FARMING AND COMMERCIAL

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 226, 24 August 1932, Page 5

FARMING AND COMMERCIAL

* <4>DAIRY PRODUCTION. OPERATIONS OF FACTORIES. SOME INTERESTING FIGURES. In tho year ended March 31, 1932, 99.548 tons of creamery butter and 83,299 tons of choose were graded for export, j tho produce boing manufactured by 370 companies operating 468 factories. Of those companies, 126 were engaged in buttermaking, 186 in the manufactures of cheese, and the remaining 68 mado both butter and cheese. Thero wore 184 companies operating 207 factories making butter, of which 160 of the companies with 181 factories were co-o'perative, and the quantity of butter graded on their account was 90,959 tons, ' or 91.372 per cent, of tho total. Tho rcmaining 24 companies were proprietary, operating 26 factories, and the quantity of their butter graded was 8589 tons, equal to 8.628 per cent, of the whole. • The averago butter production per fao--1 torv was 481 tons. 1 Tho cheese w r as manufactured by 244 * companies operating 320 cheese and dualplant factories. Of those companies, 233 ' were co-operative, operating 309 factories, and tho quantity of their cheese graded was 81,756 tons, or 93,148 per cent, of tho . total. The remaining 1543 tons, equal to , 1.852 per cent, of the choose graded, was i mado by 11 proprietaries operating 11 i factories. Tho average production for all i cheese factories was 266 tons. I Converting the amount, of butter and l cheese mado to terms of butterfat, it is l found that 82,957 tons of butterfat was • represented in tho butter, and 32,038 tons 1 in the cheese, a total of 114,995 tons. Of 1 this 107.244 tons, or 93.260 per cent, was 1 manufactured bv co-operative companies, 1 and 7751 tons, or 6.740 per cent, by proprietaries. The total number of milk or cream sup- . pliers to dairy factories for tho year under l review was 63,946, of which 54,675 supplied l co-operativo companies, and 9271 pro- * prietaries, equal to 85.502 and 14.498 per cent, respectively. Included in the above were 84 companies operating 85 registered wheybutter factories, which made u total of 1422 tons of whey butter (as a by-product of cheese manufacture) during the year. WATER FOR CATTLE. USE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE. “A number of inquiries have been received with refercnco to the proportions of superphosphate and water to bo used in giving cattle phosphate in a watersoluble form for supplementing a deficiency of phosphate, and perhaps also of calcium, in the food supply in cases where it is impracticable to use enough super for top-dressing, or oven when none at all con be used,” states Mr B. C. Aston, chief chemist for the Department of Agriculture. “The proportions _ which have been found practicable to give in this way are lib. of superphosphate in 100 gallons of soft drinking-water. Cattle will drink this readily enough when no other source of supply is available, but when puddles abound in ihe pnddqck no guarantee can be given that they will not forsake the medicated water for a time. It should bo noted that soft water is specified, as hard water which contains lime would tend to throw out of solution the valuable soluble phosphate.” SHEEP FARMING. The problems which beset the sheep {armor, have nover been greater than to-day when prices for wool, fat, skins, and meat are on a low level. The costs of production are practically the same as when prices were 100 per cent, higher. For several years flic price level has been low and sheep farming has been conducted unprofitable'. Reserve capital lias had to bo

