STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2715, 28 March 1906, Page 6

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Bx Dhotkk.

31d. And even with these low rates thedemand was slow, and stocks were accumulating, River Plate shipments being heavy. It will be seen from the following that already New Zealand heavy lambs are being used as mutton: —

Lambs. — Arrivals during the fortnight amount to 2993 carcases from New Zealand, 114,356 carcases from Australia, and 4813 from River Plate. A good many old season's New Zealand lambs are still being offered, and as these show signs of ong storage, hoders have found them very difficult to realise even at low prices. The few new season's New Zealand laruba now being offered are coming to hand of better quality than the earlier arrivals, and are making relatively "fancy" prices. "Wi+h regard to th« Australian lamb trade, a falling market has been experienced owing to the endeavours of several importers to force sales somewhat. There is, hpwerer, at the close a slight lecovery, partly influenced by the rise in beef values. The heavier weights have realised prices equal in many instances to the lighter weights, this being the result of the scarcity of really good light weight New Zealand sheep. Best quality Australian lambs may be quoted at 3|d to 4d ; secondary, 3Jd to 3gd; River Plate, 3gd to 3id; old seasoH's New Zealand, 4d to 4Jd for light 3£d to 44 for tegs. The few new season's on offer are realising at about sid to 51d. It is, I think, abundantly evident that if our name ior prime mutton is to be main-, tamed breeding and management must be altered in New Zealand: in fact, we must begin again on a sound basis, and the matter for consideration by cheep farmers is as seriou? as it is difficult. It won tgo to blunder along as we have been doing. According to lateet Government stock returns the number of dairy cattle this season i* 4-98,937, as against 479,670 in 1905, an increase of 19,267, or equivalent to four per cent. lam inclined to think that a very large number of cows are not included in the return. Southland shows the largest increase— viz., 16 per cent., and the increase of production is fully in proportion. Taking this return as correct, it clearly shows that our production bas

Weekly Stock Sales : Fortn-ahthj : Burnaide, Wednesdays luvcrcargi 1, Tuesdays Ashburton, Tuesdays Monthly: Aldington, Wednesdays ciiDton, Palmerf>ron Fortnightly: Winton, and WaiBalclutba, Fridays kk D U *"i'- ;; Gore. Tuesday. „ periodically : Oamaru, Tuesdays Heriot, Kelsc, aud Kyebura.

Aboufc 170 head of cattle were yarded at Burnside last week, very little prime beef being among the lot. The market was dull from over-supply, and prices were down fully 15s pa 1 - head on medium to good beasts. The best of the yarding of bullocks so* I at up to £8 15s ; medium to good, £7 to £8 ; light, £5 ; good cows and heifers, about £6 ; medium, £5 ; light, £2 to £3.

Nearly 1200 fat sheep were yarded, oonsieting mainly af medium to good wethers. Prices were maintained at the previous week's rates, the supply being moderate. Butchers were the buyers. Some heavy vethers brought 22s to 235. good wethers, 18e to 19s ; medium, 16s to 17s ; light, 14s; best ewes, 15s to 17s; medium, about 12s; old, 10s to 11s. Nearly 600 iambs were yarded. A few heavy prime sold at 16s; prime, 14s to 15s; medium, 11s to 12s; store lambs, 8s to 10s.

At Addington last week the yarding of fat sheep was small, and butchers competed briskly, prices being well maintained at rates beyond export value. Prime wethers, 18s to 235; good, 16s to 18s; prime ewes, 16s 'to 18s; medium; 14s to 16s; old, 10s to 12s 6d. Nearly 6000 lambs were yarded, and prices show a decline on those of the previous week. Exporters paid 14s 6d to 16« 3d for primest, and 13s to 14s for lighter prime sorts. Up to 12s 6d was paid by graziers for unfinished sorts, — to eat their grass down, I suppose, for there seems not much more in prospective profit.

About 20,000 store sheep and lambs were yarded, and buyers were present in large numbers. Lambs sold well, as did also breeding ewes, but wethers were not in good demand. The sales, from a seller's point of view, were, I think, distinctly satisfactory. The range of prices was: — Two-tooth ewes, 16s to 21s 3d ; four to eight-tooth, 14s 6d to 21s Id ; full-mouth, 13s to 17s; ag«d, 7s to 13s 8d ; two-tooth wethera, 12s 6d to 16s 4d; four-tooth, 14s to 16s ; ewe lambs, 15s ; forward mixed lines, 10s 6d to 12s 9d ; others, 8a 4d to IDs 3d.

Latest reports from London, under date February 10, indicate a dull meal market, but with hopes of some improvement, as beef shows a tendency to rise in price from its very low level. The mam feature is the cheapness of Australian lambs. and the scarcity of "prime" mution aa distinguished from coarse heavy, winch is very plentiful. A great many of New Zealand's customers are now buying heavy Australian lambs as mutton, and this will probably be the fate of our heavy lambs also. Buyers are more or less independent now of New Zealand mutton. They can jet ac eood heavy sheep from River Plate at 2|d to 3d per lb. Light River Plate carcases bring 3£d, and light New Zealand under 641b '';d; 641b to 721b, 3?d ; North Island Vavy, 3?d : light, 3ad. Heavy Austr&Ufm mutton bungs 2£d to 2|d; light,

f not increased, but rather decreased, all 1 over New Zealand. The average production in 1905 was about 1251b of butter fat per cow, and it is evidently now not more than 1211b of butter fax per cow, while it should be 2501b cr at least 2001b. Again, I say, as I have often said before, what a big a*>set dairy farmers have to work out in the bringing of their herds to a more productive point, and again I say that the use of the 25s bull, as in the past, will not assist anyone. Good breeding comes first, testing and proper feeding must follow.

