district, due to the fly, and it is for this reason that the present experiments «n*& being "watclied witli sucli interest. * * * Verv light conditions in respect to feed were blamed for lambing percentages, wliich reached only around the 50 to 60 mark in tlie Maraekakaho area this year. Feed conditions ro. this district are still decidedly light and it requires a lot _ of rain and sun before tlie pastures will reach the condi.tion tliat they should be in at. this tiine of the year. * * + A light frost in the Hastings area on Saturday morning gave market gardeners a scare and had the effect of cutting some crops of potatoes, also marrows, purapkins and French beans. It also had a deterrent effect upon the tomato crops in this area, but was not severe enough to do any material harm to the fruit crops in the orchards. The pres= ent season would take a lot of beating for uncertainty, with frosts occurring in November.- * * * The Hawke's Bay small farmer is not tlie oulv oue of his calling in the Dominion who lias been up against adverse conditions lately. The recent floods at Otaki must have caused considerable damage to the market gardens tliere. A Hawke's Bay farmer wlio recent-ly passed througli the area on the train, was telling me that he noticed many gardens completely covered by silt, while cabbages, Iettuce, etc,, were strewn along the tops of tlie fences for many chains. * * * It was a case of "coats off" at the .Pori; Ahuriri wool stores tliis morning, when the wool-buyers commenced tlieir inspection of the fleeces opened up in readiness for them. The majoritv of the buvers arrived by train from Wanganui 011 Saturday niglit, but a few came over from tlie otlier coast by car immediately after the sale and gained an early start. * * * "Gwavas" Station did particularly well to top tlie market for greasv rrossbred at tlie London series of wool saies on Friday, making the remarkahly good tigure of 81d. This clip is usually amongst the best in Hawke's Bay. * * * Present indications do not point to a very big sale at Wai= pukurau to=morrow, but it is never possible to estimate in any degree the size of the yarding until the last moment. The pres= ent sale list, however, is made up of 60 breeding ewes with S.D. lambs at foot, 50 weaner to 2= * year P.A. steers, two bulls and 70 breeding cows and heifers. * 1* a. A seleetion of pedigree cattlc, together with other stoek and a quantitv of farm machinerv, will be offered for sale at Twyford afc 11 a.m. 011 Friday nest. Deceniher 5, by Messrs Murray, Roherts and Co., 011 belialf of Mr F. Burge. Tlie offering comprises tlie live and dead stock recently puroliased l>y Mr Burge from Mr John A. Macfarlane. It will include* 27 pedigree Jersey cows in profit; nine pedigree lieifer ealves ; seven pedigree bull ealves ; 56 grade Jersey cows in profit; 15 grade Jersey cows to calve; and four pedigree Jersey bulls. Fifteen breeding cows, tliree bo&rs and 20 weaners, in addition to tliree draught mares, hrolcen to all places, ' will also he auctionerl. The maehinery includes eledges, hay sweeps, ploughs, liarrows, mowers and a quantity of miscellaneous implements. * * * Mr Jas. Steventon, of Flaxton, has iinported a liigh-class stud merino ram from the fiock of Mr Sage Bruce, LoonVbah, New_ South Wales. This is the second merino ram imported hy Mr Stevenson this year, a special stud ram liaving been purcliased at the Sydney Roval slieep saies from Mosses F. S. Falkiner and {5011s, Ltd,, Boonoke. The iniportations were ma^lo th rough Messrs Wright, Steph'enson and Co. ,