STOCK NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10596, 4 March 1895, Page 2

STOCK NOTES.

[BY TUSSOCK IN CANTERBURY TIMES.”] Sheep-breeders should note that entries for tho Christchurch Ram and Ewe Pair close on Monday, March 4. Arrangements for the Christchurch Ram and Ewe Fair were decided upon at a meeting of tho representatives of tho Agricultural and Pastoral Association and tho auctioneers interested, on Monday, Sheep entered as studs will be sold singly in a riug, and an entry fee of 7a each for rams, and 63 each for ewes charged. Flock rams will be sold in tbe pons as uaual, tho option being given to sail the first pea of five singly, tbe others in pens of five mere, and the entry will be 2s for rsras and la for ewes. The stud sheep will,be, sold first. Five shillings would surely have been quite enough to charge for the studs. Breeders and thoir agents must bear these regulations ia mind when making their entries, or they may find their sheep in the wrong category, . , Friends who have during the last few weeks visited most of the principal North Island stud flocks, inform me that the sheep are, as a rule, in good conditition, and that tho breeders are by no means disheartened at the results of the local fairs, aa they look forward to obtaining 23rofitablo though not high prices in Sydney. There were, however, at most of tho fairs, inordinate numbers of inferior sheep, which cannot pay to send, anywhere. Tho Australians are beginning to know who’s who in sheep-breeding, and rams tliat go there without good reputation or high credentials will receive cold neglect. 1 have notes upon some more of the local flocks, the result of visits during the last few days, Mr J. Haydon’s English Leicestera are aa robust and healthy as ever, the result of their purely natural treatment, and he will be well represented at Christchurch, Mr W. B. Andrews has ss good and even linos of two-tooth English and Border Leicosters as one could wish to see, and his English Leicester lambs arc a grand lot. This flock will take a place in the front rank, Messrs Andrew Brothers have eighty two-tooth Lincoln rams—big, hardy ana of good quality; a our-tooth ram and two ewes arc fit for any show. I hear that rival breeders arc patronising this flock. Mr 0- Lewis hud a good lambing from bite Shropshire, snd

already some of the youngsters promise to be cifficult to beat when the shows come along—if Mr Lewis is allowed 1 to keep them so long. 1 The Eokeby half-bred rams have become established favourites amongst the farmers on the Eakaia plains, and Mr Lyttelton’s difficulty is that he has not enough of them to supply the demand—-a very different state of affairs to that iu _ which _he is situated with regard to bis beautiful merinos. Mr Lyttelton’s sales of half-bred rams this season comprise one six-tooth stud ram at 10gs, and 35 two and fourtootha and 20 ram lambs at 3gs; and last season ho sold 140 ram lambs at 2igs, and 16 ram lambs and 20 two-toothsat 3gs. so that he at anyrate will have very few for tbo fair. The farmers find that these half- ■ brede, used with merino ewes, produce a good lambing, the lambs fatten early, and if any are held over they give a good fieeoe and are excellent mutton. Mr P. C, Tbreikeld has just sent to Mr P. I. Tiffen, Hawke’s Bay, who is starting an English Leicester stud flock, forty selected stud ewes and a special stud ram. The sheep we rt selected from the Lyndhursfc flock, which I am pleased to hear is doing splendidly under the care of Mr P. C. Threlkeld, jnnr. The dates for the Sydney "Woolly Festival ” have now been definitely arranged. Tho first show of the Now South Wales’ Shoopbreedors’ Association will be hold on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Juno 29 and July land 2; the merino sheep sales will occupy the rest of the week, and the longwoola and Downs will be sold on Monday, July 8, and following days. Tho schedule of the show is on as liberal a scale as could be expected from a now organisation. The Association offers £326 in cash prizes, and no doubt this will be supplemented by private prizes. The prize money ia apportioned as follows: — To merino sheep, fine wool, £39 ; medium wool, £37; strong wool, £37; unhoused, £37; to Lincoln, English Leicester, Border Leicester, Romney Marsh, Cotswold, Southdown, and Shropshire, £23 each division, and to Hampshire £ls. The champion prizes for merinoes range up to £lO. The show will he held in a magnificent wool store at Darling Harbour, with four and three-quarter acres of floor space, and it is open to sheep wherever bred.

