NORTE ISLAND RURAL LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3017, 10 January 1912, Page 16

NORTE ISLAND RURAL LETTER.

By John Spens,

LIVE STOCK SALES. According to Messrs Alfred Buckland and Sons’ report, fat cattle, all of firstclass quality, met with a steady competition at their section of the Westfield yards on Wednesday, December 6. Messrs Dalgety and Co. found the demand for beef moderate, while the Loan and Mercantile considered that on the whole bidding was not ns keen as nt the closing sale for November. For tip-top animals the market was about par, but for others the quotations may be said to be elightly lower. Choice ox sold to £1 7s per 101)1 b; ordinary, £1 4s to £1 6s; cow and heifer, £1 to £1 4s; bullocks ranged from £7 5s to £l4 5s nor head; cows and heifers, £4 15e to £8 10s; choice sucker calves, £2 10s to £3 4s; medium to £2 8s; light, from 15s to £1 ss; fresh dropped, 4e to 10s. On the whole mutton may be said to have been a shade easier. Ewes faced a decidedly lower range of prices. Extra heavy shorn wethere, 13s fid to £1 Os 9d; heavy, 16s 9d to 18s; medium to light. 12s 9d to 16s; heavy woolly wethers, £1 2s to £1 4s; heavy shorn ewes, 14s to 15s 6d; other's, 9s to 12s 6d; heavy woolly, to 19s 6d; best heavy lambs, 16s 6d to 19s 3d; others. 13s to 15s 6d; small and light, 8s fid to 12s. The report on the pig market for the opening of the month was that pork ere and baconers of choice quality were in good supply, but that small pigs were not coming forward, although eagerly inquired for. This, I suppose, means that farmers and dairymen have plenty of food and milk. Choppers, to £4 Is; baconers, £2 10s to £3 10s; large porkers, £2 3s to £2 9e; lighter, £1 9s to £2 Is. Of pigs. Messrs Buckland and Sons cold 202, lambs 534, sheen 1343, -while their yarding of fat cattle totalled 552 head. The other two auctioneering firms do not give their respective yarding figures. At the horse sales, both at the Albert. Haymarket. and Pukekoho yards, more than the average number has recently come forward. At tJhe latter centre the Messrs Buckland alone nut through 455 horses of all classes on December 4. Young and active epring-cart and lorry sorts sold to £4O; half draught and waggoners, from four to seven years. £2B to £57 10s; aged ■draughts, £ls to £25. No extra heavy draughts were offered. Active medium spring-cart horses, £22 to £27 10s; first class hacks and carriage animals, £l7 to £26; ordinary riding and gig sorts, £3 to £ls; ponies, £5 to £l2; weeds and wasters, 10s to £2 10s. At the mid December sales of fat stock ox beef was easier by Is to 2s per 1001 b, and the prices per head for wethers and ewes had receded Is, Is fid, and even 2s nor head, with competition slew. Although so near the holidays, lambs met a falling market, even to 3s less per head in certain (instances. Freezing buyers were operating freely. The market for hides, sheepskins and tallow was brisk and firm. Quotations for a sale at. Pukekohe will give you an idea, of the prices of stores and dairy stock in the vicinity of Auckland City. Best dairy cows and he-ifere, £8 to £lO 15s; others. £4 to £7 IQs; grown bullocks, £7 to £8 2s fid; two and a-half and throe and a-half year old steere. £4 5s to £6 10s; one to two-year steers, £2 10s to £3 17s fid: good calves. £l 18s to £2 ss; others. 15s to £1 ss; empty cows. £2 10s to £4 ss: heifers suitable for dairy purposes. £3 10s to £5 se. Fat, tock, of which 126 head were yarded, sold at Auckland City rateo. At the closing sales at Westfield for Do comber there were small entries in all classes owing to no stock trains running on the previous dav, the railway locomotives being fully employed, I suppose, with the holiday passenger traffle. Competition for fat oxen wae brisk, and values advanced j from £1 to £1 10s per head. Choice ox beef ran up to £1 Ss per ICOlh: ordinary, j £1 5s to £1 7s; cows and heifers, £1 2s to £1 ss; bullocks ranged in price from £7 15s to £l4 10s; cows and heifers, £4 15s to £lO 5.5; good vunne- calves, £3 I’fi; to £4 se; choice *ucker«, £1 15s to £3 2s: smaller, 15« to £1 ICs. Mutton remained about par. Prime heavy wither, 18s to 19s 3d; medium. 14- (id to 16s fid: heavv ewes. 17e fid to 15s fid; others. fid to !?,-> fid. Lambs were in plentiful supply, and the demand was fair to good, but prices were, if anythng. on the down grade. Extra heavv made 17s 6 i to 19--' fid : heavv. 15« to 17s: otjiers. Us to 14s fid; small and poor, 7s to IQs fid. Comparatively few nigs were penned, ami con.eeanently cold at extreme values. T.nree porkers, £2 5s to £2 Us; lighter, £1 15s to £2 4s; weanors, 7s U-.

