SPECIAL SALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2086, 15 February 1894, Page 7

SPECIAL SALES.

For Private Sale. — Wright, Stephenson, and Co., Greenvale estate, 22,600 acres, and Popotunoa 10,740 acres. Farm at Highcliff. Stronach Bros, and Morris, 5500 acres of good sheep country run 50 miles from Dunedin. Mutual Agency Company, store and stud sheep. Carswell and Company, Invercargill, properties in

Southland. It. Wilson and Company, Romania estate, 17,000 acres, near Outram. Bates, Sise, and Co. have for sale farm at Moeraki, of 1526 acres ; and also dairy farm in the same district of 226 acres. Donald Reid and Co.— Run of 7600 acres at Middle-

march ; 622 acres at Hindou. The manager of the N.Z. Agricultural Company invites offers for town, surburban, and rural lands on the company's estate. Stronach. Bros, and Morris hold their first sale of the season at Wedderburn last week in February. The executors of the late Mr Angus M'Donald offer Pakihi Homestead, 1659 acres, within seven miles of Temuka Sales of store sheep for this season are arranged

by Wright, Stephenson, and Co. to take place as follows :— At Leask's Yards, Blackß— Tuesday, March 6. At Caldwell's Yards, Wedderburn — Wednesday, March 7. At Cox's (late Maisey's) Yards, Kyeburn—Thursday, March 8 At Mr C. B. Hay's Deepdell Yards, Macraes, on Friday, March 9. [Communications of interest to stockbreeders and dealers are cordially invited. All communications to reach Witness office not later than Monday night,] Last week's sale at Burnside showed the ueual fortnightly fluctuation in the number of entries. A meagre entry in one week is almost always followed by a large one the next, owners thereby hoping, no doubt, to reap an advantage in price. This does not always follow, of course, for the large entry makes buyers more independent. The usual commercial reports speak for themselves. I should estimate that fat beef brought 22s 6d to 25s per 1001b. Of the fat sheep nearly all were ewes, and of the total of 887 penned, only 55 were merinos. No less than 910 lambs were penned, but they were nearly all of middling to inferior quality. It was noticeable that freezers were in demand, and these reached to 10s 9d, while farmers purchased a good many suitable for stores. At 5s 6d to 7s they ought to suit for raising freezers from. I have never seen a better all-round show ot pigs since I began attending Burnside, and they were cbeap in comparison with rates recently ruling. It makes one think that pork is a valuable commodity when suckers realise as much as 16 >. The money is not in them at that age, but it evidently has prospective advantages. Store cattle and sheep are in rather poor demand. I observe that a line of 6000 sheep has passed by rail from Canterbury to the wellknown Nokomai station, above Riversdale, and they have been highly spoken of. The local press records the fact that Mr W. Waddell, of Roughcraig, near Gore, sent to the Mataura Freezing Works a line of lambs and two-tooth wethers that seemed extra heavy. The former averaged 441b, and the latter 701b, freezing weights, Mr Waddell is a well-known breeder of draught horses, and also of Ayrshire cattle, and has repeatedly achieved success in the show ring. His success in sheep-raising promises to be no less marked. The entries at Addington last week were 372

cattle, 8692 sheep and lambs, and 654 pigs. ' Good beef realised about 24s per 1001b. Prime • crossbred mutton brought 2d to 2jd per i lb, and pigs brought full rates. Fat lambs were 6d to Is lower. Following j are current quotations at Addington : — I Fat cattle — Best steers £8 to £9 ss, secondary [ from £6 10s ; best heifers £7 to £8 ?s 6d, secondary from £5 10s ; best cows £6 10d to £7 17s 6d, secondary from £5.53. Store cattle — Weaners and yearlings- 26s 6d to 50', two-year-olds -£3 5s to £4 15s, and steers to £5 10s, dry cows £1 to £5 12s 6d, good dairy cows £7 to £9 12s 6d, secondary from £4. Fat sheep— Best crossbred wethers 14s to 16s 6d, secondary 10s to 13s ; best crossbred ewes 11s 6d to 14b lOd, secondary 93 to 11s ; best merino wethers 8s to 10a 3d, secondary 5s to 7s 6d ; best merino ewes 7s to 9a, secondary 4s 9d to 6s. Fat lambs — Prime 10s to 12s 7d, secondary from 6s 6d. Store sheep — Two-tooth crossbreds 9s 3d to 133 2d, crossbred lambs 4s 9d to 7s. Pigs — Baconers at 35s to 58s 6d, porkers 25s to 355, stores 15s to 27s 6d. The well-known and highly popular manager of Waimea, Mr W. A. Donald, has resigned owing to indifferent health, his eyesight, I understand, having become affected, but it is to be hoped temporarily. Mr Donald has for nearly 20 years been probably the most popular individual on the Waimea Plains. - In business, spoit, and social matters he invariably acquired respect. I know of all thic, but to my mind one of the most satisfactory items in his record, especially in these days of friction between employers and employed, is that I never yet heard of any employee at Waimea speaking of Mr Donald in anything but the most laudatory terms ; nor did he popularise himself with the employees at the expense of the company. He was foremost in the agitation that resulted in the abolition of the district rate levied for the construction of the Waimea Plains railway, and among the earliest to further the success of breeding sheep suitable for freezing. The frequent references now made to freezing mutton cannot fail to remind anyone who reads of the determined efforts now being made by Victoria to cut into the business. The Government has decided to erect freezing stores on the piers at Port Melbourne and Williamstown, so that after the meat has been chilled up-country

