STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 15

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly Stock Sales: Burnside, Wednesdays Aahburton, Tuesdays Addington, Wednesdays Wa-iareka Railway Junction, Tuesdays Fortnightly: Bulclutha, Fridays Gor», Tuesdays Oainaru, Tuesdays Invercargill, Tuesdays

Monthly! !\gapara, first Thursday in each month Glenavy, second Wed- ' nesday in each month Duntioon, second Friday in each month Winton, and Waikouaiti. Periodically: Clinton, Palmerston, Heriot, Kelso, Kyeburn

BURNSIDE. Sheep sold at reduced ratc3 at Burnsido last Wednesday. Trade was somewhat disorganised by the Easter holidays during which the freezing works closed from Thursday till the following Tuesday, and the butchers shut up their shops for four davs. The lower prices ruling enabled freezing buyers to operate freely, and they secured' a considerable number of the sheep for the first time this year. Thoy have also been purchasing freely in the country, and experiencing less difficulty than usual in get!in"- fat sheep. The recent warm weather Sas improved the grass so much that the sheep are doing better. Another fortnight of warm sunshine would work wonders. Light-weight wethers, prime, made 3£d, heavy weights 3d per lb, and fat ewes from 2|d to 3d. Freezing buyers seemed to bo afraid of holding over rape lambs far a week, and the sale was not so brisk as previously. Prices ranged from 14s 6d to 17s 6d. There were 183 cattle yarded, three-quarters of which were fair to good beef, the balance inferior cows and forward steers. The best pen came from Invermay, and there was another draft penned from Canterbury. Best beef 23s to 29s per 1001 b.

ADDINGTOX. The holidays seem to have- bad a depressing effect on' the Addington market. As at Burnside, cows predominated in the cattle pons, the range of value being from 21s to 26s per 1001 b. Exporters competed freely for all classes of fat sheen with the butchers, without altering quotations. The quality of the lambs was not so good as usual; prices ranged from 12s 6d to 18s, and up to 19s 10d for extra heavy. Porkers and light bacon wore worth 6d, and heavy choppers s],d per lb.

PREPARING SHEEKSKIXS FOR MARKET. As skias are frequently valued at a comparatively low figure by"having been badly treated, 'some idea may bo given of howto treat them properly so as. to secure full value They are invariably sold by weight, therefore every scrap of skin and wool should be taken with them. The sheen must be hung at such height that the fleece is kept clean, and care taken to prevent the blood getting on to the, neck wool. The operator should work on a draining board, and skin the sheep while still warm. If this is not done the pelt will be stained. Wherever possible the hand should lie used instead of the knifo, so as to avoid cuts, which depreciate the value. The process of drying is conducted under cover "in the shearing shed, if possible, and finished up outside. If the shed is not available, a rough framework, with posts and rails, should be covered over with galvanised iron to protect the skins from iho weather and provide shade for them. They must bo thoroughly dry before they are packed, and any parts not dried cut off. Buyers readily detect a condition of dampness, and value accordingly. The Stock-owners' Guide states that a leading London firm has prepared the following suggestions as to the best methods of packing skins for market and export:—"lnstead of putting the skins in vvcolpacks, use thrro bands of hoops to fasten them up with, placing three, battens 3ft x lin longways over the top, and three on the bottom to keen them flat. To save freight fairly light wood should be used. Skins should be packed dry and flat in pairs, pelt to pelt, with the" bellies slightly folded in to keep the package as square as possible. Ears and dags should be carefully removed before packing, for if the ears are left on and folded in they often, owing to heating, damage the pelt. The advantage in packing the skins flat is that the most valuable portion—viz., the middle —does not get injured by hooks, etc., in the handling. When skins are folded in the. middle they are often tc.rn by tho hooks, and this, of course, lessens their value; whereas, when packed flat, even if they are slightly torn at the edges, no great harm is done. When the wool is on the outside tho pelt is protected from injury, and no harm arises to the portion of the wool exposed. Presses for packing skins in this manner should be large enough to hold at ieast 4c\vt bales." SHEEP-DIPPTXG TANKS. Some firms provide useful galvanised

