STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2529, 3 September 1902, Page 8

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Dbotsx.

Weekly Sttek Sales: Fortnightly I .» -j „, , , Invercargill, Tuesday! Burnside, Wednesdays Aihburton, Tuesdays Monthly: Addiagton, Wednesdays Clinton, Palmerston Wintop, and WaiFcrtniahtly: kouaiti Eilolutha. Fridays Periodically: Gore, Tuesdays Heriot.Kelso, and KyeOstHuru, Tuesdays bura.

About 170 head of cattle were yarded last week at Burnside, and prices for all prime bullocks, of which but few were to hand, were good — £11 to £12, or equal to 28s per 1001b. Medium bullocks brought £9 to £9 10s, cows £7 to £8. A large portion of the yarding consisted of more or less unfinished cattle, and these vrere taken mainly by Taieri graziers at fair prices.

About 2+oo sheep were yarded, and the demand was good, more especially for prime heavy sheep, which brought from 193 up to 235 ; prime wethers, moderate weights, 16s to 17s 6d ; beat ewes, 15s to 17s. Medium sheep, both ewes and wethers, were not in 6u oh good demaud, but prices must ba considered satisfactory at _13s to 14s. Good heavy tegs brought 11s to 14s 6d.

In Canterbury the cattle market is about on a par with Burnside. The yarding of fat sheep at Addington last week was about 7000 — a very mixed lot, and but few prime wethers among them. The sale was by no means so brisk as in previous weeks. Buyers, mostly having large shipments on the way to Sydney, with heavier shipments bought to follow, were by no means so keen to buy a» previously. Prime, heavy wethers brought 21s to 235, with 29s for some extra prime ; ordinary prime freezers, 16s to 19s 6d ; prime heavy ewes, 17s to 20s; good, 15s lo 16s. Prime merino wethers were in good supply, and brought 17s to over 20s. AH classes of medium and inferior sheep were duller, the main demand being for prime heavy and well-finished sheen. Some really good spring lambs brought 14e to 17s — a fancy price, of course.

The Australasian Pastoralists' Review of August 15 has the following: — "The outlook for supplies of stock was never known to be worse than at the present moment. The condition of stock and the etate of the country is such that, unless there are heavy spring rains, there will be virtually neither sheep nor cattle for export, and the English prices now ruling for stock for domestic consumption will be higher before the end of next summer. This state of affairs does not exist in one particular part of the continent, but over the whole. of the pastoral districts of Australia, and although things may be better in some parts of Victoria than elsewhere, the area affected is so small as to have very little effect on the supplies as a whole. Ha the southern States> South Australia, Victoria, Riverina, and in th© eastern" districts of New South Wales, there will be very few lambs this season — as whatever rains may come now will do very little good so far as they are concerned — but in regard to fat sheep in the southern States amd in New South Wale 3, and cattle in Queensland, fine spring rain would make all the difference in "the world, and change a scarcity into what could yet be very fair Fupplies. Such is the nature of this country that it is always holering between a feast and a famine, aaid while things look black enough now, they would assume quite a different aspect with decent rains."

Since then we know that there have been good rains on the coastal districts of New South Wales, and to some extent inland. As yet the far-out drought-stricken area does not appear to have received a share of this blessing. Had this rain came a month ago it would have been a far greater boon. Still, it must do a great deal of good, and will certainly have the effect of shortening the time during which we in New Zealand will be called upon for supplies of meat and dairy produce. With regard to dairy produce the effect ha« been, I may pay, instantaneous. A week ago Sydney merchants were buyers of September butter early shipments, and even all September, at Is 2d to Is sd. and many sales were made. During last week cables were received an all hands asking sellers to cancel contracts. Butter in Sydney fell 3d per 1b last week. 1 am of opinion that there ia something of a "panicky" natuie about this sharp fall, as the rains that have fallen cannot have the effect of procuring butter all at once. Still, I am inclined to look upon Australia as nearly closed to us for butter export for the next few months. After that we shall probably be able to do something again, but not by any means at tho high prices that have prevailed. With their protective duty of 3d, too, they will surely make enough cheese to supply themselves at, say, 7d per Ib. Thia would leave 4d as the export price for New Zealand cheese, and we can do better than that by exporting to London. We must, therefore, I think, look to London as our market for five montliß or so to come, and peihaps longer.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether this vain doc-b the permanent good hoped for. A few hot, scorching days would destroy much of tho young grass. However, I am inclined to believe that the rain has saved their dairy industry to a certain extent. I do not think that Australia can in any event do much in the way of exporting butter, and for this reason I am still or opinion that the outlook for butter for London is particularly good. In cheese Australia has none for export, and the position of the London market depends on the Canadian output mainly. This output is good for about 4000 tons weekly in July, or equal to Xew Zealand's total export for the season Price 3 lun about 2s better than this time last year, but the larger supplies have yet to come fiom Canada and several other countiies. The market is not brisk, but beems steady.

Several largo lots of live thpep and frozen mutton go weekly to Syunev, irud as ye( t'uo demand is not fully supplied. E\en with the rain that -has falltn the situation there is not altered, but I thioik that wit'.nn »iv weeks or two moi'.ths the demand for meat fiom New Zealand must < ea"o. although f believe there are many who do not .share this opinion, but consider tl-at eupphes wU ho wanted for a ninth longer period. The Njirn«hire, «-aiiing about the middle of thi.i month from the Bluff. Port Chalmers, and L> Helton, will take ab^ut 15, C00 raioa»e.j frozen mutton, 2500 quarteis beef. 25C0 lr.e sheep, and 3l>out 100 h°ad cattle .m addition to co- c'orable quantities of potato -, gram, and fodder, About 250 tout turnips are u<jw

on the water for Sydney, and as £2 4s 6d per ton has to be paid in -duty on these one has some idea of what it must cost to keep stock alive in some parts there. These turnips and mangolds will cost, landed in Sydney, something like £5 per ton. The demand for potatoes is likely to continue for some time, as the crops of early potatoes in Australia are generally a failure. It seems to me that potatoes will, for a month or so, sell well. The supply in New Zealand i 3 now known to be much less than was anticipated. Fodder lines of all sorts have been going to New Plymouth and Auckland, where, I think, the spring and winter have not been so good as that we in the south have enjoyed.

The grain market is brisk, and evidently j prices will remain at a high level for the remainder of the season, and usitil harvest. I anticipate fair prices to rule for grain for the coming season's crops, as the Australian harvest must now be, even despite good rains, more or less a failure» j If we had a South African service we ! could undoubtedly do well, and secure the market for ourselves in dairy produce, grain, and many other produce lines; but we have not got a service, and seems to me we will not have one in time to take advantage of the splondid, position' we are temporarily placed in to secure this trade.. Even now negotiations are pending by which all- these lines will go from New Zealand through" Australian merchants' hands, said so preserve to them their trade until Nature allows them to supply with, their own produce. The bungling by the Government over this South African service would, under a really healthy state of public opinion, have wrecked any -government ; but "I am afraid it will have no effect in that way, as producers here do not seem to have beem able | to grasp the importance of securing this ' trade. The delay has been so long as to , make it doubly difficult to arouse producers, j or the Government either, to the increased effort now needed. ,

The following comparison will, I think, interest farmers gcnorally: —