STOCK AND GRAZING- NOTES. By Drover.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 5

STOCK A ND GRAZING- NOTES. By Drover.

Weekly Stock Sales : I Tnve~cargill, Tuesdays, i Burnside, "Wednesdays j Jtonthly : i Fortnightly: j Periodically: JMclutha, Fridays ! Heriot, Kelsc. and KyeGors, Tuoadays j bava. Oaiiiivu, Tuesdays. | [Ootoini.i'.o»Uoni of ',nte7!"ii to »to(.xhr«c(Jtr» aui! dealers nr* < oniidll^ invited. All 2onini 'qLcuhucs lo rCEQta SV'ttuc^ ofi^oo Ml Utor ;hau Itoujar ui£ht,l Thare was a yarding of 182 huad of cattle a* Burnsido. Very few of h his number, howevsr, could bo classsd as baef. There "worn a tow very prirai ijuliocks, and it is eridenfc ihtb butchers .vce always ready to pay for goo« tjualifcy, for all bhe.se wete sailorly compi»t«ol , for, and brought" £10 to £10 15s. Smaller ' eattl'j in prime condition brought £8 to £9. The bulk cif t,ho yarding, however, oaustd no txcitcnpn!;, being mostly poor uaxliby and not fit: for butchers. Too yarding of s&ecp Tas ovir 2000. mostly «wes, as is now >isiia2. J-luyere for expc?'i; had nob a graafc l«>t to oho^se from, and all prints wethfcfH were run up promptly io what I consider gocd prices at preoeiit. Some good ewra also attracted fxiiori buyers' attention. Prim^t •wether brought 12s «.o 13s, and scigs jjjob sheep, jjoiAiler, but of good quality, 3.1s Some vary good quality o??os brougnt 10j to IDi fi.i. I'or sheeo oufcaide of fre'ziag quality <h£ro is Juo improvement to note. The demand for goo x ntore sheep »nd breeding ewes is certainly brisk, aud rhe prices given iti runny cases seem *■•!} tjuc t > leave buo a very fmall wa-rgin for ' gc»z ; efe' grolib. ¥-xt Jambs weie 5a very small rajijy, and all suitable for export brought good prices. Ligh& and inferior were neglected. Fcime freezing , lambs brought 10s to lls, aud a few extra , qaality np to 12?. ( At Actdingtoa lambn for export have been yarded iv larger numbers than for ro'jdb time, and prices keap good nolwithsUncling the large supply. Ffioes arc : For best, lln to 12s Id ; ■ light weights, bat prime, about 10s. Thojrard- ! ings of prims sheep seem »Jsj to ba on the ! increase, prima crossbred ■Kethers being v;orth 12s to 13a. This month, whe?. fieigh'oa will, it is expected, coose <!cwq by %d p?>r Ib, prices both hsra ?nd in C*nlit'rbury will, it is cxpscteci, improve. Much d^pendi, b j waver, on the question whether lirge quantities of slieep have : been held back in anticipation of this lower ' freight. If large yardiogs are now co come for- ' ward price a may not improve. The London market seeres to be improving, and those not iua great hurry to quifc*t>heir sheep may do well yet. | The improvement in the London market is i remarkable when one considers tho large quantities now landing .there. It is partly due to lessened supplies from Australia, and this factor seems likely to continue m operation for soma time. Plate sheep also havo not been jo heavy in supply. It may be that some iinprovaraent is due to the fact that Australian and Plate people moat largely interested have coaie to a friendly agreement as to a minimum price. Any agreement like this hts a good moral effect, aud no doubt salesmen who hitherto have had matters their own way will see that amalgamation and co-operatioa among growers and exporters is possible, and that unless prices improve the trade which they hava hitherto manipulated in their own interests entirely may some day pass out of their hands. Deap Dhovkb, — The London correspondent of the Otago Witness in his letter of February 5 gives some interesting information upon the prospects of the Frozen Meat Committee and J the trade generally. It will ba remembered . , that Mr Twopeny was instrumental in forming the committee. What I particularly wish to refer to is that the chairman (Mr Doxat) is ' managing director of Messrs Dalgety and Co., and is reported to have expressed his intention of studying the interests of shareholders in his , company rather than those of the produoets of ! frozen mutton, no matter what action the committee might recommend. No one can blame him for doing so, but it is the first time that we have heard of Bach aa open declaration ; and as he no doubt voices the opinion and intentions of other financial institutions, it shows the necessity for producers to take into serious con- ' sideration the best method of meeting such combination. Saveral remedies have been proposed by yourself and others, yet no action has been taken, and it appears to be almost hope- i less to excite any interest in the question. Can c