tanks for small flocks, at a reasonable price, which arc arranged so that they may be sunk into the ground if necessary. But they can only be regarded as a makeshift, and even the flock-owner who breeds a few fat lambs and cannot command the services of any public dip would find it remunerative to make a concrete tank or bath. When only a few sheep are to be put through time is no object, and ssia.ll baths may bo made, adjusted so as to keep a j certain number of sheep in them for a I stated time. This would be found clui'.per I than using a public bath, which .requires ! perhaps lOOOgal to bo mixed up before any ! sheep can swim : n it, and an additional 1 amount for every 100 sheep dipped. The farmer's bath would be about Bft long, 4ft wide, and sft deep. The sheep are caught in turn and retained in the bath, by a swinging gate built into the side of it, for one minute. A loner sloping stairway with concrete grips for the animal's feet leads ■ up to ground level. And the pen into I which they emerge has a concrete floor ' sloping toward.- the bath. The dripping fluid thus finds its way back into the t;\nk, , so that there is no waste. But the optraI tion of dipping a number of sheep cannot ' bo effectively carried out without a more elaborate arrangement, and sheep-owners in deciding upon a bath will be guided by the size of their flocks. For flocks up t<? 7000 or 8000 sheep the 60-foot swimming bath is adapted. This permits of a continual stream of sheep following each other, the length of the bath being sufiicient guarantee that immersion in it will be effective. It has always been a difficult matter to design these so as to get the sheep into them. Old ewes iwtrticulariy make use of 0.1 l their strength to avoid being forced forward into the bath. It is usual to deceive them by raising the race some ?,ft or Sjft, so that they cannot see the dip when approtchinir it, but can only seo tho decoy pen fdled with sheep on the opposite side of the slide, or false bottom. From this elevation the approach dips to the slide, and as it is usually built of smooth boards, when the sheen are got over tho apex there is little difficulty in getting them into the clip. But there are many plans adopted to facilitate the work of getting them into the din. Most of them prove futile. In large flocks, where it is a material object to pet 10,000 through daily, the station dip will be built on corj respondingl.y large lines. Working full - I handed. 1000 sheep i>er hour is the limit 1 of tho long, narrow ba'.h, ami if it is required to put a greater number through specially large troughs must be constructed. commanding a fairly large stream of water. THE WATER SUPPLY. Last year tho provision l ; of tho act had to bo suspended because in many parts of the country no wafer could bo got for dip- : ping. This year that experience will fortunately not recur. There has been so much cold weather this season that there has reallv been little choice of time for dipping, but as a rulo it is not desirable 10 wait (.ill tho water -gets bitterly cold. 1 There is always the chance of giving tho 1 fheep a chill from which they might take j some time to recover. The best tin.c to ; d'ip crossbred sheep 13 from eight to ten j weeks after they are shorn. A thorough 1 chill such as might be imparted by a 69ft swim in icy cold water would bo a most fertile source of many troubles, among j them catarrh and inflammation of tho lungs; and it is therefore advisable to get ! tho dipping over as soon as, possible. Tf : the flock is not largo the sooner in the ! day tho work is begun the Letter. ]f the j sheep can have the whole afternoon to dry ) before a frosty night, they will have lesri : chance of (getting chilled. And if that is : not possible a 400 gallon tc.r.k may be boiled and utilised in the dip. That would be sufficient to take the chill off 1600 gallous, and make all tho difference to the : sheep when dipped late in tho year. Of ' couroe, in warm weather these precautions are unnecessary. Losses frequently result from ineffective dipping, and flock-owners I would bo well advised to see that their ; work has been effective and that all ticks and lice, as well as their young, have been destroyed. A little cold will do no harm , if tiie days are warm and bright, but every care should be exercised not to have the sheep heated in bringing or taking them from the dipping yards. It is rather surprising U> learn what a number of farmers there are who do not understand what is wrong with their sheep when they see them scratching and rubbing themselves against fencing posts and even barbed wire. They charge it. to tick-, and Ci"o astonish :>d to find 1 on examination that, they cannot find ; any. Great loss of condition is often occasioned by the common red louse which in- . fest tho "sheep's body. They are quite as 1 destructive to the sheep's well-doing as the tick, and when well established rapidly ; spread round. When recognised, and it I requires close inspection of the skin to I recognise them apart from the u.«Xal signs, the whole flock should be dipped 1 without I loss of time. THE SELECTION OF A DIP. Tf tho wool reaches the market in a sound, clean, bright state, and tho flock is . therefore in goo 4 Condition, rs. «;es conclusively among olirH - tilings that 'cfce ! sheep dip used has l>een effective, durable, j I and beneficial: and, having scoured such j a ri'sult. the flock-owner "would bo mad to ! rnako any change. It is tho greatest folly