Mr Gwillim, the manager of Eltham, Dairy Factory, has been, home on a visit, and in this connection I made the following extract from an exchange : —

"There is an enormous auantily of faked butter on the market," says Mr Gwillim, manager of lhe Eltham Dairy Factory. "The hade consider that faked butter has come to stay, a-i it is sold at a price which suits the majority of consumers. They consider that lit hum would be done to the trade it branded and sold as an adulterated article. There is practically no -factory butter manufactured in Great Britain." If we only get the English Government to pass a law providing lor a, sentence of two years' imprisonment for selling margarine as butter, as they have commenced doing in the United States, we thiuk ihe faker and his emissaries -will i &oon get tired of the business

I agree with Mr Gwillim, who, I it ay say, has made a good name for himself since he first learned his business under Mr Scoular, at Edendale, and I may say that though Otago and Southland have not developed such a large dairy industry a 6 the North Island, we have supplied the hands and brains to make the North Island dai^y

industry a success. Fully 50 per cent, of v the managers of thr> best factories either hail from the south or were taught in the south. A South Island man finds himself among old friends at any dairy conference in the North Island, as I can testify.

Another New Zealander has returned from quite a long visit Horne — viz., Mr D. J. Nathan, of Wellington. Mr Nathan, in a recent interview, in reply to a question about "faking" butter at Home, talked like a man who knows his subject thoroughly. He said there were two processes of manipulating — butter-faking and blending. Blending was perfectly legitimate, and was the simplest and readiest means of obtaining a uniform article all i tke year round. They had im London I butter coming in from a dozen different countries at a dozen different times of the year, and, naturally, if tf hey depended on ' the article as it came there would be a considerable difference in quality, taste, and colour. This wou'.d not do— they wanted am even quality all the year round, and so they blended, and will go on blending. There was no butter sold specifically as "New Zealand butter" by retailers. It wag distinguished from Danish by being called Colonial bu* er. They could not very well advertise New Zealand butter, as they could only supply it for half the year — during the season, — so by the time the New Zealand season came round again customers would have become used to some other kind of butter. Anyhow, the whole j output from this colony was a mere bagatelle in. the Home market! Danish was always a bit ahead, because it was managed by a big combine and was produced all the Tear round and the legend " Be=t Danish '* could b-» fiequeinlv seen stuck on butter im iciail stoics New Zealand, 1 like Denmark. ioulr! pi oduco butter all the y*>ar round if ihe fanne/- adopted a time ay at em of calvn.q \\<.nit in for <-tientific , winter feeding, au-l v.oic not --o la/.v In I the Midlands ami Xoilli nf Knglnnd th-,> pepole flo not like Vow Zeal<.» A butter, but prefer the odd rlo^s. ta«te !<"-=, colour le»s product which might lie anything or nobhing. Two or three London firms could easily handle the whole of the output of New Zealand, and would readily <nter into such an agreement but for the chance that

they tnigfef? poj }c *W«' to tefl A $h> following year (owing, perhaps, to a 1-Mks pcrease being offered by another buyer in isolated oas«s) ( which, would mean a breakage in their connections elsewhere. He himself had some time ago been asked to secure 5000 tons a. year for three years at a. price quit© equal to the wveragd obtainetf this year, but be could net fix it up with the factories, and his client looted for another source of supply, There were, of course, certain districts where there was a demand for New Zealand butter by wholesalers, but the consumer never asked, nor does he know, what butter he is getting. In the handling of butter-fat the Danes ■were a. generation ahead of England) or New Zealand. Be had submitted Continental butter he knew to be adulterated to the extent of 25 per cent, to four amalysts, and they were unable to detect the adulterative substances. He- had been over the factories where the butter was so " faked," but they would not let him into "the know." In London he visited a butter-working place where he saw dirty fragments of butter leakages from casks, etc., transformed into the unimpeaceable article by a secret process. The "faker" and " blender" had come lo stay..

Mr Nathan's remarks ar« worthy of consideration. We have a long way to go to get up to Damish perfection, but we mugt struggle to get there. As both Mr Nathan and Mr Gwillim say, the "butterfaker" 5s an institution who haß come to 6tay. It is mainly for the British legislature, to deal with the evil. We in New Zealand) must help as we can. All sorts of fraud are practised, the most respectable in "appearance," but only in appearance, being the "milk-blended" butter fraud. Why milk-blended? Butter is made from cream, a constituent of milk. . The real reason is that as milk contains 87 per cent, of water it serves the purpose of adulteration as well as water, but is a more respectable form of fraud than merely using water to make 801b of butter into 1001b," and sell it 10 per cent, cheaper than genuine butter.