FARMING AND COMMERCIAL

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 44, 21 January 1926, Page 5

FARMING AND COMMERCIAL

ADDINGTON MARKET,

BETTER DEMAND FOR SHEEP,

Per Press Association

CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 20. The knowledge that the freezing works trouble was about over had a helpful effect on the Addington market to-day. The store sheep market was much brighter, whilst both fat sheep and lambs sold with more uniformity. Fat cattle, however, lost the preceding week’s advance. Store Sheep.—A much larger entry, wethers forming the bulk of it. Forward lambs sold particularly well, as did several lines of broeding ewes. All round it was the best sale for some weeks. Good rape lambs made 22s 6d to 245, ordinary lambs 19s to 21s 6d, cull lambs 11s to 17s, threequarterbred ewe lambs 245, forward four and six-toothed halfbred wethers 26s to 27s Bd, four and six-toothed halfbred wethers 24s 3d to 25s 6d, good two-toothed halfbred wethers 23s to 255, two-toothed halfbred ewes 34s 4d, aged ewes 10s 3d to 14s Id, low conditioned agod ewes 6s to 8s 6d. * Fat Lambs.—l66o wore penned. There was some competition fo export and the lambs made average schedule prices. Extra prime to 345, prime 30s 3d to 32s 6d, medium weight 28s to 30s, light 25s 6d to 27s 9d, stores 23s 6d to 24s 3d.

Fat Sheep.—An average entry, for which there was well sustained competition. Values were slightly easier than last week, but practically up to schcdulo rates. Several export firms operated and bought a limittd proportion of the entry. Extra prime wethers made to 37s Id, prime wothers 31s to 33s 6d, medium wethers 28s 3d to 30s 6d, light wethers 26s to 28s, extra prime ewes to 31s Id, prime ewes 26s to 38s 6d, medium ewes 22s 6d to 25s 9d, light ewes 19s 6d to 225. Fat cattle: Five hundred and sev-enty-fivo were yarded, mostly cows, but generally it was a good-quality entry. The entry was far ahead of butchers’ needs, and prices came back by 40s to 45s per head for big animals, and to 35s for smaller ones. Extra prime beef made to 42s 6d per lOOlbs, prime 37s 6d to 40s 6d, heavyweight 34s 6d to 37s 7d, medium quality 33s to 365, cow and rough beef from 29s 6d down to 22s 6d. Extra prime heavy-weight steers realised to £l9 7s 6d, prime heavy-weight steers £l6 to £l7 15s, prime medium-weight steers £l4 to £ls 15s, medium steers £ll 15s to £l3 15s, light steers £9 to £ll 10s, rough steers £6 15s to £8 15s; extra prime heifers to £ll 17s 6d, prime heifers £9 5s to £ll, ordinary heifers £6 15s to £9, light heifers £4 to £6 10s; extra primo cows to £l2 7s 6d, prime cows £8 to £lO 10s, medium cows £5 15s to £7 15s, light cows £3 15s to £5 10s. Vealers: A good sale. Calves made 15s to 455, extra good calves to 655, runners to £6 10s. Store cattle: Two and three-year steers realised £5 to £8 10s, two-year heifers £2 to £2 15s, cows 25s to £4 ss. Dairy cattle: A small entry. Good springing cows made £8 to £l4, medium £4 to £7 10s, best heifers £7 to £9 10s, others £4 to £6 10s. Fat pigs: A good baconer sale, but porkers eused in price. Choppers made £3 to £5, baconers £3 12s to £5 15s (average price per lb, 6d to 7d), porkers 50s to 66s (average price per lb, 7d to 7£d).

Store pigs: An improved demand, all classes selling freely. Weaners made 20s to 28s, slips 30s to 40s, stores 36s to 50s.

LONDON WOOL SALES. PRICES FOR MERINOS DECLiNE. DECEMBER RATES MAINTAINED FOR CROSSBREDS. LONDON, Jan. 19. At the wool sales there was a good selection and a moderate attendance of all sections. The tone was quiet, the Home trade being the principal operators. Continentals were conspicuously quiet. Merinos declined all round and withdrawals were numerous. Greasies were 5 to i per cent, scoureds 10 per cent and lambs 5 to 10 per cent below December closing rates. Crossbreds well maintained December rates. The New Zealand clip, Mount Herbert, brought up to 15Jd per lb and averaged lod. —A. and N.Z. cable.

PROPOSED CONTROL OF WOOL,

COMMENTS FROM BRADFORD. LONDON, Jan. 19. .The Yorkshire Post’s Bradford correspondent lengthily draws attention to the baldness of the Wool Federation’s announcement in turning down Sir John Higgins’s plans for wool control, discussed on December 10. The correspondent says: “The federation's annual report does not indicate what occurred on December 10. There was a conspiracy of silence at the annual meeting, at which it was expected the position would bo made clear to\the world’s wool users. All the notes were destroyed at Sir John Higgins's quest. He will make his own report to Australia. His version might not fit Bradford’s. Naturally such secrecy creates controversies. Obviously Sir John Higgins proposes to further disturb the Australian wool trade, and it should have been Bradfords business to throw light on wliat was in his mind.” —A. and N.Z. cable.

MYRIADS- OF GRASSHOPPERS

MUCH DAMAGE IN AUSTRALIA,

BATHURST, Jan. 7

Myriads of grasshoppers are invading the Newbridge district and already they have wrought extensive damage among the cereal and other crops. The pest has made its presence felt, most particularly about Fitzgerald’s Valley whore possession has been taken of holdings. In many pasts the hoppers have completely destroyed tomato and corn crops and even blackberry crops. One settler is reported to have lost £IOOO since tho invasion commenced. Other settlors have also been hard hit.

