THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20960, 25 February 1930, Page 4

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS. 1

FORTHCOMING SHOWS. • March 19.—Lake County. March 19,—Gore Ram Fair. March 27.—Ram and Ewe Fair (Burnside)., ' ’ April 21.—Strath-Taieri. May 31, June 2. 3. 4. and s.—Winter Show. 1930 WOOL SALES. Dates of wool sales yet to be held in the various selling centres with the allocations that have been decided upon by the vyool Committee are as follows; February ,25.—Napier (25,000 , March I.—Wanganui (20,090). March 7.—Christchurch (no limit) March 12.—Dunedin (23,000). March 14,—Invercargill (no limit) Marcn 21.—Wellington (27/Uoi March 24.—Napier (no limit). Wellington Wool Return*. That the .woolgrowers, who , have, sold at the Wellington sales this season have been heavily hit by the heavy fair in the market is shown. by the official returns of the November, December, and January sales compiled by the Wellington Woolbrokera Association, which compare as follow: ' Bales Bales Average Average io9o offered. sold. per bale, per lb. £s d d Nov. .. 7,973 7.332 16 37j 11.225 ?930_ * * 22,394 17,744 15 19 3 10.749 Jan. .. 25,088 23,073 13 IS 7} 9,284 From the above table it will be seen that the price per lb realised at the January sale was nearly 2d a lb lower than in November,. The'offering at the November sa)e ( the .-first of the season,’ was under 8000 bales, as against nearly 26,000 bales at the-January sale.. In November the averagejprice per bale was £l6 3s 73d and in January f 1315 s 7Jd, a’decline of £2 7s llfd per bale, and a fall of £2 3s 7Jd compared with the average per bale of £ls 19s 3d at the December sale. Total Realisations. The_totcl realisation for the three sales was £719,897 2s 7d,- which represents an price per bale of approximately 19s, which represents a very considerable decline _on last season’s values, which are set out in the following table:—

- 1928-29 SEASON; - - ' ‘ Average Average Bales Bales price price ioi>« offered. , sold. per bale, per lb. 1928 * £ B j Nov. .. f. 732 7,621 23 211 ’ 15.839 ?9 e 29 —“ 25 ’ 983 23,933 23 88i IS -°°s

Jan, .. 27,133 26,747 23 19 Si 16135 Eeb. .27,042 23,851 21 8 11* 14*237 Mar. .. 33,506 31,474 20 5 4 13.530

average P rice per bale for the 1928-29 season was £22 4s lid, the average price per ib being 14.958 pence, so that the average for the three Wellington sales held so far'.this season represents a drop of approximately £7 6s per bale The following table shows the’sales and average values fjjr the 'three’ complete seasons, 1926-27 to 1928-20: -

«... , Average Average Bales Bales price price v„,, offered, sold. per bale, per lb. year. ' & R a J®26-7 105,927 103,311 18 5 , 8?' 12.287 110,388 108,979 24 10 5 16.5X1 1928-9 121,3 ( 98 113,626 22 411 14.953 The Financial Position. The disorganisation of trade due to a Ba i e 3 \°, t ta king place will be very considerable, Assuming that the offering had been cleared at an average of £l4 a bale, the wool cheques sent out. on “prompt" %te, March T 6, would' have totalled over £208,600. Now, not only will this ' very considerable sunr be hot circulated early ne i .i mo P, ’ i nnany "businesses‘ connected with the'handling of wool will be affected. Not the least serious result in this respect will be the effect on shipping, ■bh]p owners -will have arranged their’ loading itineraries for ships to lift the wool, and -it will probably mean that -a number of ships, to keep their time table dates, will have to sail with unfilled apace Ihe repercussion of the fiasco will be’ widely felt. The opinion has been expressed in more than one quarter that growers would stand to benefit materially if they shipped their hold : up wool , direct to; London for sale. iJurmg ;_the time.-thc .wool was -in transit there Was the - possibility; of. an improvement m the London market. In any case, m view of the present exchange position, the grower would reap the benefit of the premium in the buying rate New Zealand op London, and the banks and financial houses would be. glad to help growers to ship to London by making libera] advances on their wool. British Farmers’ Tour,

