STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2413, 31 May 1900, Page 6

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Deoves,

Weekly Stock S%les : Foi tn i-jh t'y • Burnside, Wednesdays Invercat^ delays A&hburton, Tuesdays Monthly: Addington, Wednesdays Clinton, Palmerston and Win ton. Fcrtniqhtly: Waikouaiti Balclutha ridays Periodically : Gore, Tuesdays Heriot.Kelso, and EyeOamaru Tuesdays j bura. The Burmide market last week was well attended by farmers and visitors to the show, but so far* as cattle were concerned prices were lower than lor h ome time. Tiii<- is .somewhat fiurprising. No doubt butchers have been buying largely lately, and had some stock still in hand, but where was the Freezing Compa-iy, which, I believe, is always ready to take prime beef at 20 -. per hundred? This was certainly an opportunity for them. Several lots of fat and forward store cattle were taken by Taieri farmers, who will do well with them later on, as prime beef i& not going to be low in price this winter. The continued good reports on our frozen beef have considerably altered the cattle trade, and one can look forward to fair prices ruling now. If any of the freezing companies lower prices — which I do not anticipate— farmers can freeze their own esttle and rend them Home. I hear of some farmer^ who intend giving this matter a trial, and I am of opinion that there will in the future be a lot Of tliis d.Q22S«

The fat sheep sale was a lively one, and everything fit for export was taken at good prices. Best freezers brought 17s 6d to 19s, moderate weights 15s 6d to 17s, best ewes 16= to 18s, butchers' ewes 15s to 14s 6d. London reports show that for fresh arrivals tliera is a good demand/with prices advancing, and that there has been forward buying for AprilMay shipments ; but the sta-le and long-stored meat is not in much favour, and stocks of this cla:s of meat are much heavier than in previous years. Canterbury best brands are bringing about £d over best- Otago and Southland, and North " Island fre»h arrivals are bringing prices equal to stale Canter burys, and in some eases .higher prices. It appears as if the one thing needed in this colony is larger cold storage at the ports of shipment, s-o that -if possible arrivals in London may be more regular. Cold storage in Britain is considerably dearer than here, and, ] in my opinion, this is the place to store it if it has to be done. Lantl in London and other ( poits of arrival is, of course, much, higher in value than in this colony, and this of itself makes the erection of cold storages very expensive. | Regular shipments and arrivals do much to improve matters, and this is a subject that the conference in Wellington might consider. The continued glutting of the stores in London and the accumulation of stale meat has a most disastrous effect on prices, and this has ' always been k>, and sellers here are decidedly ' at a disadvantage, for I. think the Home ' buyers take a very full advantage of these glutted markets and don't care to discrimi- j nate between what is really damaged by long ' storage and what is not. 'We in this coiony must look after our own interests, as all business men have to do". The regular arrivals ' of dairy produce from Victoria is what helped ' Victorians in the earlier years of the trade, and even this year New Zealand has been greatly benefited by the improved shipping service secured by the National Dairy Association. ' i The New Zealand Refrigerating Company ' were the main buyers of lambs for export, and kept the market at good prices, "buying freely at 13s to 14s. Several good sales have also been made in the country, and buyers are now apparently eager to secure prime lamb ■ as well as mutton, and pricas bid fair to improve, j At Addington prices for prime freezing sheep and lambs are good. Best freezing f lambs sell at 14s to 15s 6d, best freezing sheep | 18s 6d to 21s; prime sheep and lambs are not plentiful. The demand .for good breeding ewes is keen, and sales are made at 13s to 14s. Store wethers in forward condition bring 14s to 15s; forward store lambs 10s 6d to lls. ' ; One of the reasons oi the improved priice * in prospect, for our frozen meat (says a London paper) is that the dearth of feed in Eng- ' land and Scotland is jna'cing the season a ' very expensive one for owners of live stock, i apart from the fact that for lambs and other \ young animals no expenditure on purchased ■ food can fully make up for succulent nutriment. The outbreak of foot and mouth disease^ in Argentina is doubtless another factor in j the enhanced prices of our fiozen meat (as 1 ' pointed out last week) "and as there are many \ farmers who have not yet had experience of ; this dire disease the following extract from . the London Times on the subject will not . be out of place : — ,' To stock-breeders the most important event | of last week was the arrival at Deptford of a ; vessel from the Argentine carrying 210 heac 1 ,. ' of cattle, more than half of which were found" j to be suffering from foot and mouth disease ! in a virulent form. Prompt measuies were j taken by the authorities to prevent any spread j of the disorder, # and the landing- at our ports of animal from Argentina has been prohibited after the 30ch April. Foot and mouth disease is so easily communicated that it is j most desirable 'all who have to do with f farm live stock should bnow what are the symptoms of the disorder, and these were . tersely described by Sir Georg-e Brown at \ tho council meeting of the Royal Agricultural Hocietj-. The first signs of an attack are dulness of the animal, a peculiar smack- \ ing or sucking noise made by tho lips, fol- ' lowed by a di^chargej of saliva from the mouth i (known as '' Flavering '") shifting the feet, and j — a very characteristic symptom- — kicking with } tho hind fest alternately as though something j were betwe3n the claws which the^ animal ; was trying to get rid of. The.-.c signs should j lead the attendant to expmhie the animal's j mouth, and on the slightest appearance of I \ elides or blisters it may be taken as pro-, j bable that thp animal is suffering from tne ; di,-e3se, or at le^st there is strong ground for suspicion. The grain n arket is dull, mainly owing to shortage of shipping facilities, both to South Africa for oats and to London for -wheat. With legard to oat I*,1 *, I feel confident that j patient waiting for a little will improve mat- ; teri. The ' market has been unnecessarily spoiled lately, a large number of farmers j threshing out of stook both wheat and oats, and then all crowding their produce on tho market for sale within a few weeks* The . market will at no time stand this sort of thing. This practice of thre-jhing out of the fetook, so^ prevalent on account of apparent cheap- ' noss, has great disadvantages, both on the markel price and on iho quality of the grain. [ I am of opinion that the system of stacking i in tho old-fashioned way will pay best iv ! : average seasons. [am cominced that if far- j mcrs could ■\\ilhhold from .selling so freely at any price for a time £>i'ipes would improve ' a great deal, and this remark applies to wheat ' as well as to oatc. The latest cable pclvice ; from London regardinc; wheat says the market is firm, but inactive. Lc^s favourable reports ] of Russian and French ciops have been re- ' caived. Already some large purchases of : wheat have been made, and the opinion of ' many who study the matter is that in the ' course of a few months there may be a sharp rise in the value of wheat. At any rate, in ] tho firesenJt absent of shi&piaa faoUitias. i

