STOCK AND GRAZING- NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2285, 16 December 1897, Page 39

STOCK AND GRAZING- NOTES.

By Drovbe.

Weekly Stock Sales: Invercargill, Tuesdays Burnside, Wednesdays Monthly: Ashburton, Tuesdays Clinton, Palmerston, Addmgton, Wednesdays ftn^ -\vinton. Fcrtniqhtlu: Periodically : Balolutba, Fridays Heriot, Kelso, and KyeGore, Tuesdays I bura. Oamaru, Tuesdays.- j (Communication! of Interest ta •tookbreeders »nd doalrri »r« cordially inTitcd. All jommunicatlont to reich Witnsu offis* not later than Monday niEbt.l Nearly 200 head of cattle were yarded last Tveek at Boruside. Ooly a small proportion of these were prime, and for this c!af s prices were fully maintained, £9 to £10 being readily given for good beef notwithstanding the large yarding. For medium beef prices were lower, and I see no hope of •mprovemenf', for it is evident that medium and inferior beef is in over supply, ; whilst prime beef is nob too plentiful. Butchers I are, I think, -well supplied now, and should these be a large yarding next week probably i even prime beef will tuffer in pries. It has been suggested that if the saleyards authorities would : st*rh a fly stem of clausing the cattle and sheep as prime, medium, and inferior, aud all^w the sales of the beet to take precedence, it would be a step in advance. It seems to me that something in this direction would be an improvement on existing methods. Certainly it would be to the benefit of those who send in prime and wcll-finiahed stock, ar.d might educate thosa who are content to forward light and inferior stock to a better way of workiDg, At present and under existing arrangements 'to call the Burnside cattle and sheep fixture a sale of fat stock is a misnomer — the bulk of the y&rdings, are sometimes only stores; and a large yarding sold fat and inferior alternately h»s tho effect of loweriog prices of the beat stock r/ithoufc benefiting the infeiior.

The yarding of about 2000 sheep again proved too much for requirements. Prime wethers were in email supply, and prices for these were maintained at about 9i 6d to lls (shorn) ; while a W prime shorn ewea brought up to 9s. Medium sheep, of which the bulk of the yarding consisted, euffered a drop in price of Is per head.

At this time of year lamb is in large supply, and consumers take to il. With a yarding of 600 lambs it is quite evident that a corresponding jmtnber of »-heep is not required for consumption, and with the freezing woiks closrd 1000 sheep seem to me an ample supply.

I advise all farmers who can do so to hold on to their stock till the cud of .January or later, when the fret zing works open. If they must send in stock let it be a moderate quantity of primtst, and there is then a chnuce of getting fair value. The demand is at present very limited, and the prices entirely depend on the question of the supply. I think at this time suppliers should regulate the supply strictly, bat perhaps some farmers like the excitement of not knowing within 2i or 33 of what their sheep will bring. ' ■ •

-To fionie there may be in tbi* the same charm that makes the totalizator so generally attractive. It is, however, a more expensive amusement than the tot&lUator, and for this kind of excitement I wou'.d recommend the totalisator as less expensive. t

The supply of lambs was a heavy one, and prices were easier, 9s to 10s ruling for the best, 7a to 8i for good. Medium and inferior were neglected, and it is a pity they should come to the yard -at all, Surely feed is not so. scarce

here that lambs which in a month or so would be fit for fretzera must be sacrificed at «ny price. Butchera can take a moderate eupply of : good lamb, but small and inferior nrc not and 1 will not be wanted. At Addington last week the improved prospects for lamb in the London market, combined ! with shortness of feed, induced graziers to supply the market largely. The yarding was nearly 3000, aud export buyers took fully 2000 of that number, a few primest bringing 10s 6d j to 12 •, 6d, but the bulk changing hands at 8* to 94. There wa<) no demand for light and inferior, which found buyers only at very reduced store rate?. The supply of fat aheep was small, and included somo 800 prime crossbred wethers, which sold up to 12s— good freezers, moderate weights, selliug freely at 9s to 10s. Export buyers were shy of ewe mutton, and although somo good iwti were offered they were mainly left to the butchers. There was an oversupply of cattle, which included a draft of prime bullocks from the North Island. These sold at about £7, which cannot leave much of a margin for profit. Pig* there, as here, continue | in healthy demand, all good bacouers celling at 3£d to 4d.

At the moment the outlook for our coming wool sales is not so bright as it might be. The market at Home is evidently aff«cled by th« labour troubles, and wool, as well »* other of our f-xporte, is tuffering in the meantime. Latest cables give cauie to hope that the strikers are aware of the disastrous re*ults that will ensue from prolonging or extending the movement, and I am hopeful that ser^c and reason will yet prevail ard prevent further trouble. Already trade has been much dieorganised, and it will take some time before we notice way improvement, but when we hear thatmatters regarding these iabour troubles are adjusted we may begin to look foe belter times in our exports of wool, ment, and dairy produce, but not till then.

