STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 5

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

I, By Dhovee* j

[Coimnunlctitioiu or interest, to itookbreederi and dealer* are, oonllnllj iovlttd. All jomraunioatioiu to re»oh Wltneis offloo not lator thau Übnday nlght.l At Burnside last- week the yarding, of cattle; was 103, but out of this lot there' was very little goad beef, the yarding mainly consisting of small store cattle about half fat at beat. Why the fat cattle yard is week after, week filled with this class of stock passes my comprehension,, and I sometimes wonder if the average farmer knows a fat beast when he sees it. Surely forcing unfit stock on the market does not pay. A. few- weeks of good feed would have, made really fat stock out of moat of the yarding 1 . As it W9O; little better- than store prices were nude for most. A few prime bullocks brought from £8 to £9, and a few good heifers £7.10s to nearly £3, or equal to about 20a- per 1001b. Competition for these was brisk; but for alllots below prime quality about 15s to 16s would be the rate,, and bidding for* these was dulh although I think some graziers- who purchased those half- fat. cattle will do well out of them, provided they have some goodffesd to pot them on. Although the sale is always supposed: to be one for fat cxttto, it has long ceased to be so. I am very- much struck with the growing' inferiority of. the yard* ingai Thai cattle are small' generally, and show great lack of breedings and I should think that' the sooner we mend our ways, and try to improve the breedof our cattle, and fatten them, properly for the 1 market, the better: If it is any comfort to my southern friends to know that in Canterbury^mach the- same state- of matters prevails, then they may have it, for from all account*,, and from what I have myself seen, the Addington market is about the same, and' but. for the fact that matters are often improved thereby some very good North Island bullocks, the yardings (here would, I think, be somewhat worse. in quality and appearance than our own at Burnside. Slipshod and careless methods of farming have too largely prevailed in the past, and matters are at' such, a pass, now that an' alteration must be made, and the matter of breeding and feeding stock profitably must not be neglected. In the past the main points o£ true farming have been to a great extent neglected by many, and a system of dealing in stock has taken the place of true farming. This, state of matters has been, to- a great extent - encouraged by agents and loan.* companies, who have fostered this kind of business, and,, so far as ono can judge, have 'suffered severely, from it, while no farmer ha& realty benefited- by, it. Financial institutions have, had* to bear*>the cosb of all thia bad business, and- from wh»t ■ I cm hear they don't intend to do so auy more^ so that farmers will have to farm properly,,, and : dealers will have to deal with their own. cash, ; and not with borrowed money., 'While I am sermonising I may just as well give my own opinion, based on nearly 30 years' experience of, farmers, squatters, and their ! i business, and that is, that it does not pay to farm , J on borrowed money, and that not even the pre* > seat low nte of interest will holp much, and

