AUSTRALIAN SURPLUS STOCK.

Otago Witness, Issue 847, 22 February 1868, Page 14

AUSTRALIAN SURPLUS STOCK.

\'.-'>. -.'! \{¥tomth.Q^'A,, Register.) , •';'_' ■ '-•The 'greatest expectation of, a revijral.of,' prosperity that, the pastoral class in these, Colonies seems - to entertain is based on the ' hope i that the -.export' of, preserved meat will establish a- minimum' price for .fat "stock"" Wool is down, and -boilingdown for tallow scarcely pays the- cost' of ■producing fat stock'; but if an indefinite market for meat should be opened up^ •there will th'en be a certain, return 'for the produce of every run. . A fixed basis will •be established , for calculating profits. Hitherto, while expenses have been pretty certain^ profits have -been fluctuating,and there has been more speculation about the main of the country than is

desirable. •• . - ' ' ' ' In discussing what' Australia could do in the way of shipping meat to -Europe, reference has been often made to South America.' In the. Brazils and in the country watered by the La Plata, there is a large area of splendid pastoral country, and stock- rearing is carried on upon an extensive scale. . And the American ports on the South Atlantic are half the distance from the European market that the' most favored Australian port is. It is often asked, therefore, whether the competition of South America would not be felt] severely in the. business of supplying preserved meat. ■ Whatever is done in Australia, cannot it be' equally done at ! Buenos ' Ayres ? .Any method of preserving meat that .can adopted here canalso be adopted there ; and. will' ".not the greater.proximity.to , market give our rivals a great and », permanent , advantage in '.the 1 competition ? •■■'.'.' -• '■ "„ . Considerable light has been thrown on this; point- in a letter- addressed. -to 'the ,Tvmes, by Mr Wilfred Latham^a' gentlemanwhomthat journal 'describes as one of the best informed 'sheep fanners in the Argentine Republic." *Mr~ Latham J speak 7 ing for I that, part/of. South] America. t in which v he, resides, .says' that /the stock of bhe country is not less "tnan'22,ooo','ooo head of cattle, and 40,000,000 Bheep v .The pastured are''so'fully. r stock^d'that l tnere is' no xofrjhjfor'any further increase,' and the' 'reduction 0 of the' "surplus! sfock j into some exportable form is' a"nece's-1 sity. Six ox seven millions of sheep I

per annum have' to., bo. thus disposed of, and yet the export of meat to Europe is Bmali The export takes the form 1 of hides, tallow, and charqui, i.e., the skin, ' the , .fat, and the. , flesh. , Of these products,,, the , flesh,., which. is the most] eagerly graved by the hungry, consumers ! in Europe, is the .(least valuable, to the ; squatter. --.The hide exports worth seven times the value of the '- charquij and • the tallow is^ also three times more valuable.This charqui, or dried meat,' is' principally" sent away for the food of the slave population of Havana and Brazil. Samples of it have .been sent to '.England, 'but the .working .people,^ after 'one taste would. riot touch' it again. 7 Mr Latham .says that in no , country, with „,a, free - .population is charqui acceptable, as food. If this is so, ,if it is only food for slaves, and can only get eaten on compulsion, it is pretty clear that the market for it is dwindling. For as slavery is doomed all the- world over, there will not much longer be a population to consume slave diet. But why cannot the' Argentine squatters feed free men as well as slaves'? Why cannot they .preserve their .meat in some palatable form, as well as in the hard and juiceleas shape of charqui.? Mr Latham says the stock, is of the wrong quality. They have never been bred with an eye to that purpose, and the flesh "will 'not stand ' the preserving process. •• He de- ' scribes the sheep' as small, tender-fleshed animals, but the flocks and herds are very wild, and cannot yield meat such as the British public is accustomed to from domesticated; animals. . It' would take,' he says, two or three pounds of/Argentine meat i in its. usual; condition to equal the nutritive value, of one pound of 3£ngli3hr fed- meat,. and., under such the' cost, of curing and shipping would not b'e^ met by -the; receipts.'. ■-. 1,. 1 J At 'the -same 'time he says' 'that the country is quite 'capable of" supplying the t English ( demand. /'The'fault is, not in' the p'astures ? 'but in th'e"stQckr If the native herds are replaced .by the;! best meat-pro-ducing breeds, or arejunproved by, crossing, ;.and . ,if , a,-.' system of domestication supersede.3 the, wild roaming the stock of the country is indulged in, meat of the succulence.. for. the English '.market '. could . .be • produced in indefinite quantity. ' r , " • " •"■ - ■•• v > .. JB.ut to bring about 1 this result toll obviously 'require a good deal of time, and' a ■large, exp'erfditure of capital and skill. Mr Latham says .that neither the capital, nor the skill exist, in the, country, and that 'i England must ' send across those requisites if it wishes, to get the fruits! of tlienh .There is, plenty of scope for scientific "graziers who have capital at command, but-in its present state the country cannot -respond 'to the English demand for palatable meat. ' • ' •" >-.)Froin'thisaccount it would 'appear that the advantage which Souths America has in its proximity to ' market is 'neutralised by the inferiority of its" stock. ; But 'how far would the. same confession have to be niade' of Australian stock ? Some of our. well- f atted ■ beasts that come to market' migKi compare favorably with .the domesticated cattle of England.-; but how about the, bulk of the herds thatare weekly disposed of in our sale yards] 7t As •long as beef and mutton are liable to an indefinite depreciation in price, it will probably not pay to prepare domesticated stock for^ the shambles.; '.But it seems clear that.it would pay if a market for exported meat vreve securely established — a market that would only be openfor meat of really good j quality — such as could find a ready sale when : presented side by side • with • the ordinary butchers' meat " of the English shambles. . i . • • If, therefore, the frcezing'process which is being developed by Mr Mort," or any other, equivalent process, comes into steady and profitable operation, it .will have the effoct, not merely of 'providing a new export, and establishing all our pastoral industry on a firmer basis, .but it will tend also to civilise that pastoral industry. There will be a direct and powerful inducement to improve all our meat prod\icing breeds. Enclosures and domestication will become the order of the day. Squatting will become transformed into grazing. , Large unimproved runs will give place to smaller and better tended, grazing farms. ' Population \vill be thickened and more settled, and stock- 1 rearing will become a more skilled busi- j ness than it is at present. •...,. ; i

' The Southland Times writes in a tone of regret, with regard to the decline of the local Fire. Brigade., It says :— "Formerly, the attendance of .the members was' most' ex-' emplary on all occasions of either,; fire or practice. What has become 'of them now ? For months past nothing has been knowa'of the condition of the Brigade. Fortunately,' there has been no fire in, the town calling for, .their assistance ; but'it is'^nptable 1 that the custom of'perio^callyjnsiuectinjj the; e'ngikes and the' fire-tanks has bpe'n ' neglected .'and' this leads to' a fear that' in' the eveiit of ' a fire" i, breaking out,' the machinery. for* 'its' extm^ guishinent inifcht be' foWd,' unworkable! J and ' tile inembora of the Brigade' undisciplinedarid'j useless."