STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 7

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Dsoteb.

Weakly Stock Salsa; Burnaide, Wednesdays Ashburton, Tuesdays Addington, Wednesdays Waiareka Railway Junction, Tuesdays Fortnightly; Bulclutha, Fridays Gore, Tuesdays Oamaru, Tuesdays InvercargiL, Tuesdays

f Monthly: . Ngapara, first Thursday in each month Glenavy, second Wednesday in each month Ductroon, second Friday in each month Clinton, Palmerston, Win ton, and Waikouaiti. Periodically: Heriot, Kelso, Kyeburn

At Addington last week tho lamb marikofc was brisker, and .competition auiong export buyers ran prices up, 12s to ■ X2s 6d being' paid for export lambs. I do not think it would be wise to •calculate upon this as export value, as this market "was excited, and by .a new speculator. Export buyers also took prime, moderate-weight wethers at up to 14s, but let heavy sheep and owes alone. At Burnside sheep wore up and lambs were down, but there was no export buying, and tho butchers’ purchases of previous, week’s lambs were not exhausted. Mata ura Freezing Works ar© open this week, and Burnside opens on February 2. I believe that 10s to ICs 6-d -on farm has been offered for prime lam be. This means Is more or so at the w onks, and I think this ; will bo about the value. Buying for export in other districts indicates that lightweight’ lambs and medium-weight wethers : will be most saleable, and heavies kes eo. For instance, the export buyers in Auckland have been operating for some time now, and the prices paid for lambs at the works are as follows: —Under 55fb, 3Jcl par lb; 56!b to 421 b, 3d; over 421 b, 2jd. Tho prices being paid on truck in tho Wmrarapa district arc:—Wethers, 60ib to 6'db, 12s ; , lambs, shorn, 8s; lambs, iiv wool, 10s. The latest cables, from London indicate that already, and without any of tho New Zealand new season’s supplies on hand, the lamb market is weakening through heavy supplies from Australia and Argentine. I do not expect to see any continuous brisk buying, but export buyers will probably pay good prices now for light-weight lambs ' and moderate-weight wethers, as they know this class of meat will be in. short supply later, whilst the heavier sorts will ba in abundant supply. Farmers should sell ' drafts of their lambs now ready as soon : as possible. The rios in price of wool is very satisfactory, and will discount to' some extent ; the lower prions we may expect for our ■ .sheep and lambs for export. Everything points to the wool prices being fully main- j tamed, and a very good sale is expected at tho Dunedin sale this week. "Wool is i said to have arrived in much better condi- ; tion than usual. Mr A. S. Paterson is, I bear, to represent the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce at the. | conference re the frozen meat trade in i Christchurch. A clear-headed, experienced I business man is Mr A. S. Paterson, and ; if he has anything particular to say on the , subject it will be worth consideration; but : even with equally good men from other parts, I do not see how great practical good can be done if, as I understand, the j leading freezing companies are to take no j part in this conference. The. fact is we | ■have to go very far back to get at what is j necessary for reform. Originally the frozen ; meat companies were formed by sheepholders and farmers, and their business waste freeze the meat only for the owners or the stock sent in. But very soon the far- ; mere and sheep-owners sold their shares, | and nearly till the freezing companies j started buying sheep and selling meat, and j the freezing works were mostly run in the j interests of the dividend-hunter and, of 1 course, the speculator. Now the whole basi- ■ ness is a regular hotch-potch. The farmer : and sheep-owiley, except in a very few cases, has no interest in the freezing works. Tho frozen meat companies do nearly all the baying of sheep and lafnbs in the Dominion, .and if they bought it all it would he bettor, but unfortunately this is not the case. The consignment houses hold large lots, and they are a numerous lot. The freezing .companies can control only what they buy, pud each consignment house do as they like with their consignments. The freezing companies’ only control is that the}’ - unitedly are the sole contractors with ; the shipping companies. But this does nob I mean much, as some of the large consign- ■ merit houses control the shipping com- I panics, and I hardly think the freezing companies could quite control shipments even if they wanted to, as the largo con- ; signment houses would have tho last say in ‘ the matter of shipments, and would do a's ■ suited their particular interests. Altogether the proposed conference has a hard row to hoe, but I wish them success, and I do hope that they will not confine their deliberations to the .control of shipments, but will pay some attention to the proper distribution of New Zealand' frozen meat as New Zealand frozen meat and nothing else, and the securing of another few million fox our meat. For neither tho

Smith&eld salesman nor the British butcher will ever do this for us. j The Kaipara took 18,697 boxes of Auckland butter and 13,880 crates of cheese, the latter including some 7600 from Duncdin and Bluff (5800 from Bluff). The Tongoriro took 36,207 boxes of butter and 10,110 crates of cheese. These two steamers together took the last regular fortnightly shipment from the Dominion, aggregating 55,104 boxes of butter ;ind 23,920 crates of cheese. The corresponding steamer last year took i 52,075 boxes of butter and 19,719 crates of j cheese —an increase of 3029 boxes of butter and 0271 crates of cheese for the fortnight. The Kaipara's stranding in Auckland Harbour is very regrettable. The butter, I believe, will be rcboxed. and' if well handled should not entail a loss of _ more than 2d pev lb, as the short, immersion in salt, water would do no great harm. Eight thousand crates of the cheese were undamaged, and 5000 were damaged by salt water, and sold to an Auckland firm ("Sohisehka and Co.") at 2£d per lb. _ I think this firm has : good spec, on ; in fact, I would lifee to -have had a share. The cheese, if dried properly and the cases dried and then recased, will not suffer much after 24- to 36 hours' immersion. As yet we do not. know which cheese suffered mest, but the Bluff, and, in fact, all the cheese, went into all the holds when being shipped. Three hatches were working. f There has been j ; little life in the chsesc market lately. Gore, Maitland, Rya! Bush, Wright's Bush, Gorge Road, Wyndham, Edendale, and Woodlands have sold all afloat and to end of May at prices ranging from 5-J.d to s£d f.o.b. Now that some of the large holders in London have an interest in. New Zealand cheese, I expect to j see the market firm up, probably to nearly 60s, and, at 60s consignors would net about sid f.o.b. It is said that a largo quantity of New Zealand South Island cheese has been sold forward at 555. >