brought into use to maintain the flocks and defray expenses which returns from the farms would not cover. Tho prolonged unsatisfactory state of the markets has seriously undermined the financial stability of many sheep men. It is hoped that the conditions of tho markets and values will soon improve. WINTER CONDITIONS. Tho winter months are always anxious time for the sheep farmers who have to pay constant attention to their flocks during this season and special caro has to he taken with breeding ewes in order to ensure as far as possible their good health before tho lambing season begins. The past winter lias been moderately favourable as tho conditions have been dry and, as a result, the ewes are in good condition. Unfortunately, however, sleeping sickness has made its appearance again, although not to such an extent as last season, when mortality from this cause was heavy. Lambs have made their appcaranco under good conditions and losses arc small. “Bearing” troubles with ewes have been experienced in parts of tho Kairariga district, but not generally. Tn this district, where tho land is inclined to be On the heavy side, trouble is usually exeprienccd with the feet of sheep and foot-rot is fairly, common. Bluestono or a strong disinfectant, are usually effective in cases of foot-rot providing the sheep are put on grating after tho dressings are applied in order to allow the feet to become thoroughly dry before they are returned to the paddocks. farming news. RURAL BAKINGS. With the heavy succession of frosts that have been experienced in Hawke’s Bay this winter, particularly during the past two months, coupled with the fact that tho season has been an exceptional one so far as rainfall is concerned, tho conditions for growth ore ideal and tile result of tho present mild weather should be a quick response. Sales of now season’s butter completed last week were reported by merchants at the week-end at llj-d to 11 3-8 d per lb, f.0.b., for August-Scptembor make. The higher price represents an advanco of id per lb on tho closing prices for tho .last, season’s make. There was little forward buying at the beginning of last season, but at tho end of August offers of approximately Is per lb for finest butter were reported. “In some quarters il is expected that a rise in prices may take placo in the near future,” said a representative of the South Island Dairy Association in conversation with a Dunedin reporter. “Wo cannot say definitely what, hearing tho results of the Ottawa Conference will have on the market for New Zealand produce, but we think that there are signs of eventual improvement. Tho now season begins in tho first week in September. No ideas of buyers’ values can yet be olv tained, but it looks as if for tho first few months, at any rate, dairy factories will be sending consignments overseas.” A coastal farmer in Taranaki who has bad regular visitations from tho grass grub has tried out all kinds of formulae in order to eradicate the pest. Ho has also specially rolled paddocks so infected. So far he has met with absolutely no success. Tho grub attacks the warmest pastures, thoso with a sunny aspect, and tho renewing of tho pastures had become a disheartening experience. Ho has come to the conclusion that Ihe only effective remedy is tho starling, which does its work very thoroughly. Unfortunately there are not enough of the birds to cope with the post, and ho suggests that starling clubs should bo formed with a view to increasing their numbers. He is satisfied they aro the best friends the Taranaki farmer possesses to-day. The opinion that the Jwo chccso factories operating in the Bnllanoe district should amalgamate for ihe good of both was advanced by. Mr 1,. U. Holdawav at the annual meeting, of iho Ballancc Valley Co-operative Dairy Company on Monday. It seemed ridiculous, lie said, that tho two should bo kept going with separate costs when one concern would serve the district at half tho total cost. Tho ! saving would pay the interest on a new i concern. The secretary said that the capi- | lal cost of one of the factories would havo to bo written off Mr J. Windlo (chair- j man) thought, that if a factory wore ' erected between the present two, somo suppliers at tho remote ends would not travel to it. and would supply elsewhere. He was afraid they would have a difficult job to bring about the amalgamation. The discussion then lapsed.

