THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21216, 23 December 1930, Page 4

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

By Rttsticus.

FORTHCOMING SHOWS. The following is the roster of A. and P. shows for the 1930*31 season in the South Island:— ; December 26.—Tuapeka. • December 30. Waitahuna Jubilee Show, 1931. January 10.—Waitati. January 16.—Waikouaiti. January 23.—Waihemo. January 23, Palmerston-Waihemo Jubilee Show: February 11.—Tapanui. March 18.—Lake County, March 26.—Temuka and Geraldine. April 6.—Strath-Taieri (Middlemarch). April 6.—Mackenzie County. June 2,3, 4, and s.—Otago A. and P. Society e Winter Show. 1930-31 WOOL SEASON. , The following ie the list’ of sales and allocations for the 1930*31 wool selling season:—

• 1 Dairy Produce Market. The course of London prices for New Zealand butter and cheese since August, 1929, is shown in the following table, which gives the quotations ruling at the beginning of each month, except when otherwise stated:—

Heavy Shipment*. ; Over 847,000 boxes of butter and 336,000 crates of cheese have been booked to leave the Dominion between the , end of this week and February 15. Including five vessels , now loading, , the _ allotments of shipping space cover 20 ships. The whole of the dairy produce is for London, with the exception ■ of■ part shipments in three ships. The ships and .their' allotments, with approximate sailing, dates and dates of . arrival in'England, are as follow;

Totals '.. 847,853 336,000 Destinations of Exports. . Butter and cheese exports for the 193031 season, to November 30, compared with that of 1929-30, have been as follow; — 1930 1929 Butter. Tons. Tons. London .. .. . 22.097 17.331 West Coast. U.K. .. 1.287 273 Canada .. .. .. 1.316 8.296 Honolulu .. ..- 106 113 Panama .. .. 181 68 Other countries .. 181 289 25.224 26.370 „1930 1020 Cheese. 1 Tons. Tons. London 17,813 15,565 West Coast. U.K. 1.285 1.016 Australia .... 1 14 Canada .. .... 6 48 Other countries .. 22 33 19.127 16.676 Stocks. Held in. New Zealand. Stocks of dairy produce graded for export held in New Zealand, as at November 30, were as follow: 1930 1929 Butter ~ .. 9788 6158 Cheese, tons .. 8708, 6888 Excess holdings for this year as at November 30 last’ over those at corresponding date last year were;—Butter, 3630 tons; cheese, 1820 tons. Full Cream Cheese. ' Some exporters of cheese have received advice from Tooley street that their "full cream ” cheese has been realising a premium of approximately 3s per cwt,, and in one instance- 4s per cwt, over the price of standardised cheese. It is also reported that in one case second-grade “ full cream ” cheese obtained a premium of Is per cwt over the price of “finest” grade of standardised cheese. Cawthron Institute. Insects are said-to be man’s most dangerous rival for possession of the earth, but. meanwhile New . Zealand, principally through the Cawthron Institute, J s endeavouring to harness them to her own uses (says the Dominion). If success attends the experiments. being made to set insects to destroy plant peats such as blackberry, gorse, bracken, ragwort, and other land pirates, entomologists may yet achieve more in the may of settlement than Mr Ransom, the ■ unemployed, and the Treasury" combined. Maurice Maeterlinck has lately published a third volume on the life of the ant, a companion to his previous and famous works on the bee and the white ant. At the outset he remarks: “I have realised that in respect of the ant—as indeed in respect of everything on earth—while we think we know everything, we really know hardly anything; and the little that we do learn tells us, at all events, how much remains to be learned,” If entomological problems are approached in that humble spirit of research, we may yet live to regard insects as the allies rather than the enemies of mankind.

Items of interest to those engaged In agricultural and pastoral pursuits; with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addressed to “Rusticus,” Otago Daily Times, Dunedin,

Sydney Wool Averages. Average prices ruling so far in the Sydney market have been as follows; Per bale. Per lb.