, An attractive souvenir booklet has been issued by the publicity branch of the New Zealand Railways' in connection with the tour ~of the British Empire farmers through: ,New Zealand. A -tastefully coloured cover, encloses a seriep pf articles and photographs - dealing- with various phases of the. Dominion’s activities, and setting forth some of its principal scenic points of interest. The personnel of the party -is also given, and also a detailed account of the itinerary, complete with a map , i

The tourists arrive in the South Island on March 10. and will reach Christchurch, on March 12, after a hurried trip through the northern part of the island. Altogether they will spend 12 days i n the bouth Island, and will visit as far south as Invercargill,, They will leave Christchurch for the North Island on March Friesian Producers.

Some excellent yields are reported by v'V riesian Society during the mouth of December from cows under S.O. test. Amongst these are Messrs Dickie and •f, s S}- a & ura > Glenstuart Daisy Belle with 13o;83lb of ,butter-fat in C 4 days, and the junior two-year-old Dutch Netherland Queen with 99.501 bin 60 days aiso the senior three-year-old Magpie Echo’ w xr a 208.11 b in 112 days. Messrs M. North and Son, of Omimi, had the best results in December, Princess Echo Sylvia gave 1021 b of fat and.'the herd topped the classes in the three-year-olds and foureTfi r mi ds ’ 1 Cat , rina Rosch Echo with t ; 3.631b and a total of 171.521 b of fat in 07 days headed the former class, while oyma Plus Keyes was the best four-year-uus o" - th , 84-671 n b of fat and a total of 338.9 in her 100 days. Autumn Pastures.

At -this time of the year, proper treatment and management of pasture plays a_\eiy important part in the productivity or grassland. After a very dry period in the spring, most of the Dominion has received excessive rain during the summer months, which has meant a luxurious growth of grass and clover in the autumn. iJiose farmers- who made ensilage can count themselves fortunate, as the early ensilage crops were saved under verv lavourable weather conditions. On the 1 i many farmers had considerable difficulty in getting in their hav .crops—in fact, in a number of instances, nay crops have been ruined. Unless 1,-mM ar L taken to manat - Q the luxurious giouta of grass now being experienced, many pastures will suffer detrimentally during the coming season. Flock Competitions.

Some of our agricultural and pastoral associations might take a bint from the lollowing from the Live Stock Journah„.„ei!.a!; tbe festive season of the .vcai, u is customary to have some little .ZTf i- 0r ,° ther> and there are still -me tolk who are unregenerate enough to express the opinion that they can see nothing useful in flock competition. This ns a very short-sighted view to take, for, T whole, it must be admitted that uic .tlock competition stirs up interest amongst flockmasters to improve their flocks generally, and not to rely on just a tew- prize pens to carry them to fame In instituting these flock competitions the breed societies bad one idea in their minds—namely the improvement of the breed as a whole. It is harder, in the iace of keen competition, to win a prize m a flock competition than it is at an agricultural show, for whereas in the

By Busticrs. Kerns o« interest to those engaged In agricultural and pastoral pursuit*, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed, should be addressed to “Rusticus” Otago Doily Timen. DwSL

former the whole flock must be up to standard and type in the latter, by judicious care and selection, a few pens of sheep may be bred quite outstanding.

Wool and Clothing Prices. Reviewing the/wool trade in 1929 which it describes as “one of the most disastrousyears on record the London Statist calls attention to the big margin between the price of the raw material and the finished product. “It is not the price of the raw material from which the trade is suffering,” it says, “because, if wool cannot be used at to-day's prices then it certainly cannot be used on any level. - Everybody recognises how reasonable is the price of fine wool, and many reel that if clothing was on an equally reasonable basis it would certainly pave the way for a considerable increase in consumption. Most business men contend that, in view of the fact that the best blue serge on the market can be bought at about 9s per yard, and it takes only 3$ yards to make an average man’s suit, five guineas should buy a really excellent suit instead of seven to ten guineas, which is the regular price charged by retail clothiers. Repeated attention has. been called, to the lack of harmony between wool prices and the finished product; it is high time that a serious revision was seen in the retail prices. of both men s and women's wear/*

