STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2170, 26 September 1895, Page 6

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Droves.

Weekly Stock Saks : \ Fortnightly: Eurnside, Wednesdays Balclutba, Fridays Invorcr rgill, Tuesdays Gore, Tuemlays. ABhburton, Tuesdays Oainaru, Junction Addington, Wednead'ys Yards, Tuesdays. Monthly : Periodically : Clinton, Palmerston, Heriot, Kelso, and Kyeand Winton. burn. [Communications of interest te stooVbreeicrn sort dealers are eordiillj invited. All sommunioaliong to rcaob Witness office not later tlinu lloudaj ulght.l Last week's cattle market was again a briak one, 150 head beipg yarded, half of which only, however, were prime beof. The betfc pens nearly touched £13, bub these were heavier bul'oaks than bava breu in the yards for Bone time; £10 to £11 was the ruling price ftr medium-sized cattle. Some nice heifera brought from £8 to £9. Half the yarding coniibfced of the usual run of poor-conditioned cattle, and these, as usual, were dull of Bale. The result of the shipment of live cattle and frheep by the Southern Cross on a larger fcalo than hitherto attempted has proved very disappointing. Ifc seems to me another iaftince of making a start before being properly prepared. The feed was bad, and evidently inadequate, and the shipping arrangements were bid ; bu*-, most important of all, tho c*fctle were evidently not cf a clrss to stand shipment, as it is generally agreed that such cattle should be handreared aad stall-fed, quitt caltla. Although cattle aro cheap euough en the runs in Queensland and New South Walep, it seems evident that such cattle will nob thrive on the long voyage, and ib is questionable whether the ca'tlo really required oan be prtfitably supplied in Australia. lam more conQrme d now in my opinion <hafc the profitable carrying cut of the trade in beef with Great Britain is bound up in the question of the success or otherwise of the chilled meat experiments, and I am hopeful that it will prove to be the solution of the whole difficulty. The reported outbreak of pleuro among these cattle is a most serious matter for the colonial trade prospects. The yarding of sheep consisted of 2300 head of fair sheep, and, although not equal in quality to previous yardings, competition, especially among those buying for export, was more energetic and Jively than as been the case for some time, and in consequence values advanced on previous sales fully Is. Long may such competition continue. Tho value of freezers as given by me last week was more than maintained. Best wethera sold ! at.l7s to 18s, with 15s to 16s 6d as the value of what are termed the second grade of freezers. Best ewes ran up to Hs. The lighter sheep, unfit for export, went ab 12s to 13a, corcpetition among butcheM biing keen ; also for merinos, which brought lOe 6d. The wool market continues brisk, and the Sydney sales now going on show an advance of fully 3d per Ib on last year's rates. Ju«t to give an idea of what this rise in wool means, I may mention that & friend of mine advanced in Jauuary £3400 on a shipment of wool, this advance being then thought to be about full value. The shipper was delighted to find when