> WELLINGTON STOCK EXCHANGE. YESTERDAY’S BUSINESS AND PRICES. An unusually lengthy quotations list and eight recorded Bales at very firm prices yesterday were evidence of tho con- ■ tinuod activity of tho Wellington stock and share market. Investors devoted keen attention to shares, the gilt-edged sections being moro or less negiectod, though there wore numerous sellers at late rates. Banks were in strong demand, a fenturo of this section being the recovery of New Zea--lands to the high level of two weeks ago. iwo sales were mado on ’change at 48s and 48s 3d. More were sought at 48s Id, sellers asking 48s sd. Commercial of Australia ordinaries were firm at 14s Id, but sellers stayed out. Tho preference hardened to a sale at £6 19s 6d, and thero were further buyers at £6 18s. National of Now Zealand made a further advance of Is 3d to 72s 3d, without drawing sellers, E., S. and A. Bank were Is better at 82s. 6d and National of Australasias, £5 paid, moved up to £5 6s. New South Wales were still sought at £26 15s, but sellers advanced 5s to £27 10s. Bids of £7 2s 6d for Union of Australia found no response. There was a noticeable firming in tho financial section. Dalgety’s, of which soveral sales have lately been made in Christchurch, were wanted at £7 11s. Goldsbrough, Morts wore 2d better at 23s lid, sellers asking 24s 3d. New Zealand Guarantee Corporation wore firm at 5s 6d. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile hardened £l to £39, but sellers held for £45. Gas and insurance shares were stronger. Auckland .Gas, paid, wero 3d up at 21s 3d. Wellingtons wero sought at 29s 9d, but sellers held for 31s 3d. National, New Zealand, Queensland, and South British insurances all registered advances. Moat, woollen and timebr shares all received attention, but sellers wero not, in at the close. Gear Meats were sold at 32s lOd, and more wero wanted at 32s 6d. Now Zealand Breweries had sales at 27s and 27s 3d. Thero wore late bids of 26s lid, sellers asking 27s 4d. Carltons were 3d better at 33s 3d, cum. div., and Tooth's wero 6d up at 27s 6d. British Tobaccos firmed 6d to 29s 6d, and Now Zealand Drug wero Is up at 565. Wilson’s Cement move up to 30s, but sellers hold for 31s, Ilcnry Jones Coop. wero 6d better at 31s 9d, and Woolworths.(N.Z.) preference firmed 3d to 265. Other industrials also registered advances. Moturoa. Oils were 3d up at 3s 6d, and Taranaki Oils wero wanted at Is Bd, sellers asking 2s. Two sales of Big River Mmo were reported. Mount Lyells were firm at 20s, sellers 20s 4d. YESTERDAY’S QUOTATIONS. Buying and soiling quotations at yesterday’s final call on tho Wellington Stock Exchange were as follow:

RATES OF EXCHANGE. LONDON, Aug. 22. The following rates on foreign exchanges wero current to-day, as compared with

BASE METALS MARKET.

LONDON, Aug. 22. P. and 0. deferred shares sold to-day at 19s 6d. Mount Lyells sold at 17s 6d. AUSTRALIAN LOANS IN NEW YORK NEW YORK, Aug. 22. Sales of Australian Government bonds on Wall Street to-day compare with thoso of a week ago as follow: —

PRICE OF SILVER. LONDON. Aug. 22. Silver. —Cash, 17 15-16 d per ounco; forward. 17 l-16d. ENGLISH WHEAT MARKETS. LONDON, Aug. 22. Wheat cargoes to-day were quiet, and tho tone of tho market weaker. Tarcels were unchanged to 9d down. Futures : London, September 24s 5d per quarter, December and February 24s 3jd; Liverpool, October, 5s 4 5-8 d per cental, December 5s 4 3-4 d, March 5s 5 3-4 d. GRAIN AND PRODUCE. AUCKLAND MARKETS. AUCKLAND, Aug. 23. Shipping troubles at Lyttelton have caus-

ed a little nervousness among local merchants concerning supplies of potatoes from the south. Spot stocks aro not heavy, and the price lias been advanced to £9 per ton through store. Onions havo registered a sharp advance in tho week. Tho market has been relying lately on Japanese importations. A direct shipment is duo here about September 10, but. in the meantime merchants have had no difficulty in obtaining regular shipments via Sydney at a reasonable price. It is now evident that Australian stocks of Japanese onions have run low, for local merchants find it impossible to replenish their holdings except at prohibitive rates. A week ago onions were selling in Auckland at 19s a crate, but to-day the price is from 22s 6d to 255. The market for oats and chaff is unaltered. B Cartons still stell at 4s 4d per bushel, and chaff at £8 15s per ton with the demand very restricted. The local market for fowl wheat is steady at 6s 4d to 6s 6d per bushel. Six weeks of dry, frosty weather in Tara-