EXPORTS AND VALUES. THE CHRISTMAS WOOL CHEQUE. TRADE AT A LOW EBB. INTERESTING OFFICIAL FIGURES. . The wool sale held in Burns Hall last week did little to raise the drooping spirits of pastoralista in Otago. The range of prices and the general particulars of the as published last Friday morning tell their own story. But the low price is not the only trouble as far as this year’s sale'is concerned. What concerns traders most is the relatively small amount of the wool cheque that will _be distributed for Christmas this season. There will he very much less to go round than .was the case last year, for not only has the price fallen, the quantity of wool sold has also dropped heavily. Last year with the average price per pound at something like Bid for the first sale, woolgrowera in Otago received over £700,000 for the season. It is difficult as yet to make any definite assertion as to what the sum for distribution is for the first sale, this year, but a simple calculation will give an approximate total. It is suggested ■ in huthoritatiye circles that the average price per bale last Thursday was'about £7. The total offering was roughly 10,500 bales, which multiplied by seven gives the sum of £73,500, compared with about £220,000 in 1930, and something over £400,000 in December of 1929. It is a generally accepted theory that low prices sooner or later stimulate a demand, for. any commodity, but everybody in the wool business is wondering how far values have to fall before the drop in the price of the raw material’is likely to be reflected in the co6t of the manufactured 'article over,the retail counter. The response in the price of products of the industry is retarded by the long time which elapses before the lower cost of cloth as it leaves the loom makes itself felt in the retail stores. No matter how quickly the price of wool > may fall, the decline in retail values is very slow. It is hoped, however. _ that very; soon the finished article will fall to a level at which competition with other fibres will be possible. Good average 64's tops can be bought at very little more than what hadto be paid for 40’s a year ago r and in view of the popular taste the world over for fine, soft-handling fgbrics, this is a factor that is bound to tell in the long run. It means a lot in the competition between wool and the artificial, substitutes that have menaced it, for there are intrinsic qualities in wool that, have not yet been synthetically produced, and which are not likely to be produced. V. ' ‘ • But not alone in the wool industry is the tide of trade at a low ebb. The Government Statistician in his review for October and the 10 months to October 31 gives some illuminating figures with regard to exports. He refers to the volume of debits placed, to individual accounts (excluding Government accounts} in the banks of issue. In comparison with October, 1029, the slackening in business activity is describes as “ considerable.” The record dairy production is noted (it is referred to hereunder). Building.permits show very little movement, although a tendency to slight improvement is noticed in the building trade, principally in Christchurch and Auckland. Land transfer and mortgage business has receded, particularly in town and suburban properties. But this branch of business was particularly active in October. 1929. The cumulative total of exports for the 10 months ended October 31 was £8,500,000 less than for a similar period of 1929, and £1,300,000 lees than the preceding fiveyearly average for the period. Wool exports are down £7,000,000; cheese less by £414,000; hides and skins are short by £732,000, and there were no specie exports during 1930, as against £644,000 for 1929. Values of principal exports for the 10 months ended October 31 were as follow: 10 months 10 months 1930. 1929.

The general fall in the ■world’s comtuod ity prices is reflected in the above returns. Exporting of dary produce and ■ woo : during November and December will b heavy, supplemented to a small extent bv moat and freezing works by-products, which are much heavier, however, in Jami iiry, February and March than at th end of the calender year. But the abrn figures may be taken to indicate rough 1 tin} value of the export trade for 1930 h comparison with that of last year. On the 10 months’ figures for 19Si however, the value of all exports cov pared with those of 1920 is down i £8,557,444. but there is a set off of th lofla of £3,724,100 represented by contra-' tion in imports, so that the actual by reduced returns from exports for t 10 months is £4,833,344.

January —- * 7—Wellington .. . 30,000 12—Napier .. .. . 27,000 17—Auckland . 25,000 . 2U —Wanganui .. . 25,000 26—Christchurch .. 30—Invercarsill February— 3—Dunedin .. . - 6—Timaru . 18,000 .13—Wellington .. 18—Napier .. .. . 24,000 23—Wanganui . 23.000 March— 2—Christchurch ., . 22,000 9—Dunedin .. ., . 25.000 11—Invercargill . No limit 18—Wellington . 30,000 23—Napier .. .. . 20.000 27—Auckland .. ., . No limit 31—Christchurch . . No limit April— 10—Dunedin •• . * . No limit 13 —Timaru . No limit 17 —W el lington .. . No limit 21—Napier •. ., . No limit 23 —Wanganui . No limit

uLiierwise bi> 1929. aieu; — Butter; Cheese. Cheese. White. Coloured. Per cwt. Per cwt. Per cwt. August 169/172/- 86/87/- 90/91/Sept; .. .. 172/178/- 91/92/- 93/94/Oct. .. 179/184/- 95/96/- 94/95/Nov. .. .. 184/170/- 94/95/- 92/93/1930. / Jan. .. 156/160/- 87/88/- 85/86/Feb. .. .. 152/154/- 90/91/- 88/89/March 138/142/- 83/84/- 83/84/April .. .. 120/124/- 70/73/- 72/76/-, May .. .. 128/134/- 82/84/- 87/88/June .. .. 124/130/- 76/77/- 82/83/July .. 134/137/- 75/77/- 81/83/Aug. .... 136/138/- 77/80/- 82/83/Sept. .. .. 124/128/- 71/73/- 76/78/Oct. 3 .. .. 116/122/- 71/73/- 70/72/Oct. 10 .. ' 110/116/- ,69/71/- 68/70/Oct. 17 112/117/- 74/76/- 71/73/Oct. 24 .. 112/118/- 75/76/- 71/73/Oct. 31 .. 108/116/- 73/74/- 70/71/-. Nov. 7 .. 108/116/- 73/75/- 69/71/Nov. 14 .. 107/114/- 73/74/- 68/70/Nov. 21 .. 104/108/- 71/73/-. 67/69/Nov. 28 .. 89/104/- 63/66/- '59/63/Dec.'5 . . .. 102/106/- 58/60/- 56/58/Dec. 12 .. 112/116/- 62/65/- 60/63/-

