STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3029, 3 April 1912, Page 15

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weakly Stock Sales: j Monthly! Bi'rnmde, Wednesdays uNgapara, Erst lhurs- ... ' „, ■, « dnv m each momn Ashburton, luesdays Addington. Wednesdays ]lesday hl eac h month W&iareka Railway Duntioon, second FriJunction, Tuesdays j day in eacll mon th Fortnightly: Winton, and WaiBulclutha, Fridays ko " aiti --,- ,1 Gore. Tuesdays I Periodically: Oamaru, Tuesdays j Clinton Palnierstou. Invercargill, Tuesdays lleriot, Kelso, Kyeburn BIRXSIDE MARKET. There w«re more serviceable cattle yarded last Wednesday than usual. They included drafts from the north, one of which was prime although not up to previous weights. The other might have been better finished. From the Taieri and Clutha there were good drafts. Prices were hardly so good M previously. A few pens sold at 50s, but most, of the best beef sold at 29s per 1001 b There were very few pens of prime wethers among the 3758 sheep in the yards, most of the entry being ewes, a considerable proportion of which were hardly fit to hang tip Prime wethers brought 3id to 32d, but the freezing buyers did not secure many pens Several pens of forward wethers fell to the bid of graziers at from 15s to 16s, and a good many pens of ewes were also secured' for breeding. Keen competition was the order of the day for fat lambs, and exporters secured all they could get right un to their limits. Butchers have to pay over export value for anything prime to "fill their requirements. Some cf them realised 5d per lb and over. . ADDIXGTOX MARKET. . The cattle at Addington were a mixed lot including some nice steers, and values ranged from 21s to 26s per 1001 b, according to quality. The fat sbeop met with animated competition amongst exporters, who secured both ewes and wethers. Several lines of prime merino wethers also sold well. Prices ranged from 17s 6d to 20s for prime wethers and 13s to 17s 9d for ewes. No less than 8029 fat lambs were sent in. the best for condition which have been forwarded this season. They met with good competition, and fold in some cases up to 5d per lb. THE DEATH OF MR CHARLES S. REID. Mr Charles Reid wa.s a man whose uniform courtesy endeared him to everyone who hod business with him. He was characteristically keen in business, and was always weighed "down with the sense of his responsibility to his client. As a business man of great ability he had very few equals in Dunedin. His resource and decision of character were appreciated by the numerous clients of his father's firm. There was not a man at the saleyards who did not regret Jus untimely end. When the news of his death was circulated it cast such a gloom over the sale that it could be felt throughout the day. and the universal feeling was ono of painful regret that such a useful life should have been so abruptly cut short. Many of the regular frequenters of the yards felt that they had lost a genial comrade. Some of his younger cedleaguos in the same line of business consulted him in their uiffictdtie*. and were never r.onL away

I Mr Thos. Smith, chairman of the Butchers' Association, in moving his resolu- : tion (published elsewhere) at the Bumside ' Saleyards, said that they all bared their heads out of respect for one who hod been • so well and favourably known amongst them, but who would be with them no more. They all looked on him as a closo personal friend, and mourned their loss. Ho was, a chip of the old block, whose name was the synonym for integrity itself. They all regarded him with affection and praised l.im for his truthfulness. j Mr James Wright also expressed his great sympathy for Mr Chas Reid's family and ( relatives. Every one at the yards had re- ; ! coived such a shock when they heard the j news that it staggered them. Mr Wright j honoured him for his integrity. Ho was | always upright and straightforward. _ He I endorsed all that Mr Smith had mentioned j I as to Mr Chas. Reid's good qualities. The . j loss to many of them in a commercial senso I was a serious one. He did not remember ' a more solemn occasion at tho saleyards than the present one. He could not help remembering the happy times they had spent at the yards together. He concluded by hoping that Mr Reid's friends and ro- j latives would be cheered by the unanimity which prevailed and tho expressions of feeling which had been voiced at, that meeting. POLLED ANGUS SALES. ! In the Perth-Aberdeen-Angus show and ' sale high prices for bulls were realised. , The loading herd averages were as follow: Highest Price. I 1012. 1911. Gs. Sir J. M Grant, Bart. (6) .. .. £l3O 0 G £l2l 5 0 263 Kennedy of Doon- i holm (3) .. .. 119 14 0 61 8 G 130 Kerr of Harvie- I ston (6) .. .. 