SYDNEY SHEEP FAIR.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 10057, 26 July 1895, Page 4

SYDNEY SHEEP FAIR.

(BY ONE WHO WAS THERE.) Since my retnrn trom Svdnfly mftny oi my friends, and those interested in the stock market, have asked ma the reason of the collapse of the Sydney sale. I w ill now endeavor to give yon my views of the market, and the pleasnres of takiDg sheep over. My mate and self left here on the 250h of last month by the s.s. Rofroklno, having under our charge 180 rams, belonging to varions owners in Hawke's Bay, To make things pleasant the day we left was a howling sou'wester, ao one can imagine the plonic we had getting the sheep safely aboard, tbe last launch not leaving the wharf till 9 p.m. All our lots went down lDto the after hold, which was cut up into pens holding about 10 sheep. We then had to seb to work and ilfj up feeding tionghp, made ot baga rigged on battens, which answered admirably. The whole of tbe deck space was taken up with the Island sheep, numbering, some 1100. Wo got under weigh at about 2 <t.m., and I said to the captain, " How lone do you think we shall be making Welliugton ?" and he said "22 hours," but alas, how I missed a good wager with him. for Instead of 22 hours it was exactly 56 three nights and two days. At one time during the passage we only made ten knots in twelve hours. The captain and officers did all in their power for the comfort oi the stock, and the steamer was often slowed down to . avoid shipping seas, but In spite of this the sheep on the weather side were continually drenched with the Bpray, but bhe fresh alt and briny hath seemed to agree with them. We had a tertible time of it, and it took us all our time to keep our boats from going overboard. On arrival at Wellington we found some 400 more rams waiting for up, and after shipping them below we -lost no time in starting off again to our destination. Those in chargo of the Wellington consignment were very seasick, one :in particular laid ou hia back and roared like a bull all tho way across, mush to our amusement. When two or three days out from Wellington trouble began amongsb those in the hold?, which was caused by tbe strong ammonia arising from the bedding, as we could not in any way clean out the pens. All we could do was to pub fresh straw on top of the old j bedding. The great secret, however, Is to keep shifting the windsaib, and thia we would do eveiy three 6r/ four honre, and if there had been n& breeze, I firmly believe, we should have lost every sheep, the heat below baiDg so great. When about 50 miles off Sydney Heads we had the misfortune to break our shaft, which you can imagine gave us all a shock, as we had jißt enough feed on board for another day. The engineer!*, however, aoon gob to work, and after about six honrs screwing and hammering, they securely fixed on their shaft jacket, which the boats always carry In case of accidents, so we were able to steam at aboat half speed, and safely reached Sydney after a rough passage of 10 days from Napier, On our arrival at the whsrf tbe sheep inspectors came aboard, and every sheep had to be inspected, and the verdict was they " were all clean, in good health, and a splendid lob of sheep." The various agents were thertj to take charge of their respective lots, and the sheep were taken straight to the large warehouses, and after going several stories high in lifts they fonnd themselves on the floor penned off for them. To give one an idea of the floorage area of these bnlldlngs, at one of the Btores there is exectly 4J acres', so yon can imagine that would accommodate a large number of sheep. They are there fed on oaten sheaf and turnips, the latter being very scarce and the former very dear, having come, T heard, all tbe way from Queensland. There were eight firms selling, and as soon as one firm fhi;hpd the next in order went on. The merinos were al! offered fist, and a splendid lob oi sheep they were, tbe demand being spirited for that class of sheep, one grandlooking animal reaching 260gns. The sale of the longwobls was aoybhing but spirited ; bo one seemed to want any (except forpetß), and if they did, J ;n was abont their mark, being about tne price of their skins. However, ths second day prices were a shade better, and vendors let tbelr sheep go at from lgn to J:?n. The Hon. Matthew Holmes had some really good studß, and they sold well considering the state vpf nffiirs, reachl-g up to 23gne, one Border Leicester 4 toDth, r tremendous sheep with perfect symmetry, brought llgns. A large number of lobs ware passed la. To give yon an Idea of what they think of our New Zealand rams, after tbe sale several Intending buyers came along, and after handling the sheep ail over said, "I do not think they nre quite gnod enough to freeze," hut offered a price for butchers' meat, and I firmly believe that they wonld be far more palatable than the miserable crawlers I saw hanging up for sale lo the various butchers 1 shops. Bnt as we conld do letter by boiling down, a large number wete sent along to tho workc, which would nett tbe owneri from 7s to 9according to the condition they were in, and as it cost something Ilka 123 6d per head to take them over and pay all charges, I do not think we will trouble Australia again for some time bo corns. . What is the ciuse' of the oollnpie in tbe market ? Well, it is simply this :-I had the pleasure of mee'ing a great many squatters, and what they say ia that bhe longwools aro nob suitable for tbei r country j that is to say, they are not acclimatised, and in the event of a drought (which I mi; say they are now Buffering from) our longwoolled sheep will not travel after their food like the wily merino, A good mmy breeders told me they had tried our sheep, "but never no more." The rams that sold beat were the local sheep, say Tasmanlan and jSew South Wales, for the slaiple reason that they were used to. the climate, aithongh far inferior toou&eheep to lookat. Another reason I give is that seveneighths cf the squatters know nothing whatever about our longwools, and they look at them aa a New Z?alander would at a kangaroo iv a sheep per.