naki were relieved by warm rains early last week, so that the "pastures have become tinged with green again, much to the relief of Taranaki farmers —especially hi South Taranaki, where the position had been approaching the critical stage. The winter just concluded has been the driest in Taranaki’s history for a great number of years (says an exchange). The wet conditions are being welcomed bv sheep farmers, who now anticipate good lambing percentages that had been unlikely prior to the rain and warmer weather. Thero has been an unprecedented run on hay, ensilage and crops; many farmers who have been able to carry over surpluses from one season to another are this year presented with bare larders. However, the growth of the past week has ended their anxiety for the tune being at least. Buoyancy has been evident throughout the stock market in the province the whole week, in continuance of the improved conditions during the past . six weeks. Stock agents report good business and a healthy tone.

N.Z. GOVT. LOANS— Buyers Sellers. £ K. #1 £ e. d. 4£ p.c. Bonds, 1938 ... — 95 15 0 5£ p.c. ditto, 1936 98 17 6 5* p.c. ditto, Fob, 1937 99 2 6 99 7 6 4? p.c. Ins. Stk., 1939 — 95 15 0 4£ p.c. ditto, 1938 — 95 0 0 5£ p.c. ditto, 1933 — 99 10 0 5£ p.c. ditto, 1936 98 17 6 99 5 0 5£ p.c. ditto, Feb, 1937 — 99 5 0 5£ p.c. ditto, Sep, 1937 — 101 12 6 5i p.c. ditto, 1933 — 98 5 0 DEBENTURES— Well. Harb. Bd„ 51 p.c., 1940 100 0 0 Alt. Albert Boro., 53 p.c., 1963 96 0 0 Alt. Eden Boro., 53 p.c., 1961 96 0 0 Timaru Boro., 51 p.c., 1941 — 98 10 0 Waipawa Boro., 5 p.c., 1942 — 93 0 0 Pntea Boro., 41 p.c., 1948 — 86 0 0 Makuera Dru. 13d., 6 p.c., 1950 — 95 0 0 BANKS— Commercial Aust., ord 0 14 1 — Ditto, pref 6 18 0 — Commercial Bank Co. (Sydney) — 15 0 0 Eng., Scot, and Aust. National N.Z 4 2 6 — 3 12 3 — National A’asia. (£5) 5 6 0 — New South Wales ... 26 15 0 27 10 0 New Zealand 2 8 1 2 8 5 Ditto, long term 18 0 — Union of Aust 7 2 6 — FINANCIAL— Dalgety and Co 7 11 0 — Goldsbrough, Wort ... 1 3 11 1 4 3 N.Z. Guar. Corp., ord 0 5 6 • N.Z. Loan and Mere., ord 39 0 0 45 0 0 Well. Trust and Loan 4 10 0 — GASAuckland 1 1 3 — Ditto, contr 0 14 9 — Christchurch 14 0 — Wellington, ord 19 9 1 11 3 Ditto, pref 0 17 0 — INSURANCE— National 0 13 3 — New Zealand 2 1 6 — Queensland 2 14 — South British 2 16 3 — MEAT PRESERVING— Gear 1 12 6 — N.Z. Refrigcrat. (10s) 0 4 3 0 4 9 Well. Meat. Ex., pref. 0 13 0 — TRANSPORT— Union Steam, pref. ... 0 19 11 — WOOLLEN— Mosgiel 6 15 0 — Wellington, ord 4 10 0 — Ditto, pref 4 11 0 — TIMBER— Kauri 0 10 6 — National T— 0 5 5 Leyland-O’Bricn 0 19 6 — Taringamutu — 0 4 0 BREWERIES— Carlton *1 13 3 1 7 New Zealand 1 6 11 4 Staples and Go 12 0 — Tooth and Co 17 6 — MISCELLANEOUS— British Tobacco, ord. 19 6 — Burns, Philp and Co. 2 0 0 — Dunlop Rubber 0 12 6 — Electro. Zinc, ord 0 14 0 — Ditto, pref 13 3 1 5 0 Henry Jones Co-op. ... 1 11 9 — Howard Smith, ord. ... — 0 10 6 N.Z. Drug 2 16 0 — N.Z. Farmers l'er- — 0 14 3 Sharland and Co., ord 0 14 3 — Ditto, prof Wilson’s Cement 0 15 3 1 11 0 1 10 0 Woolworths, prof 16 0 — OIL— - . U b b — 0 Taranaki —• 0 18 0 2 MINING— .... _ , Blackwater 0 12 6 U 16 u King Solomon 0 18 Mahakipawa, pref. ... 0 0 4 Mount Lyell 10 0 0 8 6 0 15 9 — Birr River, Is paid ... 0 10 0 1 6 Ditto, lOd 0 , 0 10 •Cum. dividend. U U 11

