DISPERSAL SALE OF BIG DAIRY HERD.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8839, 16 May 1914, Page 7

DISPERSAL SALE OF BIG DAIRY HERD.

300 COWS, PEDIGREE BULLS,

CALVES, HORSES, ETC.

LARGE ATTENDANCE : SATISFAG-

TORY SALE.

(From Our Special Reporter.)

METHVEN, May 15.. One of the most'important sales of, a high-class dairy Herd which has taken place in the Ashburton district since as far back as 1882, was commenced on Mr D. W. McLean's Mount Hutt es- 1 tate, about eight miles up from Methven, yesterday, when the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company submitted for bona fide unreserved sale, for Mr McLean, 300 milking cows, 2U pedigree Ayrshire bulls, 110 choice heifer calves, 15 fat bows, a few good stamps'of draught mares and. geldings, some useful hacks and sddle.horses and a lot of implement and sundries. ' The sale .was held in consequence of Mr McLean having recently sold the greater portion of his Mount'Hutt property, and is giving up to a. very large extent the extensive dairying industry he has been building up for the past four years. During, the latter, period he has got together one of the best dairy herds in the South Island, erected a most up-to-date and thoroughly well-equipped factory, 1 and demonstrated that the flats on the Mount Hutt estate are admirably adapted for the grazing of sows as well as sheep, and for the growing of wheat and oat crops.

During tlie four years Mr McLean has been getting his dairy herd together, he has spent very considerable sums of money in obtaining the very best strains of milking cattle that could be got, and has spared no reasonable expense in getting together a herd which would reflect high credit on any dairy farmer in any part of the Dominion.

The cattle brought under the hammer to-day were as good an all-round lot as one could wish to see and they comprised Jersey, Ayrshire, Shorthorn and Holstein crosses. The herd during its selection and building-up has from time to time been most judiciously culled and' well cared for, with the result that, with about three solitary exceptions, there was not a poor-condi-ioned or indifferently-bred animal submitted to-public competition to-day. The big majority of the cows were all in their prime, were well-grown and remarkably healthy looking and in the very pink of breeding condition. They were mostly second, third, or fourth calvers, and were nearly due in calf to pedigree, Ayrshire bulls. -.Amongst them were ) many which had been giving during the season just closed, six, seven, and eight gallons of milk per day, and the milk had always been given a high test. Every cow had been carefully dried off and in view of the sale oil the property, and the disposal of the herd, they had been dried off much earlier this season than usual.

The weather was particularly boisterous, with occasional bitterly' cold showers of rain, but the cattle had evidently been so well cared for, and were in such nice healthy condition, that the unfavourable weather had very little effect .on their appearance. There" was a good attendance of buyers and others, who were conveyed from various parts to the scene of the sale in motor cars and drags and other' vehicles. The bidding at the sale in the forenoon was a bit slow and perhaps a bit over-cautious, but during the afternoon it was often decidedly brisk, though no particularly high prices were realised. The sale all through must be regarded as a very satisfactory one, as most of the cows will have.to be kept through what promises to be a long winter before they are again in full profit. A few fat cows and heifers were first offered and brought from £5 10s to £6 10s per head. Nearly the whole of the dairy cows offered were bought singly, and the prices realised varied from £4 ss, £4 10s,'£5, £5 ss, £5 15s, £6, £6 10s, £7, £7 ss, £7 10s, £7 15s, £8, £8 ss, £8 10s, £8 15s, £9, £9 .ss, £9 10s, £9 15s, £10, £10 ss, £10 15s, £11, £11 ss, £13, £13 ss, £13 10s, and £14, and in one case up to £16. The lowest figure paid was 30s for the,one ancient and small cow of the herd. •■ The principal buyers were Messrs Hamish McLean (who owns the adjoining property to Mr McLean's and who recently became the purchaser of a considerable portion of the Mount Hutt property), Frank Peter (who has some suitable cattle country at Mount Somers), F. Oullison, C. Ellery, W. W. Gibb, ,T. Morland, O. Ireland, A. Hulston, 1. Gundry, Amos, H. Newton, Warley, Olark, H. Parks, H. Kennedy, S. Campbell, Wright, J. O- Crowley, ■ and S.

Smith. ' . - ." ' The balance of.the dairy cows (about 100), the pedigree bulls, the young stock and the horses and implements will be sold to-morrow (Saturday).