THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 281, 20 August 1908, Page 3

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

NEW ZEALAND'S MUTTON. - - HARD CRITICISMS. • "WHAT LONDON WANTS. , One of : the'most momentous questions before the North Island sheep-owners is the improvement of tho mutton quality of their sheep: The matter is not of such urgency in the Soiith Island, because there'the-first attention is given to tho breeding and fattening of lambs. But in tho North Island, • where tho greator part of the shipments consists of mutton, tho quality of that ar- • ticlo should receive earnest consideration. The reports from London-for some timo past have been unanimous in complaining of the quality-of much of tho New Zealand mutton, l'ho report of Messrs.. H. S. Fittor and Sons (London), of Juno'l2, is typical. It states : "There has been a very short supply of Scotch and English mutton,' and prices nave ruled very high. .: The 'demand for Now Zealand mutton is improving, but thore is still so much secondary mutton on hand that prices do not show much improvement at- present. • Really prime mutton is very short, and is making satisfactory prices. It is most unfortunato that New Zealand shippers have not paid more attention to the quality of their mutton, and thus preserved their reputation. As wo have often pointed out,- there was a great opportunity of establishing;, a largo trade Tor really prime mutton,' but tho ' supply of such has - been so.-.irregnlar that bnyers have either been obliged to put up with an inferior article or,; give up this trado altogether." ■ •

Small Joints Preferred. The] faults in the class of mutton referrod to : exist 'also in the Home-grown mutton. The trouble is well stated by Mr. A. T. Matthews,- representative of the Board of Agriculture in the London markets, who "Farmers' Gazotto" the following note' regarding, the prospects of heavy breeds of sheep 7 in- Smithfield: —' •."What' is -stated ..regarding the declining demand for the Roscommon breed is perfectly true.- The days are passed when fatbacked, heavy, -lorig-woolled sheep would sell freely in London and cortain other English markets. I must; treat this. subject chiefly from the London point of view, and can say/positively ", that this is the worst possible market for;sheep of this class. Somo people will ''persist in sending thorn ■ hero, and in certain . seasons in very large consignments. There, is a considerablo difference in tho quality of the long-wools so'coming. . The >Kent long-wool, or Eomney Marsh breed is often represented by 1000 or 1500 wethers in the hands of ono salesman. He has the greatest difficulty in finding customers for them at allj and 'as a-rule has to accept nearly . 2d. 'per lb. loss than tho top prico of Downs the-same day.. Cotswolds are not now sent to Islington, but we get the Down longwod and tho Yorkshire breed, which are very similar.'' 'Then in the autumn come the' Eoscommon—wethers'. weighing from lOsi. "to: 12st.—and the most that can bo said of them'is that thoy aro 'slightly preferred to the. Kents,' because they carry mora lean 'flesh! Yorkshire tegs ' in ' the spring make about'jjd;'per lb. less than'best Hampshire 'of . tho samo ' weight, and even ' then are; ; generally difficult 1 of sale. "It is an'undisputed fact-that London has now but very little use for coarse mutton. Consumers have now for soino years been becoming more and, more enamoured of small joints)-and to try and force them to take big ones is only kicking against tho pricks/ I have often known big Lincoln sheep soli much better at' Lincoln than in London, and Kents will make more at Ashford in thoj'h£ ( art : of,,..their,country.. What is.'wajited/ .in^^Lpndon'^js'"a regular supply of., small]''slioep, like -.the; Scotch half"Sred weighing 521b, to 601b. ' There is a constant demand for such as those both at Islington and the "central market, Personally:! believe that heavy sheep will .go moidand more out of-, fashion,' and that' •• such breeds as tho Sussex, Down, and the Cheviot future before them. This sub- . ject ',isione that cannot be dismissed ,in a few There are too many sides to-it for nummary; treatment; for instance, there is toe, question of wool production, and--which' is perhaps more important—tho influence of soil and climate, which must always .ho remembered 'in making a choice of breed."

