STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2239, 28 January 1897, Page 5

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Dhoteb.

Weekly Stock Sales: Invercargill, Tuesdays. Burnside, Wednesdays Monthly: Ashburton, Tuesdays mi_i._ T> ni mo..+«« Addington,' WedneJd'ys Cllnt^ w g{£» ' Fortnightly: Periodically: I Balchitha, Fridays j Heriot, Kelso, and Kye Gore, Tuesdays j burn. Oamaru, Tuesdays. | [Commnnloatlom of intereit to itookbreederi and dealer! ar« cordially Invited. All Aommunloatloat to reaoh Wltnen offlue not later than Honda; niiht.l , The yarding of fat cattle at Burnside last week was 137, and that proved more than enough to supply the manifestly weak demand, and prices ag«in fell a little, best bullocks going *t £7 to £7 10s. The continued hot weather keeps the consumption of beef and mutton, and indeed all meat, lower than what it is in cooler weather, and yardings if large will cause a further decline in prices. The yarding of fat sheep at Burnside la«t weak was about 1400, and considering that thi« was only half the amount of the previous week's yarding, and that the freezing works were open for work, one might have expected a fair market if not a brisk one. Such, however, wag cot the case, and although some really good aheep were forward prices ruled no better than those of the previous week, prime crossbred wethers going at 9s to 10s, and prime ewes about 83. There seemed no buyers for export, and butchers had it all their own way. The reason of the apparent apathy on the part of export buyers is that for some weeks to ootne there must be a shortage of tonnage to take the meat away. At the present moment the Canterbury and North Island works are chock-a-block, and eveu the steamers now on the coast cannot much lessen the glut of meat. In Canterbury and the North Island the dry weather has so destroyed tho feed that farmers have rushed all fat sheep aad lambs they could into the freezing works, and all hands are clamouring for space in steamers, which cannot be had. The Buapahu's unfortunate mishap has slightly increased the difficulty, but I am glad to see that the Perthshire is coming in •about a fortnight, and within the next few weeks she, with that magnificent new steamer the Waimate, will perceptibly lessen the presw sure, as they can take enormous cargoes —something near 200,000 carcases batween them. The Maori and other large steamer* within four or five weeks will, in conjunction with the mail steamers, overcome the difficulty. I do not, therefore, anticipate that the unfortunate position of matters at present will continue for much more than a month. On the contrary, it appears to me that after that time there will be a strong reaotion, and that then for all prime sheep and lamb the demand is very likaly to exceed the supply. To tho3e, then, who can do so I should aay, Hold on to your stock, for a better time must come. The market for lambs was in the same condition as that for fat sheep, and the remarks made above apply equally. It suraly must ba 1 apparent to auy farmer that rushing half- \ finished or poor - conditioned lambs on the I market is disastrous. Speaking generally, never did the colony need a supply of young sheep more than now, and if the present drought and the conditions thereby brought about result iv a very large portion of our lambs being held for renewing our flocks, it will be a great benefit to the colony and will be a better policy than rushing the ' market and sacrificing good sheep or lambs which in another year would yield far better returns. I hear of some of our best graziers and squatters who intend to hold on to their good young stock in place of sacrificing them, even if they have to largely reduce their usual breeding this year, and I think this policy is probably right and sound. , The present unfortunate state of matters in the meat market here is but another proof of fcb.o waub of a fi*oo«)j organised trade each «b

