STOCK AND GRAZING- NOTES,

Otago Witness, Volume 25, Issue 2321, 25 August 1898, Page 6

STOCK AND GRAZING- NOTES,

Weekly Stock Sales : Buwaide, Wednesdays Ashbnrton, Tuesdays AdJington.Wednesdays Fortnightly: Balclutha, Fridays Gf»ro, Tuesdays I 'Oanwu, Tuesdays. |

Invercargill, Tuesdays Monthly : Clinton, Talmerston, and Winton. Periodically : Heriot.Kelso, and Kyebura.

tComnmnJeatioDß of interest to stockbreeders and dealer! are Cordially iDTltcd. All Minmunicitions to reach Witness ofdeo »ot later than Monday night.l There was an unduly large yarding of cattle at Burnside last week, with the usual and inevitable result that prices were lower by fully £1 per head on tho price of prime bullocks tho previous week. Next week we Bhall probably sco a small yarding, and prices will again go up. Nothing but over-yardings ■will bring prices down at present, its I have before pointed out. 1 suppose farmers and graziers dorivo pleasurable oxcilemonl in tho chancca and changes of tliis uncertainty as to what th<* ja,rdinE is to be, II may yiold them

some pleasure in such a way, but I don't ' think it h profitable. The yarding was over 250, and half that amount would Lave been ample. Prime beef brought fully 2s per hundred less than previous week. Butcher.* on these occasions pursuo a very conservative policy, and only bid when a real bargain is in sight. Outside of Buraside there have been several sales of prime cattle at good rates, and buyers have been readily found for good forward cattle

I look forward to a good demand for prime beef for some months to come, but as to what prices at Burnside will be in any week entirely depends upon whether thero is an overyarding or not. If the number yarded cannot bo to somo extent regulated by selling agents, the market will always provide a certain amount of excitement as to whether good or bad prices will obtain. If this is farmers' idea of what a market should be, I am quite sure buyers will bo satisfied, as they are masters of the situation when there is an overyarding.

Some very prime lots of sheep continue to coma in large lines to the freezing works, but the Burnside market appears at present to be supplied mainly with half-finished and store sheep. La3t week a few medium freezers brought 13s 6d to 15s, and some heavy wethers about 2s more, but the bulk of tho yarding met a very poor demand, and graziers got what they required at fully Is less than previous week. Butchers continue to confin o their operations to prime meat mainly, and sheep that are not primo will never sell liko they did before the abattoirs commenced operating. The public have now been educated up to know what is prime meat, and will not, I think, again require inferior meat even at cheap rates, as they find the best is the cheapest in this particular line as well as in others.

The demand for good pigs, both porkers and baconers, continues lively, and this will continue. The erection of abattoirs will have a considerable effect in this respect. Previously a visitor to any of the slaughteryarda could always sco hundreds of pigs beingregaled on tho offal. The sight was not a pleasant one, and Hie more so aa one thought j of what was the ultimate destination of theso animals, for they were there in all sorts of sizes, fat and stores. And what actually becamo of them? Sad to say they wore eaten and enjoyed as dairy feu pork or, bacon, for you know townspeople aro very particular on this matter and uovcr, " if they know it," cat

anything but dairy fed pork or bacon. But ''they ciid not know it," for a label with "Dairy fed" on the goods in tho shop pati-J-fied them. Now this is all changed, and tho place of this very considerable quantity of slaughter-house fed stuff has, I hope, to bo filled by the gonuino article. I say I hope becaufia, although Dunedin has established the abattoirs system, other towns have not demo so as yet. But this change will come. Farmers, in my opinion, will do well to give attention to pig rearing, a-s there are many other reasons for believing that it will become a profitable branch of goneral farming.

The Down sheep continue to be favourites in Canterbury, and I hope- here too by those who breed to obtain prime mutton. The .following from the Uhrisqenurch. Press is most interesting, and it appears to me that Mr Geo. Rutherford, of Dalethorpo Las "struck oil":— A lino of 54 exceptionally prime six and eight- tooth merino wethers, from Mr Geo. Rutherford's, Dalethorpe, was scld at Addington on Wednesday, and realised 16s lOd to 17s 9d, the buyer being Mr A. Li. Joseph, who intends to export thorn. Mr Rutherford ako obtained 18s 6d to 13s 30rt for halEbred wethers and 17s 9d for halfbrcd owes, which were beautifully finished sheep. They were coming four-tooth, and were mostly Shropshire Down-merino cross, and some of them would probably run up to 721b. It has been pointed out that the first cross between the Shropshire and merino results in small and inferior sheep, but there is no doubt if done as well by as Mr Rutherford' & they make very prim© freezers.