that the sooner a farmer gets out of debt' tbo better. If he has 100 aorei and is in debt, and can get out of debt by selling even half his land, I should, decidedly say bbII. Generally speaking, small-holdingi welt farmed andfree fron* dabt will m^ke thaownec happy and prosperous and- the- country, too. Many a farmer exhausts- 1 his land, his brain power, andhU energy over flnaucul difficulties,. and onehas only to take a, , look ronnd the country to sea pjenty of evidence, of this. The pasb few, years have bsen much, against even tho best of farmers, and what t ■ regret is that while this is well known,, nothing Ithat the Government has jet done has helped. t to relieve straggling settlers, many of whom, Shave ia the past helped to make and, open up. ■ this country. Government have legislated, to- | help big flnMscial institutions, and aome big, I speculators who were banging on to them bava perforce got relief, bnt thfr struggling fanner. ' has bean screwed' down till compelled to gi*e ifc up. Itr would have been much better haeL it been possible to relieve the strnggjig farmer and let the finanoial institutions bo helped by otttewor go- down. So- far as I can >ce t the relief* and; heljp granted' by ttts , Government of* New- Zealand in pledging th* paopleVoash to keep up- great: financial imrtitip.tionsbatnot ainoe-resuUed in the burden beingtaken) off- those who deserved? and needed' it r and' who baw> suffered- ho osverely^ through the* general collapnein prices ia pw tyears : rather' the reverse; "Fay- me> <ii»fc- thou oyr«&tt" hasbeen* their cry, not "T«fce thy- Bill- acdi write fifty" whore tha debt was- perhaps double, mr under* tha* circumstances one might' haw expected. All this legislation and expenditureof the people's cash has only gone- to' saye Ishareholders and speculators and » faw depositors- from. loss. It wa* said at the 1 1 mer that terrible results wonld follow the eollapsa of these institutions to county; councils,, road*board?, and; looal, bodies but I n«v«r. could, ste this, m, these bodies were, always on the- over^ draft side of the ledgers.. We n&ver, I thhik^ shall know; the real. reason of our great banking legislation, as too many of our legislator.! liv* in glass houses, and. can't throw stone* to lab tha light in ; but what will make me.h*ppy? andcontented is to know whutrl don't yet know— viz., that gome of our farming, community,, who' have borne the burden and heat of tha. day ia the past, have obtained, some help or relief through, it., _ The-yardinga of sheop at Burnside havo been* generally- improving in quality,, although tber* i&atilLio evidenc&TJkthßr more tban> if detirabl* of. the- "'female "sheep. I. wonder if we shall, ever have an. end: of thie r or if ife- will' becomes flicturc like the National Parliament of Women* about whichi wo. have- heard so<much lately. I. bopo- we sh*ll hear, and see lesa* of both, in ths* future, although! I amiafraid.it As baa much toes': peot. There was, however, a. better lot of prime; crossbred wethtrs yarded than I. have seen for some time, andtheje werej bought at what onal muit consider very high pric&i— vur., from.l2fei to 15s, fully equal to: 2d per lbi Some primes ewefl alsoo brought up- to 11b 3d}. and all up- ta' freeuing quality were. disposed of. without diffi*»~ oulty». As, usual,, however, the. Bulk of the)' ;yarding, conaieted ofc medium sheep; mostly) aged ewes, and these were with difficulty sold? at from- 6» to 9s. Both here and in Canterbury the- prices of prime freezers are far bejond what is warranted 1 by ouch London quotations as Nelson Bros, and! , others furnish to ~" our press correspondents who* cable from London, and I h»vecome to the-con- ' elusion that those who supply the information) ;to London press correspondent* don't knout ] everything. The parties whoare< buving-these* ' good' freezers here are; although good men. in every reipect, not philanthropists, but hava experience and judgment, and are buying' to raaksj 1 a modest- profit or commission, and I' have no doubt they will- do co. If they believed in th« London cabled' reports they would not be so bold. I- am, however,- without, anxiety for. their welfare*, as they, oertainly. know theic buainesflj and I believe their operations ara to some e& tent the- result? of order* f com. buyers-, quite outsider the ring of thoser who have managed ox muddled" our meat business in the past; There. was- a small yarding of, lambs,, and.aß brought good? prices. There seems tobe a fair sals ' for allstrangjambs both here and in Canterbury; TIL ra ara still buyers fior export for all up toS first-class freezing quality from. 351b to 4-Qltt. | Tr» quotation air Addington is;loß.tal2a tonsil such stock. Those who desire to sell' l ambsin fair ortfer will, I think, find, ready buyers, for- 1 " am glad to notice thab there is s> general desire on the part o£ those able to carry stock through the- winter to purchaser-young' sheep. In. Catitenbury there is a very active demand for all young, itrong sheep. 1 As-L predicted some few weeks ago, there is cow aa active demand for all good store eheoc

Buyers fight shy of the older sorts generally, although some good tales at 5s to 6s for aged ewes in gcod condition are known to have taken place.

I don't think our turnips are over an average crop this year. Possibly there is time for a little improvement yet, but there seems a crop sufficient to oarry us well through the winter. Generally tpetkmg, the size of the turoip is ■mailer than usual— that, at least, is my impression when going over tbe country, but the crop otherwise is gcod and healthy.

I cannot find that much has been done in the way cf saving surplus g'afs and other green feed by ensilage, and I think this a muchneglected p&rt of the farmer's business. .

■The wheat market shows a decidedly better tone than lately, end prices are showing a tendency to improve. Canterbury prices still continue a shade lower than here— by about 2d to 3d a bushel. We continue to have reports of several thousand bags landed from California and Canada in Sjdney, but I am of opinion that the notice taken ,of these shipments is not altogether without motive. lam inclined to thipk that there is no need for our wheat market to give way in price further, the more so as local millers have not yet bought even their usual stock.

I have in the past recommended farmers to bold their oats for better prices, and not to rush them on the market, and I am glad to think tbat they are holding more firmly than has been the case in past years. The quan 1 ities landing in town have been moderate, and now the market shows signs of revival. The market price here it, however, juet the reverse of that in wheat— oats are 2d per bushel lower than in Canterbury, and th's need not surely be the ease in future. However, this will soon come right. New South Wales speculators who have done their best to get in at very low prices probably now see that an advance is advisable. At the openiDg of the season I predicted that Bot much under 2s f.o.b. should be the value of oate, and I am of opinion that this price t hould be fully maintained. All depends, however, on the united firmness of farmers. 1 wonder sometimes if it is possible for them to become united or federated. The women now are federated and united, why not the farmers ? I wonder if Government would offer a bonus for a scheme for uniting farmers as tbey have done for killirg the rabbits. Tbe oue is as much needed as the other.

