NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9385, 8 April 1896, Page 2

NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

By Straggler.

"Weekly Press and Referee," (April 2)

At Dunsandel saleyards on Monday a good entry of sheep was sold at current rates. Forward cross-bred s made up to 10s 2d, fat lamb 3to 10s, stove ditto 6s 6d to 7s 9d and : merino ewes sound mouth 3s to 3s sd: At the Ram Fair, held under the auspices ' of the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association, there was a large attendance, and a larger entry of sheep than any previous year. In the face of the low prices for frozen mutton and fat sheep, and the extraordinary deoline in sheep generally, the prices realised for rams might be coneidereel- fair, with the exception of stud rams,- which were extremely low, and out of all proportion to the prices obtained for similar sheep a few years ago. The sheep of Messrs Little Bros, ftul of the Land Company were in excellent condition, the recent importation of the former baying added considerably to the merit of Little Bros, sheep, and this fact, despite the low prices, seemed to be appreciated by breeders. ' The seoretary of the N.O.A. and P. Asso-. ciation was a witness to the selling of three Shropshire rams, the "gift of Mr Aitken, of Gleniffer, a.nd the secretary strong in his desire to secure the greatest amount of good to the Society, would not see the rams going at three-quarters of a guinea each. He made a bid of one guinea each, and the rams fell to the patriotic secretary. The auctioneer commended the secretary's pluck and enterprise, and made the remark that euch beautiful Shropshire jams would look well on the secretary's lawn.

The weather for the Highbank Sale on Thursday last was decidedly damp, but nevertheless a really good sale resulted. The sheep were distributed between Waikari and Fairlie Creek. The half-bred two tooth ewes made up to Sjs 7d, and the three-quarter brede up to 9s. The sheep were in excellent order and a credit to their

owner. A writer in the Hamilton Spectator (Vie.) say a :—" The Royal Agricultural Society has set an example which, it to be hoped will be followed by other similar institutions in the colony. The formation of a social club, and the arrangement of quarterly dinners in connection therewith, were suggested by Mr P. S. Lang, and carried into effect by Mr Thomas Skene, Mr McGregor and others The first social gathering was most successful thanks chiefly to Mr T. Skene, whose paper initiated a general and animated discussion. The Royal Society is not the first, however, to commence this good educational work. To the Hamiltpn P. and A. Society belongß the credit of arranging for lectures, &c, on subjects of interest to the producers long befor% the central organisation took up the idea. If something in the nature of social gatherings were attempted in Hamilton it would probably prove a success, for after all there ie no better way of petting men to talk than by providing them with a decent dinner, a good glass of wine—or lemonade?—and a little music to vary the monotony of speech-making. The • Royal' Society's late gathering was some, what of an experiment. To begin witfimembers and visitors looked apprehensive and bored in advance, but these feelings soon melted away under the influence of excellent viands and good company, and from six o'clock till ten everyone appeared to enjoy himself heartily. Other papers and addresses on live subjects of the day are in course of preparation by members of the Royal Society, and the next dinner of the social club will be looked forward to with pleasurable expectation." The JPcutoralUts' Btview says.—lf the estimated retunw of the Inspector-General of Stock for New South Wales turn out correct, and it appears to us that the loss has, if anything, been under rather than over-estimated, there is a deficiency, as ! compared with twelve months ago, of nearly 10,000,000 cheep and 300,000 cattle in that colony. The cause of these deficiencies are i threefold—losses from drought and severe cold after laet shearing, large quantities of stock boiled down, and very heavy sales of stock through Flemington yards in consequence of the dry season ; and, added to the natural losses, the lambing generally was a failure. What result may be expected from this large reduction in numbers 2 With

the exception of tho south-western come of New South Wales, there have beta magnificent rains?, the country is recovering itself rapidly, and stock is reported to U doing well, while tho grass and wate. supply, up to next, shearing at all events j aro secured* Consequently the demand fot sheep and cattle is. very etrong, especigQj for good breeding ewes and sound wethen of fattening ages, and prices are gradually getting back to their old levels. Again th» March wool sales have opened with a furthe 5% rise on the improved pricea ruling is January, so it is fair to calculate on a continuance of prices at a reasonable level Mtfe near future. This will also tend to lntftstt the value of the sheep, and, taken all round, the uastoralists' position will be much sounder at next shearing time than it ms last year. With a good clip, and a his stock market, 1896 should yield thesquattet a fair.- chance of recovering himself from to troubles of 1895.