The drawing for the order of selling the long-wool sheep has taken place, but the list sent me is not complete. Mr J. N. Drunker sells first, Messrs Goldsbrougb, Morb and Co. second, Messrs Pitt, Son snd Bidgery third, and the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company seventh (and last). The stock agents and wool brokers are uniting to provide for the entertainment of visitors. One of the festivities is to be a "federal smoke concert,” to which the buyers and sellers, from all the colonies, will be invited. The attendance is expected to number one thousand, and the committee will aim to make the event worthy of the pastoral interests of the colonies.

Messrs Hill, Clark and Co., Sydney, send me a well got up pamphlet entitled " Australian Progress,” in which the progress of the wool, estate, grain, live stock, stud sheep and other departments of the firm’s business ia set forth, and the beginnings of the several industries and trades connected with stock and agriculture in Australia are described. It is a very interesting brochure. Thera was a very large entry of sheep at Waikati last Friday, probably 13,000, including some good station cross-breds and a large number of cull merinos. The latter sold at such prices as 38,4 d, Gd, 6-J d, 9d, lOd, &c.; fat merinos at 3s l|d, crossbred ewes at ss, lambs at 6s and 6s lOd—the latter containing a good proportion of freezers. There were also a number of private sales—indeed very little was sold at auction—but business was utterly disorganised, and the market was one of the most unsatisfactory ever held ia Canterbury.

The Wakatu makes a special trip to Kaikoura to-night for the big sale of sheep there to-morrow, returning after the sale. The large entry at Walkari last week should have the effect of lightening the entries at the Amuri fair at Culverden on March 8.

There ia a large entry for the sale at Cheviot on March 9. Those who do not arrange to go overland from Culverden will find the steamer from Lyttelton on Thursday convenient. Aa an illustration of the importance of the frozen meat business to our farming community, I may draw attention to the fact that at present the several factories are killing of sheep and lambs—at Belfast some 15,000 per week, at Islington 12,000, and at Timaru 7000, together about 35,000 head per week. Each of these factories is working full blast in order to overtake the freezing of their heavy bookings, which extend over tbe next six weeks. At Belfast on Saturday 3100 sheep and lambs were slaughtered—this being the beat day’s record since the establishment was started. Soma people complain of the present price of sheep and Ismha, but were it not for the outlet which these large works afford, the price of fat sheep would drop to the. value of tbo wool upon their backs and tbo tallow which their carcases would yield. These figures show that Canterbury still holds its own as the premier sheep-growing district of the colony, and that the frozen meat trade maintains it in that position. Though the sheep market is in a very disturbed and depressed state just now, owing to the number of forced sales and the scarcity of buyers and feed, good crossbred ewes for breeding purposes still command some attention. At the Selwyn County and northern sales, the following prices are current for useful lines Two-tooths 63 6d to Bs, four and sixtooths 8s to 93, eight-tooths 5s to 6s, aged 2s 6d to 4s. Pending tbe Kaikoura and Culverden sales no price is quotable for merinos. South of tho Eakaia prices are much lower than to tho north.