Argentina Overtaking Us. . Mr. G. P. Torrott has. an article in the' annual report of the medical officer of health • for London, in , which he says, concerning ' the Central Meat Market:-—' " There has been'an abundant supply of Bhoop and lambs from New Zealand, but although these still retain' their/superiority to any other frozen produce, they are not. as good as formerly. --.No doubt they havo to be sought' for "further afield, but whatever the reason may . be, we miss the symmetry and fullness of . flesh of tho old Canterbury, for which tho North Island and others, which have ,been sent ,to mako good the deficiency, are inadequate substitutes. Meanwhile tho. breeders in Argentina aro finding some results from; the use of tho 'splendid rams they have purchased in Shropshire and elsewhere in this country, and V have, been sending us a class of mutton which is. improving, year by year, and bids fair in a short time seriously to" challongo the ■ claim of. New Zealand to the premier position.". . A PAPAWAI MYSTERY. . With reference to the alleged horse-killing oases '..recently reported/ at I'apawai Native Settlement, near . Greytown, in which threo' yaluable animals wore understood to havo been maliciously destroyed, tho veterinarian who was called to report on occurrences stated to our Wairarapa?correspondent that prp- . b'ably nothing' further would be learnt, of ; the'matter. vlhe,:rcason was that there had been; too'- much'.delay before those interested had''called in the proper • authorities to investigate. .The veterinarian believed that tho animals .had been slain with snider bullets; but in two cases ho found that somebody had conducted a post mortem with a tomahawk which prevented him from making a' correct 'diagnosis as to the cause of death: In "the remaining case, in which it was probable that something might havo been learnt frorp. the post mortem, the veterinarian and police had to leave tho carcass for somo littlo time, and when ' they returned they found that tho. body had been sawn in halves. Tho effpefc of this was that further reliablo investigation was almost wholly burked. - Tho whole of the cases were, ho said, very suspicious.:.'

MASTERTON SHOW DATES. The Masterton A. and P. Association has decided to hold its next annual show on February 16 and 17, and the ram fair on tho two following days. Tho show dates clash with those of tho Woodvillo race meeting, and tho Masterton Association attempted to evado theso by holding the show cither earlier or later. Tho scheme was found to be impracticable, writes our Wairarapa correspondent, owing to the fact that there were other shows and other ram fairs,- all of which had their dates fixed. There would be a clash of dates no matter how tho arrangemont was made, aud the A. and P. Committee, therefore, was of- opinion that it was bettor to leave tho dates as' at present, which means that tho people's day of tho show will be also tho first aay.-of tho .Woodvillo races. ,

ECC-LAYINC COMPETITION. (by Tr-.XGiurnr-rßEss association,)

Nelson, August 19. Daring the twentieth week of the Nelson laying- competition the hens in 38 pens laid 977 eggs, the highest record to dato. Rout'j White Wjandottes, 32; W Sail's White Leghorns, ' Coleman and Balck's Brown Leghorns, Snodgrass's Brown Legeach 31; Lane's Silver Wyandottes Jones's White Leghorns, each 30. The leading'aggregates are: —Lane 455, Savago 434, J. Hockey 434; Coleman and Balck 433.

NEWS AND NOTES FOR THE MAN ON THE LAND,

HEREFORD CATTLE BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION. ANNUAL REPORT. Following is the report of the New Zealand Hereford Cattle Breeders' Association to bo presented at tho annual meeting in Feilding on September 25: —Your Council havo great pleasure in forwarding you tho balarifie-sheet for tho year ending Juno 30, 1908, and at the same time congratulating tho members on tho continued progress of tho Association, both financially and in respect to membership.' The Association shows a credit balance of £471 17s. Bd.; tho membership a. roll of 35 members, bosides non-members who subscribe to tho'Volumes of the herd book. During tho past year steps having been taken by the' Department of Agriculture to have the various herd, and ' flock books of Now Zealand _ recognised by kindred societies:. in America, so avoid the heavy importation duty of 27J per cent, imposed by tho United States on cattle, etc., from New Zealand before being allowed to land. Your president, therefore, instructed the secretary of your Association to forward tho necessary volumes and documents to Mr. E. Clifton, Chief Inspector of Stock, for tho purpose of affiliating with the American Hereford Cattle Breeders' Association. Publication of Volume X, which has been completed, and is in the hands of members, contains tho registration of 100 bulls, and 583 cows and heifers. Owing to tho portraits of Mr. J. Stuckey, one of the founders of tho Association, arriving too late for insertion in Volumo X, they will be inserted in Volume XI, and at a meeting of tHo Council it was resolved that Mr. J.' Stuckey be asked to write an essay on Herefords in New Zealand,; from his personal experiences, for the benefit of" breederstho Council recognising the value of this veteran breeder's lifelong experience. Your Council wishes to placo on record their deep regret at the suijden cleatli of tho la to Mr. James Holms, who for many years was a breeder of . purebred Herefords, and gavo his assistance to the formation of the New Zealand Hereford Cattle Breeders' Association in 1896, and had the honour'of being elected its first, president. Mr. Holms had many friends, not only-in this-Associa-tion, but in many parts of tho Colony,; who looked upon him not only as a skilful breeder, but as a tried and valued friend. As" in other parts of the world, Herefords are still advancing in favour in Now Zealand; Their hardihood, freedom from disease, aptitude to fatten on the natural grasses, early maturity, and*, the beautiful quality of their beef, enabling them to. more, than hold their .own ■whenover tried with other breeds'.- - Tho president and* vice-president (Messrs.- D. P. Bucliauan and J. -M'Gregor), together with Mr. G* Wheeler, retire by rotation,' but are eligible for re-election.' The vacancy'caused bv' the death of . the late .Mr.. J. Holms will also have to be filled.—D. -P. Buchanan, President.

