STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3006, 25 October 1911, Page 15

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly Stock Sales: Burnside, Wednesdays Ashburton, Tuesdays Addington, Wednesdays Waiareka Railway Junction, Tuesdays Fortnightly; Bulclutha, Fridays gore, Tuesdays amaru, Tuesdays Invercargill, Tuesdays

- Monthly; Ngapara, first Thursday m each month Glenavy, second Wednesday in each month Duntroon, second Friday in • each month Win ton, and WaikonaitL Periodically Clinton, Palmerston, fcienot, Kelso, Kyeburn

BURNSIDE AND ADDINGTON MARKETS. The yarding of 230 head of cattle at Burnside on Wednesday came somewhat as a surprise, this being an increase of 66 head over the previous week. At first it looked as if prices would recede somewhat, but- after opening quietly the demand firmed up. A largo number of those yarded would not in ordinary times be looked at by butchers. The best of the cattle, which again came from Southland, a line of 45 being sent forward by one dealer, made up to £ls per head. Prices generally ranged from 3zs 6d to 38s per 1001 b. The yarding of fat sheep was smai in comparison with the previous week, the number being 2037 as compared with 4364. Tn the absence of outside buyers the yarding . proved up to requirements. The (market was quiet at opening, but the tone ■was somewhat firmer towards the close. Prices were on a par with those-ruling in the preceding week. Some 59 lambs were penned, but some of them were on the young side to be put up for 6aJe. Prices averaged about 20s per-head. , ■ A. feature of the 1 - weekly sales at Aldington was the advance in the price of fat sheep. Doubtless the small yarding had. something, to do with this, sheep that had been passed in. at the previous week's Bale selling at an advance ranging up to ss. A proportion of the sheep were from Southland. * The small yarding of fat cattle no doubt played some part in the advance in the price of that stock.

DAIRY PRODUCE. The rain which has fallen in most places during the past week or ten days has promoted growth, although accompanied by ->oold, and this ha® greatly improved the prospects of dairy farmers. Good rains have also fallen in the North Island. The first Home shipments of 'butter and cheese from Otago and Southland were made on the, 23rd, when the lonic took about 1800 cases of oheese from the Bluff and 500 boxes of butter and 200 cases of cheese from Dunedin. About November 6 some 2000 cases of cheese will be loaded at the Bluff, and about 500 cases of cheese and 1000 boxes of butter at Dunedin. Mr J. R. Scott, secretary of the South Island Dairy Association, is in receipt of the following Home cablegram:—"Butter market quiet; values unchanged. Cheese market quiet r but look for ah improvement shortly. Canadian 705." HEALTH OF OUR FLOCKS. According to the annual report of the Department of Agriculture the general health of the sheep of the Dominion is satisfactory- The late autumn of 1910 was remarkable in some districts for a high degree of moisture, which led to rank pastures of a washy nature, providing little nourishment,, and consequently not enabling the young sheep to get a good etart —to lay the foundation of a robust constitution.. The percentage of losses was in consequence heavier than usual, and the hoggets raised had in too many cases not the character or vigour they should have had for the making of satisfactory breeding stock. This experience, and the shortage of feed last autumn, point to the necessity of farmers providing some special dry feed for their young stock, in order that these may have every _ opportunity of developing into sound, vigorous sheep. "Half the breeding goes down the mouth," la a saying which applies with special force in this case. The question is one which demands the earnest attention of all sheepmen. There has been no disease to speak b£, apart from those troubles which may be satisfactorily overcome by proper management of the flock.

AUSTRALIA AND LONG WOOLS. With the growth of the frozen meat trade more attention is being paid in almost every State in Australia to what are termed the British breeds. The slump in the crinkly merino has hit some Tasmanian sheep-breeders pretty hard, and experiments are likely to be made by some bleeders on the Uorriedale. For some reason or other the Border Leicester has not gained favour in either Tasmania or South Australia. The Tasmanians allege that the Border is too delicate for their strenuous conditions and rough pasturage. Romneys appear to bo. the breed likely to gain ground throughout Australia. Tasmanians have shipped to the--J»ain-land since the beginning of the year 2133 sheep, imostly rams, made up of 1364 Lincoln©, the balance being Leicesters. The Minister of Agriculture, in his annual report, expresses his- belief" that the exportation of stud sheen from New Zealand to Australia and elsewhere must increase both in volume and value, and he adds: —"The flock book societies have not as yet insti- , tuted any system of inspection of sheep when exported as representative of the pure breeds, and in view of the developing trade with Australia the necessity of the inspec- ; tion of stud sheep becomes very great, as the trade must suffer, and good breeders be handicapped, if inferior sheep are sold to Australian farmers as being typical of , the pedigree stock of this country." j THE QUALITY AND GET-UP OF OUR ! MEAT. i

- Time and again New Zealand has been warned that her frozen meat was losing- the position it held in the London market at the head of the imported: article. Here is a significant paragraph from Cold Storage: —"The reason why Argentine mutton overtops in the English market that from Australia, in point of price by anything from id to id per lb, was recently the topic of an artiole in a contemporary, which takes the views of one or two in the trade on the- subject. Mr Harold Nelson said it is a question of breed, the merino, which predominates in Australia, not being such a good butchering sheep as the Lincoln, which is dealt with in the Argentine. Mr George Goodsir added a word to the effect that in the supervision of meat shipments the Australians have a very low standard. The habitue _of Smithfield can test these matters for himself. In the Annexe, for instance, he can view the rows of uniform carcases hailing from South America, all bearing without exception the evidenoes of careful dressing and clean and careful handling. Too often he sees the reverse in ' Colonial' mutton. Even New Zealand, which has ' in past years enjoyed a margin in prices oyer other frozen meat because of her English grasses, is finding that margin a vanishing quantitv. and this is largely due to ; faulty preparation and decline in quality."

THE GENTLEMAN THAT PAYS THE RENT. The Hon, T. Mackenzie is sanguine concerning an export trade in pork and' bacon. In his annual report he says: —"Same idea of the expansion that has taken place may, be gained from the fact that during the year ended March 31 last 13,706 cwt of pig products, valued at £32,833, were exported from New Zealand, as against 2692 cwt in 1909-10, and 3524 cwt in 1908-9. Unfortunately the percentage of pigs suitable for export is not by any means as high as it should 'be, but I am confident that when the demonstrations I have authorised to prove the necessity of pasteurisation' become general ,the full profits from pig-rearing will be secured, and this important branch of the milk producers operations will be placed on a sound and satisfactory basis. The health authorities of Britain are very strict in their requirements regarding imported pig products, and therefore inspection at this end must be very stringent. I have noted that producers in several districts are earnest in their desire to place the bacon and pork industry on a good footing. Large co-operative undertakings have been established, and give promise of being entirely successful. More attention is also being paid to the class of stock reared, and breeders of pedigree pigs are finding no difficulty iri selling all they can produce."

THE BACON INDUSTRY. It is to be feared that _ p3ig-rearmg is I not yet on a scale extensive enough to | warrant any expectation of a great : ncrease ii the export of pork and bacon for a fewyears yet The Inglewood Co-operative Bc.con Company has found out that the supply :s not up to its requirements. Mr A Morton, tho chairman, speaking at the anr.ual meeting, said the company had adopted an improved method of treating the'oaTca'ses—viz.. by singeing. This had the effect of softening the rind, and also of eealing jtp the pores and so decreasing shrinkage. It entailed a little expense, aa great heat had to be maintained. The/ Lad opened up a fresh market in Wellington, which had proved most satisfactory, as they were selling at the highest price in th->. Dominion. In order to get a footing there they had to give a larger commission and discount, but they still received a higher net price, and so Satisfactory had it proved! that six weeks ago the whole stock was cleaned out. He pointed out that the production from the present shareholders and tho district as a whole was far too

small for the needs of the factory. Last year they bad received 100 fewer pigs, although they had increased the receiving stations. He pointed out that the price of pork in the Dominion must keep up, for the number of pigs appeared to be decreasing rather than increasing, and there were no more now than 10 years ago, although the consumption was increasing with the increasing population and outlets. During the last 15 months 19,0C0 carcases had been exported from the Dominion, and he considered that the local consumption was fairly heavy, probably 70,000 or 80,CO0 per annum. Thus there was not enough raw material available to enable bacon factories to carry on profitably. He believed if more would cultivate for pigs as was done for cattle, their returns would be augmented considerably, and so vcould those of the Bacon Company. As far as the demand was concerned, in place of the 4400 pigs received last year they wanted 9000. In ordbr to meet the demand the directors were makine- extensive additions to the factory for- drying and hanging, and would shortly increase the freezing chamber, as that was where they most felt the want of space, so that any time when there was no demand they could store.until the demand rose. Further additions would be necessary so as to enable all the stock to be artificially dried, and so placed on the market quicker.

WHEAT SELECTION. Most valuable work has been done in Canada ia jhe past by wheat selection, and the work is still going on. Tie Canadian Pacific Railway Company, with the cooperation of the Saskatchewan College of Agriculture, is initiating a "wheat selection contest," with the aim of raising the average wheat yieLdl of that prairie province. Eight pi-izes, varying from ?e to £5, will be given for the best collections, each containing 25 individual wheat plants sent in by Saskatchewan farm boys before December 15 next. From each collection received the 10 best heads will be sent back to the competitor to be sown in 10 rows next year. From the yields of these 10 rows the five most uniform and prolific are to be returned to the college before December 15 1912, and five prizes, from £2 to £6, will be awarded in this final stage of the competition after adjudication by the college authorities. The Director of Agricultural Extension, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, will give further information if desired. BRANDING WOOL BALES. Distinctive brands placed on wool bales should be large, clear, and legible, with letters about 4in high and figures at least 6ia high and proportionate. Every bale ought to be branded twice, onoe on the side with the station brand, number of bale, and description of wool clearly stated; and the station brand and number of bale should also be placed on the end of the bale eOwn up. Buyers register ah the regular clips from year to year, and, as a rule, have more information about them than the owners themselves. So* that once a brand is adopted it should not be changed unless for very urgent reasons. A wool-grower who gets his clip up well takes a pride in his brand, and scorns to allow any fault to be found with it. A badly-classed or badly-skirted bale is not countenanced, and his determination will pay him handsomely. When the whole bale opens well (and there is no bale which is not reported on), and next year a similar result happens, confidence is established and with gratifying results. And the highest current price can thereafter be_ depended upon as long as the same principles are observed. For this reason brands should bo adopted with care, and about which there can be no manner of doubt. When initials only are used to brand a bale with, the ohanoes are that in the multiplicity of owners some other clip will have the same brand, and exact record cannot be kept by the buyer. Continuity is lost and the owner suffers. Farmers particularly are ' careless about branding their bales, but anyone with a dozen bales annually should pack his wool in such a fhoroughlv honest manner, and brand it so distinctly, that there could be no doubt as to ownership, and ha would find the result gratifying. If the buyer is satisfied that the clip 'has been well got up and suits his requirements, he will not let it go for less than it is worth.

' " WOOL PROSPECTS. i At the last Sydney wool sales Japanese buvers wore operating: freely for supers. Referring to the prospects for wool, Dalgety's Keview says:—"There seems to be little reason to doubt that when the tru* position as regards prospective supplies becomes more fully known there will be more confidence in the market, as it is practically now proved beyond doubt that there cannot, under any circumstances, be any increase in the Australasian production, as compared with the previous season. The unpropitious nature of the season _ in many of th<j large wool-producing districts is not conducive to a heavy cut this year, while the displacement of sheep by wheatgrow.ing in not a few places cannot fail to result in a lessening of the wool supply in thesd parts. The exact oircumstances do not yet seem to have been realised by consumers, but it is unquestionably a very important matter, and is worthy of consideration from the buying section of the trade. The total New South Wales receipts fraes July 1 last to n'bwe, rail an£

coastwise, is 336,746 bales, as against 329,332 bales for the corresponding- period last asason. It will thus be seen that there is the likelihood of a very moderate production in New South Wales this season, and the same conditions, it is believed, will apply to Queensland, where the season is at present of a rather unfavourable nature for graziers. Altogether the Australasian clip promises to be of no erreater volume than that of last season, and possibly less."

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND FARMERS. The lady who conducts the Household Column in the iScottish Farmer hits the nail on the head in writing of the gap between the theoretical and practical side of agriculture. She writes: — "It would be interesting to know just what proportion of the plain, working farmers has any sort of personal acquaintance with the processors and teachers of colleges, andl the degree of intimacy which a professor or teacher cultivates with the farmers in his neighbourhood. One may safely say that all over they know precious little about each other. This would not matter, perhaps, if the science of agriculture were something that could be manufactured in a laboratory and sold like manure to the farmer, or if farming were an industry that could be considered apart 'from the men who conduct it. Surely if colleges are to be of any real value to farming they should be in constant and vital touch with the farmers. And they are not so. The average farmer takes about as little interest in the life of the college in his parish as he does in an autiquarian society. _ He could explain the grounds of his indifferenoe better than I. He may or he may not suffer from the lack of intercourse with his scientific co-adjutors; but it is certain that they must be imperfectly equipped, in so far as they are cut off from the practical farming world. Farmers are so notoriously addicted to talking perpetually about their business that one might wonder how the difficulty arises. It is almost wholly social. The hours of work and leisure on the farm make it extremely difficult, impossible, to associate with any' but a few neighbouring farmers. From people — such as professors—with different hours and social habits, they are shut off by a wide gulf. Then the wives are hardly ever of the same class, or have anything m common. That means—everything. And if they are of the same class to begin with, they quickly develop in different directions. If only the women could chum, the men. might meet at each other's firesides, and have engrossing arguments about crops and soils and manures and rations and rotations, and learn of each other. It ought to be, but I cannot spo how it ever will be. "While apportioning, the blame equally, , I cannot help knowing that the farmer is a rather difficult person to be on familiar terms with if you are not his ' sort,' or if you do not bring your mind into line with his. Calmly, stolidly, _ crushingly, he will ignore your existence if you do not show an interest in his particular field of turnips, or if you have not a rival one of your own to discuss; or if you have a different taste in humour. The professors and principals, and more humble teachers, unless they were very olever and tactful snd adaptable, would find themselves V".o <?fton left out of the talk in the familiar intimacy of the social farming circle.