the accoiiLt eales arrived the other dny that he bad a cheque to gei for £1600. I wnctivly tanfe that many other shippers, particularly if of the farming or squatting class, hvro bad similar luck. The downfall of M'Kinleyisni with Us rabid protection in Ami lie* is accountable for a large measure of this change, and the change to pio«p».ri!y has been as pronounced in America as elsewhere, the whole woollen industry of that country being now alive aud prosperous. When contemplating these things it makes one sick to see the collective ignorance of our House of Pailiament muddling away at protective tariff?, »nd adding burden after burden to the backs of the producing clafsoe. I wonder farmers don't wake up. Tho other day, whtn Mr Nathan proposed a tax on sheep for their osvn benffifc, they were all up in arms against it, aud rightly, too, perhaps; and yet year after year they calmly submit while tha cost of exiatonce is made heavier— all for the benefit of a few syd-dicat-s and speculators. The working men don't benefib, aud never have done, for employment grows scaroer and tcarcer in full proportion to tho increase of taxation. Mr Collins, in the Rouse the other day, said that the farmers were boUtared up with protection, and I quite believe there is an ignorant majority in the House capable of BwallowiDg such a nonsensical statement, and no doubb they could point to duties on the tariff, such as on grain, butter, eheeee, bacon, and perhaps other things. The ( worst of such men as the member, quoted is that they are far too stupid to [ know that such duties are quite useless, and of no protective value whatever to farmers, who should at once leb Parliament know that they want no protection of any sorb, for they may be fully assured that anything put on the tariff as a protection for them will babufca mess of pottage compared with the enormous amount of taxttfon they are made to suffer for the benefit of a few sickly industries. The sooner all so-called protection to farmers is wiped off the tariff the better, as jb is only made an excuse of by tho astute protectionist wirepullers, who really manage the Government in thia business, for adding further burdens to us all. Last week I promised to give some information re prices and prcspecta of the dairy , industry, and to this end called upon Mr J. R. Scolt, secretary of the National Dairy Association. Mr Scott first of all informed me that there would be no reduction in freithbon cheese and butter during tho usual shipping season, as the efforts of tho association had no effect on the shipping companies, who had, however, agreed to give a reduction of £d on all cheese and butter shipped from May 1, 1896, to October 31, 1898. There is not much in this concession unkss it helps to stimulato the lengthening of the milking season with a view to all-the-year-rouud dairying, which is c-xtremely desirable if it can be brought about. We must be thankful for biuhll mercies in the meantime, aud hope for batter times to come. The association, if well supported, may yet be able to get reductions of more value, as they have done in the pact, and that they are neccltd no one will deny. The cost of transit to Britain hangs like a black cloud over the dairying industry of New Zealand, and our Treasurer, on the principle that charity begins at home, might well reserve some of those thousands he is anxious to scatter abroad on Vatcouver services for subsidising steamers fco carry our produce cheaper. I don't think many of the farming class cai'O a twopenny piece whether their letters are towed through the sea st 12 or 14 knots an hour via Vancouver or 'Frisco or whotber they reach us by a slower method ; but that they would all benefit by reduced freights, which" might make profitable production possible, goes withe u1» gainsaying. I asked Mr Scott to give me his views on the outlook for the coming dairy shipping season, and he handed me the following paper, which ho had josb written, he eaid, for the benefit and guidance of factories. I have looked over it, aud must say it is rather a doleful ditty ; but t perhaps it is as well that milk suppliers and all other 3 should really have a proper idea of how matters stand, and that those having the charge or direction of factories should be guided into more cautiouß finance than has prevailed in the past. Mr Scott is usually rather sanguine, acd I thought that possibly the iuflurnza epidemic might hive reduced him to a "diagasket and forfouguten" condition, ba6 I muafc e»y be

teamed fairly wt.ll, though nob perhaps so cheerful a» usual, ai.d as I cannot find anything wrong with Ihe report or in the meantimo august anything [to raise tho prices of buttor and cheese, I must just let my re*ders have it> with the hope that thicg^ may turn out bttbor than at preseut seems probable. It appears to me that tho conditions which to a large extent forced the dairying industry upon the attention of f<irmciM in Nt.w Zealand — viz , the low and unproQ'nble prices to wliich all cereals h«.d been reduced by overproduction — hava prevailed nil over Iho woiW, causing over-produc-tion iv dairy produce. Perhaps now thftt there ii a bttter prospect for all soita of grain matters will in time adjusb themßilves, aud in this change we may hope for improvement ; but of course this cannot come about ab once. Review ov the Market Pricfs oi' Ciiersk and Butter in the Past Siiiitinu Smso.v, AND PROSI'KCTS I'OR THE L'OMlMi SEASON. In re>pon*e to tho request of several members of this association, I give my ideas as to the prospects for the coming seafiOD, and in doing so I tave to say that my views may appear to soma as pitched in a very low key indued. To this I have only to reply that I think it is better for us now to face the portion, such as it is, and that all factories a.d faruio'B should make their emulations on a basis that will have no causo for <U3api ointment in the event of a low range of prire3 continuing; and, should prices advance, the arrangements between factories, either co-opera-tive or proprii tary, should be such as to give producers or milk supplier* the benefit of any such rise. Iv dealing with the question a retrospect of the prices obtained last season is advisable, and I will fir»t deal with BU.Tntt. It is generally admitted by London exrertsthat the quality of last sea c on"s butterasa rule showed a considerable improvement on tint of previous seasons, but they comment on its softness and want of texture in many instanc s, and this is due to the waul of refrigerating appliances in factories, these being essential everywhere, and moie particularly in Canterbury and the Noith Inland, where duriDg the tuminer the temperature is often such as to make it impossible to turn out a first class article. At the risk of being brought in fiuilty of making a stale remark I would just say here that it is no use attempting to numtiin si profitable trade in butter or cheese fiom New Zealand unl(.'S3 we are prepared at on co tt make nothing but first-class stuff, and to co-int the cost and make all needful preparations for doing ro. Our distance from a marker, with costly freight, makes it impossible to profitably carry on a trade in tecond or third rate ai'ticl<B. I should at rongly i\com menA farmers not to waste their time mating sranll lots of butter for the export trade, bucu butter not having averaged more than 4 1 per Ib to those who shipped it latt year, and who, having bought sit sixpence, suffered a very snmtlosi. This year I don't think this class of butter will be mleable, except perhaps atapiicj that would ouly leave them Id per gallon for their milk. Taking a fair average, prices for best New Zealand factory butter last season in Loudon were as follows per cwt :— December 1003 March ... 803t084s Jauuary ... 90s to 91s April 75s February !»3 Mey 70j to 72a But to show more clearly the results if possible, I luve tak<iii the average net prices returned for several of our best s< uthcrn factories throughout the season, with the dates of shipment and tl.e names of the ocean steamers. Thxse arc from the actual account silo*, and will, I think, be found fdiily icpresriitative of the pricps obtained throughout New Zealand for best factory butter on the avernge, The lesult is, as can be sei>n, a net price of 7i per Ib as the actual value of thia butter for the past Eeason fiee on board ship at Port Chalmer?.

