ADDINGTON MARKET

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22367, 2 April 1938, Page 11

ADDINGTON MARKET

DEMAND FOR EWES MAINTAINED

MEDIUM MUTTON.AND BEEF QUALITY

Entries at Addington continue on a high level. Good lines of ewes passed at the fairs have been coming in, and in a number of cases they have made much better prices. This is the case more in connexion with twotooths. Last week the best of the two-tooths at Addington made 355, with second pens 345, the former price being in advance of the top price at the fair at which these ewes were offered. This week there were more good lines and also a few more twotooth tops. ■ One Romney cross pen from the Chathams sold at 37s 3d, and a well-grown and nicely woolled draft of just on 200 from South Otago made 365. Doubtless these better lines from the south are on account of the dry weather in that quarter, as the end of March is somewhat late for breeders to look for a distant market. Numerous pens of local halfbreds sold at from 28s to 30s, and these appeared to be good buying. There was a good clearance of the best of the failingmouthed and sound-mouthed ewes, and, considering age and quality, at a shade better than at the later ewe fairs; or. at all events, the Sheffield fair, which probably marked tire lowest point of the fairs this season. But for the heavy influx of southern ewes to South and Mid-Canterbury it is apparent that there would have been something of a scarcity this season. Though more ewes were actually offered at the fairs there was very little selling beforehand, and this has always been an important element in the ewe market. The old ewes on Wednesday were in poor demand, but they sold, which was not always the case at the fairs. Next week there will be a shipment of Chatham Island sheep penned, and these doubtless will meet with good support, as there are farmers who still want ewes and who are prepared to pay a few shillings extra to minimise the liability to footroot. Most of Wednesday’s offering sold at auction, and when the sale concluded there were still buyers around the pens. Fat Lambs The fat lamb entry showed an appreciable advance in quality, but the number forward was small. Some West Coast lambs were prevented from being forward on account of the railway accident at Aylesbury. Butchers paid within a fraction of 8d per lb for heavy-weights, and the export trade operated up to export schedule. Fat Sheep Prime fat sheep are very scarce, and it would seem fairly certain that good mutton will not be plentiful in the v/inter. The country appears to be full of pasture feed, but it is soft and turnips are unlikely to give the ordinary amount of fattening feed. On Wednesday both prime wethers and ewes were scarce, and these showed an improvement of Is to Is 6d a head. The great bulk of lighter weights showed little change. For a time-light ewes were better than was the case last week, but the sale for them was dragging at the commencement, and the firming represented little more than a return to the previous week’s prices. The export trade, however, appeared to be more freely in the market. The ewe export schedule has eased a fraction this last 10 days, but wether is unchanged. • Fat Cattle The entry was larger than required, and there was not much of it that could be described as prime. For the small representation of the good cattle—steers, cows, and heifers—there • was quite a satisfactory sale at prices a little better than those of a week ago, but the coarser sorts sold draggingly at the preceding week’s level to a shade weaker. The store market continues to hold up well for anything showing fattening or breeding quality. The interesting feature of the cattle market continues to be that for potting bulls. Anything of any size is worth up.;to £lO. , • ■' BROWN HEART IN TURNIPS USE OF BOBAX Cawthron Institute publication No, 24, just' issued, deals' with investigations of the use of borax in the control of brown heart of turnips. The investigations state that owing to frequent rains the season in Nelson was not favourable to the development of brown heart trouble.

In summarising the position the report says; The results which have been obtained in the experiments conducted during the 1937 season show that borax does control in great measure the incidence of brown heart in turnips, but that there is great danger of harmful effects both on the germination of the turnip-seed and the strike of the young plants. Even at the rate of 101 b an acre, borax sown with the seed in 14in drills was responsible for serious mortality of the young plants. The best results were obtained by the use of 201 b of borax an acre top-dressed over the land and harrowed into the soil a week before the sowing of the. seed, or by mixing the borax with both lime and superphosphate at the time of drilling. The use of lewt of ground limestone together with IJcwt superphosphate and 101 b of borax an acre gave great benefit in the control of brown heart and did not markedly interfere with the strike of the 1 turnips.

varying types of sheep, it would be better to give a ticket for each than one for the two. Field Competitions An interesting section adopted by several of the Agricultural and Pastoral Associations is a field competition. The Hawarden Association had a very complete one in connexion with its show this week. The range of the crops was very wide, embracing grain stacks, plots of lucerne, turnips grown with manure and without manure, swedes, mangels, green feed, permanent pasture, chou moellier, and subterranean clover. Altogether there were 54 entries in the 10 classes, and the judging entailed a complete two days* work on the part of those officiating—Messrs J. R. D. Johns and G. F. Wright. Both these men have had much more than the average experience of a diversified range of crops, and both expressed their approval of the value of the competition. The soundness of the swedes was rather notable in a season which has not been regarded as favourable for that crop. The lucerne stands were outstanding in most of the crops inspected, and the same could be said of the subterranean areas. On the farm of Mr G. Pannett (Scargill), a stand of subterranean, which had been in for 11 years, was inspected, and this year it carried six ewes to the acre throughout without any change to other feed. The Back Country Back country runholders slate that they have rarely had a better autumn for feed than the present. The heavy snows last winter gave the high country a good saturation, and the growing season has been extended far into the autumn as a result of the good rains since. The autumn generally is a crucial time, as with the tops bare the sheep are inclined to come down to the lower levels and encroach on the winter preserves. There has been a very fair indication of the favourable season out back from the condition of the sheep at the ewe fairs. It is rarely that the older ewes have carried more condition. The two-tooths

country that extra vigilance was heeded, as the sheep were not so frequently under the eye a& on the farms. Mortality from the pest was likely to be heavy, as it was so far advanced before being discovered, and in addition there was the further loss that the affected ewes were most unlikely to be bred from this season even if they did survive. The Potato Crop Fears of a' heavy loss of potatoes from blight have not been confirmed so far, and now that the colder weather is coming on the trouble may not prevail to, much more than the ordinary extent. Some growers to whom the writer has spoken say that judging by the tops the damage appeared as if • it would be extensive, but when the potatoes were lifted there was not much loss revealed, except that the tubers did not contain a particularly high proportion of tables. If the trouble generally is no more than indicated in these experiences the position will be quite satisfactory, as reports for a while were of a gloomy character. . '

DOG TRIALS LIST OF DATES The following is , the complete' list of dates of dog trials in the Canterbury and contiguous districts:— Maruia Valley—April 1 and 2. Albury—April 5 and 6. > Waitaki—April 18; 19, 20, 21. Grey Valley—April 22 and 23. Waikari—A.pril 28, 29, 30. Omihi—May 2, 3, 4. Cheviot—May 5,6, 7. Banks Peninsula —May 12. 13, 14. Ellesmere—May 16, 17, 18. Mayfield—May 19 and 20. Oxford—May 23, 24. 25. Malvern —May 26, 27, 28. Glenroy—May 30 and 31. June 1. Methven —June 2.3, 4. Amuri —June 6,7, 8.