STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2707, 31 January 1906, Page 6

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Bt Dbotbs.

Weekly Stock Sales : Fonrighthj : Buraaide, Wednesdays Inverc*rgM, Tuesdays A ahburton, Tuesdays Monthly: - AddinctoD,Wedneadaya Clintop , p a i mer sto D . Fortnightly: SViatop, and WaiBalclutha, Fridays kouaiti. Gore, Tuesdays Periodically Oamaru, Tuesdays Heriot, Kelsc, and Kyeburs. The cattle market at Burnside last week was dull, and the bulk of the yarding were '< inferior to medium. The only brisk bidding was for the few prime pens. Best bullocks brought £10 to nearly £11; good, £9 to £9 10s; medium. £6 10s to £7; g-ood cows and heifers, £7 to £8; inferior to medium, £4 to £6. Nearly 1200 sheep were yarded ' at Burnside, the bulk being only .medium. \ The few prime wethers sold at from 18s to ■ 21s; medium, 14s to 17s; ewes, 15s to 18s for good and 13s 6d to 15s 6d for medium. The sale was a dull one, and only butchers were buying. The Burnside Freezing Works may open about the middle of February if sufficient ] inducement offers. The trouble I see ahead ! lies in the fact that most of our sheep are : of the heavy sort, and London buyers are > by no means in love with this class of mutton. Prime 501b to 601b carcases are what is needed, and I am afraid cur breeding in New Zealand has not tended to produce the prime lig-hi carcase required. Heaviness of carcase is more pronounced than ever. Whether called "prime Canterbury 1 ' or not. heavy matron won't go down with buyers for export, and consequently it may go down in price. Only 75 lambs were yarded, and with such' a small yarding it is not surprising that they sold at from 16s to 17s 6d, or 'about 3s" 6d over top export value. | The yarding at Addington last week was*" 737 cattle, 9379 sheep and lambs, and 313 pigs. Prime beef sold at about. £1 per head lower than at Burnside, or 21s to 23s per hundred ; medium, 16s to 18s. Store cattle, including lines from the Kaikouras, sold as follows", and the sale was dull and drao-cring. The three and four-year-old Kaikoura steers were in good forward condition: — Fifteen to eighteen months cattle, 39s to 495 ; two-year-old steers, £2 18s to £3; three-year-old steers, £4 2s 6cl to £5; do heifers, £4 5s to £5 ss. Kaikoura consignment : Three-year-old steers, £3 17s 6d to £5 12s 6d ; 43 three and four-year-old steers, £6 12s. The entry of fat sheep at Addington consisted very largely of old ewes. The sale opened dull, but butcher*' competition improved it a little, though when their requirements were filled the prices dropped about Is 6d per head, and there were large withdrawals— exporters Ftanding off, there being nothing much suitable for them. A few p'-ime wethers brought 18s to 20s ; medium to good. 16s to 17s 9d ; heavy ewes, 16s to 18s; good. 16s to 17s 6d ; medium, 13-? to 14s 6d; old ewes. 10s to 12s. About 2500 lambs were yarded. Quality was not up to the usual standard. 'Exporters were by no means keen, and butchers have the credit of pi-eventing- prices going consider--.•,blv lower. About three-fourths of the yarding went to exporters, and the balance to butchers. Prices ranged from 12s 3d to 15s— 12s 6d to 13s 6d beinsj about the exporters' limit. Of store sheep and lambs upwards of 3000 were entered, the majority being lambs.* There was a good demand for lambs for rape, and prices were firm. Well-conditioned wethers also sold well, but there was little demand for ewes, most of which were passed. The principal sales were:— Wethers -207 four-tooth at 15s lid. J 7l two-tooth at 15s 4d. 305 two and fourtooth afl4s; ewes- 236 two-tooth at 17b 6d. 91 a°:cd at 7s 4d. 107 aged at 7s 9d ; lambs - 60 at 12s 6d. 40 at 12s 6d, 139 at 11s lid. 254 at Us Bd. 43 at 11s. 114 at 10s s<l, 62 at 9-, Bd, 570 at 7s to 9s Bd, 80 at 8s 7d. On such prices buyers will do little more out of their purchase^ than hsne their rape eaten. A reasonable profit is very problematical on store lambs at 12s 6il, e\on ft forward. Buyers are clamouring for 351b to 401b carcases, and I don't think the prospects for teg mutton later on are any too bright. The following are the shipments of mutton and lamb from Australia and New Zealand in December : - Mutton Lamb circasca. carcases. X.S.W 95,445 G1,303 Victoria .. .. 6,421 114 503 Queensland 181 64S South Australia nil 57.834 102,0 il 234 2£S New Zea'and .. 20,503 4,004 New Zealand, it will be observed, cuts bin a poor figure as yet. January shipments will be respectable, but \ cry much less than those of the previous year. From Australia during the six months July to December, 1905. 319.000 carcases of mutton were, shipped, against 63,000 for the similar term of 1904 — an increase of- 256.000 carcases. With beef the totals are 117.000 quarters to December. 1905. and 86,500 to December. 1904 an increase of 30,000 quarters; — while the trade in frozen lambs, which has always been small, has lost ground to the extent of 5000 carcases, the lifrures being 16,000 carcase* to December 1905, and 21,000 to December. 1904. Argentina supplies South Africa very largely with both mutton and lamb. For the year ending December 31, 1905, the shipments from Argentina to South Africa were 238,086 carcases of mutton and lamb and 287,590 quarters of beef. Argentina also supplied to South Africa during 1905 2249 tons of butter. Australia. al«o at times senJi. a considerable quantity of butter tc> South Africa, but the tride is tampered by the Argentine competition, and Argentine being within 11 days' sail of ihe Cape has an .ni-n:ci-se advantage. I regret to say that in view of this I do not see much prospect, of a payable trade to South Africa from ; New Zealand. Some years ago, had ivo j established a. direct serrioe (not via A.ua- ' tralian ports), we might Wjnre established a trade, bur we missed our opportunity. However. South Africa's possible trade is at best very small in comparison witli oi.r trade with the Unik'd Kingdom, and tni-> is what we must further cultivate and in' prove. The Oiago A. and P. Society have aent

