STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2528, 27 August 1902, Page 8

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Dbotbx.

Weekly Stick Sales: Foi Uughtly: „. , , Invercargill, Tuesday! Surnside, Wednesdayi „, Aihburton, Tuesday! Monthly : Adilnften.Wedneadayi Clinton, Palmerntnn "Wintop, and WaiFcrtniqhtly: kouaiti Balclutha, Fridays Periodically: Gore, Tuesdays Heriot.Kelso, aad KyeOamaru, Tuesdays bura.

The cattle market at Burnside was a comparatively dull one last week. The supply was small, too, being about 110 head. The quality was not there, either, the yarding consisting of second and third rate cattle. The best of the lot of bullocks brought £10 to £11 10s the balance of inferior lots selling at £7 to £8. Butchers had been buying to a considerable extent outside this 'market, and had fair supplies in hand.

The yarding of sheep was about 2400,mostly of inferior to medium quality ; l£s to 20s was paid for the few prime wethers, and 16s to 17s 6d for others not so heavy. Export buyers only operated for best, and butchers had the market to themselves for lower qualities, and bought medium wethers at 12s 6d to 14-s ; medium ewes about the same. Old ewes sold at 9s to 10s 6d. Some good tegs brought nearly 14s, and poor store lambs 7s to Bs. There has" been considerable buying of prime ewes and wethers outside the market.

The shipments to Australia from all ports continue to keep up, and price 3 or* well maintained. It is probable that this will continue for at least a month or so ; after that, price 3 may not be so good. Most, if not all, of the Australian meat works have clos-ed down for some time pa=t, and this must, one would think, eventually set free a loi of stock to supply their local wants. The ravages of the drought, however, are keenly felt, and mu6t bo bo for a considerable period. Supplies of meat for export from Australia to London and South Africa must, for a long time, even if the drought breaks up, be very small. .This srrely .should have some influence in raising New Zealand and River Plate prices, both for beef and mutton, and I think thi3 repiilt must enaue. Australia has hitherto done an immense business in tinned meat, and it is a matter for regret that in Otago and Southland at least we are by no means properly equipped with up-to-date tinned meat works at present. I have frequently urged this on farmers. There- is an opening here for their enterprise.

Large orders, too, are now coming from South Africa for bacon — orders which have to be promptly declined, as not onetwentieth could be filled, as farmers gener- j ally are so apathetic on the matter. I strongly advife every dairy factory and creamery to organise, where the conditions are suitable, a pig farm — not necessarily very near the factories but in some suitable and convenient spot. I think that ur.der proper management this would pay better than individual effort. These orders from the Cape are not for immediate supply only, but the inquiries are for thousands , of sides per week, if shipment is available for a year or more.

They' say " there's no use crying over spilt milk," and this is true; but I do feel veTy sad and disgusted over <ho awful bungle we have made in developing trado between New Zealand and South Africa. From thj latest utterances of the Acting-Premier I gather that the nebulous Blue Star line is extinct. It never came into sight at all. Now we are promised something eke. The Acting-Premier, like a conjurer before a lot of boys, Fays, "Now you shall see what you si all soo " But nothing definite has been siranged yet. and the time is going by. What a great opportunity New Zealand has "chucked" away. Here we are, with nothing done, and conditions in Australia for some time past that would have caused the whole trade to be diverted to Now Zealand,, and once here it would have remained here. What we shall probably be offered as a service to South Africa will be intermittent steamers from the Federal or other Australian lines till these steamers are able again to get then- u^ual cargoes from Australian ports. This Ls not the service needed, as I ha\e often before pointed out, and I still say that the only plan that spi'ears to me to suit is to subsid^e one of our New Zealand lines to run to England monthly, via Capetown, with a ptoie-ship waiting there to receive and distribute cargoes and prevent detention and delay. This could be do.ie at once, and I fear that any other arrangement would i ot be in working order till the conditions in Australia have so altered as to give them back the trade they had practically Fecured. I had thought that, so far as New Zealand was concerned, we were practically out of tho running for the South African trade. The prolonged drought in Australia has given us just one more chance, and if we don't take it we may say good-bye, I think, to an organised trade between New Zealand and South Africa.

The grain market is brisk, as I thought and said it would be. Very large supplies of fodder lines are going to, and are still wanted for, Australia. The Union Steam Ship Company are weekly refusing cargo, the steamers running very full. Australia has cleared us out of both butter and cheepe in the meantime*, and much more produce of this kind has gone there from New Zealand this year under their awful protective tariff than ever went under freetrado. This protection ciaze nuiit lipvp coi-l t!ir> consumers there a groat deal. Indcpcl, it surprises mo that they stand it. It. does seem bo \eiy stupid, for under normal conditions, or when they have a good rainy sca=on, they can produce butter as cheaply as we -an, and tlio protective tarifF would be about »s useless a-5 the New Zealand tariff of 2d per 1b on butter imported into New Zealand is to up This tariff, I may '•ay, is '-till a part of the New Zealand custom* duty, aud remains a useless blot oa

our legislation. The soonei we look into these matters and remove all similar duties the better, for we cannot reasonably ask or expect Australia to remove their tariff till we remove ours. We can well afford to do this on all food stuffs, as they are useless, and, as I have said, blots on ourtariff. When farmers talk about lessening the duties on many commodities, and thus reducing the cost of living, our town labourer immediately points to these aoAird and absolutely useless items on the New Zealand tariff to show how our farmers are protected, and some of them are quite ignorant enough to believe^ that they actually benefit the farmer.

Chick wheat ia being sold for Australia, nnd there seems little doubt that wheat must rise in price, and, further, fliat the prospects for the coming season are decidedly good, as the Australian wheat crop this year mu&t be more or less a failure. Oats are in good demand aleo, and prices must go higher still. Australia will need supplies for a long time to come. Export agents have been busy in butter lately. Canterbury Central sold at 10 l-8d for the season to the end of February, and I hear of l(Ud having been paid. Most North Island factories are consigning this year, and I think they are not far wong. The prospects for the London market seem to me good, for one reason at least — viz., that tho Australian output will be very small, and perhaps nothing, this' season. They may be s able to supply themselves, but I fear they can do but little in the way of export. Now, under normal conditions Australia sends to London about an equal quantity of butter to that sent from New Zealand. This supply of grassfed butter, exeej>t 'a little from River Plate, is practically the only supply of euch butter coming to London during the winter months. If such supply is shortened, as I anticipate it will be, by the absence of Australian, the effect even on the large London trade must be to raise prices. For although our oheeso export has no effect on the London markft. being some 3000 tons only, as against 85,000 from Canada alone, to fay nothing of other large supp-liers, our export of butter " is alv ays appreciably felt on the London market. So far nothing has, I fear, been done in dealing with outputs of cheese, for although a report was current that 4£d had been paid, I cannot find that this is correct. So far as I know, nothing has yet been done in selling. Many have solicited consignment*. I, however, anticipate that prices will open considerably better than last year, although the extreme rates paid for Australian trade at the end of the season cannot be maintained.