With rpgard to dairy produce, I dan'fc look for fti-ything but low prices in cheese, although the ending of the »trike "would undoubtedly tend to some improvement. In considering this matter one cannot ignore thy f^ct that tbe mako in Canada alone is .15, 000 to»& over what it was last year, and that both the British and American makes are also very heavy. Buttwr meantime) looks a little better, bat I auticip&te a drdp iv price after Christmas. Supplies up to the present from Australia and New Zealand have arrived in but email quantities, aud the Dance command the tnaiket. Xhefe ovgauitisition is admirable, and they are eaubled to keep prices up ns they ptaasa almost;. At present, knowing supplies of colonial ara light, they adopt the policy of keeping prices higb. »s long aa they can f)t>\\ the quantity tbey liitr-, a«il tnia they seem to do. When tbt Tongariro was ab ,v« landing from I?cw Zonlhnd, thinking tho regular New Z<?al»nd import was about to begin the Copenhagen coaimifctee lowered thair price 4s 6d per owb for tbe week ; but finding tho Tougeriio's cargo consisted mainly of stored butter, that the quantity was small, and that the regular import trade would uot begin for some time, they at ouce raioed the price by Borne 9s. Our exports in dairy produce *re small as yet, and we could hardly expect to occupy the commanding position they do, but their organisation and methods give U3 a model on which we should endeavour to organise outtrade when we are agreed that it is necessary. Personally I am of opinion that in this direction our efforts at combination and organisation cannot begin too soon. But in all matters I am afraid we prefer to play a " lone hand," and many in the trade prefer this too, aa it suite them whether it suits the producer or not.

I regret to say that the crop prospects in Canterbury are not at all bright, and I look for continued firmuess acd impiovemeut ia the grain market for wheat, cat?, and barley. Latest Accounts from Australia lead one to the conclusion that crops there will be very light and far below estimates. Rain came iv Now South Wale*, but cot in time to do good co grain crops. The drought continued just a week or bo too loug. North Otago has suffered from the dry weather, but mainly on the lighter lands. Still, lam of opinion that on the average the crops will not by any means be as large as was hoped.

In a very short time Parliament will have ceased to sit, and I cannot say that coun'ry settlers will have anything to regret, unless the dreary debates and tquabbles recorded in tho papers arnuae them and help to while away a long evening. So far nothing, it appears to me,

20,000 Bedding Plants, including Asters, Phlox, Cosmos, Stocks, Lobelia, Coreopsis, Marigolds, Dianthus, Gaillardia — Is dozen. Order 3 for 5a post free to couatry. — Nimmo anct Blair. Dunedia.

has been done or even discussed that is likely to, benefit settlers or settlement. The bills passed have been for the benefit of the Workers (with a big W), as Mr Millar, M.H.R., always calls his constituents. These Labour members hre the main support of tho Government, and fheir wishes mutt be met. Country eettlers »re known in Parliament as the ii&nighted farmers," for this is what Mr Taylor, the M.H.R. for Christchurch, c»lls them. The fact is the bulk of members of Parliament know very little about the country or its requirements, and mosb of them fail to recognise that the townspeople, iucluding these said Worker*, are dependent entirely on the "benighted farmers" for tbeir ' support, and that if real aud substantial prosperity is to como about it will be when more attention is paid t» the prosperity of the country aud its settlers. I believe the Government, or at least nomo of the Ministers, do rscogoise this in a way. Mr Seddon and Mi- Mackenzie do, lam sure ; bub the main quoaiiou has been this session how to stick to the Mini- terul bencher, and so labour bills and other fads of the "advanced Liberal' have oocupied attention, to the exclusion «>f useful Ifgwlation fo& the real benefit of New Zealand. I bop© to see farmers' clubs and other bodu',B displaying a considerable Amount of activity before aext aessioo, and discussing Measures for the beneQb of the oountry. There is the freight question, and the organisation of a regular lino of steamers to .develop our export trade ; the organisation and . improvement of our frozeu meat trade, the ' r&bbjfc qne»tion, noxious weeds, compulsory ehoep dipping, and many other matters.' . I hope to see these milters difcus^ed among farmers and club*, who might correspond and come to Boms agreement rb to wh»t is required. Then they should endeavour to educate naembers^of Parliament as to what is wanted, and this is very necessary, for it iv mainly through igcorance that many members are useless to the country.At any rale I hope to ccc farmers let the Government and the country Urovv tha'J ,they *j:e r«oft benighted, b»t Tery ranch aw*ke. ■ ■ . „.„. \