I expect to ccc great results in this direction from the erection of our great Agricultural Hall, whioh, however, I regret to hear,, will not be ready for our winter show' in June. This hall and its buildings should become the very fortress of the agricultural interests in Otago, and I hope this will ba the case. Everyone now is federated and united except the man who ".pays for all," the farmer. Since writing last week I am glad to notice a decided improvement in the ' batter market. Stocks are very low here, and there are strong inquiries from Australia. I am inclined to think that butter will run to bigb prices this winter. Stocks in the North Island are not heavy, and there as well as here cows have given out early, and the milk tupply at most factories zs lower than usual at this season.

There ate considerable inquiries for cheete from the Australian side. Sales of loaf have bees made for forward delivery at 46" to 4^d f.0.b. ; medium, 3£d to 3}d f.o.b. These are shockingly low prices, but they are, I am afraid, better than the average London sales Kill give. There oan be no question 'that if we had not shipped largely to London they would have been very much less.

Deab Dboveb,— l am glad to see and read four notes re Canadian produce, and the way it has been cared for when placed on the English market, which shows us that we should do likeWise, and that at once. If we do not, I feel Sure our dairy industry will go to the wall, and fhen what about close settlement? There is no doubt the Government have done gome good work for this industry, bat they must cot stop half way. If tbey do, all the good that faas been done will be worthless. To start with, the railage is too higb by half ; the freight to England is in much the rame state ; and after E lying for a cool chamber you get your cheese Dded in a heated state in Eogland, where the -buyer makes the most of it, and you have no -redress. We have three shipping companies Carrying our produce from New Zealand to England, and these are now joined into what is called a "shipping ring." At one time we hud th« Shire line, paddling its own canoe, doing good work by making cheaper freights, bat that is no more, m tbej have now joined the ring!

aud are partaking of the loaves and fishes with the others.

There is an old saying, "There is a time for everykbiog," bub it strikes me if we are not up and doing we shall find ourselves struggling in a stern chase with other parts of the world. Tbe Canadians have shown us the way, not to-day, but for years past ; but it seems ro me we see and yet see not, and hear and yet hear not. Did we not form aa association some years since P— an aesociabion whioh seemed to make a very good start. It looks as if it' was only a flash or a flicker, to then die away. Where is it now ? It seems as if it has got into a dormant state and r< quires waking up to life again, and I trust it will receive the necessary shaking up of the dry bones, and that it may yeb take a leading part in the develoj ment of the resources of the land. I have no doubt if ib shows itself worthy of the position it should hold the Government will see that r s «!r best way to at sit t the dairy industry .t through the association, or by their advice. Why should we get into this dead and alive state when the living of thousands that are being placed on the land is in danger ? Wtat is wanted is for us to do just what Canada is doing, and our Government would do well to follow their example. Some . such action will have to be taken. Some msysay that 1 this could beat be done by a company, but I thiuk not, to start with, at all events. Many of the farmers are apt to look on suoh a company as a conoern got up by some "mont y grabbers" that wish to have a dig at all the farmer's produce. There can be no dcubt that a large amount of our produce is first bought at low rates by brokers and then passed on, and afterwards sold as some popular article at a very much" higher rate. Now, if we had ft depot for our New Zealand produce at which to fell it as sucb, and follow it up and find out how it tikes with the consumers, we should get a higher price, and it. wonld cost the consumers no more than it does at present. What we produce in this country is quite equal to what can be produced in any other part; of the world, and if we can only get it landed in England in good order, which can be done if reasonable care is taken, we could hold our own with other parts of the world, and get a paying piics. There is one thing we must not lose sight of— that ia, the distance we are from the world's markets. The countries we have to compete with are net quite half the distance from England, and mmy of them have land at very low piicec, wh/.ch all tells against us. This we must overtake by the exercise of economy in production and charges from hero to Er gland.

Trusting some one bo! tar able to write on this subject will let us know more about it, — I am, &o , , Drover's Dog.

,1 hope that this outbreak of " Drover's Dog " will result in some further expressions of opinion on the subject at the hands of other readers. Meantime I shall interview the secretary of the National Dairy Association, and next week hope to give his views on the subject. I have an idea that he is Ijing low at present, preparing for unfolding a scheme for utilising his association oo broader lines. That the aesociation has been useful there can ba no question, and at present it is the foundation of what may become a most beneficial comb'nation. The question is, Can or will those in. terested combine ? If 1 can get him to let me know hit plane, I daresay they will form further food for discussion on this most importantusubjeot.

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