NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9862, 11 March 1896, Page 6

NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

"Weekly Press and Referee." (Mar. sth.) I Br Straggler. All things considered the annual Kaikoura sheep sale was quite successful. There was not, however, anything sensational in the -way of prices, but this is easily accounted for when we remember that a very large proportion of good stock had already left the district under sale by private treaty. So far as I can gather the values made at the sale were quite in keeping with the tone of markets further south, and the salesmen who make the long journey to Kaikoura may be congratulated upon the result of their labours in the interests of clients. The selling firms were Messrs Pyne and Co. and the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency. At the Blenheim Ram and Ewe Fair the other day, keen competition was experienced for English Leicester and Lincoln Rams, and '< a bright future is predicted for the fixture. I notice that Messrs Furze and Threlkeld, ef Canterbury, were represented, their Leicester? making up to 3|gs. Romney Marsh rams made 2gs, and Lincolns the same figure. The Carterton Observer has been pitching into the pastoralists of the district regarding the superiority of Canterbury sheep over those of Wairarapa. After quoting a lot of market figures illustrative of the difference in values our contemporary says:—"The London quotations for frozen meat invariably give a higher rate for Canterbury than for Wellington brands. The facts quoted above prove that the sheep turned out in the South Island are much superior in quality to the ,Wairarapa sheep, to the discredit of this district. Our pastoral and agricultural society would extend its usefulness if they enlightened the breeders of this district on the best means of turning out sheep equal to Canterbury. The President and several of its leading members are sheep-breeders, and also connected with the freezing works, and should have in their possession, or the means of obtaining, the knowledge necessary to bring about so desirable an end. A monthly letter from the executive to farmers generally on matters pertaining to farming would prove of inestimable value, and raise the usefulness of the and Agricultural Society. We ourselves would willingly publish such a paper free of cost, and also any correspondence of interest to this farming centre." i At Baggs, Wyoming, recently Mr F. H. Moreland shore 356 head of sheep in one I day of ten hours, thus beating all previous American records by twenty-four sheep. At the same place and day Phil Walsh shore 322 | head. The largest record last year was by Reynolds Bros., near Choteau, each shearing 312 head. Other big records were made by Marquis Bros., near Glendive, who shore 606 head, and Perry Bachelor 260 head. Some animation is now apparent in the demand from graziers for breeding ewes. But for the horribly dry weather it is quite possible that the competition would be exceptionally keen; but absence of moisture and discouraging feed prospects act as a distinct check on speculative spirits, who have from necessity to confine their purchases to actual and in some cases unusually limited requirements. Commenting on the Christmas meat display in the Leadenhall meat market, a correspondent of the Pastoralists' Review says:—There is a big trade done in this market in frozen meat—retail; Messrs John S. Fitter and Sons cut New Zealand sheep and Queensland beef. I asked them for their list price in passing, and I here annex the same as a continuation of my reports on the retail sale of frozen meat, and a commentary ■upon Mr Stevenson's "Frozen Meat at 16dper lb ":—Mutton : Sides, s£d; hind-quarters, 6£d; fore-quarters, 5d ; saddles, 6d; haunches, 6£d; loins, 6d; shoulders, 6d; legs and necks, 6£d; legs, 7d ; shoulders with necks, s£d ; necks, s£d ; breasts, 3d ; chops, lOd. Frozen beef at proportionate rates. I am in receipt of the February issue of the Australasian Pastoralistz;'Review, and am indebted to it for some items of Australian pnews.

The following is an extract from a private letter received from a large Midland manufacturing town Hi England:—''l think the retailers are a good Aisil to blame for the unpopularity of your meat in England. They take no trouble to thaw the meat and make it look attractive. I heard recently of a case where a workman's wife bought a leg of mutton, stuck a fork into it before putting .it into the oven and found it frozen solid an inch from the surface. She straightway chucked the whole into the ash bin, saying she was not going to eat stuff like that." Four vessels, bringing 150,000 carcases of mutton, have arrived during the month from New Zealand, writes the London representative of the Review. The feature of this department has been the comparative scarcity of Canterbury sheep, which have remained steady at 4d to 4£d per lb. Secondary grades have been rather slack, owing to the large quantities of foreign sheep and English ewes offering at low prices. December is a month for beef rather than mutton, and the heavy import of live sheep from the States still is a thorn in the flesh. Australian mutton has kept decidedly low except for bsst brands. j Arrivals have been small, but I hear that in the month of January some fifteen steamers are expected with about 300,000 Australian sheep. Possibly, this large.arrival is the result of the good prices quoted some months back. Experience, though, seems to point to the conclusion that such periods of high valuo are evanescent, and that it would be better to anticipate than to follow them. Trade has been poor for this class of frozen mutton, the market being disturbed by considerable irregularity in quality, and a wide range in price has consequently been the rule of late. Prime Riverina crossbreds, 601b, are quoted up to 3d per lb; best Melbourne sheep, 2gd ; whilst some parcels of plain Sydneys j have gone so low as 2d. There has been some dispute on the part of c.Lf. buyers, concerning the Australian sheep, which in some cases are declared, owing to signs of i drought, not to be up to agreement, so I repudiations are afoot. On the whole, Plate sheep are doing better in London than Australian; the former are firmly held for an average of 2d. Writing in December the Argentina correspondent of the Review said: —Nearly 4,000,000 hides have been exported out of the country this year to date, and 1,559,056 frozen wethers up till October 30th. The " roll of the drum," as the Standard calls it, keeps coming from time to time from beyond the Andes. And on this side President General Jules Roca, when he took office in place of;Unburn a few weeks ago, in his inauguration, speech announced the fact that " Argentines were now becoming tired of an armed peace." l This was much commented on in all the Chilian papers. What did it mean ? If the Argentines were tired of armed peace, what did they want now? War? But Chili, though she means to have war sooner or later, is not yet ready. There are neighbours whose alliance or neutrality it is necessary to settle—Bolivia to be pampered, Peru to be finally put out of the row. Meanwhile two of the German officers who came out to instruct the Chilian army have resigned their commissions. The reason they give is that they came to fight, not to drill ! Did they ? That is exactly what we all thought but no one dare say it. Thirtyeight German officers remain.

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