ON THE LAND

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 1075, 23 July 1924, Page 3

ON THE LAND

LONDON MARKETS

latest quotations. The Department of Agriculture has received the following cablegrum, dated 19th instant, irom the High Commissioner for New Zealand, London; with prices as at that dato: Butter: Market quiet again during this week. . Danish dropped 4s to 6s but recovered Inter. Oflicial quotations are: New Zealand, salted, finest, 186 s to 188 s per cwt. (Is 7jjd to Is 3fd per lb) ; unsalted, 2043 per cwt. (Is 9Jd per lb); other qualities, salted, 166 s to 184 s per cwt. (Is 4i!d to Is 7jjd per lb). Australian, salted, finest, 182 s to 184 s per cwt. (Is 7id to Is 7Jd per lb.); unsalled, 186 sto 190 s per cwt. (Is 7jjd to Is BJd per lb.) ; other qualities, suited, 170 s to 180 s per cwt (Is 6d to Is 7-fd per lb). Argentine, unsalled, 184 sto 188 s per cwt. (Is 7i|d to Is 8d per lb.) ; other qualities, 170 s to 180 s per cwt. (Is 6d to Is 7-fd per lb). Irish, salted, 186 sto 190 s per cwt. (Is to Is per lb.); unsalted, 192 s to 194 s per cwt, (Is Bjd to Is BJd per lb). Danish, 200 s to 204 s per, cwt. (Is 9jd to Is 94(1 per lb). Cheese.—Market very difficult and tendency easier. Oflicial quotations are:—English, linest farmers’, market steady, 94s to 98s per cwt (lOd to 10id per lb). New Zealand: Coloured 86s. 88s up to 90s per cwt (9fd to per lb), white 90s to 92s per cwt (9Jd per lb). Canadian: Coloured 90s to 92s per cwt (9Jd per lb), white 92s to 94s per cwt (9Jd to lOd per lb). Shipments of New Zealand produce arrived this week per s.s. Arawa. Piako an,d Port Bowen. Hemp.—Manila market quiet but steady. “J” grade July-September shipments and afloat, sold at £42 and value. New Zealand market continues quiet,- Fair grade afloat sold at £35 10s. Present quotations are: Highpoints £37. fair £35 10s. Wool. —Bradford reports small business to Continent. Prices for tops are: 64’s (merino) 6s, 56’s (super halfbred) 3s lid, 40’s (prepared coarse crossbred) 2s 2|U. Apples.-—Arawa is discharging. Rod sorts in good condition, but others overripe and some waste. Ballarat- Seedlings also in good condition. None of this fruit has been sold yet. Prices for Raranga apples: Yates’ Seedling, Rokewood and Dougherty 20s to 22s 6d per case. Stunners 14s to 21s, Statesman (few) 20s to 21s. Statesman (bulk) (wet, wastv, overripe) 15s to 16s, Crofton 15s to 16s, Newton Pippin 20s to 255, Tasma 20s to 225. Bulk of apples ex Otaki being bold until Raranga shipment is cleared in order to get market easier of English soft fruit. Tallow. —Auction reports show that demand is moderate for Australian and New Zealand sorts, with fine mutton and good mixed at 6d per cwt (112 lbs) dearer. Present quotations for spot are .-—Mutton ; Fine 45s 6d per cwt, fair to good 43s to 44s 6d, dark to dull 38s to 40s. Beef: .Sweet or mixed 44s to 455, fair to good 41s to 43s fxl, dark to dull 37s 6d to 395, mixed fair to good 40s (o 43s 6d, dark t-o dull 37s 6d to 395. gut. etc.. 35s 6d io, 38s 6d. Arrivals during this week amount to 1583 casks. Stocks in London on 30th Juno were 11,399 casks. STOCK MARKET. Levin and Co., Ltd., report on stock sales for week ending July 19th. 1924: —At Bulls sale on Monday we had a small yarding of both sheep and cattle. The sale was not brisk, much was passed in, dairy stock especially being in poor demand. Quotations : Small owe hoggets 19s, light b.f. lambs 23s 6d,.store cows 10s. 12s 6d to 20s. At Feilding on Friday we had a good yarding of both sheep and cattle. Fat sheep were in good demand, and prices improved as the sale proceeded. Prices were somewhat erratic boll: on hoggets and breeding ewes, the latter declining ii: value from the previous week’s sale. There was an exceptionally heavy yarding of dairy stock, the bulk of which was poor and sold at store prices, though anything of quality was in fair demand. A full yarding of fats, chiefly bullocks, received very little competition. Quotations: Good fat wethers 35s 4d, 35s 6d to 38s. fat owes 23s lOd. 24s' 2d to 30s 6d, maiden 2-t-h ewes 345, light b.f. lambs 21s 6d, good 4-yr owes r.w. S.D rums 348 6d, fair woolly wether hoggets 255, small m.s. hoggets 16s Id. 20s 7a. 22s 6d to 235, fat and forward wethers 32s 7d. empty ewes 14s, 18s Id, best dairy cows £4 2s 6d, £4 10s, £4 15s. £5 5s to £B, others 17s 6d, £l, 25s to £3 2s 6d, empty cows 355. £2. £2 10s, fat. and forward Hereford steers £6 11s, light fat cows £2 12s 6d, £3 ss, £3 11s. light heifers £4 2s 6d, fat bullocks £7 17s. £8 7s 6d. weuner Jersey heifers 275, small 2-vr heifers r.w.b. £3 2s 6d.