in the world to chop arid' change .ibo«s with a sheep dip after using one which has given satisfaction for some years. Very often tho expense is made, tho pretext for trying seme mixture which ha* not got past the experimental stage. Th» difficulty of mixing up the powder dip is also given as a reason for changing. 1| is an extremely difficult thing to get a dip which will year after year bring the sheeji to tho shearing board free from ticks, lies? and all parasites; and, having become ao« customed to handling one which will do so, any Hock-cwner would be reckless to change it. The growth of the wool may bo hind'erod seriously for six months by a badly balanced dip, and the valuable dip is tho one (he effect of which endures all the year. The fiction that a dip will mix easily with cold water is no recommendation. It surety tollows that the first rain which comes will wash it out of the wool; and the difficulty of getting tho powder packets dissolved and incorporated with the water is rather a recommendation than otherwise. That difficulty only results from indifferent handling and tho want of a little foresight. Then it stands to reason that, dips which havo a world-wide reputation, even if they cost double the price, should not bo lightly thrown aside. They are made on such a scale that their composition will always bo constant and tho results obtained from them consistent and uniform. After 25 years' tuial with various o'.ps. one is forced to the conclusion that it is folly to grudge the expense of u*ing the best dip that money can buy. Getting tho sheoo free from parasites on to the shearing board goes a long way towards --• ,*;■uring a well grown and sound staplo and keeping the (looks in good condition, and no effort or ex reuse should be spared to do 60. RESTING BEFORE DIPPING. At one time tho writer's dip was used by all the countryside in his neighbourhood for several years with satisfactory results, but on one occasion a neighbour brought a lot of 1500 forward and fat wethers to be nut through. The mixing of the dip was controlled by mjself.and I charged so much per 100 sheep dipped.

and took the responsibility. This lot were magnificent shce'j, some of them ready for tin) butcher and all strong and vigorous. Something had delajed them on their journey of five to six miles to the din, anil they did not arrive till after dinner. The owner wac anxious to get them home again that night, and instead of waiting for an hour, which was the usual custom after the shoe)) arrived; they were put, through immediately after arrival. At the time they were worth at least 15s each. Tho owner took them home the same night, and from that day the whole mob began to lose condition, and gradually got into such a state that they lost most '>f their wool" on their run. The owner churned JJ3OO damages, and when inspected they could not be valued at more than 10s or lis. It was very hard to say what had caused the trouble, but I concluded that thev had been overdriven before or after dinsn'tur. Fortunately a small lot of 300 belonging to another neighbour came along trie *auiu evening and were dipped 1 in the Fame bath exactly as tho wethers, and they were none the worse. That proved at any rate that no mistake had occurred in mixing the dip and relieved the writer from liability on that score. But the incident shows now much care is necessary in resting sheep before dipping so as to allow them to cool down properly, and it suggests also that great cure should be exercised not to overdrive or heat the sheep after their bath.

