FROZEN MUTTON.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 10 February 1909, Page 2

FROZEN MUTTON.

THE ARGENTINE COMPETITION. The Buenos Ayres correspondent of the "Pastoralist Revie.v," writing on October 15th, gives some information regarding the development of the Argentine freezing wether. In view of the establishment of freezing works in Nelson, sheep farmers especially will be interested in what the correspondent referred to has to ray. The day is past, he points out, when the , large coarse or heavy sheep was popular for freezing;. Tho characteristics now looked for in the freezing sheep are medium-sized, well-shaped ft* o™'0 ™' and rounded and plump carcase. The fine-grained mutton sheep in prime condition, though not necessarily, over-iat, to approach tlie ideal of perfection in that sense is required to turn the scale at 1251 b. to 1351 b. live weight for two to six-tooth wethers, and this would mean 71b. to 111 b. more on the istancia. Sheep of such weight command at present prices from 15s to 16s 6d, ac-, cording to quality and condition for freezing. Pi'iccs of 17s 6d and upwards are paid for. sheep of over 1351 b, which go to tho butchers for boilmgdown factories. With those ,jtiy«rs, the heavier and fatter the sheep the longer is the price the record price this season being 26s for 2031 b. sheep. The demand for fine breeds (merinos of eood size) is quite on a par, if it does not actually excel, tho light-weight cro^s-breds for breeding purposes. This disinclination to buy the heavy welghte iv freezing sheep means that the breeders of good Lincoln qualities must get up and finish their wethers for market w-hile they are yet inside the yearling sta"e to place them to advantage before they mature and become too heavy. This system h being developed o*f lato with much success, on the alfalfa camps, and now it is quite common to see lambs of four to six months selling in the market from 10s 6d to 14s. or at 15s 9d for 12 months with milk teeth, iv the pink of condition, topping the prices of the day for re♦frigerutiri? purposes. Commenting on the foregoing, the "Weekly Press" says :— Such mutton is realising 3d to 3_d a lb. in England, and we are told the old tale that Argentine does not compete with New Zealand and has no hearing on the market. Butchers say the Argentine mutton was lever so good as new, and the a lb. difference in favour of New Zealand mutton has driven the trade steadily over to our competitors. Of course the bulk of our mutton consists of lambs that could not be *ot away fat, and represents practically the second-class portion of our sheep" stocks that are bred for export. If the Argentine develop their lamb trade it may be at the expense of thsir mutton, but the shipping of mutton at an earlier age than formerly will enable a laTge number of breeding sheep to be carried. Whichever 'way we look at it, there is now no getting away from the seriousness of the competition unless we can hold our own almost entirely in lamb". WHY MUTTON IS CHEAP AT HOME. In tho last issue of tho "Weekly P. ess" "Korari" writes as follows in the Farm and Station Column: — A well-known contributor to the "Livo" Stock Journal," "Spero,"has attempted to show why mutton is cheap at Homo, and his views, though not conclusive, are not without interest. The question is a serious ono for the Home farmer, to whom a fall of 10s per head on 'his sheep, .. whether stores or fats, makes a considerable difference to his balance-sheet. There has been, it is said, a decline of l%d per lb. in British mutton since March last, and various reasons, none of them wholly satisfactory, have been put forward to account for tho decline. One is the increase of nearly a million in tho Home stock of sheep, but as this would only amount to about 21b per head on the whole population, it is a mere trifle that as not worth considering. Tho increased' supply of Dutch frosh mutton exercised a certain local influence in London during tho autumn, and to some extent, reacted on the country trade, but the quantity sent was but a drop in the bucket, and as a permanent factor could not make muck difference in the long run. The falling trade of the country and the loss of . purchasing power is a more serious reason, but is looked upon as merely speculative, nnd impossible to prove by facts and figures. If it were altogether sound, it is argued, it would have equally affected the beef trade, but values for beef havo been well maintained, 'and the same may bo said of other provisions, such as bacon and dairy produce. "Spero" has therefore come to tho conclusion that thero is no particular and active cause for tho very considerable fall in the value of the Homo flocks. Mutton, like almost every other article of commerce, he" adds, is subject to that mysterious ebb and flow of confidence which affects tho commercial mind,- and als? to that curious fluctuation of demand arising from the vagaries of the public taste. It seems to me that in ignoring other supplies beyond Homegrown mutton, "Spero" has failed to answer the question. First of all, however, the fall in the price of wool last year must have had some influence upon the value of sheep, for it followed a brief period of exceptionally high prices. Then, thero is no doubt the depression, coupled with the fact that there has been an ample supply of frozen mutton, and at lower prices than the year before, has adversely affected the price of Home-grown mutton. "Spero," in considering Dutcn fresh mutton only as a- competitor of Home-grown, apparently does not recognise frozen meat as affecting the market, but it must do so in these days when tho prejudico against it h:is almost died out. Tho fact that tho beef market has not been so adversely affected as that for mutton is probabIjfdue to the large falling off ... American beef supplies. "Spero". is, however, hopeful of the immediate fujbure, that is from the farmer's! pqjint of view, as their stores - have qpst less than usual; but looking at the question from this end, the prospects of a better price for mutton at Home dnring the current year • aie not at all bright.