AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVII, Issue 11187, 8 February 1897, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

rCanterbury Times.” The statistics of. grain production in the Australian colonies having been published, the Australasian reviews the position as regards supply and requirements as follows:—“ The harvest in the Australian colonies is turning out worse than was hoped for a few weeks ago. . In Queensland and Western Australia the production is only trifling. The Tasmanian crop promises to be just about sufficient for Tasmanian requirements. The same may be said of New Zealand, as the dry weather experienced in that colony leaves little hope of an exportable surplus for Australia. In the three large wheatgrowing colonies, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, the yields are not up to. expectations. The rush of wheat in Victoria came to an end rather suddenly. In Sbuth Australia, the Adelaide Register has published an estimate of the crop amounting to only 2,500,000 bushels, and as the requirements of that colony for food and seed amount to 3,000,000 bushels it follows that an importation of 500,000 bushels will be necessary. Leaving out Tasmania and. New Zealand, as they will be able to supply themselves, the position of the mainland of Australia —comprising Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia—may be summed up as follows: Bushels. s’ood for 3,400,009 persons, at 5i bushels per head 13,700,000 Seed for 3,500,000 acres ... ... 1 ... 3,000,000 Total requirements ... 21 ,700,C00 Harvest yield 15,500,000 Deficiency 8,200,000 The deficiency is equal to nearly 170,000 tons. Of this quantity, about 55,000 tons are already afloat,or ordered from America, leaving about 114,000 tons to be provided in the course of the year.” The above estimate must be amended as regards New Zealand and Tasmania. In this colony the preliminary official estimate shows a surplus of nearly 2,500,000 bushels, of which 1,500,000 bushels may be considered exportable. On the other hand advices from Tasmania indicate that the harvest there will not provide nearly sufficient wheat for the island’s requirements. At any rate the question of the cost of importation is of close interest. At present the cost of Californian wheat, cost, freight, insurance, and exchange, to Sydney is 4s Y-gd per bushel, and the cost landed in Melbourne, including duty (Is 9d) and landing charges, would he about 6s 7-id. But as Californian wheat, for the purpose of colonial consumption, is of less value than'Australian wheat, it follows that if Californian wheat were imported into Victoria the value of Victorian wheat at that time would be about 6s lOid. Of course, a rise or fall' in the Californian market, which depends mainly on the London market, would mean a similar rise or fall in the cost of importationdnto Australia. The present Australian prices show no margin sufficient to attract shipments of New Zealand wheat to either Sydney or Melbourne, and unless London prices, which govern the Californian rates, advance, it is probable that. the Australian deficiency will he chiefly filled, as was the case last season, by wheat from America.

According to the most reliable information the Argentine wheat crop is a very ’ large one. Mr William Goodv/in, whose utterances on the subject must be regarded as , official, writing on Nov. 13, says that the weather has been favourable for maturing a crop of good wheat, and there has been a remarkable absence of hail or frost, so that but for the locusts, the result of the year would be remarkable. Even with a large allowance for damage done early in the season 'by locusts in Entre Eios and the north of Santa Pc, it is reasonable to expect that the export of 1897 will be in "excess of the average of the previous ‘ four years; and it is probable that the threshing will discover such heavy wheat and good yield that the surplus may prove unexpectedly heavy. Other reports confirm this forecast, and it seems clear that unless very disastrous conditions prevailed in the next few weeks following the date of these advices, Argentine wheat will be a force to be reckoned with in the current cereal year. ■ Although a dry, season like that which is now being experienced has many-disad- . vantages, it has also the advantage that it