SOME POINTERS IN DIPPING. There are a few rocks to avoid in sheendipping which the inexperienced are likely to como to giicf on, but which can easily bo avoided with. care. The writer used a concrete bath 604 t long, and found that even •with a bath of that length the sheen left to themselves were not" in the bath for more than 30 or 40 seconds, and that was found to bo quite long enough provided that the dip soaked right in to the skin all over the sheep. Most of the makers stipulate for a one-minute immersion, and with an immersion of that duration the 6hcep are more likely to be thoroughly saturated than they are with a shorter swim. It is therefore advisable to have one man with a crutch to dip under every cheep which has any dry patches on his head or shoulders. This poition of the body is often missed altogether, atid when two or three sheep jump in together and one of them lands on ton of the others, or on all fours, with a splash, its back, neck, and head escape immersion. If the orutoh is not waiting' to dip tinder such a s-heep many ticks and parasites may escape. Very few of the sheop are well soaked on the back of the head and neck unices the stream passing through the bath is temporarily stopped. A number of sheep swimming in a narrow bath lake a wave right ahead of them, and when thick in the dip each sheep is supporting his head on the tail of tlu one in front of him. tinder such "circumstances. unless each sheep separately is checked and dipped tinder, many will get through with a dry head. A little cam in regulating the number of sheep in the bath car; overcome that, and with a poisonous dip it is not eo materia] because when the ticks, move round the fleece they get poisoned with the dip suspended in the wool, but when the din is non-pcisonous and dries en the shcop, any portion which has not been thoroughly soaked carries live ticks and eggs. Thus we find with the noit-puuonous dip that long before shearing OJ-n-c eomos round the sheep arc as badly jntested as ever. The non-poisonous dip is .speei*llv yaluablo for dipping fattening lambs or fattening sheep of any kind, but it cannot

be regarded as w reliable for general dipping purposes. Whatever may be said' to the contrary, poisonous dips give the sheep « temporary set back, especially noticeable in lambs, and that should be avoided with sheep going shortly on to the market by the use of a non-poisonous liquid dip, which has also this advantage, that it is very much more easily handled and mixed.

THE CAPACITY OF A SHEEP DIP. The best way to ascertain the capacity of a sheep dip after the concrete hus set is to measure the water into it from a tank of known capacity. If a 400-gallon tank is set. up on the edge of the dip in such a way that a tap from it will deliver when turned on into the dip, the inside measurement may be divided up into four, and every hundred gallons drawn off separately and marked on some measuring stick. Permanent marking on the inside of the bath is likely to get, obliterated, and the height of every 100 gallons can be notched on to a measuring rod with a saw. and thus secured permanently. The following formula may also bo used: —Supposing the length of the bath on top is 480 in and on the bottom 288 in, the mean lengths will be 384 in. The width on top 24in and on bottom 9in, the mean width will be 162 m. and the depth to the waterlino 54in. The cubic contents will then be 3£4in x lfjjin x 54in. which gives 342.144 cubic inches, and as there are 27 cubic inches in a gallon, such a bath will contain 1235 gallons.

ARGENTINE LAMB. There seems to be some doubt as to uhe- ! ther Argentine lamb will ever bo an important factor in opposition to the New Zealand product. Some think they will not. On the other hand, we find the.ir shipment* increasing from year to year. i And they are bound to have some effect on the market. The following are the .shipments of lamb from Argentine for the last four months:

The above figures show a decided in- [ crease in the shipments, and. although not ■ sufficiently large to control the market, the i quantity, combined with fairly regular l supply and the fact that some of the lambs ! are of a decent quality, enables the Ameri- . cans to sell in such a way as to keep down ! the price a bit. The earlier arrivals of Plate lambs were of good nuality, but they I did not, enter into competition with New i Zealand, as few of the latter were on the ! market. The Plate lambs arriving now I arc much plainer, and, if they do not imi prove, we need not fear them this season. ! On the one hand, we have people who say ' bbat a biff lamb export cannot be developed ; ; on the other hand, we have the Yankees who are confident to the contrary. 1 am inclined to atrrec with the latter, actions speaking louder than works and the fijrure.s priven certainly substantiate their opinions. In the past the quality of the Plato la-mi* has not been very good, and, therefore, did not compete to any extent will) Xew Zealand: each sea- e however, nn irv>~ovoment is noticeable, and should this improvement continue, and at the -(.me lime ; the numbers greatly increase. T am afraid fcheif !5 the Argentine we would have a formid«b!o competitor. Without wishing to moralise, T think you will see that, even on the of rnoro competition, it is u« to New Zealand to keep up the quality ae much as possible.