and conveyed to town in cool trucks, it may be finally frozen at the ship's side. By this means the danger of hurt to the meat between the hooks and the ship will be minimised. Further, specially cheap rates of carriage will be instituted from the furthermost parts of the colony over the railways for chilled meat sent to the seaboard. Well, the more the merrier. Every one pooh poohs the idea of glutting the European market, and tbe larger the volume of trade the more speedy the growth of a system of disposing of the meat.

At the recent ram fair at Palmerston North, which was held on two days, it was found that the preference was largely given to Romneys, which topped the market. Towards the end of the sale, however, the market became demoralised, and prices got down so low as to come under a guinea.

Accounts of the damage done by the stormy weather of last week are gloomy. Crops are badly laid on the Taieri plain, and further south the damage is even greater. We of the flocks and herds have all the advantage this season, grass being so plentiful. Indeed, it has been too " lush " for solid fattening, and has caused injury to newly-calved cows. A local estimate sets down the probable yield of oats at an average of 35 bushels in the valley of the Mataura. With regard to wheat the following remarks may be of interest : — "The average yield of wheat for this colony for the past decade has been at the rate of 24 bushels to the acre. The lowest yield was in 1891, being not quite 19 bushels to the acre, while the highest was in 1888, with upwards of29 bushels ; so that during the last 10 years the wheat crops have not been so good as they were in the previous decade, when the average was 27 bushels to the acre, the highest yield having been 31£ bushels in 1876, and the lowest about 23 bushels in 1875. The weather gets a share of the blame for the shrinkage in tbe returns, though other factors have no doubt' assisted in pulling down the average. How wheat crops are going to turn out this year has yet to be proved.

The manager of the Edendale estate has adopted the ingenious plan of thinning turnips by running a cultivator across the drills, so as to leave a few turnips every Bin apart. The

cost of thinning by this method is only 4s 6d per acre, or about half the price of hand work. By the way, ths farmers about Mataura instituted turnip-thinning contests some years ago, but the idea does not seem to have caught on. There is hardly any branch of farm work where dexterity can be brought to more advantage than in the seemingly prosaic one of thinning turnipß, and public contests would be advantageous in displaying quick and therefore cheap methods. I am glad to learn from the agents that Toxa, which is a local invention and production, is proving very effectual in rabbit killing, and that a consequently large demand exists for it. I learn also that a large flockowner places it among his stud sheep with perfect impunity. I should, however, scarcely care about recommending others to go and do likewise. Other people's sheep might not prove as discriminating. It is to be regretted that a somewhat serious accident occurred to the engine at Burnside Freezing WorkslastSunday. Although the damage done is serious, no delay will be caused in the freezing operations, as a smaller engine has been held in reserve, and will be utilised. I was shown in the Stock Office on Tuesday a horse's head whoße owner, when alive, must have suffered years of unnecessary pain. The upper molar tooth on each side had grown to such a length as to pierce the lower jaw, in which the grinding had made large holes. The whole appearance of the jawbone showed what the animal's sufferings must have been. Rabbits with inconvenient tusks, and birds with exaggerated mandibles, the result of accidents, causing a cessation of grinding on the opposite side, are frequently recorded, but I have never before heard of one of the larger herbivorous animals being so afflicted. It would be almost worth while for the department to have a photo of the skull sent Home to Mr Tegetmeier, the eminent naturalist of the Field, who is an authority on suoh matters. There must be a descendant of George Bobbins in Tasmania. An auctioneer there, in announcing a sale of pastoral property, describes it as comprising 29,187 acres of the very best pastoral and agricultural land in the island, selected in

the early days by the father of the present owner, than whom no keener judge of land ever trod Australian soil, as evidenced by his numerous world-wide purchases and selections throughout the colonies. It may be added that the "father" was no other than Mr Joseph Clarke.