112 10 6 86 7 3 200 Over tho whole sale 281 bulls averaged £34 4s lid each ; 38 cows averaged £37 2s 2d each; 54 two-year heifers, £39 3s 7d each; 126 one-year-old heifers, £2l 12s lQd each. LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF CATTLE. In determining the weight of the carcase of beef from the ascertained live weight of an animal, the manner in which it has been fed has a good deal to do with the result. If all cattle wore prime fat eome degree of accuracy might be arrived at in i striking the proportion between live and. ; dead weisrkt. But if there is under or over- ! feeding the proportion varies, and an allow- ' unco must he made. Too much fat is absolute wast*, and the nosh from lumpy cattle is generally coarse and uninviting. The same allowance for such an animal and a grass-fed prime two-year-old, in which tho proportion of meat and fat will bo nicely ! balanced, would be a lone; way out. But. ! r-iv«n thio live weight, it would be a good i deal easier to judge whether a cattle beast, had been properly finished or not, than it I would be to judge its weight without such ! information. The question is, Which animal will yield the largest proportion of desir- | able meat and whether the breeding is good i or indifferent; in other words, has the ca.r-I case, the largest amount of meat where it is most valuable, or the opposite: To de- i termine the thickness or quality of the flesh-j of a well-bred bullock requires some experi- ! once. The provision of a weigh -bridge at the yards would enable those who wish to adopt the system to do so, but need not necessarily imply that all the cattle must pass over them. The weight which the four quarters, along with the kidneys and kidney I fat. bears to the live weight in a lean bidlock is 47.4 per c>nt. ; in a half-fat bullock! it, is 55.7 per rut, and in a fat one it is | 60.3 per cent. There is. therefore. a range of 12.9 per cent.—l93.slb in a 15001 b bullock | —left to tho judgment of the buyer after the live weight is ascertained. That is dis- ; carding all the other parts of the animal which, with the exception of the stomach,' and its contents, are fairly constant, whatever the condition may be. DAIRY PRODUCTS. The _ adoption of modern machinery, uniform instruction, and methods of working and manufacturing their products in a uni- j form way throughout the Dominion will not enable factories to maintain a superior i article unless they get clean milk from ! sanitary byres. Mr Cuddie thinks the | J supply of high-class milk is quite ; !s im- | portant from a business point of view as j 1 oow-testing, pasteurisattion, and the culling of unprofitable cows. When addressing a ; ■ larufo gathering of dairymen at Niroaha the j other evening Mr Cuddie." Dairy Conimis- J sioner, reminded suppliers to factories that, I ' while every attempt should' be made to i j profitably utilise the by-products, thero ! j were other equally, if not more important, I | items connected with the industry tiiat no ■ business man could afford to overlook. He I | dealt particularly with the necessity of I keeping none but the best c-ows, and urged j tho advantages and pointed oui the lessons i that have already been revealed by systematic herd-testing and tho culling of' uni profitable cows. Reviewing the progres* of I dairying in the Dominion during the past five c>r six years, he attributed the good i results mainly to pasteurisation, home scpaI nation, and testing of cows. By this means factory managers were able to manufacture a good article, and thereby bring our

manufacture showed signs of a largo increase, there was no indication that tho increased supply was likely to swamp tho market. Consignments of cheese reflected tho greatest credit on those responsible for its manufacture and' thoso who supply the milk. There were still faults in the p:o----ciluets, and it was important that all concerned should do their best to effect remedies. The flavour of some cheese, he said, was not what it should be. and the responsibility for this rested largely on these who supplied the- milk. As time went on he had no doubt that improved sanitary conditions would' prevail in sheds, and the value of a strict observance of this necessary condition could not bo too highly estimated. IMPROVING EXISTING COWHOUSES. Tho department recommends the open shed with an impervious floor, -and a good gutter behind tho stalk, falling into a liquid manure tank clear of the building; but it does not matter what sort of a floor some dairymen have. If it is not kept clean it is no bettor than clay. Open manure channels are preferable to enclosed, leading to apertures in the walla through which the liquid may pass to tanks sunk some distance away and emptied periodically. The cows are fastened so that they may relievo themselves into the channel, and