UP AND DOWNS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 120, 13 February 1908, Page 2

UP AND DOWNS.

A SERMON FOR FARMERS/ Our travelling correspondent, ; finding himself in "a, reflective' humour up Konini way] sat down and wrote us the following:— What ' unlooked-for : : possibilities, occur, in exceptional .'seasons,' and. how .little reliance, afterall, can be based on probabilities! Till within a very recent period, there seemed to' be no cloud on the horizon .of the sheep farmer.: Nearly.everybody.one'spoke to had the same optimism. Wool was at a splendid price,; there was not much likelihood of any serious drop; sheep of all,kinds, were in good demand.! Now everything is changed. Wool, is down, sheep .aro down, and farmers are. down, tpo. But,what else, could one expect? Tho'rise was too rapid; '.and, after .all, men are very much like sheep. Only give them a load, and away they go. At the vory time that 2^-tooths'were fetching from a pound up to twerityrthree shillings, scores or farmers, said jt. was simply madness, to give subh prices, as the buyers; were, bound to ~losoy and, of tourse, tho present condition of the .'market proves were,'riight. ' The worst of :an inflation of'prices • such as wo • have lately .seen is that too many farmers imagine that they aro going' to continue,. . In. fact, it was not only, the farmer who was to blame, but on several occasions it was stated, in some newspapers that .the "present, values wero likely to continue for another two years!" .And now what have,we ,got to? . old ewes, are down, to Is 6d.; fair lambs . wero , at 25.'. : Gd. : Of course', ",'thesfe. extremes.Then,' with, regard'. tooth'e .''dairy farmer!'. Till recontly there never'.had a season since .the factories started.-when such a bright prospect was before him. Butter had never reached so .high a. price, and tho • peculiar thing aboiit c it is tlia't much "lower values were anticipated. And look.'at him now! I was told yesterday.- as a fact that in one. of the burnt-out districts, in the Forty-Mile Bush dairy cows are actually, being sent to tho boiling-down.works. They are positively, unsaleable. ' ~-On, allVsides, one hoars that the fabtories- must' close down ■several woeks earlier than usual, as, even if rain , should .come at once,;, it, will, bo. too late .for dairy cattlo to'pull up'..; Their season lias gone,.and.it woujd only be uewly-calvcd cows. which would benefit., . However,after all, it is, wonderful, how'well . the average farmer, boars with it all. .' He seems to realise that to a certain extent, it : is 'a " position: which .cannot..'be'"avoided, :, and. therefore the best, thing is, to accept it, and; be; thankful 'that it is no worse, . reflecting .that, others aro in a sadder'state;than lie: