STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2949, 21 September 1910, Page 7

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Dbover.

W«*kly SUck Sal«s: Bwraside, "Wednesdays A.hburten, Tuesdays ▲Mia-ten, Wednesdays =T ■ °, -r> :i„„i W t iarC - a tw££ Ju»ctK>n, Tuesdays Fortnightly: Bulclutka, Fridays Con. Tuesdays Oamaru, Tuesdays Invarcargill. Tuesdays

Monthly: Ng&para, first Thursday in each month denary, second Wed- , nesday in each month ! Du C tioon, second Friday ; ach month Clinton, Palmerston, Win ton, and Waikouaiti. Periodically: |H*riot, Kelso, Kyebura

At both Addington and Burnside last week the yardings of fat sheep were large, and as the demand is now a purely local supply one, prices went down about Is 6d per head on the previous week, when there were smaller vardings. For the same reason the price "of cattle was slightly lower, but prime heavy bullocks were very scarce, the yardings at both markets being mostly of medium to inferior quality.

The price of beef at Addington has not as yet run so high at Burnside, a constant supply of a few bullocks from North Island tending to keep prices more moderate at Addington; but prices for all stock are still remarkably good. .

There is a good' deal of discussion just now regarding our frozen meat a 3 it is landed in London, the methods of its discharge from steamers, and the difficulties resulting through the large numfoer of marks of consignments to various parties in each steamer. Then there is also the evergreen subject of the claims, on insurance companies re damaged meat. I will first of all deal with the question of the multiplicity of the marks, which necessitates the picking out and sorting from •each steamer of the various brands. This is a great trouble, involving as it does the turning over, trampling on, and re-hand-ling again and again of many of the carcases, greativ to their detriment, as it resuits in breakage, dirtying them, and even more or loss Chawing out. This difficulty has, I think, a tendency to increase rather than decrease, and somewhat drastic measures must be taken at once by the freezing companies to put an end to it in the best interests of all concerned. I would suggest. r.hat every freezing company in New Zealand should inform shippers that they will only accept meat for freezing and shipping under certain conditions—viz., that all the meat is graded according to qualitv and weight- and marked according to its particular grade or class, and that all who send in sheep or lambs for freezing get receipts certifying to so many carcases of the various grades and classes,' and the weights of class. This means that all the meat would )>e, as it were, pooled, and each owner and consignee in London would get delivery of tlie number of carcases delivered by his buyer or consignor in New Zealand to the. freezing works. The difference in weight of the whole parrel wculd be a matter easy of adjustment, and with .grading and classing, and marking according to weight as well as quality, this would not be difficult. I am not- r>dvocating Government grading, although believing it would, under proper conditions, prove most satisfactory to shipper?. Wliafc I sugsrcrtt could quite easily and effectively be done by the companies' own graders. There; would under the system I suggest be but a very few marks to deal with in discharging, and tho money saved to all concerned would be a very large cum indeed.

Then, as to the oven greater trouble of the claims on insurance companies on damaged moat, I would strongly urge upon all insurance companies in their own interests (and. I also maintain, in the best interests of the frozen meat trade of NewZealand, the farmers, and all honest men connected with the trade either in NewZealand or in Britain) to absolutely decline to insure frozen meat otherwise, than under the usual F.P.A. policy, except, perhaps, providing for a breakdown of refrigerating machinery, a most remote contingency nowadays, when all freezing machinery on our steamers is so perfect and in many cases duplicated. There is now, if ever there was. absolutely no necessity for an "all-risks" poliey. This all-risks policv has been a fruitful cause of loss and trouble in the frozen meat trade, and has been much more abused than legitimately used. Mr Weymouth after his investigations a.i to riVnitrcd meat at the. point of discharge ays that a large portion of the damage is caused by the frequent turning over the meat is subjected to in the rihip's hold in order that the differently-marked consignments may be reached and completed. The damage falls upon the insurance comixuiies, and in many ases where

slight damage occuts it is to the con-, signees' interest, if he has purchased in New Zealand and has his meat- insured under this sort of policy, to have the damage accentuated. He also says that the system of adjusting insurance claims lends itself not only to excessive claims, but also to fraud. The insurance companies do nothing to check this evil, and it lias been to the consignees' interest to get as much as h© can- out of th© insurance companies. This is true, and this practice has developed quite on business lines. No one does so well as the traffickers in this damaged meat trade, and the so-called experts wtho assess the da-mag© make very handsome salaries—som© 6av up to £3OOO per annum. If this was th© end of th© matter the insurance companies would be file only sufferers, and I simply marvel at the way they have allowed themselves to be exploited for these many years, losing large sums of money they should not have lost. But the trouble by no means ends with this exploiting of the insurance companies. Th© real and serious trouble only begins just here. This so-called damaged meat has over and over again been used to "bear" th© market with and has often been the cau&e of the market being quite upset. This business in meat is a most important one, and these engaged in it wax fat. I hope the insurance companies will unitedly take steps to end this business by agreeing to insure only F.P.A. policies. Ther© is no more necessity now for any other poilcy for frozen meat than there is in th© case of wool, grain, or any other ordinary goods. Men of probity do not want more than an F.P.A. policy. If tho damaged meat trade is a necessity in our frozen meat trade, and if it and all its hangers-on must be supported, as in th© past, to the detriment of trade generally, I hops the insurance companies will no longer assist it to flourish, for it is a most pernicious and harmful branch o" trade. Let someone else support tham. For years our butter and cheese have been shipped under the usual F.P.A. insurance policy, : but lately tftie insurance companies', led bv Lloyds, have been issuing "all-risks" policies. I am sorry this is so. We may have the same experience in dairy produce as in frozen meat, and it will b© quite easy if necessity arises to get an expert with a sensitive nose and paJate (duly paid for) to.condemn as more or. less unsound butter or oheese, claim on the insurance companies, "bear" the market, and otherwise make money by such practices. No legitimate trader really needs for dairy produce any policy beyond an F.P.A. nolicy, which covers every' risk needed, or that an insurance company should take. As to a clause insuring against breakdown of freezing machinery, I don't object to it, but it is unnecessary, as on no occasion has freezing machinery broken down on board ship "since we established a dairy industry except from causes which the usual F.P.A. policy would cover. I have dealt with this matter not because of any particular sympathy with insurance companies who are well able (or should be) to look after themselves, but because I believe all this kind of business>, and the making of illegitimate profits, has proved, and will always prove, detrimental to any trade, ako to producers and all who are honestly interested in it.

The business of dealing with the outputs of dairy produce by the dairy factories in the North Island is now practically over. Practically no buying has been done unless, wo take the advance without recourse business as buying, which .t very often proves to be. It is a most, unsatisfactory style of business—a sort of bastard sale. There are, in my opinion, only two ways of doing business—viz., selling straight out f.o.b. or consigning on open consignment to a trustworthy .agent at such reasonable advance as may \x> decided on, and so retaining the- control of one's own goods till sold. This is not the case when an advance without recourse is accepted, the party giving the advance without recourse having then the legal right to sell the goods to profit his advance. This is very often done to the detriment of the consignor, and verv often such sales have a bad effect on the market. The output of a verv large number of factories in the North Island goes through the National Dairy Association on open consignment to their selected agents. Two firms have secured butter and cheese on the advance without recourse system—butter up to lid without recourse and cheese up to 5Jd without recourse.

I hear that some factories ■in the North Island with dual plante have been advised to make butter for the first, few months, and if they do so this will lessen our cheese export for the time beinpr. These in London who are in a nosition to judge speak of tihe future of the cheese market as decidedly good. I do not expect to see much manifestation of this for a. few months, a* prospective buyers at this time always do what is possible, to keep prices at a low level tiii the Canadian ScDtombor make is bought, and also to enable then: to buy well in New Zealand. I do not expect to see any busines? done for a week or two, as I know the factories' _iden« of values are higher than buyers will at present pay. But factories can be firm, as cheese shipments don't go til! November, and by the end of October we shall see an improved price. I believe, however, that even at present large buyers would operate at a big price for a big line of cheeee, and

I therefore ad-:3c concentration in selling by the factories through their dairy association.