The latest (Flotations in the produce market places your southern chaff, which w.Jifh sale, at £fi 7s fid ev store : pollard, £6 fid, hr,an. £6 ss. "Wheat, is firm s i 4s fid. Oats find steadv sale at the ?11 edit 1 v easier rate of 3s. Butter, choice, Hr!; first onalitv, IOJd ; second vade. 10-1; miliimr 9?d ; farmer-'’ prints, P<l to 9Ad : nrime farmers’ >•> hulk, ITd. Fresh r " — Is rer -dozen. Potatoes, medium to prim t £3 10s to £4 10s pm- ton. The Wellington fat stock market may he K-ihl to pursue the even tenor of its wav at reduced values to those obtained when feed was less plentiful. I nuote a renvesontative December .Tohnsonvillc sale. Prime bullocks. £9 10s to £9 17s fid; licrhter. £9 ?.s 6d to £9 ss; first-class veal calves, £1 10s tm £1 14s; medium, £1 to £1 8s; light, 10s to 17,5; prime wethers.

15s 6d: medium and good, 14s 4d to 14a 6d; prime owes, 13s to 13s 6d; medium owes, 12s 6di to 12s 9d; plain, 10s 6d to 11s 2d; extra prim© lambs, 13a to 14s; medium, 11s 6d to 11s 9d; plain, 9s 3d to 10s. In coming to the country sales one must remember that this is the off season. Shearing has not finished, and mustering and branding of run cows and oalves may not yet b© complete, and the tally of headt lias not been made up, so that graziers and farmers may not exactly know how they stand. The losses during ■winter were very heavy. Feed just now is plentiful, and the general drop in fats has been in sympathy with the rush and flush of grass. One or two men, who have travelled over a portion of the north lately tell me that although stock are knee deep, and in cases belly deep, in feed, yet they ar not looking quite as well as on© would expect at this season. The feed is devoid of nourishment owing to so much sunless weather. The absence of tone is more marked in sheep than in cattle. Waikato. —Sheep: Fat lambs 13s 3d, fat ewes lie 6d, woolly owes 15s. Catt’e: Good fat cows £6 8s to £7, medium £5 10s to £6; empty cows £3 10s to £4 12s 6d; 18month steers, £4 2s to £4 4s; three-year-o!d steers, £5 15s to £6 4s; twd-and-a-half-year-old steers, £4 16s to £4 19s; yearling steers, £2 19s to £3; mixed yearlings, £2 13s to £2 17s; two-year-oldi empty heifers, £4 6s to £4 12e; Jersey heifers, £5 17s; dairy cows close to profit, £7 10s to £l2; others, £4 10s to £4 15s; springing heifers, £5 15s to £5( 17s 6d; store pigs £1 10s, slips 18s, weaners 13s to 16s. Poverty Bay.—Sheep: Ewe's, 10s 6d to 12s; small wethers, 9s 6d; lambs, 9s lOd to 11s 6d. Lines of store wethers were passed in at 12s. Cattle: Fat cows, £5 12s 6d; heifers to £4 ?s 6:1; bullocks, £5 17s to £7; dairy heifers, £4 13s 6d to £5 17s 6d; weaners, £2 11s. Hawke’s Bay —Sheep: Fat lamb?, 9s to 10s; fat ewes, 7s 8d to 9s lOd; hoggets, 10s Id ; store ewes, 6s 7d; two-tooth wethers 10s lOd to 12s 6d; woolly store ewes, 8s 3d: two-tooth owes. Ids 9d; lambs—small and culis, 5s 9d to 5s 2d. Cattle; Two-year-old steers, £4 Os 6d; store cows, £2 16s to £3 8s; fat, bullocks, £8 17s 6d; fat cows, £4 7s 6d to £5 15s; dairy cows and heifers, £4 10s to £8; yearling stears, £2 9s. Wairarapa.