STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2202, 14 May 1896, Page 5

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

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Weekly Stock Sales: \ Fortnightly: Addi»g, on ; w^iw. om a,f » T °av Invercargill, Tuesdays Monthly: Periodically: - Clinton, Palmevßton, Heriot, Kelßo, and Kye" and Winton. bura. [Communications of Interest to itookbreedera and dealers ars oordiftlly Invited. All Jonimonioationi to roach Witness oHoe not later than Monday night,!

At Barnside the sale last week of cattle would, I think, be more fairly called a sale of stores than of fat cattle. Out of a yarding of 220 not more than 60 could be called good beef, and out of that number only a Jew were prime, and these brought about £8 for good small bullocks up to £10 12s 6d for some few goodsized ones ; medium and some fair heifer beef ' about £6 10s. The bulk of the yarding were only store?, as I have said. Some of these ' were sold to gr*ziers, but a considerable number were withdrawn from sale, and rightly, too, \ as buyers of this class of cattle were not present in sufficient numbers to make the sale either pleasant or profitable to sellers. I really don't think the Wednesday sale is ' the best place to sell store cattle unless agents advertise, and make it fully understood that ' the weekly cattle sale is not only one for the ' disposal of fat cattle solely, but is a general sale of all sorts and conditions. When sales of store cattle are advertised at Burnside it attracts a number of graziers and dealers who do not usually attend the weekly market, and on theie occasions I have seen some very brisk sales. It would be well, then, that it shonld be understood by all interested what the regular weekly sale is to consist of — whether fat cattle fit for the butcher or stores, or both. There is, as usual at this time of year, a strong demand for dairy cows in full milk and at calving, and these find ready buyers at £5 up to £7. Both here and in Canterbury rather batter prices have ruled lately — ap to £9, I am told, having been given. This is no doubt caused by the present milk scarcity, and may not last, as I am well informed that in June a number of cows come to diving, and supplies may increase. Good store cattle seem saleable at fair prices, two-year-olds- being worth about £3 to £3 ss, yearlings about £2, and up to £5 or £6 for good three-year-old steers of average size, which, by the way, I regret to say is not a very big animal. The subject of the dehorning of cattle has been much in evidence lately, especially since Mr M 'Donald, of Edendale, gave an exposition of the latest methods of carrying oat this process. I have not the slightest doubt that the large majority of farmers who were present on that occasion were satisfied with the process, and also as to its usefulness in saving the animals much future suffering when yarded or trucked by rail. It must be remembered, however, that among thoie present on that occasion were a very large number of townspeople who were not in a position to judge, and who were perhaps naturally much affected by the apparent cruelty, and could have no experience of what cattle often suffer from goring one another in the yards and trucks. The same people would perhaps be very much shooked at the sight of a sheepyard at cutting and tailing time, and yet the operations carried on at such times have never been assailed as cruel or barbarous, and are generally recognised as absolutely needful. Yet they must cause considerable, if temporary, pain to the animals operated on. Townspeople are led to a great extent by our most useful Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal?, which is in turn of course influenced by its most active members, who in some cases don't understand such matters. I hope the society will leave questions of this kind to the good sense of farmers, who, they may rest assured, will not unnecessarily inflict suffering on any animal owned by them, as in addition to being actuated by as kind hearts as thoss,that guide townspeople or the member* of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, they also have the incentive of knowing that anything in th^ shtpe of cruelty to animals is not profitable. The yarding of sheep at Burnside last week was in point of numbers up to that of late sales, 2300 being penned. Very few prime wethers were among the lot, which consisted mostly of good to prime ewes and a considerable number of aged and inferior ones. There was, however, a brit>k demand for all sheep fit for freezing, crossbred wetheta being eagerly compete

