THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22398, 20 October 1934, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

By Rttsticus

Items of interest to those engaged In agricultural and pastoral pursuit*, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addressed to "Hnsticus,” Otago Doily Times, Dunedin.

WOOL SALES, 1934-35 Wool gales for the 1934-35 season have been arranged as follows: Not. 27 —Auckland.' Feb. 18—Napier. Doc. 3—Napier. Feb. 22—Wanganui. Dec. B—Wellington. Mar. I—Christchurch. Dec. 13—Christchurch. Mar. 4—lnvercargill. Dec. 17—Timaru. Mat. 9—Dunedin. Dec. 21 —Dunedin, Mar. 13—TImaru Jan. 7—Wellington. Mar. 20—Wellington. Jan. 12—Napier. Mar. 25—Napier. Jan. 17—Wanganui. Mar. 29—Auckland. Jan. 22—Auckland. Apr. I—Wanganui. Jan. 28—Christchurch. Apr. s—Christchurch. Feb. I—lnvercargill, Apr. B—Dunedin.8 —Dunedin. Feb. 6—Dunedin. Apr. IS—Wellington. Feb. 13—Wellington. 1934-35 SHOW SEASON ROSTER OF DATES Agricultural and pastoral shows have been arranged as followi for the 1934-35 season;— October 24, 25. —Timaru. November 1. —Ashburton.', November 7. —Kelso. November 7, B.—Canterbury Metropolitan, at Christchurch. November 13. —Waimate. November 15, 16. —North Otago, at Oamarn. November 17. —Taieri, at Outram. November 20, 21. —Otago, at Tahuna Park. November 22, 23.—Clutha and Matau, at . Balclutha. November 24.—Winton. December I;—Tokomairiro Farmers’ Club, at Milton. December 4, 5. —Gore. December 6. —Central Otago at Omakau. December 7.—Wyndham, December 7. —Maniototo, at Ranfurly. December 11, 12, 13.—Royal Agricultural Society’s Show at Invercargill. December 15. —Otago Peninsula, at Portobelle. 1935. January 12.—Blueskin, at Waitati. anuary 18.—Waikouaiti. January 25. —Palmerston and Waihemo County, at Palmerston. April 22.—Strath-Taieri, at Middlemarch. April 22. —Mackenzie County, at Fairlie. Tha Royal Show The Royal (N.Z.) Agricultural Show will be held this year on December 11, 12, and 13, in the Southland A. and P. Association’s Showgrounds, Invercargill. Schedules‘are now available, and are obtainable from all A.' and -P. associations and secretaries of breed societies. For ths- 'convenience of . exhibitors, a special show train carrying passengers and stock will Teave for Invercargill oh< Saturday* December 8, arriving in Xnr vefcargUl early on Sunday morning. A Billeting Committee has been formed to arrange accommodation, and exhibitors and visitors are advised to communicate at once with the secretary, Mr A. L. Adamson, Box 219, Invercargill. Lata Mr Henry North i It is interesting to recall that Mr Henry North, the well-known dairy cattle breeder, of Omimi, whose death took place on Tuesday, was, in his youth, apprenticed to the engineering trade, and later was one of the engineers on the harbour ferry Golden Age, which was so well known to early residents of Dunedin and the harbour-side districts. Mr North came to Otago from Victoria with his parents in 1859. and , was. one of the early pppils of the Portobello School, on leaving which he was apprenHced to the engineering trade ..at^Ph.rt'Chalmers. During the term of he assisted in the fitting-.’upivof- the two, first locomotives to be brought to Otago, and. one of these, the well-known ■ Josephine, drew the first traifi-to run between Dunedin and Port Chalmers. ’ On the completion of his indentures Mr North joined the Golden Age, but while still ,a young man he responded'tb'the call of the land, and in 1877-h.A went- on to the land at Omimi, to establish what was in. later yettfe become one of the foremost cattle-breeding- establishments in the Dominion.-; >. . . . • World’s Dairy . Trad* -■> The rapid development of the dairy industry in different countries of the world during the past'decade is outlined in the Dairy. Gominissioh’s.'report, which reviews the international . tra.de in butter, cheese, and other milk 1 products, and shows in tabular-- form. the striking increases in the; imports into the United Kingdom. Since 1929’the'butter imports into the Home market have grown from 520,300 tons,’ valued at £54,706,000, to an estimated.’total of 485,300 tons for 1934, valucd > , at f 32,0Q0,000. The cheese importations,'on: the other, hand* show practically no increase over the corresponding period, but the value has dropped by over 50 per cent." . : “A'study of the butter stock position shows that increasing difficulty is being experienced in getting butter rapidly absorbed by the market,” states the report. “Tie estimated stocks of all butters, in London, including stocks in private and provincial stores and in steamers not discharged, as at October 1, were as follows: . Tons. 1932 .. 20,000 A . 1933 .. .. 26,000 1934 .. .. .. .. .. 37,500 “There is no information as ,to the source of supply of this stored butter, but it is estimated that .40 per cent, of the 1934 quantity is of foreign origin, principally from the Baltic States and Russia; 40 per cent, is New Zealand butter and the remainder Australian and Irish.” Disturbing Feature “The most disturbing feature of the stock position from our point of view is that New Zealand butter is tending to accumulate in store at a period when stocks are normally cleared,” says the commission. “It ig usual for New Zealand butter to be stored in May, June, and July to provide for the needs of the trade in July, August, September, and October when supplies from the Dominion are relatively low, and during the latter months it is readily sold at prices above those ruling in the remainder of the year. Between August, 1933, and June, 1934, deliveries of our butter from store amounted tp 96,752 tons, as compared with 78,585 tons for the corresponding period in 193233. During the three months of July, August, and September. 1934, however, the position became much less favourable, since only 17,520 tons were delivered from store, as compared with 24,327 tons delivered for tha corresponding period of 1933. The September deliveries alone show a decline from 8690 tons in 1933 to 5870 tons in 1934. The fact that the price of New Zealand butter , in September, 1934, averaged about 28s per hundredweight less than in September, 1933, makes the present unsatisfactory state of the market all. the more significant. “ From a study of available figures it would appear that the market is being supplied with additional Continental exports, T.hile New Zealand butter, to the extent that it is surplus to established demands, is being stored. The reasons for this cannot be fully determined. It may be due partly to the fact that New Zealand butter can he stored with safety, and that therefore merchants may be using it as a reserve in the event of Continental supplies rapidly falling off. In the meantime, however, the -rapid increase that has occurred in subsidised Continental supplies, combined with the dumping of butter on the United Kingdom market at sacrifice prices, has created a