out their schedule of prizes for dairy pro- 1 duce for the winter show, which I hope will result in larger entries. In the class for white cheese I notice that the competition is limited to one entry from each eihibitor. -and I hope that next year duplicate entries will be disallowed in all classes. I am quite certain that all judges will agree with me on this point. It is absurd asking any judge to discriminate between oue or more -entrke, exactly the same, pro- , bably made in the s-vme vat and on the some day.* I feel confident if the one entry only in each class system were adopted the entries would in the future be larger, and the competition more extended. This has been clearly demonstrated at the Pal-n-.trston North winter show, where the rule is one class one entry from each exhibttor. Many of the younger makers are deterred from entering, knowing that five or six of the older and more experienced makers can, with two or moie entries, reduce their chance of obtaining any prize to a minimum. I don't think they are right always in this. Last season the favourites did not win. and on many an occasion we have Lad those thought to be outsiders coming in first. Particularly was this the case with tho £40 grading competition last year, and. I hope that every factory will show in this ' class. The entry is only s'. At the Bluff , for some time past all factories have gone ' first grade, and, so far as I can see. any factory has yet quite a fair ohancc of winning a prise, as the competition extends to the end of March output, and there is great improvement 'n many factories. I piedict a very close- finish, and the winners j will win by fractions of points from a largo i number of clcse competitor. j The following is Messrs TrengTove's latest I circular. Cable advices show that butter has fal'.an in price, but the price is> still ?:c-od. Wo reckon on a fail ;n; n prices now, | i but I think it will bt? gradual. Ohoes? j : keeps at a good figure. Cable advices I fiom London lately show that the Isla". 1 j ft.otory pot 62s for the Paparoa nhipmonr, ; wl ich will net them fully 5Jd at the fnc- ' . tory. The Gothic shipment will probably , bring 635. MesT« Tr-engrou.=p report under j date Drcc-mber 21, as follows: — I —Butter Market.— Last week's advance has been well maintained all the week, and nearly all the available supply has been absorbed. There is a •weakness in the market for imsalted. We quote : 3\'ew Zealands, salted .. .. 118/Victorian 112/-. 116/New South "Wales 112/-, 114/Queensland 110/-, 112/Siberian 100/-, 108/Danish (officially unchanged) .. 118/-, 122/Argentme 112/-, 114/American Cieameries .. .. 102/-, 104/Our old friend, Mr H C. Cameron, has been trotting round the country expatial ing on ins happy conditions prevaibng in Ihis "Seddon's Own Country." He has j 128 limelight view-s with him and lectures describing them all. The following, freni ' an educational paper, reforJ? a lecture l.c ! ga^e on the 14th December. He doe;, all I thin in addition to his duties as Produce j Commissioner: — — New Zealand ns a Field for the Settler.— I Before an appreciative axidiencp, which | ciowded the Queen's Hall to its utmost capacity. Mr H. C Cameron, Produce i Commissioner for the New Zea'and Go- \ eminent, delivered an illustrated lecture on "New Zealand as a Field tor the Sutler and Tourist." The lecturer lemarked en the progx-cssive spirit throughout the colony, many social problems, as yet only spoken of in this coun- • try, havo ben tried and solved there. Old-age Tensions are in force, womo/i | have the franchise ; (here is no plurality ' of voting; all elections are conducted on the same day; 'ocal option exi.-ts ; -all labou'- disputes are settled by arbitration; servants' registry orfires bave to be licensed ; weekly half-holiday in «hons compulsory : compulsory acquirement of large estates f or settlement, and a larafe rumb^r of otlitrs.' Doalmg v ith oxpoils, he said thf> frozen meat in 1903 lepre-t.-ntcd £3,197,043; wcol in 1901 £4.673.326 ; dairy piotiuce in 1901 £1.878,500; eroWl in 1903, £2.037.831. "■ he census for 1903 represented 887.940. and the credit at savngs banks £7,388 682.