par: — Aug. 22. Par. Now York, dol. to £1 3.46g 4.866 Montreal, dol. to £1 .. Paris, francs to £1 • 3.953 88.25 24.925 4.866 124.21 35.00 Geneva.' franca to £1 . 17.80 25.225 Amsterdam, florins to Milan, lire to £1 ....... Berlin, marks to £1 . Stockholm, knr. to £1 Copenhagen, knr. to Oslo, knr, to £1 .... £1 £1 8.595 67 7-16 14.525 19 15-32 18.75 19 31-32 . 12.107 92.46 20.43 18.159 18.159 18.159 Vienna, scligs. to £1 . Prague, knr. to £1- • Herfors, marks to £1 *50 117 232.50 34.585 164.25 193.23 Madrid, pcs. to £1 . Lisbon, esc. to £1 _•••• 43 110 555 25.225 110 375 Belgrade, din. to £1 . Bucharest, lei t.o £1 • W ar&aw, zloty to x»l . Rio de J-, P- to mil. . B Aires, P- to peso . 215 600 *5 5-32 8/6.31 313.60 43.38 16.70 47.62 M Video, p. to peso . •50 51 Calcutta, p. to run. .. 19 1*32 18 Shanghai, p. to tael .. 21 5*16 16J V'haina, p. to .veil . 15.875 8.68 24.585 12.107 •Nominal.

SYDNEY, Aug. 23. Tho olHcial London (middle) quotations for Monday, is rcceivod by the Australian Mines anc Metals Association compare ae follow with those previously cabled: — Aug. 18. Aug. 22. Per ton. Per ton. Copper— ±1 s. d. £ s. d. Standard, sn of, 30 18 9 31 13 9 Standard, forward . 30 18 9 31 11 10i •Electrolytic 34 15 0 35 0 0 to 35 5 0 35 10 0 Wire bars 35 5 0 35 10 0 Lead— Spot 11 5 0 11 13 9 Forward ... 11 8 9 11 13 9 Spelter— Spot 13 17 6 13 17 6 Forward ... 14 0 14 2 6 Tin— Spot 140 13 9 141 13 9 •fForward .... 142 12 6 143 6 3 Silver — Standard, nor oz ... 1715-16d 17 5-16d Fine, per oz 19|d 18 l-16d * American, 5.125 cents per lb. •fAmerican, not quoted. P. AND 0. DEFERRED SHARES.

Commonwealth— Aug. 15. Dol. Aug. 22. Dol. 5 p.c., Jan.-.Inly, 1955 . .... 713 25^ 5 p.c., Mar.-Sept., 1957 ... 713 753 4A p.c., Mav-Nov.. 1956 ... 633 by New South Wales— 5 p.c., Fob.-Aug., 1957 ... 66 69 j 5 p.c., April-Oct., 1958 ... 66 69 i Queensland — 6 p.c., Feb.-Aug., 1947 ... 77i 79i 7 p.c., April-Oct., 1941 9Ui