NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13619, 31 December 1909, Page 10

NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

-:.-.:.: .. .. * ♦=: ~ ("WeeklySPross and Referee.") , It is quitef discouraging to read con-' stantly of ilt? complaints made in the charitable institutions of England by the inmates!about the use of t frozen meat. If (mc goes to hotels and restaurants qfe gets frozen meat as a matter offcoursej-but it is not good .'enough foif paupers! No doubt, all this is. owingfeo the influence of the butchers entoged in the Home meat trade. Tho Careff workhouse is using English meat toJuy— were frozen to be subetituted flpearly saving of £1000 would ■be naiadeA .... ■ A Wewrri Australian correspondent touches «i a question that gives subject formought. He says: —"One extraordirijly feature of sheep shows ia that wKreaß". in thoroughbred stock pedigrees everything, it is never called for in ■jams. A judge Is set to judge ten rejKs, seven of which may be*of fiisedjfype, the others hybrids totally unfit |p reproduce themselves. Yet by , the accident of chance the hybrids may ficor/the awards, and the judge might jiotftor his own use value them at anything outside-the 6how pen. It really seems as though a change in this direction should be worth consideration." The London correspondent of "The Pastoralists , Review saye: — "Mr Orabbe, the New Zealand Veterinary Expert stationed here, is doing excel- - lent work. It is so convenient for the market inspectors to bo able to confer ■Trith'him on any questions arising of quality of the me*t. "It is plain that the Swiss Govern- . ment have rather; gone back on their promises of April last regarding the •import of frozen meat. Mr Coghlan, New:. Sovith .«Wales Agent-General, is taking up the matter with them again. It is likely enough that Switzerland has been influenced in its action by Germany, which supplies the Republic with .some of its cattle.. "New South Wales and Victoria have now come into line with New Zealand and Canada with regard, to the steps to be taken in exporting pork to this country. The. "London Gazette" contains prints of the special Government brands which those States will caueo to be placed on all pork shipped. What the. Imperial Government insists upon is a label bearing the signature of a veterinary officer employed by the States certifying that the meat is free from disease. Only Queensland now stands out, and the sooner she gets her Agent-General to register a brand the easier will be the import of pork from the State.' ,

Reports of the increases of foxes come in from nearly all parts of Now South Wales, and it is generally admitted that they are- having a beneficial effect on the" rabbit pest. They are very keen on getting at young rabhits, and by tliL> numbers they kill and harass they must tend to keep the pest within bounds. Of course, how lambs would fare if rabbits -were not so plentiful is a problem yet to be solved. Mr W. J. Colebateh, Assistant Chief Veterinary Officer for Victoria, is leaving the State service this month to accept a position under the South Australian Government. He has been appointed superintendent of instruction in agriculture for the south-east district of that .State, and manager of the Kybybolite experimental farm. Mr Colebateh, prior to going to Victori-i, was lecturer on veterinary science at Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln. The inspection of stallions submitted for the Victorian State certificate of soundness £or this season has now bsen practically completed. Altogether 'i'2'i horses have been examined this season. Last year the number was 9U.5, and in 1907 it was 918. Most of the stallions examined this year were three-year-olds, as nearly all th« older horses wero inspected during the two previous years. The percentage of animals rejected by the veterinary officers was 25 in 1907, 25.4 in 1908, and 29.(3 in 1909. In It/OS unsoundness was the cause of 17.1 per cent, of the rejections, while this year the figure fell to 14.9. The chief veterinary officer points out that the increase in the total percentage of horses* condemned by the inspecting staff was due to the greater severity of the standard set this year for breed, type, and conformation. This year j.yo horses—l 4.7 per cent, of those submitted —were condemned as below standard, whereas last year the number was only 82—a percentage of 8.2. i The lamb season is now in full swing lin Australia £says -the 'Tastoralists' I Review"), and everybody connected with the trade is as busy as they can be, although they are beginning to ease off in South Australia. As it turned out, vhe season opened rather later than •isual. If setjins that the majority of graziers were *at first adverse to accepting the lower- rates offering »or lambs, and so delayed the start somewhat. However, they now, for the most part, recognise that exporters I cannot afford to pay as much as last ! year, and stock are coming into the works at a tremendous rate. Indeed, as far as Victoria is concerned, the worrcs are unable to handle the supplies quick enough, and there are signs of a glut in the markets. The price paid on the farms has been somewhere in the region of 7s 6d for 32-3411) lambs, and in the saleyards about a shilling a head more. The quality up to the pre-sent-has been excellent. One large exporter describes the lambs as better and weightier than ever before. Tlie clearances for October were nearly 100,000 carcases, divided pretty equally between New South Wales, Victoria, and South "Australia. It is anticipated that the shipments for November will bo fully 400,000 carcases. Already over 250,000 carcases have been loaded, and there are several boats due. Of course, ii the Newcastle coal strike continues, it is quite possible that, a great many steamers will not be able to get away, and the whole trade will be thrown out of gear. Even the works will have to shut down, and then lambs will not be worth much. In regard to beef, the trade in Queensland is quiet. Some of the companies have their buyers out, and are purchasing lair lines on the basis of 20s per 1001b. The shipments to United Kingdom last month totalled about 35,000 quarters, but the November output will probably be smaller. A few small parcels have been sent from Victoria during the last month, and all the rest is from the northern State. The representative of the Bovril Australian Estates Limited has returned to : Port Darwin, Northern Territory, alter I visiting the Victoria River district. It !is understood that the company will I probably start freezing operations , at Wyndham, in the nortu of Western J Australia, in April next, and that Tim- ! ber Creek, Victoria River, which is a i good central position, will probably be the site for the company's canning and meat extract works.