gives farmers an opportunity of destroying the weeds that are now so prevalent upon most of the arable land in the colony. To thoroughly clean land of such weeds as i twitch, it is necessary to have a long spell of dry, hot weather. With this, and with reasonable industry, and the improved implements now at their disposal, farmers can in a seasonlike the present, almost clear their land of some of the worst of weeds, and the improvemont in next season’s crop, owing to the better working of the laud, will almost or quite pay for the trouble. Unfortunately there are some weeds, fast earning a hold, that no ordinary measures can cope with. The Californian or Canadian thistle is one of the worst of this class. Cultivation seems only to increase its growth, and to destroy it by tho use of salt or chemicals is more expensive, where it has gained any considerable hold, than the land is worth, even when of good quality and favourably situated. To see what a firm footing it has obtained in this country, one has only to take a trip through the southern part? of this island. Some twelve years ago a small patch of this thistle, and another of that almost equally objectionable and dangerous plant, rag-weed, were to be seen growing near Winton. They were looked upon as curiosities, and allowed to go to seed. The result is that Southland is now overrun with them. The rag-weed is everywhere spoiling pastures and injuring stock, and the thistle, especially on the rich river fiats, is also fast spreading in all directions. This year there are hundreds of acres of it going to seed, and all that is being done by the most careful of the farmers is to cut it with a mowing machine. They say that to cut twice a year weakens it considerably, but there are paddocks that have stood this treatment for tho last ton years, and the thistle still looks healthy; so that if farmers want to rid their land of the pest by this means, they will be ruined before they succeed. Salt has been tried, and where,, used in large quantities has been effectual ; but the cost to sufficiently salt one acre of land would bo iffi’O. As there are many patches of five to ten acres in exceut, the salt treatment would also mean ruination. Tho thistle has already greatly reduced the value of land for farming in Southland, and if it continues to spread as fast for the next ton years, the land will bo rendered almost valueless. Something will have to be done to prevent the further spread of the pest, and tho sooner Parliament will consent to pass a Noxious Weeds Bill the better.

In the last session of the Queensland Parliament a committee of both Rouses was anpomted “ to inquire, consider and report' what steps can be taken to place on a successful basis the industry of meat exportation.” The members of the committee included representatives of the various interests concerned graziers, meat exporters, directors; of freezing companies and others—and the report, with the committee’s recommendations, is published. The unanimous resolution was come to, “ That the price paid by the consumer, if properly apportioned, is sufficient to give the producer a reasonable value for .diis meat,” but this, the committee found, the producer does not get; The remedy recommended by the com-' mittee is that the Government should raise a loan of half a million sterling to be applied to the development of the industry, in the first place by the provision of cold storage for Queensland moat at the various distributing centres. A minority added a rider to the effect that .£IO,OOO should be devoted to systematic advertising; that an exhibition of Queensland produce should be organised, of which a daily lunca of those products should be a prominent feature; and that arrangements should be made with retailers for the sale, and with the municipal bodies for the storage and distribution of the meat. The evidence was somewhat contradictory. A butcher and meat exporter on a largo scale stated that the meat was well handled at Smithfield, and the agents were good men and trying to do their best, but he could not explain why beef which was retailed at lOd to Is per lb would fetch no Letter price than 2i|d to 3.J-d per lb wholesale, and did not know why, when such profits were made the competition of the large retailers did not raise the price. Another witness declared that

tho whole Smithfield system of distribution was rotten A largo grazier, father of the first witness, spoke of the searching examination which meat had to undergo to obtain admission into Austria, the very bones being split in search of taint or discolouration ; a very heavy duty was also imposed on the meat. Other evidence showed that the difference in price between superior and inferior beef was infinitesimal, seldom reaching one-eighth of a penny per lb. The manager of one of the largo freezing and exporting companies advocated Government cold storage _in London, and retail shops in the consuming localities. Mr John Cooke reiterated his well-known views—that the storage out of London is inadequate, providing only for 300,000 carcases of mutton for a population of forty millions; that damage to the meat was a most important point; that tho Government should aid the establishment of cold stores; that Mr Twopeny’s committee would accomplish nothing, unanimity in Australia being the first essential towards placing the trade on a sound basis, the competition amongst the numerous consignees and salesmen being disastrous to prices a comparison being made between the United States with four agents, Argentina with three agents, and Australia and New Zealand with thirty or forty agents, many of the Smithfield agents also being both buyers and sellers; and that Government inspection of the meat at the time of slaughter is necessary. It was also stated in evidence that the storage on hoard ship was often imperfect, to guard against which every ship should carry a supercargo ; and that the charge for cold storage in London was excessive, being one-ninth of a penny for four weeks, whereas it could be provided for one twenty-fourth of a penny. Much that was not new, and a great which is contrary to tho experience of New Zealand exporters appears in the evidence.- It must be remembered that the provision of funds presents no difficulty in Queensland, a produce export board having power to collect a rate not exceeding 15s per 100 head of cattle and Is 6d per 100 sheep for purposes calculated to promote the export of meat.