DOMINION NURSERYMEN.

CONFERENCE AT DUNEDIN,

For Press Association,

DUNEDIN, Jan. 20

Hon G. J. Anderson, in officially declaring the Nurserymen’s Conference open, said that Mr Coates had thought it wise to put Mr 0. J. Hawken in charge of the portfolio of Agriculture. Mr Hawken was the soul of honesty, and ho likewise knew his job thoroughly. He would place their representations in front of Mr Hawken, and would tell him what their opinions were. The speaker referred to the excellent work which had been done for scientific forestry by Sir Francis Bell, and also to tho services rendered to forestry by Sir R. Heaton Rhodes. Ho spoke of the necessity of planting trees on the tailings loft by dredges. He recognised the value of tho fruit industry to the Dominion, and other industries connected with their work. He could not understand why. they could not preserve fruit in Central Otago ana in other parts of New Zealand of equal quality to that imported from overseas.

Mr F. Waugh, the president-elect, said the matter of registration of nurserymen was a most important one to them. At the present time they had partial inspection, but they wished to see every man who grew plants for sale registered and his land inspected. They must continue to bring pressure to bear until the Government competition in what was practically retail trade in trees was stopped. Tho nurserymen were in the business to get a living, and also to develop in this country plants and trees from other lands. There had been a slogan selected for them last year—“ Who plants most serves best”—and that was a slogan they ought to use. Mr Green moved that the following remit on behalf of Hawke’s Bay, “That the conference ask tho Horticilltural Division to arrange for an amendment of the grading regulations issued under date October 6/ 1924, to read: ‘That branches of trees shall have not less than three branches of an average length of 12 inches.’ ” t The remit was lost. Mr Robinson (Masterton) moved: “That in the interest of the fruit industry, the conference ask tho Government to remove all protection from the opossums, at least in districts near fruitgrowing areas.” He said they desired to support the fruitgrowers in this matter. This was carried. The following two remits on the registration and inspection of nurseries were taken in combination: “That the Minister concerned bo approached with reference to the compulsory registration of all engaged in growing or selling trees or plants” (Cantrbury); “That the registration and inspection of all plant growers be insisted on.” (Wellington). It was agreed to make tho motion read: “That we request the extension of tho regulations to cover all plants 'and the premises used for growing the samo for sale,” and the motion was carried in this form.

It was decided to hold the next conference at Auckland, opening on January 4, 1927.

STOCK MARKET.

Dalgety and Co., Ltd., Palmerston North, report having a small entry of lambs at their Hunterville sale on Tuesday, which sold as below: Medium w.f. ewe lapibs 14s 6d, medium w.f. wether lambs 13s 6d, medium mixed lambs 12s Cd, cull mixed lambs Bs. Dalgety and Co., Ltd., report having received the following cablegram from their London house, under date of the 19th inst. Wool sales opened. Attendance of buyers is largo; competition fair but irregular; good selection merino wools; few crossbreds offered. As compared with last sale’s closing rates, greasy merinos Id to Ifd lower; scoured merinos 2d to 3jd lower; greasy fine crossbreds, par to Id lower; medium and coarse crossbreds, a change if any is in sellers’ favour; scoured crossbreds, oinchangod; slipe wools, unchanged to rather lower.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.. Ltd., have received tho following cablegram their London hous'o under date 19th inst.: —Thor© was a full attendance at the opening of the sales to-day and prices, as compared with tho close of the preceding series, ruled about 5 per cent, lower for greasy merino and 7f per cent, to 10 per cent, lower for scoured merino. Tho market is weaker for fine crossbred but firm with upward tendency for medium and coarse crossbred. The demand for merino is chiefly from the Continent; good demand for crossbred in Home trade; the opening catalogues were representative.

NEW ZEALAND FRUIT

STATEMENT TO ECONOMIC COMMITTEE. LONDON, Jan. 18. Mr Gray, chairman of the New Zealand Fruit Board, stated the Dominion’s case before tho Imperial Economic Committee. . . Mr Gray is at present visiting the North of- England and Scotland, arranging for the distribution of coming shipments of fruit. —A. and N.Z. cable.

CANADA’S FRUIT INDUSTRY. TREATY WITH AUSTRALIA CRITICISED. VANCOUVER, Jan. 19. Criticism of the Australian trade treaty, in so far as it affects the fruit industry of Canada, was featured in the presidential address by Mr Lionel Ward, at tho annual meeting of tne British Columbia Fruit-growers’ Association at Vernon, British Columbia, on Tuesday. Mr Ward warned Ins hearers: “The treaty is one which will have very serious effects on tho fruit and vegetable industry of the province, as already quotations have been received for apricot pulp at a lower delivered price than growers were receiving in tho past for fresh fruit. Tho same condition is likely to arise with berry pulp and canned toina--1 toes.”—Reuter.

VALUE OF MILK RECORDS. SELECTING THE BULL. The existence of. milk records assists the herd owner in selecting the heifer calves from his best milkers to be retained for coming into tho herd throe years honco. But milk records are also invaluable in the selection of a 1 bull. Like begets like, and we know that the father and mother exert an approximately equal influence on the dairy qualities of the offspring. Seeing that tho bull that fathers the herd has some 50 sons and daughters in the course of tho year, whereas the cow has only one or two, it follows that the bull is far more important than any individual cow. A bull that is to be useful to the dairy farmer must carry a guarantee not only as regards thd outward appearance and tho constitution of lys offspring but also as regards their milking ability.

BRADFORD TOPS MARKET QUIET.

LONDON, Jan. 18. On the Bradford tops market there is very little business, but quotations are unchanged.—A. and N.Z. cable.