not on the floor of the byre. Lofts in a byre are objectionable. They increase the difficulty of securing proper venti'atioh. Tho byre should be open to the roof. A suitable ventilator at the ridge serves both for light end fresh air. Tho inspectors are doing much by suggestion to improve the sanitary arrangements of the buildings. At one time there was very iiitlc regard' paid to these points, but moire care is now very properly being devoted to them. Every endeavour should be made to .secure an abundant and wholesome supply of water, so that with little trouble the byre may be flushed out after every milking. The health of the cattle ia materially assisted in this way, and it they only have access to pure water the quality of their milk will be improved. Tho output of dairy produce is increasing annually, and it is to bo. hoped that tnis increase will bo steady and receive no check; but every new dairyman who begins operations should exercise great care in arranging his byre from tho start satisfactorily, and with that object should consult the departmental officers before designing his byre. There is 1.0 comparison as to the profit that can bo secured from dairy cows us compared to beef production, and dairymen will not abandon the byre because of the work involved ; but what is wanted is to increase the profits by breeding up heifers of abundant milking capacity. Tho essential thing to have is a larger yield per cow rather than greater numbers. More profit for the same woik will result from the removal of tho weeds. THE OPEN SHED. The open shed recommended by the department., which is really a lean-to, with the front open, has many points to recommend it. It provides abundance of ventilation and fresh air, is easily approached, and not filled up with cattle very long before it is quite hot enough to bo unhealthy. Many dairymen think that it is necessary to have cattle in a stifling close shed' so as to keep them warm enough during winter. They imagine that they onoourage the production of greater quantities of milk in this way. But this belief lias been proved to be a fallacy. Close, hot byres are no advantage as far as milkproduction is concerned, but are dangerous, because they tend to propagate disease. 'lhe want of abundant ventilation and sunshine encourages the development of tuberculosis. The best scveans of withstanding cold is by allowing the cows free range to circulate tho blood, and abundance of food to keep up the animal heat. The process is assisted materially by pulping the turnips and mixing them wirli chaff till tho whole mass is at blood heat, and feeding with a hot mess in winter instead o/ frozen roots. Frozen roots and icy cold water absorb a good deal of extra food, and v. here economy of food is an object, the chill will be taken off the water. Cows which get plenty of exercise and are well fed will do better out in tho field even when they experience a very low tempera - tur than when they SJjend half the time inside in stuffy byres. Exercise us very desirable to utilise properly the food v/hion is given them. It is nearly impossible for a cow to keen healthy and produce a normal flow of n.ilk without; it. To keep a cow in the stall most of the winter and cram her full of food is like filing a furnace with fuel and shutting down the dumpers, and thus cutting off the draught. There is comparatively no combustion and no benefit derived from the fuel. DAIRY COWS REMOVING FERTILITY. There seems to be no doubt that dairj cows remove considerable amount of lho.se constituents which help to maintain the fertility of land. The average composition of milk, based upon tho reports of the leading authorities, is as follows: Fat, 3.64; solids not fat, 9.12; water, 87.24. Milk contains ahoat 3 per cent, of casein, which is as rich in nitrogen as nitrate of soda, and the solids in milk contain potash ;jnd phosphate of lime, the origin of phosphoric acid. A dairyman working 20 cows which, '''©id 500 gallons each annually will

thus extract 3001 b of nitrogen from his land. And similarly it may be ascertained that tho same dairyman will extract about 1001 b of potash and ICOlb of phosphate of lime by moans of the milk sold off his farm. But there is a huge credit side to this dairyman's ledger. All the food outside of the grass which is consumed en his farm must return quite as much of these constituents as are taken away with the milk. It standi) to reason that the fertility cannot bo depleted when concentrated foods like hay and chaff and bruised oat 3 are used to'feed the cattle all through winter. This is borno out by the fact that the Igraas on dairy farms does net deteriorate, but rather improves with better feeding. Many farms which have been exclusively devoted to dairy cows for the last 50 years aire not