Butter. Cheese. Sails. Due U.K. .' Boxes. Cwt. Westmoreland Dec. , 20 Jan, 27, 12,000 15,500 . Tongarlro 23 28 80,000 28,800 Port Hunter 24 29 37,853 20,500 Turaklna 30 Feb.. 5 80,000 18,000 : Rotorua Jan. 3 7 27,000 • 17,800 Bemuera 3 8 50,000 10,500 Karamea n 8 '41,000 18,600 Fort Wellington 7 H 13 56,000 13,100 ' Corlnthlc 14 , 21 25,000 14,700 Baranga , 15 22 64,000 12,900 Fort Huon 21 25 64,000 22,800 Huntingdon .24 Mch. 2 43,000 25,000 Bangittkl - 31 5 45,000 13,000 Fakeha - ■ 31 10 11,000 10,900 Port Fairy Feb, 3 9 25,000 9,400 Taranaki - 4 9 25,000 .11,400 Zealandlc ' 7 11 20,000 14,800 Northumberland 7 15 7,000 7,100 Norfolk 7 16 50.000 19,000 Fort Dunedin ‘ 12 .21 20,000 14,500 Ionic 15 .26 65,000 17,700

£ *r d 8. lie. d. jfer id. d. Week ended Sept, 20 11 14 0 8.6 Week ended Sept. 27 11 8 5 8.5 Average for three months 12 1 2 9.2 Week ended Oct, 11 10 19 5 8.2 Week ended Oct. 18 10 18 10 8.2 Week ended Oct. 26 10 15 2 8.1 Week ended' Nov. 1 10 7 11 7.8 Week ended Nov, 15 10 16 5 8,3 Week ended Nov. 22 10, 16 9 8,3 Week ended Nov, .29 10 14 7 8.3 London Wool Sales. ■ An authoritative comparison of values Billing at the London wool sales just closed with those obtained at the Sen-tember-October series this year is as follows;— Dec Oct. d. d. d. d. Halbred, 56/58*s— Good to super 94 to 11 11 to 14 Low to medium 65 to 94 8 to 10J Haifbred, 60/56’s— . Good to super 8 • to 8? 10 to 11 Low to medium 64 to 72 75 to 95 Fine crossbred, 48/50’s — Good to super 74 to Si 9J to 104 Low to medium 54 to 7 74 to 9* Fine Crossbred, 46/48’s — Good to super 7 to 7f - Low to medium 6 to 6J Crossbred, 44/40’s — . Good to super 6J to 74 85 to 94 Low to medium 43 to 04 ■7 to 85 Crossbred, 40/44 9 s — Good to super 6} to 63 84 to 9 Low to medium 44 to 64 6| to 84 Coarse Crossbred. 36/40's — - Good to super 64 to 65 84 to 8$ Low to medium 4* to 6 6J to 8

■£ £ Butter 9,800.000 9,745,000 Cheese 5,103,465 5,517,825 Casein .. .. '.. .. ■ 137,250 110,738 Dried milk .. .. 226,346 225,392 Beef .. .. .. ... 530,825 510,392 Lamb 6,819,547 6,601,744 Mutton 2,142,725 1,707,574 Pork 413,904 477.278 Sausage skins .. .. 729,221 609,895 Preserves and meats 124,343 130,252 Apples 641,355 542,483 Wheat .. .. ., .. 181 35,777 .Hides, ox and calf 415.699 . 568,300 Rubbitskins .. .. 114,948 324,134 Woolled skins 209,143 323,051 Tallow .. „. .. ., 623,001 644,530Sheep pelts .. .. 1.144,286 1,393,604 Wool 7,312.044 14,355,645 Flax .. 185,880 291,743 Grass seed .. .. 122,312 142,913 Kauri gum .. .. 171.592 220,978 Coal ■ .. 158,480 , 242,915 Gold .. .. ... .. 486,170 448,397 Silver 40,397 36.64-! Timber 271,023 358,081-