• The balance-sheet for. tho year, writes our Wairarapa correspondent, shows that the period commenced with a credit balanco of £22 os. 9d., which was increased to £74 16s. lid. i The total receipts, including the £22 ss. 9d. credit balance, were £163 14s. 3d.; expenditure, £88 17s. 4d. The printing- of the'herd book cost £61 16s. 7d. . ' 1 MANGATOKI CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY. ■ Tho eighth annual report of the Mangatoki Co-operative Dairy Company states that after writing off £646 4s. 4d. for depreciation, thero remains a,further sum of £2045 18s. /s, to be dealt with. The directors recommend a dividend at tho rato of 5 per cont. per aniium'on all paid-up share capital. This will amount t9„£300 lQs„ a lea,ymg £1740,85, 7d. as a final'-payment'.pro rafa on "all butterfat. supplied ;by shareholdorsim Including--di-vidend; this "will - Rive '11.88' d. per'lb. for the past year. The amount of milk received was 22,860,5181b., yielding 851,2661b. • of butter-fat and producing, 430 tons 10 cwt. 261b. of commercial butter, the over-' run being 13.28 per cent.; the-year's output' being a decrease oh last year of 20 tons 10 cwt. 2qr. 61b. Tho retiring directors are Messrs. T. E. Anderson,.L.' May, and J. o.' Wright, who are eligiblo and offer themselves for re-election. Nominations for vacancies upon-the directorate must bo lodged with tho secretary , not later than noon on Monday,. August 24, 1903. The profit and loss account shows "that of the £46,887 realised for the, sale of butter, £40,091 was paid away for milk, and that after all expenses and depreciation are accounted for a' balance of £2045 is left to credit. - NIREAHA DAIRY, COMPANY. The annual report of the. directors of tho Nireaha Co-operative Dairy Co.,- Ltd., states jthat during tho past - season advances were made to suppliers amounting to £5001 12s. Id.; at the rate of 9d. per lb. of butter fat. With tho balance (£1248 lis. lOd.) due to suppliers payments will have totalled lljd. per'lb'! of butter fat. The balance of .profit and loss ,is £71 165., and out /of this *it, is recommended that a dividend of 6 per cent, be declared on all paid-up capital, absorbing £61 los. 9d. , During tho season' the milk supplied amounted to 3,434,7171b;, and tho butter fat amounted to 133,2941b. The average test was 3.9, and 334,1311b. of choose were made. The retiring directors aro Messrs.'C. Alberthsen, A. J. H. Busst, and N. C. Davidson. Messrs. Alberthsdn ; and Busst retire by rotation, and Mr. Davidson has resigned. .Mr. Alberthsen offers himself for re-election. , PARKVALE OAIRY FACTORY. At tho annual meeting of tho Parkvale Dairy Factory; tho sum of £1855 was paid out' as balance of payments for milk received. , OWLS FOR FEILDINQ. A Press. Association message , states'.that the Feilding Fruit-growers' Association on Tuesday night decided to import a number;of littlo".owls-;to keep down the 6mall birds nuisance. \ \ POTATO PLANTING .IN WAIRARAPA. South Wairarapa_ farmers are going in this season very extensively for potato writes our Wairarapa correspondent. During the past week fully fifty tons of Tasmanian. imported potatoes, bavo been sold in the district by one vendor alonci, and ■ thero is still a considerable demand for further consignments from tho same . quarter. . Tho kinds mostly favoured aro Dp-to-Date and Beauty of Hebron. . " _ , FRUIT INSPECTION AT LEVIN. Tho Government boasts' of . many inspectors, and wo have -a, dairy inspector and' "an apiaries inspector resident in Levin (writes our correspondent), but tho time is now ripe, as tho fruit will soon bo, for Levin to rcceivo a visit from a fruit and orchard inspector. Ono sees tho hardworking fruitgrower toiling away pruning and spraying, whilst ' his' less energetic neighbour leaves his trees untouched, thus .cultivating tho many blights and diseases that fruit is hoir to. This seems unfair to the man who keeps his orchard in good! clean order, for many of theso diseases float about in tho wind, and man's good work is undono much moro quickly than it is done. The fruitgrowers of this district will no doubt feel grateful to the powers that bo if thoy interest themselves in this matter, and the advent of an inspector will be heralded with delight by tho moro energetic growers. FAT WETHERS. Tho prico fat wethers will bo bringing in January is somewhat agitating tho minds of Wairarapa sheep farmers, writes our correspondent. The general opinion is that they will bo at about 13s. per bead. At the present timo they are bringing 16s. per head in tho wool.