Abraham and Williams, Ltd., report having a most successful clearing sale oil account of Mr A. V. Tlieed at- Ilunterville or: Monday. The cows came forward in good condition and despite the rough weather there was a very good attendance. Competition was keen throughout and the cows averaged £9 per head, some of tlie prices being £l2 ss. £ll. £lO 10s, £9 ss, £3 15s, £6 15s. £6 10s, £5 15s down to £4 10s; heifers from £3 10s to £6; backward sorts, 35s to £2 ss; weuner heifers, 235; sows, £3, £5 5s to £6; boar to £5; implements, tools, sundries, etc-., sold well. Dalgety and Co., Lul., Palmerston North, report having a good entry of sheep at the Merton sale on Monday and which sold Js below: —Small owe hoggets to 23s 6d; good ewo. hoggets to 28s; very fair wether hoggets, 22s 6d to 24s 3d; small mixed sex hoggets, 17s to 21s 3d; forward ewes to iss. BUTTER-FAT RECORDS. FRIESIAN COW EXCEEDS 8001 b. TWENTY-FIFTII IN ONE YEAR. The secretary of the New Zealand Friesian Association informed a Wellington Times reporter on Friday that another cow of the Friesian breed on semi-official test under the supervision of the Dairy Division has given over 8001 b of fat. This is the Matang: Friesian Farm Company’s Mercedes Pietje Netherland. This cow has been on test for 319 - days, and up to data has given 20,929.61 bof milk and 848.481 bof fat, and it is anticipated that this cow will finish up with a production of over 9201 bof butter-fat for the full year on test. This is the twenty-fifth Friesian to make over the coveted figure of 8001 b of fat in ono. year. Mercedes Pietje Netherland was bred by Mr W R. Wright, a member of the Matangi Friesian Farm Company, and is out of an imported cow, Millbrook Pietje Netherland, by a Canadian sire, Oleana Pontiac Korndyke, whose-half-sister has a record of 23,924.01 b of milk and 783.001 b of fat.

HEIFER’S GREAT PERFORMANCE.

In the two-year-old classes in this breed, Messrs C. R. Duncan and Sons (Whangamarino) have a heifer that is putting up a great record. Up to the end of June (552 days on’ test) site had given 15,521.41 b of milk and 662.291 b of butter-fat, and for last month gave 1139.11 b oi milk and

53.891 bof butter-fat This heifer was bred by Messrs C. ft. Duncar. and§Sqns from r Jo Ngutu Stella do Kol (King Lacklio— Monavale Stella de Kol), by Mutual Aaltjo Vale, a bull bred by Mr W. Barton, of Fealhorston, from his imported stock. This bull is bred from butter fat producers, and is by Mutual Piobe of rock (whose dam has a record of 817.381 b of fat) out of the imported cow Mutual Dulcma Vale.

FARMERS’ INTERESTS.