difficulty in disposing of our stored butter before the arrival of our new season’s output.

International Outlook “ The outlook for the international trade in butter is unpromising. The United Kingdom is the only market of any account; other European markets are protected by quotas; the Swiss market is to all intents and purposes provided by local supply; the Belgian and French markets offer only a limited outlet; and the German market is restricted to an impqrt of 45,000 tons. These outlets are annually being further restricted. Between 1931 and 1933 their supply was contracted by approximately 67,000 tons, and a further contraction of 10,000 tons has already been registered in the first six months of this year. Although quota restrictions, excess supply to the United Kingdom market, and price repercussions initially reduced production in 1932, the introduction of subsidies stimulated an increase in gross exports in 1933, and further increases have already-occurred in the present year. This increased production has to find an outlet, mainly in the United Kingdom, which is already receiving additional supplies from Australia and New Zealand. The result has been the growth of fierce competition for the disposal of produce and a consequent collapse of prices. The extent and duration of this competition will depend on the ability of subsidising countries to continue to support industries that are fundamentally uneconomic, and upon the willingness of countries generally to enter into reasonable trade agreements.”

The Wool Market No one will deny that the wool outlook has taken a decided charge for the better (says the Australasian). About three weeks ago most serious forebodings were entertained. Some people in the trade were herd to state that it will be impossible for. Australia to dispose of her wool clip this year. All the signs pointed to a complete collapse of the market for the inferior types. Only the best clips, and a few of the fleece lines of others would be saleable, it was feared; and great accumulations of low-grade wools seemed to _be inevitable. . Brokers were at their wits end to provide catalogues. The selling programme could not be arranged as in previous years, principally because growers indicated that they would not offer their supplies at the prices ruling. The selling houses knew that curtailed offerings early in the season would create new difficulties, and yet they hesitated to advise their clients to sell. The slump atmosphere which prevailed was caused by the lack of competition for European Continental countries. The Continent has come into the market again; however, and has saved the situation. . Buyers for France have been responsible principally for the change. At most of the recent sales they have .dominated the markets for some wools. Rates have advanced also in consequence. So far the improvement in prices has not been great, and wool is very low etill, but that is not the ground for relief so much as the better tone all round and the improved outlook. The fear that large quantities of wool will be unsaleable this season has been eliminated for the moment at least, and the tendency is for rates to harden.

Wool Substitutes A few months ago alarming etatements concerning the discovery of wool substitutes by German scientists were circulated throughout the trade. . It was asserted that a material in every respect like wool, and with all the properties of wool, had been produced in quantities, and that foreign woollen mills were about to, be converted for the manufacture of the new material. Samples were ■seen and'handled by specialists in Australia, These samples were most impressive, In appearance and “ feel ” they could not be distinguished from wool. There seemed to be grounds to fear that at least a formidable rival had iappeared. But searching analysis of the new material have been made, and it has been shown that a substitute worthy the name of wool has yet to be discovered. Artificial'fibres which can be fabricated into useful textiles, we know compete with .wool to some extent, but they lack the special properties possessed by real wool, which, fortunately for Australia, is a commodity needed because of its matchless qualities as a clothing material for civilised peoples. Wool «md Exchange Dalgety and Co.’s authoritative annual wool review for Australia and New Zealand for the 1933-34 season is received. It is most informative on all aspects of the wool industry. Discussing tha Now Zealand markets, the review states;—

“After four years of depressed markets and ruinously low prices for wool, it is exceedingly gratifying to be able to record a very pronounced recovery in values during the last' season. All. classes of wool shared in the improvement, but the finer qualities were again the most sought after, and these ■ descriptions , were selling throughout the season at really payable prices. Prices for the coarser wools still leave roofn for considerable improvement, but even these sorts were materially, higher in price than for some years past. •_ : “ The regrettable feature is that so large a percentage, of the prices received by New Zealand farmers is artificial, in that it is due to high exchanges and depreciated currency. ■ This artificial inflation'. of prices has to be paid for sooner or later, and it cannot be said that the-wool.market:is out of the wood until a payable range of prices is reached without such aid. In the meantime, the improvement has come as the greatest boon to the sorely-harassed farming community." The Local Sale* Grow

One result of the improvement in prices is referred to, viz., a considerable increase in the quantities offered in New Zealand markets, and the total sold to the end of May, viz., 647,381 bales, was the highest since the war period. This was, of course, partly due to the accumulation of wools held over from the previous three seasons. A considerable number of clips, however, which are usually shipped to London on owner’s account, were this year sold locally, while there was s fair amount of reselling on speculative account. Christchurch was the only centre to show a decrease, and _ this was due to the shortage in the clips caused by the drought conditions of the previous autumn and winter.