SALE THAT FAILED. BUYERS’ BENCHES EMPTY. STRANGE SCENE IN WELLINGTON. shouting and the tumult which ring through, the wpol sales of New Zealand and echo in the moneyed phrases of financiers were hushed in the Town Hall on ihursday. The stage was set for Wellington s fourth, sale of the season, but for once in the long history of the country’s woollen industry this great gathering, which usually has it in its power to sav how the farmer shall cut his coat, failed f ST „ th . e ™ an t, of quorum ” (writes l. it., in the Dominion). -No stranger scene' has been associated with the story of wool sales in the Dominion than that which for a brief space was played on the floor of the hall. There were 14,900 bales of wool to be offered to the world in open competition, but the world was cold to £S® te m Pt ln 8 offer of food for its looms. Jhe buyers benches were empty, and because buyers happen to be essential to the conduct of a wool sale, no sale took place. Everything was ready for the financial feast. The customary benches, Jong and sloping, had been .placed for the buyers who were to come but who, contrary to the canons of good festive boards were expected to wrangle over the ,proftered fare. A clock outside chimed twice, ■and still the rows of .benches remained empty. Then it was - known that no one would come to bargain with wolf-like wail oyer the sheep’s- clothing. ■ The buyers wanted more, thousands of bales more wool, than the province would offer' them, there was no question of searching the highways and the byways for others to divide the fare between them. The offer oi the golden fleece was not made. PREPARED IN VAIN.

hard hand of commerce lay behind the abandoning of the wool sale. It alone had been responsible for the rows of empty benches. Yet there was something fantastic about the hall prepared for the commercial uproar that might have meant over £200,090 to the farmers; The average city man s connection with wool values is limited to the occasions-he. buys a suit,. length,,, The. niceties of an ■ industry -which ‘ gives such a glib tongue to the shop assistant, and concern to farmers and people called brokers, are as interesting to him as German verbs. But like these parts of speech they are always tacked on to the end of his sentences when,he speaks about what he pays.. For this reason he is forced to the realisation that _bales of wool and how they sell do affect his buying power. And so, to him, a sale, which falls through is a- queer sort of thing, to say the most. In a vague way he reasons that it may effect him—to say the least. - There were not a few in the eallerv who, like faithful “ first-nighters,’’ always TwL, W 0 for.-the iun-i'ts offers, .etc ,ia wo little; amusement- to be had in watching a farmer’s wool pass into 8 Tm ?ds ‘ tben the “ show “ S/f-T®- *i TI^ IS week,, tewever. those who sat silently in the gallery missed the principal players in their favoured comedy, .there were many men down below walking about and talking in earnest tones, but avoided. Not even the m£hf « P -m ar . ds , de , noted "'here someone T bly take , kis place. The badinage of a buyer s bench before the auctioneer ascends the rostrum was absent. QUIET, DISCUSSION, -v Auctioneers’' clerks entered -with their catalogues. Their,work of.weeks had beenBakers sauntered.-round' the nail with the worried brows of peripatetic philosophers. They had done their +wV thwalt u ed for buyers to do ini i S iona°^ e i wher r e< fit °red away, were tire 14,900 bales of- wool which these absent buyers had said was not enough. Someone sat at one of the benches, but everyone looked at him so he sought a quiet chair under the gallery. There was much quiet discussion. Another man mounted the rostrum and requested everyone tote seated Only a few UnimaginaTte veil 8 \ val k<M brazenly to the benches. J.he lest stood nearby or-at most leaned a furtive arm -on a bench, seemingly HuehiT • the ghost-like forms whfch with’+h’ Jostled > and screamed their bids with the accents of a dozen, nations. ° n . e ’ sai <3 the man at the rostrum, and a voice piped a bid. There was a' knnlkorl I]' 51 ' and the imaginary lot was tnr| d down at a price which would J.™ , ally farmer grey. A second “ lot ” to ll’ but .there were no clerks no teifb d l?'f th f, priCG ? r the buyer, and ° 5 h° ok be /°, re the auctioneer to toll him whose wool he was selling get ffep««nen..l'fca r wo must pet clown to serious business,” remarked the man on the rostrum. There followed US fh talk, l,f nd speedles which fn+rlVit 1 the and wrongs of an lcai e commercial problem. There were still no buyers at the end of it all; and went Wh ? bad awaited their coming them and C ° Sed the hall doors behind

