NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9315, 16 January 1896, Page 2

NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

«. " Weekly Press and Referee." I Br Straggler, I am in receipt of two letters anent the i Ram Fair date di3puto. One writer, " Old i Hand," sends mc a very lengthy communii cation, which I regret to say contains much matter quite foreign to the question at issue and touches upon many issues in connection » with the Agricultural and Pastoral AssociI ation, which I see no reason to discuss » meantime. One portion of the letter is, however, ] devoted to criticism of "Early Lamb's" i letter which appeared last week and questions the utility of early lamb raising. My correspondent avers that there is absolutely no gain in getting lambs into the market before the end of December because the | exporters are not fairly at work before the date named. This is the only extract from his letter that I can see my way to give publicity to. Another correspondent, •' Cockatoo" writes on the same subject and says :— Re the date of the ram fair. Your correspondent " Early Lamb" should remember that upon all questions such as this the point of view makes all the difference in people's opinions. He apparently is looking at the question from the farmers' and fat lamb breeders' point of view, but he forgets that the fixing of the date of the ram fair i 3 j in the hands of a body of men of whom most are ram sellers and the bulk of the balance amiable nonentities. What I "should like J to suggest is that if the A. and P. Associations like to hold a ram fair in the end of March, let them by all means, but let a small syndicate qf whom I will make one, hold a farmers' fair in the end of February. I think this can easily be done and will get over the little difficulty. A Victorian contemporary reports that, - following on the contract for the conveyance of frozen produce to London, the Government has now entered into an agreement with the Gulf line for a monthly service between Melbourne and Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow. The contract is to come into fores in May next. The Gulf of \ Siam, privately chartered, has already been despatched to Manchester with a cargo of frozen produce, which Mr Sinclair, the,----i export trade commissioner, has been intructed to report on on its arrival. The freights to the northern ports are slightly 1 heavier than to London, but the option of three ports is a largo consideration with shippers. Butter and meat will be carried at|dper lb, cheese 15-16 d; other perishable produce, 75s psr ton of 40 cubic feet, and fruit 4s a case. A fair number of sheep were yarded at the Kirwee market on Friday last. For export and forward sheep the demand was keen, the former selling at ISs and 153 3d and the latter at lis to 12s 3d. Lambs were penned fairly, but only in tho imagination of owners could some of them be classed as fat. Following the " lamb spurt" at the DarSeld sales a fortnight before, the Kirwee prices came as a distinct disappointment to sellers, who wore by no means prepared for ! the fate which awaited them. At the Rakaia sale the day previous to < Kirwee, a good many sheep were offered, i including a large line from Acton Estate. ' A fair clearance was made and, although ( not sold under the hammer, I-am informed , the Acton line was afterwards placed < rivately. j The Gisbome Freezing Company is appar- ' ently safely launched upon what we all , sincerely trust will be a prosperous career, i Mr Shelton seems to have worked the matter < i up in a thoroughly energetic manner, and < has had the satisfaction of receiving stead- "* fast support from the farmers of the district. [ Amongst the directors I notice the name ot Mr James Macfarlane, late of Achray, s Amuri. The outcome of sheep venture per Echuca, I shipped Adelaide, 22nd June, 1895, sold j London, 12th August, 1895, is as follows :— I Cr. r 95 head at 33s .. ..£173 12 0 , c 5 Insurance at 35s .. 815 0 t. 1 killed by ship, say .. 1 IB 0 Dr. £189 5 0 v Freight . .. .. .. £50 0 0- I Pens .. .. .. 13 0 0 <, Troughs 3 11 Fodder 27 13 9 c Wharfage and agency ..150 1 Gratuity for loading .. .. 05 0 s Insurance .. .. ... 17 10 0 London charges— Commission „ .. 4 14 0 l>riving .. ~ 0 15 8 t Landing.. .... 3 18 6 _ Harrold Bros., 24 per cent, on , gross proceeds .. .. • 414 8 c — 125 17 7 s v Average, 12s 6d per head .. .. £62 7 5 v Tho sheep were valued at lis at Port Ade- v laide at the time of shipment. E lam indebted to the PattoralisW JRevmo s for the following interesting South Aus- i tralian items :— v Shropshire • sheep have " caught on" \ wonderfully in South Australia of late s year 3, and our flocks are said to be amongst c the finest in Australia. These sheep do n uncommonly well in this province, and their c owners speak highly of their many good qualities. The Kadlunga flock, owned by the Chief Justice and managed by Mr F. H. S Weston, was formed in 1889 by the importa- a tion of ten ewes and one ram, and although *' fifty-seven sheep have been sold the stud o now numbers 110. This season the grown „ sheep, including several aged ewes, averaged 81b of wool, which realised 9£d per pound s at our local wool sales—the highest price v obtained this season for greasy wool. The ewe which took tho championship at the f, September Royal Show cut lOilb of clean, s bright, high-class wool. Despite heavy h losses, owing to a long lambing in an unfavourable season, there are now running with the forty-six ewes of the stud no less „ than fifty-one lambs from two to five months a old. One of the original ewes has reared in ti the six years fourteen lambs, and another a thirteen. Notwithstanding a trying season, , the ewes and lambs are in splendid condi- ri tion, though entirely dependent upon a natural grasses. Seven of the strongest t] looking lambs were recently put on the I' | scales and gave the following results :—Ewe * lamb, 150 days old, 1051b; ewe lamb, 142 _ days old, lQolbs ; ewe lamb, 128 days old, h 1021b; ram lamb (a twin), 135 days old, tl 1091b; ram lamb, 131 days old, 1241b ; ram B lamb, 156 days old, 1271b5; ram lamb, 01 144 days old, 1301bs. Mr S. S. Ralli's g ' Werocata flocks also supply a striking a] illustration of the profitable qualities of the Shropshire when crossed with the Merino, hi Ten Shrop-Merino wethers lambed in May and June, 1894 (eighteen months' old) were ci picked from a lot of fifty. The best five M scaled 170, 169, 169, 167, and 1651b5, or an ol average of 1681bs each. The remaining five h; weighed 132, 132,133, 140, and 1411bs, or an ** average of 1361b5. The weights of the other -y forty were estimated to average 1561bs when ti taken from the paddock. These fifty sheep fr have been shipped alive to London by the ni Yarrawonga, and the result of the experi- ■*' ment will be watched with interest. The , same steamer carried 250 live sheep put on w board by Messrs Harrold Bros and Mr F George Dean. A valuable addition to our Shropshire ?° flocks has recently been made by Mr Philip ' Charley, who has imported three rams and n <: three ewes from England. These are high- nc class sheep from the very best flocks in sii England. Mr Charley has also imported a a Southdown ram. Mr R. Smith and Mr S. .** ra S. Ralli are, it is reported, bringing out from j, a England some valuable Shropshire 3. b: Mr W. B. Sell's stud of Lincolns at Second

Valley Station, Caps Jervis, have cut remarkable fleeces this-yeai\ Tho stud ewes average over 141bs of wool each. Two rains cut 23 and 23ilbs respectively, while sixteen 4-tooth ewes average 191bs each. One ewe, with lamb at foot, cut 19ilbs from 361 days' growth. Another ewe cut 22Jlbs, and its live weight was 2891b5. These sheep have been running in 200 acres of wattle bark plantation, which, in addition to keeping the 9hesp, yielded 90 tons of wattle bark.