STOCK AND GRAZING- NOTES,

Otago Witness, Issue 2437, 28 November 1900, Page 6

STOCK AND GRAZING- NOTES,

By Brovhb.

Weekly Stock Sales : Fortnightly • Burnside, Wednesdays Invercar « m - Tuesdays A&hburton, Tuesdays Monthly: Addington, Wednesdays Clinton, Palmerston and Winton. Fortnightly. Waikouaiti Balclutha ridays Periodically • Grra, Tuesdays Heriot.Kelso, and KyeOamaru Tuesdays | burn. The yarding of fat cattls at Burnside last week was about 190— a heavy supply, as there is no buying for export at present, nor will tbere be for some time. Prime bullocks (heavy) brought £11 to £12; good, £9 to £10. Prices as compared with those of the previous week show a fall of about 7s od per head. Small yardings are now advisable until the freezing works' again open, ,as the town demand for beef lessens during the warm weather. Heavy yardings will result in -depressing the price at once. As prices must bejuled, I think, by the export trade, I am of opinion that the extreme rates for beef lately prevailing will not be maintained, but should think the 22s per 1001b for prime beef may be safely reckoned on when fne freezing works open. About 2000 sheep were yarded, and a fall in prices has to be recorded. Primest wethers still maintained a very high price, 19s to 22s 6d ; heavy prime ewes about the same, but the quantity of this class of sheep was extremely .small. Medium wethers sold at from 17s to 18s ; good butchers' ewes, 15s to 17s. As the freezing works are now closing, heavy supplies of sheep at Burnside are extremely undesirable. At a time like this, agents should combine and prevent glutted markets, in the interests, of their clients, and they could do so if they liked. When the freezing works open", and there is a good demand for export, this will be unnecessary.' , About 200 lambs were yarded and sold at from' 10s to 12s 6d, a fall of about Is per head. As many of the leading butchers have bought lambs direct from farmers for weekly delivery forward, a very small number is required at Burnside till the freezing works open. The wheat market is dull, and will be so till freights come down. There have, however, been considerable shipments made from Canterbury lately, and the wheat market in Britain is decidedly firmer. In oais joricea .have improved aboiit- Id Ijej.

bushel. A combination of exporters in Invercargill have secured the contract for 6000 tons of oats for the British Government. I don't now that they have yet got all this quantity in hand, and rather think not. I am inclined to ihink that the oat market will continue firm, and the fact that a standing army of 50,000 men is to be permanently maintained in South Africa, largely mounted men, must benefit our growers for some time. The main thing is to secure direct trade with the British authorities in South Africa, and not to let the business be filtered through Australian houses and Australian ports as in the past.

At Addington last week shorn sheep sold comparatively better than those in the wool. The feature of the market was the high prices ' given for some extra prime shorn sheep which have won prizes at several shows lately. Acton estate got 25s for a small line of shorn merino wethers, these going to Mr Clarkson, for. export. Some other lines of show sheep, [ shorn cuossbreds, mostly of the Down cross, brought from 27s to 31s; ordinary primest ! freezers, shorn, 16s "to 235. The price for all good quality freezing sheep was maintained. Butchers' sheep, -both wethers and ewes, being in over supply, suffered' a decline. Merino wethers in the wool brought 13s to 21s; butchers' ewes, 12s to 14s; extra prime lambs (show sheep), nearly 16s; prime freezers ordinary standard), 13s. The supply of lambs was small, and exporters and butchers competed briskly, keeping prices at a high level. I hardly think these prices can be maintained when lambs are offering in any quantity, which at present is riot the i case. Best bullocks sold at from £10 10s to over £12, or equal to 22s to 24s per 1001b. In store cattle three-year-old bullocks sold at £5 to £5 7s 6d, two-year-olds about £4, 15-montns-old at about £2 15s, dry cows £2 to I £4. The demand for store cattle 'was good.

The following, from the Meat Trades' Journal, gives some idea of the way in which war supplies are influencing our meat trade, and of the immense supplies required. This, it will be noted, speaks of the Russian supplies alone. The supplies for the whole of the allied armies must be immense. Here, again, we see how shipping facilities are at present short of requirements, and so tend to keep prices of produce down : — Although it was reported recently that Armour and Co., of Chicago, could not supply an order from Russia foi 6,000,0001b of beel for the use of Russian soldiers in China, the Chicago Chronicle of a recent date reports the views of a member of that firm as follows: — "We could fill the order for the 6,000.0001b of beef at a moment's notice, regardless of the fact that it is to be ' beef on the hoof,' ratliei than Lhe refrigerated article. " It would be much easier to ship refrigerated beef, but it would have to be used pretty soon after arriving in China. To move vast herds of beef on the hoof over such, a sea voyage will be a herculean ,task t but our firm is ready to tackle it. We may have to take heroic measures — that is, we must 1 pay heroic prices — in. seeking the necessary lattle fleet of 15 or 20 boats up and down the extent of the Pacific coast line. I fear we will have to look to.the fleets engaged in the carrying trade of the Alaskan gold country. The reason the Czar wants the cattle sent by way of the Pacific is, I take it, because it would take nearly three months to^ make the voyage by way of the Suez Canal route, while not more than a month will be required for the trip across the Pacific."

To what base uses may we come. The Pastoralists' Review's London correspondent has the temerity to assert that "we" know that frozen sheep wrappers supply the Egyptian ladies with bloomers, and goes on to say that we now learn that Lord Roberts is an eager buyer of the jute beef quarter bags which are now employed. He uses them, filled with earth as bastions, for which pxirpose they answer well.

The Moat Trades Journal says : —The London correspondent of the Sydney Daily Telegraph says that none of the sterilised meat from the Plate arrived in good condition. One report, indeed, says that the whole of the beef was ultimately condemned as unfit for human consumption, and that only a small portion of the mutton was saleable at from 2d to 3d per lb. It is now stated that one%f the fans employed to circulate the air in the chamber in which the meat was '• carried went wrong. This may or may not have affected the result ; but, at any rate, the failure of their first experimental shipment does not appear to have daunted the advocates of Koupft's process, for, I hcai, Dther vessels are to be fitted up with the necessary mechemical contrivances and chambers tc continue the experiments on a rather larger scale.

It looks as if the supply of mtitton available for export from New South Wales "will become more plentiful, and prices ought to go lower, allowing shippers more freedom in tbeir operation-*. Beef, on the other hand, is very scarce, and is becoming scarcer every day. The American Government have been on the market for about £00 tons, for Manila, "and have had the greatest difficulty in securing their requirements. There are ' also inquiries for South African account, but the condition of supplies does not tempt operators on this side to make offers, except at prices which seem to frighten South African buyers.