argentine wool. MARKETING THE CLIP. There are many features about woollowing andl marketing in the Argentine t’nutes the Branford correspondent of the Economist), which distinguished it from en T?' Pr \ Se l n Australia and New Zealand The Australasian wool season ’'in’nf'+I tween Tu!ly 1 of one year and -June 3° of the nest, whereas the Argentine season finishes on September 30, all the “ annual statistics of wool exports being compiled in accordance with this seasonal requirement During the past 10 years shipments of wool from the Argentine hare fhictuated considerably, but the total loWoq 8 ’ 2 ! Tf S ? 7 ;? 00 ba,es more than in 1010--0- t n the latter period the quantity exported was 305.524 bales, this being equivalent to 302.468,7001 b J he following snows Argentine shipments' during the past 10 years:— Bales. ■Rtlcs 1919- .. 305.524 1924-25 .. 257 705 1920- .. 313,714 1925-26 .. 344 385 1921- .. 476 217 1926-27 351 603 1922- .. 365.683 1927-28 " 322 760 1923- .. 294.866 1928-29 .. 342J69 Argentine wool is mostly crossbred, the chief selling centre being Buenos Aire’s, to Avhich clips are brought from the countrv for many years Bradford users have bee'n" mteretsed in B.A. crossbreds, and have always had keen competitors in the Continent and the United States, the former being the largest buyers. Last season &ei many and the United States dominated the scene, but the financial crisis in those two countries has had disastrous conse-

quences, and this time.buyers on Bradford account have been able to operate at-rea-sonable prices. The'part played by Britain and other countries in purchasing Argentine wool during recent years is shown below:—

1925-26 1926-27 1927-28 1928-29 Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. ILK. . 69,632 79,182 63,808 62,554 Gont, 227,247 234,585 226,206 231,978 U.S.A. 40,627 30,261 23,083 39,740 Various 6,879 7,575 9,640 8,497

Total. 344,385 351,603 322,737 342,769

That the United Kingdom has Wen an increasingly important buyer is shown in the fact that during the five years mentioned above the average annual purchases totalled 64,133 bales, compared with an annual average from 1909-10 to 1913-14 of 50,065 balcs._ The reason for this increase in United Kingdom purchases, which have nil gone to Bradford, is the improvement in the character of the wool and its preparation for market, this having overcome the prejudice of Yorkshire users. Even yet there is not the reliability in the offering of clips bought in the country districts that is desirable, buyers having to exercise very great discretion, but in this respect there has jeen a great improvement, and the introduction of new blood from Britain and New Zealand has been particularly beneficial.