In Australia the outcome of the inquiry by the Queensland Parliamentary Committee is regarded as negative, and W 3 will not dissent from that view. The importance of the matter to New Zealand is that the Governments of other Australian colonies will follow the lead of Queensland in taking an active interest in the meat export trade, and the question will arise—-indeed, is already being asked—-is New Zealand to join in the federation in this trade which is being advocated, or is the attitude between Australia and New Zealand to bo one of antagonism. The Pasicrali&ts’ Review, which unquestionably writes with authority, takes up this point, apropos the Hobart conference.in the following terms: —“ There is one direction in which the call for federation and co-operation is clamant, and that is in regard to the frozen meat business. The very prominence of Now Zealand in this export, and the multiplication of works at various points in the colony, have but accentuated the difficulties of isolated action. The evils are only too apparent; year after year they are admitted; committees and conferences report and suggest; occasionally schemes of local federation are promulgated—as that of Mr Nathan’s two years ago but nothing is done. The recent New Zealand Parliamentary Committee obtained undoubted evidence of evils which can only be effectively dealt with by united action, and they made definite recommendations as to the remedy. The necessity for co-operation in regard to English sales of meat (with which the Melbourne and Sydney committees are now dealing) is much greater in Now Zealand, owing to the multiplicity of individual consignments. Everyone who visits London and studies this question, tells the same tale of delays in discharge of ships, of probable depreciation of the meat while separate consignments and brands are being sorted, and of unnecessary competition at the meat markets. Much, if not all, of this loss and damage could be avoided if there were federation of interests and central control. Then we hoar the oft-repeated story of how this lack of organisation and corporation results outside the metropolis. Mr Peeves, the New Zealand Agent-General, has recently reported to his colony that the result of a tour through the provinces has strongly confirmed his (Mr Reeves’) views as to the utterly unsatisfactory state of the frozen meat trade in the provincial districts, that is to say, the entire absence of any suitable mode of distribution. Yi r e have again and again recorded the fact that much of the success of the River Plate meat trade results from its organisation, the whole business being under one central control in Liverpool.' Mr Eeoves urges the same arguments, and says emphatically: ‘New Zealand producers cannot be too plainly warned, and cannot recognise too clearly, that they have to face a great fight with the River Plate. The River Plato peopie are sparing no of establishing and pushing the trade in their meat, and as against this New Zealand has hitherto virtually done nothing. Unless more active measures are taken, the consumption of New Zealand meat will ho confined to the upper and upper-middle classes, who are unprejudiced enough to judge it on its merits. And for these classes it is all important that the most strenuous efforts should be used to keep the standard of the meat sent Home to the highest possible point of excellence.’ It need hardly be added that the advice the New Zealand Agent-General gives to his own colony has also general application to Australian meat shippers. If a further object lesson were necessary as to the advantages of fusion of interests under one control, it is to be found in the Danish butter business, where the Copenhagen committee has absolute authority for fixing prices and controlling sale of shipments to Great Britain worth nearly six millions sterling- yearly. * * * Everything seems to echo the appeal, Federate! Federate! ! and it seems incomprehensible that local jealousies, or lack of broadness of vision, can be allowed to stand in the way of systematic united action for the profitable development of a‘ trade which has already been in large measure the salvation of New Zealand fanners, and which has within itself the promise of almost incalculable future expansion in these colonics. We are no advocates of trusts or trade monopolies for the advantage of the few at the cost of the many; but in this case isolation is suicidal, benefiting no one but the foreigner and, possibly, the middleman. Competition is increasingly keen for the consumptive demand of Great Britain, and if we arc not alive to our opportunities it is evident that others will not be slow to supply the ever-increasing requirements of the millions of the Old Land we call Home. Anglo-Saxon common sense is surely capable of solving the problem of fusion or combination of interests, and it may well bo urged on meat producers in Maoriland to take the first step and seek a basis of federation with their Australian compeers whereby the foundations may be laid of a co-operation which may ultimately extend to the.whole trade, for the benefit of all concerned.” It is a most regrettable difficulty in the way of the federation of the New Zealand com-' panics that some of the largest interests oi:istinatoly bold aloof from any suggested united action. We trust that this attitude will be overcome in the face of the common danger, and that steps will very quickly be taken to organise, either colonially orintercolonially, for the protection and promotion of the interests of the frozen meat trade. Assuredly, isolated action will result in disaster.