one whit Iks productive than they were, and tho conclusion must bo drawn that when cattle are properly fed tho year round the fertility of the land will bo maintained. And we might go a point further and 1 say that by heavy feeding throughout the year, as long as tho cattle are milking, the pasture may bo steadily improved. CAERPHILLY CHEESE. The Higu commissioner recently reported that there° was a good market tor a limited quantity ol Caerphilly cneese in Croat uritain. lhe attitude of tne British Dairy Farmers' Association to this product is embodied in tho following report Irom the Mark Lane Express:—" The council's instruction to consider tho letter irom ttio Glamorganshire Chamber of Agriculture on the manufacture of Caerphilly cheese had been carried out, the following being an extract from the letter and report:— The committee are of opinion that Caerphilly cheese, was, is, and should be a whole-mint cheese, aud therefore recommend that steps should be immediately taken to endeavour to protect consumers from being supplied with skim milk cheese when asking for Caerphilly cheese in the belief that such cheese is whole milk cheese. The remedies they suggest comprise: —(1) That no cheese other tnun whole milk cheese should bo termed "Caerphilly." (2) That all skimmilk cheese manufactured according to Caerphilly methods should bo called by some name other than 'Caerphilly." (&) That anyone selling skim milk cheese as Caerphilly should bo liable to prosecution. (4) ihat all societies giving premiums for Caerphilly cheese at their exhibitions should be asked to have such cheese judged by a maker or broker resident in South Wales or Monmouthshire. The committee rcahs ° the difficulty in endeavouring to establish a standard for Caerphilly cheese, on account of circumstances which render the percentage of butter-tat variable, but they would suggest that, as a simple test, and one easily applicable, the test suggested by Professor Lloyd with reference to the proportion of casein to butter-fat should bo adopted. This method shows, in all cases where cheese is made from whole milk, that invariably the butter fat is slightly m excess of tho casein under all and every condition, but that if the cheese contains even a small percentage of skim milk, tho casein is immediately found to be in excess or the butter-fat. "The relation of the fat to tho casein is quite independent of the method of manufacture, the amount of moisture, or the age of tho cheese. HOW THE ARGENTINE BEATS OS. The proximity of the Argentine to magnificent markets and to countries from which abundant supplies of cheap labour can be secured enables her to take up tho running vacated by tho United btates in the British meat market, and secure a footins i» the trade which has developed so enormously that it has made her one of the greatest factors in the world's food supply. She has acquired this proud position in beef and mutton bv unlimited confidence m purchasing tho best blood obtainable for breedin" purposes, and raising tho standard of the Hocks and herds almost regardless o. cost Wealthy landowners have agents at all the large sales in Great Britain buying up the best cattle and sheep that money can procure. Thev do not allow a monetary consideration to stand in the way o, securing the best sires tho world can produce. They are blessed with a Government that docs everything in its power to promote settlement, and some attempt aiso is made on tho railway service to make it suitable for the safe "conveyance of stock without lowering the value. When the Argentine ranchieros :-et out, to improve then- flocks and herds they paid four figures for several shorthorn bulls, and exhibited tho samo willingness to pay high prices in the case of sheep. A recent sale was reported of some shorthorn cattle which had been sent over from England to the Argentine to test the market. They were sold there, and realised enormous prices, as much as £3OO being given for one of them, while many others ranged in value down to £l5O. It can only bo reckoned a serious position in this Dominion when we find many of tho most enthusiastic breeders abandoning and distributing their flocks and herds. They arc scarce enough in the Dominion already. They woro tho only men who could afford to give hundreds of pounds for a superior imported animal, and as time goes on the want of them will bo- more severely felt. Already we hear complaints of the quality cf some of tho wool sent Home. Compared to what it was a few years ago, and the chances are it will got worse instead of better. While it is now quite impossible to buy a straight lino