I have oftan advocated. The present position i 3 largely due to the want of combination tot regulating the trad© and the supply at this end. Surely thia must be apparent to everyone. One time of year we have a plethora of steamers hunting round our coast for meat, and in their competition running prices far beyond true value, and then the present state of matters follows, with the works glutted and the steamers refusing space all round, the demand for it being perhaps ten times more than ban be supplied.- Surely farmers and graziers must now see thia, and I really shall be surprised if they don't wake up. Their pockets muit be feeling the effects of the disorganised method of conducting this great and important trade, and they say thatlhe argument that appeali to the pockets of farmer* and everyone eke is a powerful one. The present loss would, after all, be a blessing if it only caused » return to sense and sound reform. Messrs Orbell, Nathan, and other* who have put forward a scheme for the regulation and improvement of the trade by combination have been pooh-poohed by our great men in this trade. Will any of theie men now com* forward with a scheme which shall be an im pavement on thoae of Messrs Orbell and Nathan? It oould be done, I have 'no doubt. The man who does it will be a benefactor to hii country. One of the strongest objections raised to the Nathan* Orbell soheme was that it necessitated a sheep tax. This was after all only a "bogey." What would that tax be in comparison with the loss everyone has sustained, and will continue to sustain till we have a properly organised trade by combination and co-operation ? ForsometimetwoAustriancommigsionershave been in Australia investigating the mtiat trade, and we may expect to see them in New Zealand shortly. Everything should ba done to cultivate this trade. It will open up an immense now market— probably in time the whole south of Europe. One thing must be done ere we can be sure of making headway in this continental trade: we must have established a. proper I sygtetn of Government grading and branding. Many of the oontiuontal governments exercise close supervision over their own meat trade, and I am told that more headway would have been made years ago in opening up a trade for our meat had we then established a brand and system of grade which would be a guarantee of purity and quality of the meat. It is hardly to be expected that countries which exercise such close supervision at the local abattoirs as thoie in question would tolerate the import of meat killed under our loose or no sy*tem. This is a matter that should be put right at once. We shall no doubt make up gradually, but meantime our competitors are not slow in thek movements. The Ohrisfcohurch Press given an ) account of the improvements made in the SanI lenena Works at the Eiver Plate, which were J originally started by private enterprise in 1885, . and have since then been extended and brought Jin every way up to date. The works now can do an output of 100,000 carcases of mutton per month. The whole machinery has been renewed, and all the chambers fitted with ammonia pipes for direot expansion. Under the old system of cold air it required 801b of coal for every 1001b of meat frozen, but now about 131b of coal only is required. The works since j 1891 have been the property of a joint stock company, with a capital of £320,000, and the profits since then by the published account* have equalled the capital. They are said to hay« a most complete system of distribution. They have special charters with English and French steamship companies for the regular convey* ance of their meat. Depots for its reception are provided in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, and Cardiff, and it is to be carefully noted also that they have depfits in I Paris, Pantin, Havre, and Dunkirk. Australia ! and N'2w Zealand have not as yet gained a footing in France, but the Plate people have managed to do so. The two great Canterbury companies are certainly keeping pace with the times. I have on more than one occasion noted their advanoes and improvements. The Christchurch papers mention another advance by both companies in extension and improved machinery. At Belfast) new cooling and freezing rooms have been erected. The cooling room is connected with the slaughterhouse, and the carcases are brought to it by an overhead railway worked ,by an endless link chain and then ' on to rails in the new room worked by ; automatic switches. At the end of the room is a new grading and lowering machine bj which the sheep are conveyed to the freezing chamber. Part of the new building is to ba utilised in the bacon industry. The cellar can b8 used to deal with 1000 pigs pec wetki uttll,

most complete cooling room? are provided, aud a bacon store to hold the producb of BCOO pigs. Last week they killed and froze very nearly 20,000 sheep and lambs. They have 16 engine*, With an aggregate of 800-h.p. Alterations and extension* have also baen made at Islington, where the Christchurch Meat Company carry on their operations. They can, it is said, pat out 30,000 carcases weekly, and this company's Timaru works are also kept up to date. All these works deal with the whole business of by-products, have most complete tinning plants, &0., &c, and are in every way so well conducted that they are a proper object lesson for Otago and Southland and the rest of New Zealand to study and improve on if possible in the future. At present we have not much meat going, but wool and dairy produce fill the sheds and wharves at the ports. At Port Chalmers by the end of this week 500 tons cheese and 160 tons ot butter will have gone in those fine iteamtrs the lonio and Waimtta. The lonic is well known as one of the newest fitted of frozen-meat and produce-carrying steamers, End has splendid cool chambers for chi?o3e. The Waimate is a brand-new steamer, fitted with every known improvement. Her cool and frozen chambers and their insulation" is said by experts to be the best w« have yet scan. She is even an improvement on the undoubtedly fins mod«rn steamers of the Shire line. Oar shipping companies are gradually discarding their old and obsolete steamers and replacing them with new ones, which will pay them and serve the colony better, lam sure. More power to them.