The Press. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1897. THE EXPORT OF LAMBS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9835, 18 September 1897, Page 6

The Press. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1897. THE EXPORT OF LAMBS.

While we are disappointed that the Conference on the question of the export of lambs did not result in some definite decision being arrived at, there can be no donbt that the discussion win do a great deal of good. If it has no other effect, it will arouse the attention of the farmers and others concerned to the evils of the present system and the dangers with which we are threatened, and this is the first step necessary before ft remedy can be

devised and adopted.' That there are evils and dangers was admitted, even by those who decline to accept the proposals which so far have been suggested for their removal. The table of prices realised for lamb on the Smithfield market submitted by Mr. Gilbert Anderson was in itself a startling revelation of the position. The fact that in Jane of the present year lamb fell to Bfd to 4d per lb, and that since then it has not risen above 3&d to 8|d —less in some instances than has been netted for mutton—is proof in itself that there is something wrong. Besides this, nearly every market report which has reached the colony from London experts has told us again and again, in the most pointed manner, that the low prices are due to the late and overgrown nondesoripts we are sending Home as lamb, and that the reputation of Canterbury lamb is being ruined in consequence. As to the danger of our flocks deteriorating owing to the heavy export of lambs, due weight must, of course, be given to the opinion of such authorities as Messrs Grigg, Overton and others that no great harm has been done so far; but, on the other hand, many experts are decidedly of opinion that the danger is a real one. They point out that it is the most robust members of the flook whioh fatten quickly, and thus the export of quicklymaturing lambs, irrespective of sex, is really a culling-out of the best, and leaving the worst for breeding purposes. They also remind us that at the present time thoueands of hump -backed, hairy, nondescript sheep are being poured into Canterbury from Nelson, Mariborough and other parts, to be fattened in the place of the "prime lambs" we have exported, and they argue that these are not likely to add to the reputation of Canterbury mutton in the future. Mr. Gilbert Anderson argued that because out of the 5,800,000 sheep in Canterbury we only exported 1,288,000 during the year ending 31st June last, while in England out of 18,000,000 sheep 40 per cent, are killed annually for consumption, we might safely double our present rate of exportation before harming our flocks. In this argument we fancy Mr. Anderson has left out of his calculation the fact that a very large proportion of our 5,800,000 sheep are station merinos, which practically are not drawn upon for export. If the proportion sent away is calculated on the flooks actually drawn upon, it is possible it would come much nearer to the English average. Besides there is the further important question to be considered as to whether the principle of the " selection of the fittest " is acted upon to the same extent in the two countries.

We admit that there are difficulties in the way of the adoption of the remedies hitherto proposed, such as the establishment of a close season. There are difficulties in the way of every reform, and probably nothing can be proposed in the shape of a remedy which would not press hardly upon someone. In this as in other matters the '.'greatest good of the greatest number" ought to decide the question. As to the difficulties in this matter they undoubtedly exist, but we fancy there was a disposition at the Conference rather to overestimate their gravity. Take, for example, the argument as to the length of time lambing is spread over in Canterbury. While it is no doubt true that there is as wide an interval as three months between the first lambs and the last, it would probably be found on inquiry that the earliest are butchers' lambs killed for local consumption, and the latest are station merinos, which do not enter into the export trade. The lambing over the district which aotually supplies the freezers to our local factories is confined within much narrower limits than those stated.

The most disheartening thing about the frozen meat trade, as it appears to us, is the fact that although it is admitted on all hands there are very great evils in the present system, it seems impossible to agree on any prafefcical remedy. It is admitted that there is something decidedly wrong about the way in which the export of lambs has lately been carried on. ij; is admitted that there are still worse evils connected with the storage aud distribution of our produce in England. There, it is unanimously admitted, everything is about as bad as bad can be. Yet nothing is done to remedy matters. We sit still and wring our hands and curse and groan over the way in whioh our interests are sacrificed. There it ends. There is nobody with sufficient energy and business ability * to put things right, and worse than all there is no unity among the producers at this end to insist on reforms being carried out. What is wanted ia for some Napoleon of the frozen meat trade to arise to invent some praotical scheme of reform, to marshal the present discordant army of producers, to knock their heads together if necessary until he has impressed upon then) the need of united action, and then to do what is required to put the trade on a proper fooling. No doubt the reform of the trade is a matter in which the farmers are primarily interested, but we cannot altogether absolve the Freezing Companies from responsibility. With all due respect to Mr. Qmaa, the factories are not mere gristing mills to pass through whatever the farmers choose to send them. They have to pJay their part in keeping up the reputation of Canterbury mutton and lamb in the English market—a fact whioh they have recognised in the past by the scrupulous attention they have paid to grading. We have no wish to see any undue interference with trade, or any step taken which may inflict hardship on any industry or class. In the interests of Canterbury as a whole, however, a jealous care mnst be exercised to maintain the high standard of our flocks and the good name of our frozen meat. Fending the arrival of the Napoleon we have referred to, the prospect of anything like concerted action does not look very hopeful. In the meautime the wise farmer, we think, will do well to follow the example of Mr. Gbigg, who announced his intention in future not to ship lambs as lambs after the beginning of April. After then, he said, it would be better to keep the lambs on until they became tegs. There is yet another noint whioh may be offered

for consideration, namely, whether it would not be better to keep them until they become "Prime Canterbury." Unless the tegs realise more per lb than the full-grown mutton it is probable that the increased wool and the increased weight of meat would give the grower a very good profit on the expenses of their keep.