A large line of big croas-bred ewes left tbe Ashburton district for the meatpreserving works on Tuesday. At the prices at which this class of sheep is at present obtainable, no doubt a very large number will be treated in this way. They are no good for freezing, tho local demand by butchers is small, and the pot is the only means of disposing of them. The question of yellow sheep amongst Romneys—to which I made reference last week—was brought before the committee of the Wellington Agricultural aad Pastoral Association at its meeting last Thursday by Mr Bidwill, tbo well-known Wairarapa breeder, who strongly resented tbe imputation, upon the Romneys. On seeing Mr Donald Fraser’s letter, he wrote to Mr Millward, secretary of tho Gear Company, which froze last year nearly a quarter of a million of sheep and lambs, who replied that the Romney wethers and maiden ewes received from Bidwill Bros, killed out well and were excellent freezing sheep, and in hisopinionthe Romney was a good sheep as to colour when properly handled.. Mr Sladden. maintained his ground, but stated that he was not aware his letter was to be published. The President (Mr W. H. Beetham) said that the percentage of yellow sheep in any flock was very small. If they found three in 1000 it was of little consequence, and it wss an extraordinary thing to find seven in 100, aa Mr Sladden had once done. Mr Bidwill said he wished to impute nothing to Mr Sladden, but Mr Fraser was making every use of his letter against Romneys on the West Coast. Bidwill Bros, had been freezing Romneys for fourteen years, and their proportion of yellow sheep was nil. Yellow sheep occurred mostly iu Lincolns, Romney’ cross, or bought sheep, which had been done badly as two-tooths. ■ The adhesion of the lung was a much more serious thing than colour, and this was very much more prevalent in the Lincoln. Several speakers endorsed the remarks as to the serious spread of lung adhesion. Mr Millward said he had suggested, when last at Wanganui, putting a cross of Romney amongst the Lincolns to save the grown lung. Tho grown lung was a thing which had only grown up during the last few years, and it behoved breeders to do something for it, as it completely spoiled the sheep for freezing or fattening. Iu reply to Mr Bidwill, Mr Millward and Mr Sladden

slid the proportion of yellows was eo email that they did not take it into account in any way. The matter of _ grown or diseased lungs was a growing evil. Mr Matthews said the bad lung resulted from bad treatment while young. Mr Bidwill said Mr Fraser evidently wanted to turn the tide of the rush to Romney of lata years, and if his letter had not been chal« lenged, it would have seriously damaged Romney breeders at the Sydney July sales.

I have been asked to find room for this discussion, as it affects many breeders in the North Island. I have pleasure ia doing so, but some diffidence in giving my opinion, which is that bad wintering is the cause of the discolouration. On healthy country and suitable feed, Romneys will be a good colour, and Lincolns will not be troubled with adhesion of the lung. An important addition to the live stock cargo of the steumer Buteshire, and ono that givesit a direct interest to Now Zealand farmers, was made at Port Chalmers. This was 120 prime fat cross-bred wethers from Messrs Murray, Roberts and Co.'s famed Gladbrook estate. These were shipped as an experiment jointly by the owners of the estate and the owners of the ship. My Otago friend “ Drover,” to whom I am, indebted for this information, thinks than the sheep will result better than the cattle experiment. I should have been pleased to hear that a pair of Gladbrook bullocks had also been sent.

Mr Charles Brabbin, the shipper of the Australian cattle to England by the Gulf of Bothnia and Celtic King, writes to the Stock and Station Journal that he is disappointed with the manner in which the ordinary station or bush Australian cattle ship and take to their food and water. But, he says, it is unreasonable to expect them to act better than they do, as they have never had a man’s band on them, only when they were being branded as calves, and hardly ever saw a white man till they were mustered and started south from Queensland as stores. The American cattle, to which he has bean accustomed, take much more kindly to the task, but it must be remembered that a large portion of that country is subject to a very severe winter, and the cattle have to be put up and fed in large barns. This makes them quiet tynd splendid shippers. In other portions of North and South America, where the winters are milder, and do not necessitate hand-feeding, the bullocks are handled as steers. Ho is confident of being able to do a fair-paying business under the present conditions, but could do far better, and would enter more largely into the trade, if. cattle-owners would help the shippers over the difficulty of the cattle being unbandled. He would not wish for better cattle. They are as good as the best that coma from the United States or Canada, and far better than those from South America. If Australia cattle-owners had _ the push and energy of the Americans this difficulty would soon be overcome. •