It will be allowed, I think, that this average price of 7id would not fairly alow of more thin 2Jd per gallon being paid for milk. Aud now as to THE OUTLOOK I'OR THE COMING SEASON. We have been visited by representatives of firms seeking for consignments who hava told 113 that prices are likely to improve, but as yet none of the usual buyers have made any sign of purchasing, and although I would be glad to verort any pro-pect of a rhe in price I rannofc at present from information to baud see my way to do so. Unle-s a drought occur* in Victoria the output there will be lar^r than ever. 'Die Swe'li h output la->t year showed an incrcuc •>( fcu.OuOewt on that of the previous year ; Denmark's increase last year was 28/OOcwt on the corresponding fi i x months of the previous year, and 103,OOOcwt com. pared with the same period of ISIM ; Holland increased by 18,000cwt ; France by 2:j,ooocwt. Then Canada is now making vigorous effo.rs for a share of both tho f ummsr and winter butter w>de, and the industry is helped by Government bonuj and otherwise, and though ihi hay crop has not botD up to the mark the prospects are favourable, says a writer in the Stratford Beacon of August 1, for a good c<?ra crop, aud he adds, " Where the dairy.

man depends upon the corn crop and tha silo for the bulk of hia winter's feed, th« ahottagu of other foods will not affect him much, and he will boablo to keep his cows through the win* or and make a gnoi profit out of ;h-m." Our farmers might with ad\\w>l;v<e f Jluw suit in this* direction. I see no ic.ismi to suppose that this continued iticr< asc of .■itipp' l y is going to stop, an<l_ though at rros'ut butter m.uutaina a fair price in London, fear that in December end January, when our | coloni*! butter conus on the maikut, the supply will bo as large as ever it has been, and prices »s low. I Improved trade in London and improved methods of distribution may help a little, but the fact thai, SUPPLY SEEMS TO lIX OVERTAKING ACTUAL Ob MAN I) cannot be ignored. Other countries engaged in this tiade are Huffering, and it seems a question as to who will endure to the end in this struggle. .New Zealand has one disadvantage, and it is a h<'avy one -viz., our distance from London and the cost of tran-ifc, which handicaps us in butter agaii.st our competitors to the extent of at leiwfc 7sperc\vt On the other hand, New Zi»land*« climatic conditions and surrounding, f allied witli the same industry, care, and energy as that dkpUyed by the Djines, should at least put us on an equal foutiop, despite the heavy handicap in tha matter of freight. And now as to CHEESE. I have made calculations from the account sales of several of our leading factories in tha same manner as above for butter I Rive thejiet pries, f.0.b., of the actual weight of cheese shipped, reckoning tin shrinkage as part of tho coat. The shrinkage averages 3 per cent, and a fraction ovo"-, but I consider ',i per cent, shrinkages on carefully weighed shipmonts a fair allowance. The London prices were— February ... 47s to 50* May... ... 42a to 4is Maivh ... 4<isto4tss Juue ... 40a April ... 41.5t0153 July 3tis to 403 But the following statement of ac : ual net results, f.o.b , will eniblo membors to realise the actual position. This statement Bhows that ths actual averago net price for tho sea* on, free on board steamer at Port Chalmers, was 31d, which would mean very little ovit 3d at tho factories, and a<? in the case of butter, it will be seou that wri<h the monfc enonomical manage ment nothing more than 2id per gallon cuiild be paid as the actual value of milk :-

