NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1584, 1 April 1882, Page 7

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

■ ' Observer,' Upper Clutha Valley writes :— 'I observe your reporter has lately been " doing " the Hawea 3<Tat. I beg to bear testimony to tho truthfulness of the report, jwith this exception : That in the whole Upper Clutha Valley there is not a single animal—, horse, entire, or otherwise, cattle, sheepj pig, or poultry— good enough to be en.tercd in a second-class showyard down country. Half a dozen of our farmers were s,een riding to church lately, mounted on " leggy, longtailed, scrubby, hacks," none of which were more than swe years old, and yet they would not be worth more than £4 each in a saleyard." Our correspondent must surely take too jaundiced a. view of the animals possessed by his feliow-. residents. His condemnation is of too wholesale a character.

Tho Southland Timos states that Mr Hamilton, of Stratharron, is proceeding to the Home Country for the purposo of making minute practical investigations into the system of dairy factories, and of the capabilities of the freezing system of transit as applied to all sorts of fresh provisions, but specially to dairy produce, and also if possible to establish a market for it. If satisfied as to its prudence and hopef ulness commercially, he means to try to float a company at home for the purpose of establishing a dairy factory at Thornbury ; failing this, ho and a few of his neighbours purpose to start one on a smaller scale on their own acccount. Mr Hamilton was entertained at a dinner at Inve'rcargill prior to leaving.

It ia stated in the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Circular for February that the sheep sent Home by, the Ciwco are not of a class that, under ordinary conditions of the ■trade, would find a ready sale in the Home markets," being deficient m size and weight, many not averaging more than, 4Q lba ea.ch, in

addition to which sufficient, care had- not been bestowed upon their preparation for shipment. Favoured, however, by Iho exceptional do.ir-ncf-s of Homo-fed produce, Kales arc now practicable at prices which, under other circumstances, would probably not be obtainable. The following quotations represent current values of Home- fed meat :— English and Scotch beef (bodies), -Li to 5s per 8 lbs ; best Scotch mutton (carcases), (>n 4d per 8 lb.s ; English mutton (carcases), Gs per 8 lbs). Tho prices realised by the shipment, it will ho. remembered, ranged from 5d to s£d per lb. In reference to New Zealand hemp tho circular says :— The small supplies winch have lecently readied this market have been badly cleaned, and contain a considerable admixture of straw, and are consequently very difficult of sale. For such descriptions we quote nominally £37 aud £2S per ton. It is undesirablo to send this product to the London market unless it is well and carefully cleaned. Hemp so prepared would find at the moment a ready market at £'2{) to £30 per ton.

Thoannuairamandcweftiir of tho Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association was opened at the show-grounds on tho23rd. The attendance was not largo, as during the wholo day there were not 500 persons on tho ground. Many of tho lots offered were passed in, as competition was far from brisk. Tho following were the highest prices obtained for rams :— By Modsrs X.. Wilkin and Co., on account of Hon. M. Hohuos, 25 guineas, Vo guineas, 11 guineas, and 9 guineas ; by Messrs* Matson and Co., on account of Mr J. G-. Russell, 15 guineas.