D.F.U. DEPUTATION ANSWERED. MR MASSEY’S PRONOUNCEMENTS. When a deputatio 1 representative of the Dairy Farmers' Union recently waited on the Prime Ministar in connection with various matters of interest to the producers, Mr Massey promised a written reply at a later date. The reply has now come to hand, and deals with the questions raised seriatuih. . THE MORATORIUM. Dealing with the moratorium Mr Massey said he wanted to get rid of it as soon .as was possible because the moratorium had undoubtedly influenced the market for money. It had discouraged the men with money from lending us they used to tlo on broad acres. He wanted to avoid hardship, but it was difficult to see any way of avoiding hardship to the man who unfortunately had mortgages exceeding the value of the property. lie did not think that it was possible to better the arrangement proposed in the Mortgages Extension Rill —that the mortgagor would have the right to appeal to a Judge of the Supremo Court in Chambers, and if the mortgagor was able to show that he had a chance ot carrying on, it would be for the Judge “to see that lie got that chance. That was the proposal under the Rill. There had been much talk about men going off the land, and these people who were fortunate enough if) be possessed of money wero discouraged from investing it in that way. He had, however, bad a gentleman to see him that morning, whose business ''organisation had two and a-linlf millions cf money out, and they had not a singlo case of hardship. STATE ADVANCES.

Concerning Slate advances, Mr Massey said that he had noticed tlfat some organisations had pussed a resolution in favour of the Government borrowing twenty-five million pounds. To attempt to do tlial and lie ‘poke with authority—would he alisolute * madness. So far as possible he had endeavoured to meet the position by making tilings easier in the Advances Department. r J he Government had passed an Act last year, which was a good one, and by which they wero going to stand, la .v ing' about borrowing money, this was what he had in hand_ —the Government would, after a little time, get over the housing difficulty, end that would make more money available for the settlers. He could see his way to spend in advances for the next twelve months a minimum of £250,000 a month, three millions for the year. AGRICULTURAL BANK. The Premier did not object to an agricultural bank, hut lie wanted to caution them that the agricultural hank proposed ill the Rill introduced last year would not do. Ho could not approve of tho proposals' as Finance Minister, and lie did not believe it would he of use to the settlers.

There was a Rural Credits Act on the Statute Book to-day; it probably wanted amendment, buF it provided for small advances, and there were many such banks in Denmark where provision was made to lend up to £SOO. He was willing to make the amount of the advance £2OOO, but he wus not willing to allow them to borrow a sum which would “break the hank” in a very short time and make it useless. He did not ngreo with the provisions in the Bill brought before the House in Mr Wilford’s name. However, no agricultural hank would ever do just what the Advances Department was doing at present. TAXATION AND SOLDIER SETTLERS He thought that the taxation on mortgages was an iniquitous thing. He had not been able to ulter it very much, hut something had been done in this connection. Two years ago it had been altered for the benefit of the small man by exempting mortgages up to £4OOO from land tax, hut at £BOOO the exemption disappeared. There would probably be an alteration this session. He did not quite know how fur the Government would bo able to go, but lie was strongly opposed to the double tax. It was a had principle. There was no one more anxious than himself to give returned soldiers who had gone on the lund and were trying to become prosperous settlers the opportunity that they deserved. If the men could not make a living and the hoard said that the value of the land had to he cut down he wqs willing to accept it, so long as it would give the soldiers a chance and did not do any injustice to the people. He thought it would he possible to reduce freights all round on dairy produce as well as everything else. He had been looking forward to this for a long time. It had been necessary to put up railway rates all' round to meet the additional charges on account of the war and the increases in pay of the railway men and improved conditions. When the slump came he-had to'face tho cutting down business. It had to he done. At the same time he wanted to see the railway men paid as well as any other class of the community. They had responsibilities which many people had not. Ho did want to see freights and fares, but freights especially, cut down". The -freight on dairy produce Was not such a very big ■ item after all; .it sounded worse than -it really was; it was one-ninth of a penny per pound for 50 miles. , V ■ , FURTHER STOCK EXPORTED. Tho studs of New Zealand are being drawn upon freely and quite an export trado is being built up. By tho Port Victor which left Lyttelton on July 10th, Abraham and Williams, Limited, consigned to Argentina 58 sheejh from tho Bainiield Romney Marsh flock and 6 Corricdale stud rams from the flock of Messrs T. Haycock and Sons of Greytown. The firm of Wright; Stephenson and Co., Ltd., and Abraham and Williams, Ltd., recognising tho possibilities of establishing this trado on a firm basis, have gono to considerable trouble and expense to build it up and, by careful selection at this end, to secure permanent clients in South America. SALE OF OPOSSUM SKINS. Wright, Stephenson and Co., Ltd., Dunedin, report holding a very satisfactory sale of opossum skins on the 18th instant. We quote:—Blues 13/- to 14/6; medium 9/- tc 12/-; super blacks 12/- to 13/-; medium 8/to 11/- suncr greys 10/6 to 11/6; medium 7/9 to 10/-.