A DISTINGUISHD VISITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2513, 14 May 1902, Page 44

A DISTINGUISHD VISITOR.

INTERVIEWED BY OUR SOUTHLANI CORRESPONDENT. Introduced by Mr James Lillico, buslnes manager for Mr T. C. Ellis, stationowner I had the pleasure on Friday of a fey minutes? chafe with Mr Robert Fletcher, o: the great London meat importing firm, o: Fletcher, who is paw doing an extended toui of the Australasian colonies in the interest! of Dis firm. Mr .Fletcher has done Victoria prettj thoroughly, during- a two-months' sojouri there, and since his arrival at the Bluff aboui a fortnight ago has managed to see » gooc deal of Southland. . , While disclaim ing ability to give any in formation that could be of value to Witness readers, Mr Fletcher submitted very grace fully to the ordeal of an interview which did not prove altogether barren. The object oi Mr Fletcher's visit is to bring his firm into closer and more direct relationship with the people connected with the trade on this side. Mr Fletcher attended the last Wallace town sale, and was very much , struck with the uniformly good quality of the sheep yarded. Indeed, bad though the season here has been, the sheep forward on. that occasion were superior to anything seen in Victoria during th« two- months spent there. For the appointments at Wallacetown and the method of conducting: the sales, Mr Fletcher has nothing -but praise; everything seemed to him to be done in the most ex- ; peditious and orderly manner; the arrangement of providing separate pens for each ! of the selling firms, and allowing only two I minutes for each . lot, greatly facilitating business. A provision that specially attracted Mr Fletchers attention was the footboards above the cattle pens, and he was somewhat sin-prised to find bow one's estimate' of the value of a beast made from, above differed from that made from the ground. So similar are the stock, the people, and the appointments generally, and the features of the autumn landscape, that one might easily imagine himself of one of the best of the country markets at Home. " The footboards," said Mr Lillico, " are, as a matter of fact,, indispensable* in our saleyards, as- station cattle will not let » man go near them on foot, and they can't be driven on. foot, tbe drover must be> mounted." Mr Fletcher has had opportunities of seeing the killing and grading done at Walktcetown, and the freezing at the Bluff, and w fully satisfied that the work is done in the best possible way. He is also well acquainted with the work of unloading in, London, and can certify that the greatest of care is exercised in handling the carcases there, the Dock Company having permanent staffs of men used to the work, and alive to the need of careful handling. So far do the provisions against damage extend that the men are obliged to cover their boots with an ample covering of sacking lest an accidental kick or trample should bruise the mutton. Mr Fletcher was struck with the beautifully clean state of the freezing works both at the Bluff and at Mataura, and was surprised to find what an enormous power is availbaie at the latter place, and was charmed alfo -with the rugged grandeur of the falls. M*r Fletcher has spent a considerable part of his fortnight in the Western District, and noted several points of contrast with the old country. He saw threshing from the stook — an ODeration unknown at Home, — and the very "general practice of stacking in the fields instead of in the farm, yard, and he keenly missed the beautiful autumn foliagewhich makes the English woodland in the fall such a glorious blaze of colour. An- . other thing that struck Mr Fletcher was the ' enormous carrying capacity of the land, as j evidenced by the huge quantity of stock in ' the fields, and he questioned whether there was not a disposition to overstock. Mr lillico: The fact is that in some ■ places it is pimply impossible- to eat down • the feed, no matter how many sheep are put • in, they don't keep down the grass, but only trample and dirty it. I " One thing." said Mr Fletcher, " that | struck me at the Wallacetown Eale was the j absence of black-faced sheep." j "Oh," replied Mr Lillico. "you grow { ; sheep at Home almost exclusively for mnt- ; ton. We grow as much for wool, and blackfaeed sheep are- objected to" In answer to a question, Mr Fletcher said that the most correct meat quotations cabled to the colony from London ar& those of the Frozen Meat Trade Association. They are not top quotations, but just fair average q\ictatiouß for lines. Questioned as to the best breed of sheep for freezing,- Mr Fletcher said : '* Of course, I don't know enough of New Zealand farming to advocate any particular breed as the best all-round aheep, but Down breeds brought top prices on the London market." Mr Lfltico: "The reason why farmers her© prefer the Leicester is that it is a bettor general-purpose sheep, and will fatten just as quickly as the Downs." i On the question of shipping ewe mutton, I Mr Fletcher thought the freezing of old : ewes was a very risky speculation. i " 1 have." said he. frequently been at market«, both at Home and in Victoria, where the yarding would total 20.000 to 25,000 sheep, but never before have I seen ! — as I saw the other day on the Winton road — a draft of 3000 sheep all one age, one breed, and belonging to the saino man, and these, T understand, were only part of a mob of 8500." ! While at Wallacetown Mr Fletcher was j ! struck by the quality of the cattle there. I mostly shorthorns and Hereford crosses, and after seeing these ho is more than ever ' convinced that New Zealand beef will continue to command good prices at Home. The price may not continue at the present hiel> rates, which are largely due to the decreased export from Queensland in consequence of drought, but there will always be a market for it. As a matter of fact, the operations of the American Chilled Beef Trust, which were ab on© time expected to prejudicially affect the New Zealand beef trade, have so far had the opposite effect, as the combine by raising prices has forced retailers to fall back on the New Zealand article at the lower rate. In answer to a question regarding the progress of New Zealand mutton in Scotland, Mr Flftch«*r said that the field is pretty well occupied by the Plate companies. but in Edinburgh and Glasgow New Zealand meat is sold. Throughout England and Wales the facilities for distribution are very extensive, Messrs Fletcher alone having close on 200 shops, and it may be said broadly that thpre is scarcely a town of 2000 in Enaland where the meat is not on sale. With regard to the oft-repeated assertion that large quantities of Now Zealand meat ar& sold as "Fr>s r H~*« in^ Scotch mutton at Home price 3, Mr Fletcher do"? SOj think tfe£ juratieo is at all aauual: i

Mr Fletcher gees to the Lakes in a few days, and thereafter will proceed northwards and visit the chief centres. His stay in New Zealand will probably extend over . two months.