—Sheep: Four-tooth wethers, 12s 5d to 13s 3d; two-tooth wethe-s. 10s lOd to 11s sd; two-tooth ewes, 11s; good ewes and lambs (shorn), 13s to 13s9d; woollv ewes to 10s; good bullocks, £5 4s to £6; 18month steers, £3 6s to £3 10s; 15-month steers, £3 ss; 15-month heifers. £2 10s to £3; heifers in calf, £3 12s 6d; cows in miik, £4 2s 6d. Taranaki.—lt may interest not a few to know the retail prices for butchers’ meat in the garden province. Sirloin beef 6d per pound, ribs sd, rump st-'ak Bd, fillet steak 9d, beef 6d; corned beef from 4d to Sd; mutton —legs 6d, chops 6d, loin sd, shoulders sd, necks 3d; pork 7d, veal 4d and 6d; spring lamb—forequarters ss, hindquarters his, stricitly cash, booking extra. Stock sales: Steers ard two-year-old heifers, £2 16s to £2 18s; 15-month-old grade Jersey heifers, £4 12s 6d; two-year-old steers, £4 4sthree-year-old bullocks, £5 19s; springing heifers. £5 10 s to £6; fat cows, £4 17s 6d/ to £6 3s; fat heifers, £4 16s. During December Mr Newtown K ; ng held a sale of pedigree and grade Jerseys on account of Mr -4. Hodgkinson, Takaka. Nelson, and obtained some record prices. The top price of 65gs was paid bv Mr C. Goodson, of Hawcra, for the pedi-rce cow Silver May, and the cow Sweet Peat XII went to the same purchaser at 57gs. Other prices realised were:—Cows, 22gs to 53gs; two-year-old heifers, 26jirs to 39gs; yearling heifers, to 28kgs: heifer olives, 9gs to 13ige; bulls, Bgs ho 19gs; yearling bulls, 3igs to 13gs; grade cows, £8 15v grade heifers, £3 ids to £9 5.5; grade yearling bull, £2 15s. A Wanganui breeder of Hoisted ns has been getting some very high prices for bulls sold privately. Now we come to the Wellington provincial district:— Taiihape.—Yearling heifers, £2 13s; yearling steers, £3 17s; empty store cows, £3 to £3 15s; run cows and calves, £4 10s to £5 ss; two-year-old steers, £4; two to two-and-a-h-alf-yeiir-old steers. £4 6s to £4 14s 6d. Sheen: Cull mixed hoggets, 10s 6d; aged ewes and lamias, 10s lOd ; fat and forward ewes, 11-s; two-tooth wethers, 11s lid; four-tooth to f.rn. woollv owes. 13s 10s; four-tooth fat and forward wethers, 13s Bd. Feilding.—Sheep : Two-torth wethers. 12s 7d; two-tooth owes, 11s; three and four-year-old owes, £1 Is. Cattle: Two-year-o.'d steers, £3 15s;; two-and-a-half-year-old steers. £4 10s; throc-year-old steers. £5 ss;. forward empty cows. £3 to £4; 18-raonth-okl steers, £3 2vs 6d; springing cows, £4 10s.

Palmerston North. —A line of 1700 wethers off" ,- e<l in the yards of Mr AI >hem "”d Wil’iams on account of Mr J. Baker, Poranßahau, sold readily from 12s 6d to 13s 2d; four-tooth wethers 12s 6d. small 9fi 2d; fat owes (woolly), 17s 2d; forward ewes, 15s Id; shorn fat ewes, 11s 3d.

Cattle: Forward bullocks, £6 2s 6d to £o 15s; two-year-old steers, £4 18s; three* year-old bullocks, £5 ICs 6d; fat oows, £5 10s; forward cows, £3 9s, dairy cows, £o 10s Rangitikei and Upper Coast. Tiptop woolly hoggets 18s 6d, mixed hoggets 14s lOd to 15s Id, medium hoggets i2s 3<t to 15s 9d ; two-tooth shorn ewes Us od to 12s lOd aged shorn owes 7s. forward ewes 9s. fat ewes 12s. Cattle: Year mg steers £2 2s 6d. 18-month-old steers £3 2s 6d. two-year-old stocks £3 17s 6d; yearling heifers £5 15s, springing heders £4 7s; cows and calves, £5 Is to £5 ss; store cows £2 16s, forward cows £4 9s to £4 15s 6d, fat cows £5 to £6 16s; fat heifers, £5 2s 6d to £6 2s 6d.