MARKING FROZEN MUTTON. It does not matter much what British paper, is taken up, there i s nearly always a complaint to be seen from some of the farmers that frozen meat it, being sold for nome-jfrown and demanding legislation that it be specially marked so that the public may know what- they are buying. The following, from the Scottish Farmer, is a sample:—"A representative meeting of Scottish agriculturists, which was held in Edinburgh, to discuss the Insurance Act, also took into consideration the question of the sale of foreign meat, and Mr Scott, Fearn moved that immediate action be taken in order that legislation might bo introduced compelling dealers in butcher meat to declare what class of meat they dealt in, and that one class of meat only could be sold in any particular premises. He thought that this matter had now come to a crisis. In the London market some 60 to 80 tons of Scotch beef and a few thousand carcases of Scotch mutton were consigned thrice weekly, but they did not know how many tons of foreign beef or carcases of foreign mutton were sold as Scotch to the consuming public. At present there was a very big trade in foreign sheep, and it was alleged that the carcases of these sheep were dressed in such a way as to appear as carcases of home sheep, with the result that it was practically impossible for tno consumers to know what class of meat they were getting. It might be possible in the first place for the Board of Agriculture to appoint inspectors, whose duty it would bo to look into the matter. Tire motion was unanimously agreed to, and it was resolved to refer the matter also to the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture to be taken up, or, if not immediately taken up by the chamber, to be referred to the committee to bo appointed in connection with the question of the Insurance Act."

RYELAND AND ROMNKY CROSS The Government has secured from Mr E. Short 40 Romney ewes for the purpose of experimenting with a new cross for wool and meat-production on the State farm at Moumahaki, The Romneys will be mated with Ryelands, and it is thought that a splendid mutton sheep will be obtained. The result of the experiment will be watched with interest. One would have thought that any action taken by the State farms would have been in the direction of showing how the staple complained of by the spinners in the Old Country could have been improved upon, instead of experimenting with breeds which have been instrumental in shortening it. Blockowners know already how to produce "Canterbury" mutton. They know already that English and Border Leicester?, with the merino, were the breeds which established that reputation, and the extended use of those breeds would do much to make that class of sheep more plentiful, and cut away the ground for criticism. That is the lesson that is wanted more than any other in the Dominion at present. AN IMPORTANT CONSIGNMENT. It is always refreshing to hear of purebred animals being imported into the Dominion. There is abundance of room for them. They will all help to remove the reproach that our wool is going back in quality. An English exchange says that the shipment of 24 ewes and one rain from Mr Arthur Finn's flock, Wcstbroke, Lydd, to Messrs Michelson and Co., of Auckland, New Zealand, completed the most important consignment of that breed which has ever been shipped to New Zealand. During the past 15 months Mr Arthur Finn has dispatched to New Zealand no fewer than 76 picked selected ewes from his grand flock, which was founded in the year 1770. These were accompanied by four rams, specially selected by Mr Finn for their typical characteristics, even fleece, and cood wool. The 24 ewes last shipped, accompanied by a ram bred by Mr W. M. Cazalet, are probably the pick of the whole consignment. These ewes, born in the year 1909, wore specially mated, previously to shipment, to a ram that Mr Arthur Finn selected himself as a stud sheep. This fine ram, which has been in service in the Westbroke flock, was bred by Mr R. S. Shouts, owner of flock No. 132. and was the get of a ram bred by Mr F. Neame, of Macknade. Faversham, out of a ewe bred bv Mr R. S. Strouts by Mr G. Farmer's No. 4 of 1904. CHRISTCHURCH PRICES. It is no doubt inevitable that we in the south should get the leavings of the best flocks after-our best bleeders have sold their tops in Christchurch. At any rate that seems to be the ease when very much higher prices are realised there for stud sheep than can be obtained in Dunedin. Twenty-five years ago it was the other way about, but when North Island buyers began to fill their requirements from the south it was so much cheaper for them to do so in Christchurch than to come further south. It was also the case that the enterprise of Christchurch auctioneers made much better provision for the sale of purebred animals than wo had. At the recent ram fair at the Addington Show grounds the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company sold a one-shear Border Leicester ram, bred by Mr T. Little, of "Rocklea," Ngapnra. to Mr 11. J. Harrison. Rakaia. for 35i<s. The same firm sold a three-shear Border Leicester ram from the same flock to Mr J. Henderson, Dunsandel, for I6gs.

October November December January, 1012 Totals .. 1911. JW.989 . . 117.430 . . 144.600 . 75.500 . . 376,419 1910. 18.000 67.000 95,000 72.000 252.00C