for at from 135 6d to 14s 6d, with 15s 6d for j ■ some extra prime oneß ; second quality i freezers and prime ewes fit for export found ready buyers at 12s to 13s ; medium butchers' sheep, 8a to 10s ; light sheep, 6s to 7s. The sale was a brisk one, and gives one an hopeful feeling about the future outlook, and this, despite present low prices in London, as per cable, is warranted I think. Same time ago I expressed my surprise at the dulness of the store sheep market. This , is all changed now, for at all country sales, there has bean a decided eagerness to buy, especially in the case of good wethers and young ewes, and even aged sheep are, when in sound condition, ! bringing about three times the prices that ruled at this time last year. Of coarse sheep for tur- ! nips are beginning to be wanted, and this causes •' '' some demand, but probably many intending , ' buyers held off, thinking that prices would come , ' down, ac w«s the case last year. This, however, ! is evidently not to be, and stocks for the coming ', ' season must be bought soon now by all who ' need them. There is evidently no over-supply J ' of good stores. In Canterbury the sheep mar- J ' ket is generally much in the same state as our i ! own. Prime crossbred wethers for freeziDg ' bring 14s to 16s ; maiden ewea, up to 14s. There, as here, aa active demand is evinced for young and sound store sheep and for good breeeding ewes. I don't quite understand the pig market at present, especially the sales at Barnside. In Canterbury prime grain-finished bacon plgs» moderate weights, nay 1201b to 1601b, are worth fully 3d per lb, and purchases have been made there by Otago buyer*. At the present moment bacon carers in Dunedia have no stocks, and what they are manufacturing ie going into consumption as fast as it is ready, and yet there appears to be not much eagerness to buy. I rather think this must come later on, and I look for an improvement. Stores and small pigs naturally are not much ia demand, as the time of plentiful feed is about over. At Bur/aside lately the market has been dull, and prices very low. I think most of our best curers are now very particular in wishing to know where their pigs come from, and thay cannot always be sure of this in the case of those purchased atyßurnside, although I know some fine and' reliable quality pigs are sold there— at low prices, too, I regret to say. - Last week my readers were treated to a good deal on the subject of combination for selling our produce, and I should, if possible, like to •how them another reason why saoh combination on the part of producers is becoming more and more needful. This is the well-known fact that British buyeri — that * is, grocers, butchers, and other retailers — havo now for some time combined to buy together, and have what are termed their national buying unions for buying the various articles they sell. The question of the soundness of the principle of such combinations has been largely discussed lately in the columns of the leading organ of the trade, the Grocer, the editor of which has in several leading articles approved of the movement, and has strongly advooated it as being specially applicable to those traders who hare not capital enough to buy on the best terms, but who can now, by pushing their resources in combination, create that powar which the individual leviathan operator possesses, and he also paints out that when the working of such combination* are judicious, energetic, and /prictioal the results are very satisfactory. For my part I believe the working of auqh uuiom has without doubt beeu eminently satisfactory to these buyers, and that to this state of matters is attributable to some extent the low pricef obtained for our meat and dairy produce of late years. In addition, then, to the leviathan individual operator, we have now arrayed againifc producers these new creations, all working on the same lines, and it look* as if they wera inoreasing in power and extended workipg to such proportions that one almost trembles to think of the fate of the producer or the farmer. Such syndicates or unions have now been proved a success, and they may grow so powerful that the' tiller of the soil will become a mere serf or bond-slave to these large ; and powerfuily-njanced corabiaafcionei, and will esi^t »ud w-.»k ovly «n the bare lines of the .eui'S'* p***ed i>u out fnrtf t^*st Adam — " Ia the : Siveat of feliy face suivlt fcliou lat bread till thoa return ,unto the ground." I sincerely hope that the day i 8 distant when such a -Bfc^fce of things obtuns, but no one can deny that movements are rapid nowadays. History, not only ane'ent, but also very modern, gives some dis- ■ tre3»ing pictures of the condition of the agricultural classes in Britain and elsewhere, and 1 history baa an awkward *ad inconvenient way

{of repeating itself at intervals. I have draws rather a gloomy picture, perhaps, and csttainlj don't like the contemplation of it myself, but 1 1 really hope fchafc the farming community willl i do their best to fight against such a state of [ thinge being ever even brought within bight ab , any lime. * Certainly, with shipping ring!, • buying rings, financial rings, and all other combinations that are arrayed against the farmer ; and producer, it behoves him to do something ,* in self-defence. Defence only, I mean, nob defiance — just a fight for M Fair Homey." , Recently I had a look at the monthly pavsheet i of a large butter faotory which pay* on the test s (Babcock) system. Their Btaudatd is 38 of butter fat, and the price at the time wa» tyd per ' gallon of 10£lb for all milk up to this standard, .' and of coutse less for milk under, and more in proportion for all ovsr, the standard in richness 'of butter fat. The actual result of this month I was that the milk being on the average over 3'B, 1 they paid for 44.41.9ga1, although in actual ' gallons of 10£lb they only received 4-1,498ga1, !or 2921 gal less. To put it another way, they paid £39 11s Id more than was due on 41,498^1, or, as will bo eosn from a little calculation, nearly £d per gallon over the 3£d on the average. As each supplier is paid on his individual test of milk supplied, and I notice some were up to 4*6, these would get more tban id per gallon extra by a good deal. Then the baaufcy of this system is that if there were any ' who added either skim milk or water to their 1 tupplies they did not get paid for It, and, sad to ' «ay, this has not always been the case every- ' where until payment by test came into general use. [ The grain market shows signs of Improvement, mainly owing to the firmness displayed by holders. I hope to see this continued. I j don't think it will be long before the Australian marketo are in a position to buy through being relieved of the heavy stocks landed there some months ago. The arrivals of grain in Dunedia during the past week have been large, but I am . glad to learn that these are principally for , storage meantime. Until there is a demand t for shipping there will be no active buying, and Bending grain to auotion in heavy supply wil* result in low prices. A little patience, and I am of opinion that we shall 'see a brisk market at improved prices. In dairy produce there has been considerable briskness and a good deal of forward buying. I It is diffionlt to know what amount of cheese is > in itook either bought for forward delivery oi ' held, but lam inclined to think th*t the general

falling off in the milk supply has lessened Blocks, and that improved prices may be looked for. As to butter, it is scarca, and both the Bdeudale and Wyndham factories have stopped cheese-making, and tumeJ to -butter. For the next; three months I shoald think that fchs price of butter will run high Australia seems anxious to secure both butter and cheese for forward delivery, but as yet the prices offered from there are not eqoal to those given bybujrers for local 083.

I wonder if our dtirymen will ever generally 8«e that the care and proper feeding and shelter of cows during the winter is good business, aud ' that the sjstem they have hitherto carried on has, by negUcting this condition, baen the very reverse P Mr M'Ewan preached this ably last vrinter both in the south and in the north, but neither has his preaching, nor tbe co'-eqaeuces of the poor condition of the cattle aftsr last year's hard winter, in impoverished and shortcontinued milk supply during the past season, brought light on the subject to our dairjman, as apparently their pockets don't feel any lighter in cash to them ; but they are lighter if they only knew it, and from this cause, v tio.

' MrM'Eiran will be down at tha Edendale Dairy School again in Jane, and he will no doubt hammer it in ouce more, and, I hope, with better results, for tha sake of both the cows and their owners.

I would call attention to a report from London appearing in this week's Witness, giving Mr H. C. Cameron's views on New Zealand produca. I have, as my readers know, dealt on this subject before, but I shall have something further to say on the matter next week probably.