STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2520, 2 July 1902, Page 8

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

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Weekly Stick SmUs: Forlnigldty: «r , InvercargiH, Tuesday! Burnside. Wedneadaya u«»thi»Aahbnrton, Tuesday! Monthly. A4dinct»n,Wedne*dayr Clinton, Falmer»ton Wlnton, and WaiFcrtniohtly: kouaiti Bdclutha. Fridiyt '<^ cf t'ttl%; v „ Gore, Tuesd»ys Henot.Kelso, and Kyeo»m«ru, Tuesdays bur». The yarding of fat cattle, about 100, was moderate, and prices for prime beef were well maintained, at Burnside last veek. There were no very heavy bullocks. Prices for best bullocks _ran from £10 to nearly £12, medium size £9 to £9 10s, lighter bullocks and good cows and heifers £7 to £8. Inferior, of which there tvtre a good many, brought £5 to £6. Mr John Roberts, in his speech st the Agricultural Conference, spoke of .he success of the beef export trade, and said that it had raised the price of beef in the North Island. That is so, and but for this we should have had cattle' coming to Burnside from the north. There is no doubt that the export of beef has also improved the price of beef in Otago and Southland, and has made the raising and fattening of cattle a permanent and valuable adjunct to our graziers' busre^.T. I look upon it of as much valueto Otago and Southland as to any part of New Zealand. With our abundant feed in summer and our good crops of turnips and mangels, this branch of farming is one that should largely increase. Prices in London remain good. In beef, Otago and Southland can excel and take first rank.

About 1700 sheep were yarded, fully half of which were ewes. The market was dull, and prices lower than those of the previous week by nearly Is per head. Some prime heavy wethers brought 15s 6d to 17e, but 14s to 15s was about the average for good freezers. Ewes ranged from 8s to 12s, according to quality. Prices were on a par with those of Addington.

At Addington, although the yardings were small, the market was dull. The bulk of the fat sheep were ewes, and these were taken at up to 15s for maiden ewes, and about 93 6d for the rest fit for freezing. Six hundred good four-tooth freezers sold at 15s to 16s : freezing lambs at 10s 6d to 12s. The demand was weak all round. In store sheep the market was weak also, backward wethers selling at 8s to 8s 6d, store lambs 63 to 7s 6(1 ; store ewes failed to find buyers.

This year, as in past years, prices of store sheep nave been run too high. As Mr Roberts pointed out at the conference, the price of fate is not low, but relatively to that paid for stores, it is very low. Year after year the same thing occurs : a lot of dealers, backed by some- agents, run the prices of stores ridiculously high. If farmers will just hold off buying when this occurs, this difficulty will be got over, as many of these dealers are not able to hold their purchases for any length of time.

The week past has beeu a most interesting one to farmers. The Winter show was a decided success, and the Otago A* and P. Society, with their secretary, Mr Fulton, in his first year of office, are to be heartily congratulated. lam quite certain that their continued success will not lead the society to relax their efforts, and next year I look forward to greater effort? on their part to improve and maintain tho honourable name this show has made for itself all over the colony. This year the agricultural societies' conference has added interest to the week's operations, and to tho show also. The society next year should arrange again for an interesting conference, say by the united Farmers' Unions, if not of all New Zealand, then of Otaeo and Southland at least, and I hope Canterbury also. This meeting together of farmers is a thing much to be encouraged, ond the time of year of this Winter show is perhaps tho most mutable of all to farmers" for the purpose. The subjects dealt with at this confererce wore numerous, as the following list will show, and the addresses, botii of the retiring and new chairman, were able and interesting. Railway facilities, more rolling stork, rate= on etud stock, weisthinsr trucks, carriage of drain pines, were questions all dealt with ably, and th<* demands made wore moderate, most sneakers dc^fflmi; anvthine hVe unj due greediness on the part nf farmer*. T'>e

f Railway department had met tbe^ demands of the previous conference in a fairly satisfactory manner, and there seems little doubt that our progressive Minister of Railways i will give full consideration to the requests made so far as he can. Sir Studholme I moved that fanners be encouraged to erect i private grain sheds at country railway stations. This suggestion was, approved, and the idea is interesting and worthy of consideration. Then the subject of better payment of veterinary surgeons was considered.