[ anything point more forc-.bly to tbe necessity oE i tho appointment of a London committee or ' board of advice entirely freo from agency for any other country than New Zealt.i:d iv frozen mi;at ? The same correspondent also gives an account of a long interview with c gentlemau representing a very largn interest, in colonial trade. And what does ho say ? Notbfcg can be more emphatic than the opinion he expresses. He says " that unless ail producbrs, or the great majority of thorn, will sfliee io co-opnrato and will absolutely bind themselves to s-end their meat to one organisation thab could employ any uumber of brokers •ji- salesmen it liked, with a specified limit as to price, there can be no improvement." This ia exactly what wo have been advocating for months pa«t. I have always maintained that the ire? zing companies might give effect to thesa utopocals without loss to themselves-— ' indeed, with much gain nob only to their ahnrcholdera, bub to settlers generally throughout tho colony. These companies might control cha working of the whola business if - ihoy desired. rhf> rernsdy for abolishing the present system of consigning to ko many agents is very simple, but no one can do it without the aid of !iw freezing companies. Then, with regard ta freights, have we nob a just claim upon the O'jinpsr.uies who made the present contract with iihippuig companies to request them, ia conssqusnea of th« reduced value of meat, to approach the latter companies with the view of getting tbe contract, which I belinva doem r>oc terminate until July 1898, so mcd?« lied aa to afford us some relief ? Uudor auy circumstances it will be necessary to do so before many month* ; aud if the present contractors refuse to meet us, then I gay ib will ba our imperative duty io contact, with the aid of Government, with other shipping companies for the carriage of meat and othci: proelucs. Are bhasa not questions that migtit. be disowned by the agricultural conference at their meeting in June ? This reminds me tbaa lam s.ira;d thia meeting will be a frost. I w?s Icokiog a'j tbe report of their last meelio^ iv Wellington, and apparently ah the fag end cf it, when several delegates had left, Mr H. F. Gi'*y, of Raugiora, moved a resolution — "Thutiuii deuir.ible thab future conferences thould b« independent of Government aid towards travelling expenses of ita member*." This was carried. Mr Gray was «, very bitter opponent of tha Government, and if you read the diaeussioa you vtill clearly understand the object he had iv viciw. Iv my opinion, instead of 60 delegate* meeting as upon thab occ»Gion, you will nob have many more than half that number. IKaay small societies havo not tho means to scud a delegate when their funds are so limiled, yeb ib is nob to be denied that many of the3e sjciaties' opinions upon questions tha« aff»ch agriculture generally are of equal weight with those of" the more wealthy associations — in many instances more so. I ooasidcr tho Government should be requested to ignore such a resolution. There are many qaestiouo continually arising that are of imyortance to the agricultural interest and colony also, and it is the duty of the Government ta obtain nil the advice aud information ib can upon these questioui, and therefore I eonaider it fihoal'J defray tne trav&lliug expenses of delegates from all pirfes of tha cokny. Railway practically costs nothing, and the fcteamer fare between Wellington and Lyttelton is very urh;»l. — I am, &j., Settler. Mj' correspondent, ia a gentleman deeply interested in tho matters dealt with, atid I am rathur inoliu'id to agoe »?ith lilm as to tha agricultural cuul'srenca. I hopfc, however, thin vrril nut be the case. If anything could make ths agricultural conference interesting and useful, ib would be v frea and fall discussion oi the deplorable aluie of the meab trade and the suggestion of what could b.i done to improv-i it. I Rni quite suve that the present Gc?e*ua:snt aro willing, and indeed anxious, to do what they can to irai>rove^iß conduct anil general conditions of ou^' export meat trade, aud onlff want such a body as tha agricultural conference should bo to advise them and indicate iv what direction Government help will be usosb useful. It is unfortunate, under tho circumsnancet, thaa