In Canterbury there seems a fair demand for store sheep, tho weather giving encouragement to farmers. At Addington full-mouthed ewe<j in lamb brought 10s 6d to 12s ; crossbred wethers, 10a to 11s. Last year's lambs (fat) bring up to 10s; prime crossbred freezers, 16s to 19s ; heavy primo sheep, lfa more ; lightweight freezers, Usto 1&3. There seems to be a prospect of a good market for pimo slieep for some time to come, and I should think we shall very soon see some of our store sheep going north to be turned into prime Canterbury, a.i a good and early grass season is anticipated. Tho grain market continues quiet, but thero is a little more inquiry for oats, which will, I think, continue. Australia., and more especially Western Australia, will continue to require supplies, and I fancy the holders of oats more especially, and wheat also, will be able to quit tiieir stocks at fair rates before harvest, unless sales are unduly forced. As to next year, it is hard to say

what, prices will be. The European market will then influence the price, as it seems from the largo acreage under crop that we shall have an export surplus. Many things may happen before then, however. Some people

think that prices will be kept up through the

British and Continental powers securing supplies in anticipation of war. This may be so. I hear tbat Parliament have a committee

appointed to inquire into the matter of new

markets. It seems to me that the question is not one of new markets so much as proper

facilities for our produce reaching good mar-

| kets that wo already have. Is our dairy pro j duce trade to lie still retarded by unduly j heavy freight and the irregular comimmicaj tion supplied by the present shipping ring, | who, having secured the meat trade, are mas-

ters of thesii.-aa.lion? And then again we have a splendid market in Western Australia, which Now Zealand already supplies to a large extent with nearly all her leading agricultural products, but which trade* does not benefit iw, as il goots through Australian merchants

! owing to the lack of a regular line of steamers I from New Zealand direct. The same may be [ said of our trade with South Africa, and this ! is a trade that New Zealand should cul-

tivate by direct communication. When Gene

! ral Kitchener has settled the Soudan question by taking Kartoum we shall see further great developments in Africa, the first advance being probably a telegraph line from the Cape

right up to the Red Sea, as London papers advocate. At any rate it is quite apparent

that .South Africa is going to develop rapidly, and not even Provident Kruger will for long i hinder its progress. For many years it will j bo a great market for most of the products j which New Zealand can grow better and 1 cheaper than almost any oilier country. If

we cannot secure it now, enterprising Amcri-

cans and Canadians will gra^p a trade which might bo permanently secured for us. Questions like this should bo considered at farmers' club meetings. It is for such bodies to instruct their members of Parliament on theso matters, otherwise parish politics and matters of little r&al importance to the settlers of this country generally take up their whole attention.

It looks as if Manila may yet prove another market worth cultivating. Already the inhabitants of that country are being fed on New Zealand potatoes, 2000 tons having gone from Sydney to Manila lately, ancl more will yet go. I believe a cargo of prime Canterbury or Otago frozen meat and other produce to that place would pay just now. In olden days this is just the sort of venture our merchants would have liked.

1 notice by reading the country news in the Witness and other papers that farmers aro jubilant over the destructions of rabbits by the trapping for the great "new industry." somo of them aro rough on the inspectors for insisting on poidoning being done. I cannot believe thai such people are gonuine in their desire to peo rabbits destroyed. Rather they look forward to another season's largo rabbit export. This year shonld test Iho question as to whether rabbits will be really reduced by this export trade. Now and for tho next few months farmers have a chance to strike a deadly blow at the rabbit. It remains to be seen how many will do so. Some will, I know, but my general knowledge of human nature leads me to believe that many won't, and I shall not bo surprised to sco as large a frozen rabbit export this coming season as

there was last season. It may pay, but if such is the case don't lot us pretend we are getring rid of the rabbits, but under such circumstances I can see no further use of the Government Rabbit Department. Rather let everyone do as he like?, always prorided that a rabbit netting fence between neighbours is made compulsory at half cost each, if either neighbour, demands it. Advances to settlers by Government for such a purpose would also be advisable. I have not been converted yet, you sco, but shall come down handsomely when I am.