NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13741, 24 May 1910, Page 3

NOTES FOR GRAZIER AND DEALER.

("Weekly Press and Referee."l

The London correspondent, of "The Paste! alists' llivii \\ ." in the* current, issue-. s.iys :—"Mr Pope, the o"Miimerci<il agent of the South Australian Government ;;• LoiiJon, states that the first aire-ct shipments of frozen meat Iroin the -state to -,-orts other tlum London have just at rived. The linst direct shipment to Hull came per s.s. Rippinghani Grange," and Mr Tope says ho is ■very much plc.iscd with tho results of landing direct from thip U> store (instead ol barging, as in London), and also with the very satisfactory manner in which Hull buyers -:re taking the shipnn nt iii>; so much .so. that he has already e.ibkd to Adelaide to see it he can arrange another shipment this season. There is no doubt, he says, re >xt se-'son the South Australian .hippos will make Hull a port for regular siiirmcnts. The first shipment to Bristol reached there per the FederalHouldi'i -Shire steamer Essex, and the results have beer, as satisfactory as those obtained at Hull."

At the spring sales of shorthorns in Scotland this year, 821 animals realised _,_8,324, as against £24,:151 for BS.">" last year. Aberdeen-Angus at the same sales (Perth, Aberdeen. Elgin, Inverness, and Turriff) made £24,70. for 1021. as compared with £24.("0S for 997 in 1909. The latter did not make quite such a high average as a year ago; th.' former, as would be expected from the high individual prices, especially at Perth, were considerably better.

Tho West Australian Government has resolved on a new departure with respect to dealing with native cattlespenrers in the Kimborley district. Following on the recommendations in the Chief Protector's report, the Government has purchased three stations in the vicinity of Hall's Creek, of a total area of 850,000 acres, carrying 10,400 cattle and 2*50 horses. The purchase price was 30s per head for cattle (delivered) and £7 per horse. The land and all improvements go with the stock. It is intended that the Kimberley blacks shall be drafted to these stations, which will provide aniple animal and vegetable food, and furnish a surplus to stock other similar reserves to these. The stations are expected to be «df-supportiiig, and will be used also for breeding police horses. The aboriginal expenditure this year totals £_0,000, exclusive of these station purchases.

Re_ardin™ the future of Argentina as a wool producer, tiie "Textile Mercury" says that, whilst it is-improbable that South America will ever get the type of fine wool for ivhicli Australia is famous, she is likely to produce in quantity a medium to good wool which will prove a serious rival to this class of staple- from this hemisphere. (South America has been a big importer of the weolled sheen from Great Britain, with a view to building.up the flocks, and experts assert that there has been a great improvement during the last few. years. The sheep-raisin;* industry is extending in Patagonia, which is said to be capable of carrying 30,000.000 sheep. One difficulty with the .South American is that he has not yet mastered the art of preparing his wool for market as the Australian sheopowner has done. Already Bradford experts are reported t< be looking with much more favour on wools from Argentina, and cspeciallv those from Patagonia.

The past season in Western Australia, says the "Tastoralists' . Review," has been again a profitable one to the average squatter. The wool clip was a record both for weight of fleece and price, and sales of fat stock have been on a large scale. The State has supplied itself with mutton for the longest period on record since the discovery of gold (practically no sheep being imported up to the present), and the cheque has gone to the local grower. The glut of beef did not depress prices as much as might have been expected, and although rates in some cases were disappointing, it cannot be said "that beef 1 did. not pay to grow while medium bullocks continued to realise 20s per 1001b. Cent-pared with similar periods in the history in eastern squatting, when beef went down to 10s per JOOIb and less, and when mobs did not pay the cost of droving to market, the dog days of Westralian cattle raising are. cheerful by contrast.

Those who are best able to judge, says "The Dairy," surmise that before another ten years pass away the United States will to a very large extent not only cease to export provisions, but will very largely import. One feature in connection with the coninued high prices for hog products has been the stimulus given to other countries to meet the demand in British markets. The imports from Russia are increasing, and there is talk of Servia also entering the field. Mexico for some time past lias been sending a small supply, and now China is entering the field, but only so far as fresh pork is concerned Another peculiar result of the high prices has been the importation of French bacon. It is quite obvious that the higher the prices of provisions in th-j United Kingdom the more certain i 3 tl.e fact that supplies wilj come from other countries which hitherto have not entered tho British' market.

