ON THE LAND.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2389, 2 January 1909, Page 2

ON THE LAND.

THE WOOL MARKET. VIEWED FROM AUSTRALIAN ■ STANDPOINT. ' . A complete ■clia.ng© has. ©oihe- over the statistical position during the six months (says tlie “Sydney Mormhg Herald.”) The heavy, stocks of old wool held l in the colonial and London markets have disappeared, and with the exception of 10,000 bales in London —-a modest- total—we have now only to take into consideration the legitimate production of the present season. The way is clear for developments of a favorable character. We do not mean to infer that anything of the nature of a boom in prices'should follow; but even a moderate expansion of trade should be sufficient to secure a maintenance of present values. Supplies arc not hung up,- for the ready sale of offerings extended to all other Australian markets, and was the subject of frequent comment in the reports. Taking everything into consideration, we cannot see anything- in the present outlook to alarm the wool grower who has yet to turn his clip into cash.

SOUNDNESS IN STALLIONS.

NEW SOUTH WALES COMING

INTO LINE

Though New Zealand was the first country within the Empire to propose a Stailion Law—suggested by the Chief Veterinarian and 1 supported by the Secretary for —it -is still permitting its' horse stock to be deteriorated by tlie- unrestricted use of stallions possessed of hereditary defects, due to the. apathy of A. and P. Associations, which have allowed themselves to be led . hv interested horse owners, and the opposition of prominent agriculturists, who think more of speed in- a racehorse than soundness in tlie horseflesh of the country. In the meantime Victoria has successfully established a Stallion Law. and now the leading agricultural society of New South 1\ ales, the Royal, of Sydney, has adopted the - view that there should be a tax on stal-

lions., and that the- fund raised by this means should be devoted to providing premiums for stallions to stand in various districts. Competitions for these premiums arc to be instituted at shows held in convenient places. The winner of the premium would under the conditions be requited to accept fees for the services of his- hofso which would bring them within reach of the small farmers. The council of the society is to bo asked to make recommendation to this effect to the Minister for Agriculture. With regard to the soundness of stallions competing at shows, the committee has resolved that a certificate be demanded 1 for every competing stallion at the Royal Show in 1910, it being considered that some time- must be,allowed to lapse'before the condition could be fairly insisted upon. The committee has decided also that in the event of the Government adopting au official examination of stallions prior to the 1910 show, the society would accept the Government certificate.

GENERAL NOTES. A country A. and P. Society of New South Wales, that of Glen limes, favors the proposal of a £2-5 tax on all stallions at the service of the public. A few weeks ago; (says the Hawera “Star”) farmers had grave fears that the season indicated another drought, but since then copious rains have fallen, and local agriculturists are now complaining of the excessive rainfall. Last night’s heavy downpour has had the effect of flattening out a number of- oat crops on the flats, and much hay has been more or less damaged. Dairy farmers, on tlio are- .well pleased, and with a further spell of fine weather the feed will come away excellently. It is declared that the rape and--tur-nip crops in the 'Ashburton district have not looked so well for many years. - ■ According to the “Hastings Standard” considerable damage has been done to grain crops in Hawkes Bay by the recent, rains. A dairy farmer in the Hawera district, last month drew a cheque fromhis factory -lor £lB7 for the milk from 100 cows . . ... ' . A petition is being circulated in Taranaki protesting against the registration fee of os proposed to be charged in connection with the dairy regulations. Though the local bodies in certain districts of Canterbury have not relaxed their efforts to abate the small birds nuisance the birds have-never been known to" be more . destructive than they are this'season. , It, is stated that the very mild winters of recent years have been against the destruction of birds in large numbers. Crops generally in the Waikato are turning out well, the" showery season being favorable for oats, which is the principal grain grown in the district. In addition to being well-grown grain crops are very bright and clean with a complete absence of either rust or smut. Early potatoes are being dug, and where unaffected by blight are yielding good returns. The main ci - oi> of potatoes is showing a luxuriant growth, and up to the present is mostly free from blight. The fruit crop promises to be good, peaches and nectarines being exceptionally plentiful (writes the Nelson “Colonist’s” Motueka correspondent). Apples will be about the average, but plums will be lighter than usual. The

farm Station.

recent rain lias been of immense benefit to the raspberry crop, and the yield will be much larger than last season. ■ Several crops of barley in the Ashburton County arc fast reaching the ripening stage, and will be .ready tor reaping shortly. The grain'is filling well. It is said" that many of the crops are showing signs of smut, but only of the ordinary soft kind that is easily washed or shaken off. A Taranaki farmer, Mr. I). Kemp, of Patea, who dehorns all his-cows, is entlrusiastie in praise of the principle-; . He dehorned over a hundred head last season, and does* not know of a single instance where there has been any illinfects as the result. On the contrary tlie cattle do not knock each other about or stair each other, 'they feed better, and a child 1 can go among them without danger. The following testimony in favor of molasses as a live-stock food given by an American farmer:—“When 1 was farming some years ago, a young cow had twins. I had them taken away to raise by hand, and fed them on a mixture of' skim-milk and molasses. In a few weeks they were the finest calves I ever raised, and* brought the top price of the market!”

NOTES. An outstanding feature of the sales during the past month (says a Sydney writer under date of December 16th) lias been the brisk competition on American account for all attractive light-conditioned lots showing good quality, both in merinos and crossbreds. The demand from this;quarter has been well . sustained throughout from a larger number of buyers than usual, and the high prices ruling fertile past few weeks were fairly well kept up at the auctions last week; while for good to medium and inferior sorts of fleece wools and skirting of all descriptions Continental buyers have been the mainstay of the market, and have taken the bulk of the lots sold.

There seems to be a large increase in the acreage under crops in the district this season (observes the Hawera “Star”), which means that far more attention is being paid to the question of winter feeding of dairy stock. Maize seems to be largely in favor, a good deal of land is sown in oats, and crops of barley, etc., and the usual root crops made up a welcome addition to the cropping acreage. After the “blight” experiences of the past few years farmers arc evidently shy of potato growing, for. there are not nearly so many crops to be seen this year as formerly. However, potato cultivation this season-promises to be highly satisafetory, as crops are looking first-class. „ Already.several small oat and barley crops in this district have been cut., and some of them are actually in the stack (reports the Oamaru “Mail”). This is almost- unprecedentedly early for either of these cereals in North Otago, and the fact- that some cutting has neon done cannot be accepted, as a sign that the -harvest generally will he early. It. will be remembered that last year at this time we suffered from a severe drought, which spoiled a great proportion of the feed, both rootcrops and grass. Fortunately, this less was in many cases made remediable by the March rams ,which were so propitious that many farmers took heart to sow oats and barley for catch crops. So much of this was put down that it was" not all required for feed, with the result that some of it was alio we d : to come to seed. It is these very early-sown areas that are now being harvested, and several of them are expected to yield gratifying results.