slaughtering grain at low prices is quite unnecessary and" inadvisable. Only speculators who intend to hold will buy, and I advise* | farmers to do the holding for themselves instead. j The Winter show, just over, has been as ,t, t great a success as ever, and I think farmers t are taking even more interest in it than be- , fore. The conferences and meetings for dis- | cussion of matters were better attended than ever, and were more interesting. There was a fair amount of lively discussion on dairying matters. I think the A. and P. Association, should give some prizes for the best papers' (short) on various agricultural matters, to be> read at these conferences and debated. The subjects, of course, are many and varied, bufc j they should all be practical — for instance, I suggest a paper on how to feed dairy cows on turnips and avoid having the milk turnipy- | tasted. This can be done, I know, but the I fact remains that it is not done,, and manydairy factories close down because of the large t amount of turnipy milk that comes in"as soon as the cows are fed on turnips. There is no ! reason this should be so, I am sure, and the loss in consequence of the closing down of the dairy factories at a time like this, whenprices are very good, is a serious one to milk suppliers and the dairy factory also. I always like to hear our dairy experts^and their lectures this time were really very in- , teresting and instructive." Still, I suggest , that practical farmers in- our midst should i give us the benefit of their experience, and- ; there are many -who can, I know, on' subjects of most practical valjie. i We all sincerely regret that Mr Ruddick, the dairy commissioner, is leaving us, and I know he regrets it lumself, as he likes New Zealand, but family reasons compel him to go. I fully belieWMr Kinsella will fill the position admirably. "Mr Ruddick, however, is one who was much liked, the more so the more one knew of him. He has promised 1 to send me from time to time some information gathered in his new position. Mr Robertson, grader at New Plymouth, has retired, and joined' Mr J. B. MacEwan, • Mr Laing, of Wellington, has also retired, and joined Nathan and Co., of Wellington, increasing the army of middlemen thereby. Mr Cuddie, brother of the lata owner of the celebrated factory near Mosgiel, has joined the Government staff, and will, I am sure, be a useful man.