The special London Meat correspondentd the Review in his last letter writes:—At regards the quality of the frozen meet ol late, there has been complaint of the ordinary Sydney sheep, of which it iir* ported that many are plain and inferior; " sheep of a low clasa continue to arrive X poor and poverty-stricken that a number have been condemned by the authorities j I many others, not much better, sell for little, to the great detriment of the trade." " This lis from a recent oircular. As the Jmauess , I'm Australian sheep is now largely dons on ,' I the o.i.f. basis, one may imagine the 1 disputes and repudiations that occur, as the London buyers are mighty particular on a falling iAarket in exacting tneil pound of flesh. This may be taken literal!/, for quite recently there was a case oU repudiation over a c.i.f. bargain, where the agreement was that the sheep ehould I* from 45 to 551b. The buyer here took each ot the 10,000 sheep to the scale, and rejected' each one that did not go the 451b; 444 sheep, were rejected. Every ship thafc arrives from Australia causes cases of this kind to oijfsur; arbitration ensues, and, if settlement din I*, arrived at, it is usual to arrange the natter by allowance, in some cases as much." w2d); 4d, and 6d per stone has been allowed, j Some of the disputes aye of such a delicate, nature that arbitration is ineffectual to effect a settlement, and the law may be invoked* In a recent case of a lamb sale »- ence of opinion has cropped up as to whtf. is a lamb? Can a carcase weighing 371bi be fairly considered a lamb?- Thiir point has not yet been satiafootorljj;; answered. Some portion of the shipment,. however, was sold, and the pricea realiwt for this portiom may poseibly go some 4*. tance in settling the queßtion. The vaiiw.; matters concerning this selling forwßO,. business are engaging the attention of «*:• Smithfield salesmen and agente to a a****, degree. It is realised that \i meat trade is gding to be worked on fW; lines in future, a great many of the exiettpg plans and arrangements will have «f modified. Messrs Henry S. Fitter , «»W, report on this question:—" Unfortun»W, many of the New Zealand sheep now«HW»i on the market are of very poor 9 uft compare unfavourably with o^ w sheep that aro being sold at wJJJ pricea. The system of forward no doubt had a good deal to w* for in forward Bales everything ••FFS ■ . to depend on the weight, and very UW « - the quality. This has been MfIWS , illustrated of late, for many of w*P»? * that have been brought forward baWift- „ great dissatisfaction to the boyew," 1 some cases claims have been have expressed the opinion many "WTK if New Zealand is to keep at t» e , market, there must be more attention rev to the quality of tho mutton; we are getting crossbreds from AM B \\Tj\i*rf, the River Plate which are **&%s£s#>■ in-quality than many of tne , xne ™ 1 ?r-- a i« Zealand sheep. Consequently -"".n^jf , petition is very keen and Australian meat shippers intend w,FSr. on the lines of the c.i.f. trade,/ -« ', plain to them on reflection that * ne 7JLfr. facilitating their own interests b f;2&£ffis. ing to quality and weight, ev^S^jjeiji-1 moreover, embarrassing their I and causing buyers to say *«* • I they will De chary of this i But, as I said just now, on \ f *W£Ji|W. 1 'people on this side are mighty .vj\ ! and faults are exposed which J^.%: , passed over on a rising one. -'^;;~\ \ Flemington (Victoria) market •&&&*> I on March 10th were as under :-r KWK ! Best Merino wethere .. - '. Good „ ~ .. - - Uw... i Prime „ ewes .. .* •« - n % &i\- ■ jOood „ „..>-. -• L •,•',:. I Prime lambs .. - - iflridfrlff-. Prime crossbred wethers .. •• *S,aJ*»JJ / „ ewea .. *• &»&*& Bullocfce, prime .. •• •• Zjfojgs? " medium 1 ... , — •* ■JBk'jji ! . ' Cow», prime - - •• AilQh- " :••' „ good .. - •• •• .:---"-I ;, Homebush (N.S.W.) 11th stood as follows :— r i*.f, £ c. d. j^ SSL ;: .*:: :}j{?«# Iprfme Merinowet&w* 7. 0 B.j> *j^ I Extra , „ „•• -0 6 o o "£iL . Prime ', „ ewes.. ••• »2 6 !.,Ofd|PrbneUab. .. .. ~° 5 6 :|,|# Good „ •• - * «io On' 9 if«W< Prime bullocks .. -lie o,i-!^*K- ' Good .. •• ° *S"n'* 6 "••?Ut 5, Prime pens ottjows .. » g OOW'Sflleß *AlewipeoUlto9s6d, ♦^'^l^pW

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