It is well known to all that the past has been the very wortt season we have ever known, and the Ciiucs are said again to have been overpi oduction and the accumulation of heavy stocka of Canadian cheese held over from the previous season, and the question is, are the same causes likely to prevail again ? The following would seem to indicate that the fame tronble is impending, and it is to be noted that the cheese market; must be entirely controlled hy the Canadian output, as thry supply four- fifths of the cheese imported into Uritiin, the New Zealand output having very little influence on the market. One of tbo leading M ntreal merchants, writing under date July 19 to a London (irin, sajs :— "The total loss of the e.s Mexico, bound for Bristol with 19,037 boxes of cheese, caused a

steady opening of the cheese market this we* k, £ut as the Bristol importers showed no anxiety to replace the goods tha market eased off immediately. " Contrary to my prediction in my letter of June 28 that the large icehouse stocks would be shipped in July, such has not been the case, as tho cold Tstorage stock remains inta t, and is being daily "added to both by factoryinen, tspcculatora, and Bhippers. " It is difficult to get at Ihe icehouse stock*; corr«c'ly, but bftween Montreal and Toronto I Should think 80,000 boxes would be near it and ISO o=o in tbis city, and there is also a large quantity west of Toronto. There are, I think, fully a Week's more June cheese on the factory shelves j now than on any previous seasons at this time, and as there aie about 8000 cheese factories in Canada making an average of, B*y, eight choese per day, this would make 141,000 boxi.B, or that much in ox- e«s of last season. "Gra.<=B is very poor throughout Ontario and New Yoik State, and only fair in Quebec. Cows iave been milking badly, though the general rains all over Canada and New York State with the unusually cool weather for tho past week will f reahen up the pastures considerably." At the present moment best American and "Canadian cheese are quoted at 883 to iOs in Liverpool, w,th the market dull. Tha Stratford Beacon (Canada) of Anguat 1 says :— " The cheeee qU'Btion appears to he very much mixed at the moment, and operator* seem at a lcs-i to know how best to act. It is true there i* the <l r ought cry on the one hand foreshadowing a reduction in the fall make ; hut ou the other hand there is the undoubted fact that the amount of cheese in cold jtorase is much larger than it ever was before at Shis season of the year. Then, apalu, it should })c remembered that the shipments from the _Ukniic seaboard to Great Britain so far this seabo ate over 300 000 boxes less than for tho convpi mining period lust year j and jet in tho face of Jtiiifl and the low prices ruling, English buyers will not catch on, and consequently shippers, _ea'er.«, a - ad factoryinen on this side have no alternative hut to Biap the stuff into cold storage." *I_e stocks in Jtagland continue very heavy, and the condition of the market has eeriouriy alarmed the Cheshire cho^semakere, who are only abl« to get 40j for what they previously sold at 70i to £Oj — indeed so lately as tnc previous year. I think that, looking at all we know &■* yet, it •will be unsafe to pre'ict anything but a low range of piicos for some time. The cheapucw of ■bur frozen mutton in the past has, I think, helped to keep the cheese market down ; but this may irot continue. Improved trade in England may help us a little ; hut, as in butter, it is a question as !to who can produce cheapest and sell at the lowest rate ou the London market, and Canada can jjut her ehi"C3o on the London market from the factory d<x>rs at 6s per cwt cheaper thin we in New Zeal-ud can. The qiiCßtion a, Can we so utilise our natural advantages as to overcome tbis difficulty ? '1 he report of the National Dairy Association advocated cairying on the dairy season longer— lf possible right through the winter seas>n— a_d getting thereby more out of the cow. 1 djn't at present see any other way of cheipcßing production. As to improvement, mild cheese is what is wanted, and New Zealand chce3e ou the whole appears not to have that quality, hut gencmlly to be strong flavoured whon landing in Londan. The aeration and general improvement of the quality of the milk is fn the hands of farmers, and must be looked upon as the first essential. Mild du€se, mild butter, mild l.acou is the universal cry now from those for whom we cater, and their tastes must be met. Our chee%e has sold ou the whole as well as Canadian. Leading wholesale grocers advertise best Canadian and best New Zealand cheeso at _0s to 44a in late papar3, and though some believe that money was made by buyers at s:cond-hand in London, I don't think that wa« generally the case ; the range of prices continued to drop too much for that, and at the present time have not greatly improved. I therefore have to strongly advise members to l)e cautious as to milk payments, so as to keep the jactotieu ia a Found position. Indeed, I think a progrvs'j payment of 2d, and certainly not over 2t_, advisable at first. Wool has risen, although many thought it never 'cauld do po, and aHinniA 1 have endeavoured to put mutters before my friends as tJicy are iv my judjr" ent, and not by any ineins as I woiild wish them to be, I h<pe fctill that both cheese and butter will ri« pgain in price, as wool has done, and it will be all the more pleasant should it do so for milk biippliers to receive a good cheque, which will then be fairly earned. Some factories which have all along, fortunately for them, sold their cheese and butter will not appreciate this paper perhaps, as they have not felt th< results of the disastrous market of last Bfason, but a little reflection and inquiry will enable tVm to see that great caution is needed in arr.u.ging milk payments at pr-sent. I lisnc never had such au utjplc.uant task as the present one when writing on the dairy industry, and I almost feel inclined to sign myself " Jeremiah " instead of James It. Scott, Secretary National Dairy Association. The following statement re the payments for iXii'k at the Edendale Dairy School should be Ol interest and set at rest the question of ■whether it is proper to pay on butter fat values for milk or not. Surely it must be plain to every one that the man suppljing the 38 milk should get lets than the mm supplyiug 4-8, and yet in the past, under payment at bo much per gallon, this has not been the case. Thio sj steal will lesd to cheaper production by proper selection of profitable cows in all dairy herds, and I hardly think any honest dairyman nill now ba found to question the advisability of its universal adoption. DAIRYING SERVICE, LEAFLET No. 1. J. B. MacEwan, Chief Dairy Expert. Statement op Paiuiculars and of Milk Supi'lied at the government dairy school, Edendalr, Southland. The school was in, operation from June 19 to July 18. Miik was furnished by 40 suppliers. Milk was paid for according to quality, as shown by the Babcock milk-tester, at the rate of lOd l>er lb of fat, delivered at Edendalo, and 9d per lb deliveied at Stirling railway station. The quantity of milk supplied at the school was 101,4091b The quantity of fat delivered in the milk ,-~*^ w_s 4,-TGOlb f__) avenge percentage of fat in the tallt ' W»s ... M , .„ ... _C 3£