As results of the agitation over food prices in the United States two prosecutions against meat packers have been entered, both in the State - of New Jersey. In Jersey City the grand jury has decided to indict a packing company on a charge of conspiracy to keep rood stuffs in cold storage for the purpose of raising prices. The other prosecution is in Hudson County, New Jersey, whero the grand jury has : n----dicted the National Packing Company and other corporations alleged to control it for cornering and limiting the necessary and reasonable supply of meat and poultry. Commenting on the live stock returns in the "Complete Agricultural Statistics for 1909," Mr R, H. Rew remarks that the increase in horses in the United Kingdom used for agricultural purposes was. the highest recorded, but that this is not necessarily a cause for congratulation. As the necessary use of horses in agriculture can scarcely have increased very much during the last four years, he thinks that the larger number may "lie due ro a declining, demand rather than to a special desire to retain them. Cattle in Great Britain, Mr Rew points out, first exceeded 7,000,000 in 1900; but this level was not maintained in the two succeeding years. In 1909, however, the number reached the ''record" of 7,020.982. The total of sheep is the highest since 1892. Breeding ewes were first returned separately in 1904, arid since that year, up to 1909. they increased in Great Britain by 929,368.

In the ''Proceedings of the Armstrong College Agricultural Students' Association, 1908-9," there is a full report of the valuable address by Dr. Clement Stephenson, F.R.C.V.S.,"Chief Veterinary Inspector, Newcastle-on-

Tyne. on "Aberdeen-Angus Cattlo: Their Breeding and Management. Dr. Stenhenson adopt* tbe following description by one of the best judges of Aberdeen-Angus cattle whom he «ias ever met: "The stock bull should have a clean cut polled head, bright and intelligent eyes, set wide apart, a somewhat strong but pliable mellow skin, straight top and bottom lines, well-sprunc ribs, wide loins extending almost as wide as the well-coyerednook bonos. thighs, and twists well letdown, tail-head neatly set on, short legs; comparative! v fine bones, together wit Ii what is'mast'important in a sire, clean, well-set, cood hocks." 'Hie fact that tho Sydney wool-buyers .ire tol-inji; an interest in technical instruction in wool is -v distinct si_r.iii ot the times (writes "Ranco" in mc Svdnrv Mail"). Tliey recognise more keenly than anyone that the great problem before a closer-settled Australia is to keep up the characteristic quality of her merino wool, and send it to "market in a properly-preparce. form. Thero may be many ways of achi-vimi those ends, but, unquestionably the" most effective way is to foster" the technical education classes where the settler of the future and the ■j-uis of present wool-srowors can receive a thorough grouniling in sheep and wool matters «7nd that pinch of science which Is so desirable. The value of a distinctive wool brand was referred to recently, says the same writer. Owners should beware of an architectural design. It- may look pretty, but it is apt to lead to confusion. Tne brand, for instance, may be meant to represent the homestead. One wool writer will call it a cottage, another a house, or it may at times figure as a hut or even a dog-kennel. It is, no doubt, distinctive in a way, but is clumsy. The very prevalent practice of me.kiiig half-circles and strokes on brands is similarly not to be recommended. In some cases a curved stroke will bo described as a crescent... another timo it will be described as an eyebrow, or even a half-circle or a half-moon. Triangles and diamonds are less objectionable, because they cannot be willed iij.ything. else. So they are very popular. To merely place initials over the name of a big district is apt to confuse. For instance, .in o wool catalogue offered just before the close of the weekly series, thero were no less than three separate brands of two particular initials over New England. Those remarks apply .quite appropriately to wool catalogues in New Zealand. At the annual meeting of Bovril, Limited, in Ixmdoii, the Earl of Arran mentioned that the Bovril Australian •Estates was not in such an advance*! state as the Argentine one. but it controlled an area in Australio of over 9,000,000 acres. The Ktoc-J- on these estates included about 10,000 head of cattle of the Shorthorn breed. With the cooperation of the Agricultural Department, experiments in regrassing are being conducted in the Mackenzie Country. On tho Simon'-* Pass Station a small not of lend has been subdivided for treatment. On one ha;lf of it all the dead grass and other vegetation pulled up, was cleared off; on the other half it was not. Then a dozen different grosses were sown in" strips on one part of both the cleared And uncleared soil, and on the rest mixed seeds "wc.ro .sown. The unscarijfied pieces include, some bare soil, and also some with-tussock remaining.