the present Government is nob in favour with those who have hitherto been regarded •a oar leaders in agricultural matters, and* political animosity and feeling have unfortunately come in to prevent fair discussion, the idea felt, if not expressed, being: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? " This feeling should not prevail in connection with questions of the kind under review, and it is one of the worst results of puty government that such feelings shculd be allowed to retard the welfare of great industries such as our export meat trade. In the future any Government that may be in power will have to deal with these subjects largely, and agriculturists should not allow politics to interfere, but should support and help the Government, no matter which side of politics it may be on. As a matter of fact, tha present Government deserve the greatest credit for what they have already done or attempted, and they should receive al assistance from leading agriculturists and the general body of farmers in anycDdeavour they may make to improve matters. The Premier is, he says, going to put matters right in London, and I have no doubt he means to do what he can, but it is quite possible he may not do the j right thing, and ifc would be much better th.\t j he should be advised and helped by such a body as the agricultural conference, and I am certainly of the opinion thab they ought to assist and adv'te him. j Speaking from an agricultural point of view, X hope the Premier will give much attention to the question of sn Imperial zjllverein, which will certainly be one of the main subjects dealt with when he meets the Homt authorities. I regret the subject has received so little attention from our leading politicians. For to a country like New Zealand it seems to me to be the all- j important question. When ifc is settled we shall bear no more such ridiculous assertions as thafc frczen meat is * cause of cancer, of the direful effects of •' preset vitas" iv colonial butter, and other such humbug. ThFss ab3urd scares are merely the indications of ill feeling on the parb of a very few email-minded people at Home. The Imperial Zollverein would help the 1 British farmer as well as the colonial, and would do more to bind the British r£CB together than any other proposal brought forward bo far. I strongly approve of all the loyalty now being displayed and of the sentiments expressed in connection with the coming celebrations. There it a gocd deal in this tie, bub nothing wiJU. bind us so much as mutual commercial interests, for though we can fight in conjunction with Britain in self-defence and win, we ehall for all time be better employed working together for mutual advantage. We really are a nation of shopkeepers after all. Mr J. R. Scotb, secretary of the National Dairy Association, informs me that he will receive entries till the 21st insfc. from any cheese or butter exhibitors for the Queensland International Exhibition. New Zealand produce thould, I think, be represented at this exhibition, as, quite independent of trade with Queensland, which their protective duties make alniOßt impossible, there will be visitors there from all parts of the so^hern hemisphere, with many of whoca good business might be dene. Government will pay freight over and half return freight if the goods are not sold. Space is Is per square foot, so the expense should not be great. Dear Droveb, — Seeing that for three ■easons in euccession the fleck ram sales in this island have been almost a complete failure, ib appean to me tbat ifc is high lime for the sheep-breeders to seriously consider the situation and endeavour to devise some means of bringing about a better state of affairs in the future. Evidently the production is in excess of the demand, and probably will continue J;o be for some time unless some steps are taken to restrict it. What I think is needed is a combination amongst breeders for thab purpose, and now -thafc we have a Sheep-breeders' Association and most of the flocks are entered in the Flock Book, there should be bub little difficulty in bringing that about. ■ What I would propose is that the secretary of the association should iseue circulars to all known' breeders of flock rams, asking them to make a return of 1. The number of rams shorn for the first time ab the past three shearings. 2. The number of two-shear rami and over, of one-shear rams, and of ram. lambs now on hand not required for use in their own flocks. They should be asked to sign an agreement to reduce the number of flock rams they retain for sale on a percentage scale to ba fixed by the association, baeed on the average production for the past three years. I would propose thafc the reduction should be something like the following: — All flock cams two-shtar and over not

j required for breeding purposes this season tote ; cahtrated or slaughtered within a given time. j Fifty per cent, of the one-shear rams rob required for breeding this season and also 50 per cenfc. of tho present crop of rim 'ambs to be trea'ed in a similar manner. The basis of reduction iv future to ba fixed by the association or a committee appointed for that purj ose. Anyone who has had any experience of breeding rams must know thafc if nob required when reared they are a certain loss to the producer, end it would be far batter to cell one ram at a fair price than to have three quite uuaaleab'e, and incur the expense of sending them to a pale and having them returned. A cousiderab'e sum must have been paid for railage on ram? at the past tbrea (seasons' sale 3, which was a dead loss to the owners. Besides, a scheme of restriction such as I have indicated would ensure that ncn9 but the besfc would be retained, wbioh would bs an all-round benefit. In the above I have simply outlined what I think is needed, and would be glad to know what you think of ib and whether you consider it practicable. — Yours, &c, Breeder. Maich 23. There can b9 no one who has been much at ram sales and fairs of late yean but must agree that something should be done iv the direction proposed by "Breeder." I Ib seems to me thab there can be no qu°.s- . tion but that in the intereEts of all soras check should be put on the excessive breeding of rams. In this as in many otLe: matters the co-operation of the Government, through its Agncullural department, might well bs sought to bring about proper reform, and conitifcuta some authority iv any action proposed to be taken. The restriction of the use of inferior rams and the general improvement of cur flocks could be brought about were bhe matter taken energetically in hand. I am afraid, however, that jealoufy among breeders will prevent them agreeing to sush a plan as suggested by "Breeder."