The lowest percentage of fat in the nvlk w«is 3 26% The highett percentage of f»t in the milk '• was 5 - 42% The quantity of butter manufacturewas 2,7781b The quantity of cheese manufactured was 5,0121b The avera^o number of pounds of butter per pound of fat was 1131b The avrvage number of pounds of cheese per pouud of fat was 2"_Blb Tho average price paid for 101b milk daliverert at E-lend«lc was 4 65d The low«st price paid for 101b milk delivered at Eicndtvle was 3'75d The highest price paid for 101b milk delivered at Edendale was 5 551 The average price paid for 101b milk delivered at Stirling tv:i3 4*lld The lowest price paid for 101b milk delivered _t MirJing was 3'76»l The highest price paid f->r 101b milk delivered at Stirling was 4 '53d

Steamer. Left Dunedin. Chrese Sold in London. iNet llesulfc f.o.b Port Chalmers. Ruahino Glothic Kaikoura ...I 1834. Nov. 22 Doc. 7 >i 21 1895. Jan. 7 .1 17 Feb. 7 .. 14 March 4 •> 14 .. 30 April 11 v 27 May 13 18;)5. Jan. & Feb. February March d. 3i Doric lliniut<ik.a B«to 'lure ftuapehu [onic ... Fongariro Puium Rtuhina GJothJc Kaikoura and of Mar. April it 11 May June July 3,V 3i I 2? 2fr " " "

Steamer, Left Port Chalmers Sold in j London. Net lle.sult fo.b. Port (Jhalinera. I ISU Oct. 7 1894. j (1. 9 'ongariro Dec. 1593. ifatatua tuahiaa Jothic Caikoura Nov. G Nov. 22 Dec. G Dec. 21 1805. Jan. 7 Jan. 17 Feb. 7 Feb. 11 March 4 Jan. Jin. Feb. Feb. 8J Bt§ 8 8 Doric limutaka Buteshire Ruapehu March March April April May 74 7 6i 6i G