NEW GOVERNOR-GENERAL

INTEREST IN STOCK-BREEDING. A RED POLL FANCIER. The following clipping from the Journal of the Red Poll Society of Great Britain shows some interesting light on the keem interest Lord. Bledisloe, the newly appointed Governor-General of New Zealand has. taken in the breeding of pure-' bred cattle, and the Red Poll breed in particular:— • “Congratulations to our president, the Rt. Hon. Lord Bledisloe, on this, appointment to the Governor-Generalship of New Zealand. Before the annual meeting of the society, to be held probably in February, Lord Bledisloe will have sailed for the Antipodes, whether he had arranged to go several months .since as the leader of the British farmers bn their tour of New Zealand, under the auspices of the British Empire Union. "Lord Bledisloe has been one of the strongest and staunchest supporters c£ the Red Poll breed. : which obviously includes the society. His active help has not only been a great asset to the breed, but it has been a contributing factor to its advaneement_ both at home and abroad. In Lord Bledisloe the breed has enlisted the whole-hearted interest of one whose cooperation has been worth having. His lordship is a convert to Red Polls; therefore, like others who have come into the .breed, he can offer an example which others are finding it expedient to follow. His lordship is not a recent convert, nor did he hastily decide to instal Red Poll cattle on the farms ‘upon his Gloucestershire estate. He eventually did so having found that the breed could live up to its reputation for dual-purposeness far removed from its native home. Lord Bledisloe has confessed that his liking for , Red Polls began in his younger days when he was a student at the Agricultural College at Cirencester, one of the oldest in the world. The favourable impression be then formed of the breed prompted him to keep them in view, studyzing their characteristics, and later on, when convinced 'that they were cattle specially adaptable to the general farm, to instal a herd. Nothing so pleased Lord Bledisloe, as he frankly admitted to the writer, than the striking success of the Red Polls, despite their being dual-purpose cattle, in the year of his presidency of the' British Dairy Fanners’ Association, namely, in 1919. It was in that year I that the Red Poll breed specially distinguished itself at the London Dairy Show, the champion cup, the gift of his lordship, going to a Red Poll cow owned, it should be mentioned, by Sir Merrifc Burrell, Bart., who,' it is particularly appropriate to mention, is also a convert to Red Polls. Sir Merrik Burrell, however, did not . venture .on the formation of a breed until he had definitely ascertained from his own experience that they answered faithfully to the claims put forward by those who knew their worth.

t “ Lydney Park herd. belonging;, to Lord Bledisloe, ia*by-Jid means 'an-isolated one in Gloucestershire or in’the adjacent counties, in fact, one of the greatest strongholds of the Red Poll breed outside its own native haunts in East Anglia is in the West of England,.and in the particular country to which his lordship belongs, • • • ‘ Breeders are not unmindful of Lord Bledisloe’s missionary work for the Red Poll in the western hemisphere on the occasion of his extensive tour of South America and Canada about a .year ago. His lordship realised that,Red Polls 'are essential in South America, where there is a growing partiality for dual-purpose cattle, especially the, Argentine; where butter . production in conjunction with beef raising is being aimed at. For such purposes there are no’ cattle -so 'suited, to the requirements of South American farmers.

As mixed farming is being started in Canada, it will of necessity lead to dualpurpose cattle being selected. Lord Bledisloe has acclaimed Red Polls as the one breed to fulfil effectively all that is wanted in this respect, and there is reason to believe that following his lordship’s recent visit to Canada the wisdom of his judgment will be appreciated and followed.

In New Zealand Lord Bledisloe is gpiuK to a part of the dominions where Red Pollsj have been gradually enlisting more support, and where more and more breeders have been found. Breeders of these cattle, like those partial to other breeds, have of late years been suffering from the want of fresh blood, their failure to get which has been the high freight charges by the shipping companies. As a one-time member of the Empire Marketing Board, which has shown its ■ anxiety to get over this difficulty, pedigred < breeders will find they have a good friend ; in Lord. Bledisloe.

Permanently a farmer’s breed/ is his lordship’s brief description of the Red Foil, which he also declares is a ‘ hardy, thrifty and nqn-pampered cattle which have good value for the butcher even after they have been milk producing for a long period/ Coming from a convert who has tested the breed over a long period, no more welcome testimony could be forthcoming. „ In Lord Bledisloe the farmers of New Zealand will have a loyal and staunch mend ready to consult their wishes and promote their interests. Able to appreciate to the full the perplexing problems associated with farming, and the difficulty of the producer obtaining a fair share tm ™. e ma l’ket value of his produce. Lord Bledisloe is not likely to be appealed to in vain. An English country gentleman, and the most approachable of men, a good friend of agriculture in Lord Bledisloe year’’ o4 f ° ot ln NeW Zea,aa d in the new