of well-bred bullocks suitable for turnipfeeding-. THE USE OF THE PULPER. The practice of pulping the turnips and utilising the straw after being chaffed and mixed with thein is one which might bo extended with advantage. Pullers are of two kinds, both of which arc serviceable—viz., the disc face, on which the knives are inset and against which the turnips in tha hopper rest as it revolves vertically; and i the horizontal drum which forms the bot* torn of the hopper and on which the tur- I nips ne. The motion of this drum agitato* the roots, and to some considerable extent prevents thorn from jamming in the hoppor. About one ton of roots can bo put through man hour. The pulping machino is fixed in front of a small shed, so that the- supply of roots may be carted close to it, and power is imparted either by iiorse-power or gas engine. The pulped roots are thrown out from the machine on top of the chaff, which is emntied in bull? on the floor tA the i;hed. When a. sufficient Quantity is put through (enough for one days feeding), the whole is turned outwards on the floor, and agtin inward* against, the wall. Piled up in this way, it rapidly heats, and usually lies overnight, to bo used the following morning. If two lots are made the first dav, and one every succeeding day, time enough will be given to allow sufficient fermentation. The flaky turnip is dissolved in the heat and absorbed by the chaff, and the steaming moss, when ready for use, looks as if the chuff had been dipped in boiling water. Tin's mixture lends itself readily to an admixfure oi any kind of meal or concentrated food; but this should be added immediately before use. The heating which the heari undergoes sweetens up anv mouldv or* inferior hay. and makes it palatable", and wheab chaff straight, from the mill mav all bo utilised by the system. As a means of feeding largo quantities of straw chaff, or mixing it with hay chaff, the system cannot bo beaten. In a year when turnips are scarce, the pulper makes them spin out to such an extent, that one-half the usual quantity will suffice. A valuable object lesson might bo wiven in the Winter Show by

showing the whole process in full swing, and provide food for all the cattle and sheep in the show. SHEEP-SHEARING IN LONDON. It sounds odd that there should be any sheep-shearing in London, which provides a home for seven million people, yet it is a fact that there are five thousand sheen grazing in the London parks all through the spring and summer. They are, of course, not London bred; they are brought down from Aberdeen and fattened on the luscious London park grass for the London butchers. They command a higher price than any other sheep; for London park grazing is the best in England. It is said that tine sweetness of the grass is not owing to the ground itself. The whole secret is in the London soot, which makes the best of all manures. When rain comes it not only moistens the ground, but it spreads like a gor.tle layer of soot all over the surface, collected, of course, from the grey ha::o which hangs almost continually over the city. The amount of soot that falls can be judged from the colour of the sheep. Thoy are filthy dirty, and the shearers' ht.nds are black, handling their wool. The London woo! clip from five thousand sheep averages 81b a fleece, and is sold at lOd a pound, amounting to over £I6OO. It is a quaint little industry to find amid the noise and whirl of the world'3 record city. NEW SOUTH WALES SHEEPBREEDERS' SHOW. ' The secretary of the New South_ Wales Sheep-breeders Association (Mr H. N. Howden) has sent along the schedule of prizes" for the eighteenth annual show, to be held on June 26, 27. 28, 29. Entries for all classes close on May 25. The prize money has been further increased, and now amounts to £925. Some important additions have been made. Champion prizes are offered for smooth-bodied ram and ewe. Classes in the open and fanners" section for unhoused sheep have been se4 apart for breeder* who have never won a prize at the shows of tlie association. Non-cotupeti-tivo exhibits of single pena. and pens of 10 merino sheep, will be accepted, and should have the effect of attracting eritrlce from those who on principle decline to compete at this or at any other show. Th-e a.*eociation has hitherto failed to attract the attention of some of tlio State's leading rare- | breeders. It is to be hoped that this latest | move may secure that result. Last year i much interest centred around the various competitive pens of 10, and this part of the display came in for plenty of eulogy. TESTED IN GERMANY. Much interest is being taker in a consignment of Australian mutton which, after complying with the meat-inspection law, has been distributed to various centres in Germany. Fifty members of the Butchers' Guild at Chemnitz partook of th« iriv?<vt at luncheon, and pronounced the t»-si satisfactory. The mutton is beirvs. tolo' in the' Bhops at 8d and 9d a pound.