Then unsound bulls, army remounts, rabbits, sheep tax, trotting at auction sales, noxious weeds, Stud Bill and registration of stallions, small birds nuisance, testing milk, South African trade, technical education in agricultural knowledge, agricultural college for veterinary students, etc., were dealt with.-

The question of an agricultural paper was eet down for discussion, but was withdrawn by the mover. We are r.ot badly off in this respect when papers like the Witness and its -weekly contemporaries in the different centres are obtainable over the whole colony. I am quite sure the editor of the Witnera is always ready to improve the value of his paper to the great number of farmers who read it. They have but to suggest any improvement^likely to benefit them, and they will be met as far as possible. I see nothing in any of the newer journals that makes them in any way 'superior to the Otago Witness, and I ccc them all often. But farmers can help the Witness much by keeping it advised of their ideas on any agricultural or cognate subjects.

The next subject dealt with was the Stud Book. It was decided to admit inbred halfbred sheep to the Flock Book under the name of "Corriedale." The motion that th© A. and P. Conference and the Colonial Farmers' Union should meet together in conference was lost — the reason being, I believe, that the A. and P. members dread the importation of "party" politics into the discussion. The Farmers' Union should be careful on this matter, and then I see no difficulty in the way of a conference ar suggested. But there are just a few leading spirits in the Farmers' Union who need to be cheoked in this direction if the union is to be powerful for good, as it should be.

The question of appointing judges for all shows, North and South Island, was then discus&ed : then the uniform colour of prize tickets at shows; then the question of amalgamating many country shows ; that stock inspectors should pass an examination in the diseases of domestic animals, and that the Government try to get the Commonwealth to reduce their tariff on agricultural produce. This I look upon as hopeless meantime, as to Australian farmers this protection was all — absolutely all — that federation meant, and they will not allow any reduction. The question of an up-to-date agricultural museum was advocated. The sale of Nevy Zealand wines, the judging of stock by points, the publication by Government of the results of seed and manuro testing, and the diseases of sheep (particularly in relation to ergot) were discussed. The Secretary for Agriculture, Mr Gilruth, Mr Kinsella, and* Air Kirk took a leading part in the discussions, and the full reports will be looked forward to with interest. It is to be hoped that we shall not have to wait till the always valuable but always

uch-belated Agricultural Report appears, >navy months hence, for these. Meantime the reports of these discussions are given in the Witness, and should form food for thought and discussion by farmers, both at the fireside and at their farmers' conferences, for many months to come-. I ehall endeavour to say my little say on some of them coon. It is impossible to deal with such large and interesting subjects exc^rby degrees.

The South African service is still in the dim and distant future, and we must just wait on what the Daily Times appropriately calls "the development of the negotiations with the 'nebulous' Blue Star Line." I am of opinion that no servioe will be satisfactory in the long run until we induce one of our New Zealand lines to run Home regularly by the Cape of Good Hope. The only difficulty in this is probably the agreement between our lines and the regular Cape services. This should b& got over, and the line well subsidised as a mail and cargo route.

The National Dairy Association met and also had an interesting conference later, at which Mr Kinsella read an interesting paper. The association unanimously approved the report and balance sheet, and confirmed the action of the executive in fiarnett, of the Central Factory, Ohristbigning the new shipping contract. Mr J. church, was elected to the executive, as was also Mr W. J. Bolt, of the Taieri and Peninsula Company. Messrs Tothill, Watson, and Co. WTote % letter in which they objected to Mr J. R. Scott being secretary, but the lettM was merely received aoid a resolution passed unanimously expressing full confidence in the secretary's past conduct. Tho new executive afterwards met and confirmed Mr J. R. Scott in the position ho has so long held as secretary.