STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3103, 3 September 1913, Page 15

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly Stock Sales: Monthly t Bnrnslde, Wednesdays. Npepara, first Thursday Ashburton, Tneadays. In each month. Addington Wednesday*. Glenay . seoon d WedWalareka Railway Juno- , J ’ . ach mo nth. Uon Tuesday.. se 'nd Friday Fortnightly: , n mon th. WlnClinton, Thursdays. on> and Waikouultl. Bulclutha, Friday*. J3ore. Tuesdays. Periodically : 6amaju, Tuesdays. Palmerston, Iforiot, Invercargill, Tuesdays. Kelso, Kycbum. BURNSIDE YARDS. There was an entry of 213 fat cattle at the Burnside stock sales last week. A largo proportion of the yarding was made up of prime bullocks, and, taken all round, the quality was better than those yarded the previous week. Prices were down about 15s per head, and beef mav be quoted at about 36s per 1001 b. The small yarding of 1710 fat sheep was due to the recent floods interrupting the railway service. There was barely sufficient to meet butchers’ requirements, and prices were about Is 6cl per head higher than those ruling the previous week. Extra heavy-weight wethers wore well competed for, and one small pen of seven wethers brought 36s 6d. Prices for prime sorts ranged from 28s to 30s; medium to good, 24s to 275. Ewes brought up to .39s for extra good quality. The entry of dairy cows was about as usual, and sold at late ruling rates. The 45 fat pigs penned sold at late rates, and the 19 storo pigs forward real sed good prices. COUNTRY SALES. The usual sale was held at Balclutha on Friday, the 22nd ult. The sheep yarded totalled between 3000 and 4000. Iheie was a keen demand for all descriptions, and high prices ruled. Best wethers 26s to 30s, good 23s to 255, store do. 19s 9d to 21s, extra good two-tooth ewes brought up to 30s, four and six toothed owes to 265, aged owes 15s to 18s, extra good hoggets, mixed sexes, brought 20s 6d, medium do 15s 17s. The cattle numbered about 200, including some 60 dairy cows. Fat bqllocks brought up to £l3, best fat heifers to £ll. Best dairy cows up to £lO, fair to good £6 to £B, inferior £4 to £5, store steers from £6 to £9, mixed two-yoar-ohl cattle to £4 15s. The usual fortnightly stock sale was held at Clinton on Thursday, the 21st ult. About 1500 sheep and 20 head of cattle wore yarded. There was again a brisk demand', and late rates wore well maintained. Six and eight toothed ewes brought 255, fat wethers up to 245. forward wethers to 2s. best ewe hoggets 19s Pd, best wether do 17s, medium hoggets from 15s to 17s. ADDINGTON MARKETS. The quality of the 231 head of fat cattle varded at the Addington yards was, on the whole, below that of previous markets. The market was higher, and prices were on s par with those ruling a week earlier. Beef realised from 27s to 35s per 1001 b. All descriptions were represented in the store cattle yarded. The demand was fairly brisk, and good animals attracted special attention. The entry of fat sheep totalled 5000. a drop of 2000 "on the previous week’s yarding. The bulk of those penned consisted of wethers, with a few pens of owes and hoggets. The market opened strongly, ami prices were higher than in the previous week by Is for heavy sheep and 6d for lighter sorts; but us the sale advanced prices receded to about those ruling in the previous week. The high prices ruling at the opening of the market was attributed to the fact that graziers were likely to participate. Extra prime wethers made to 335. 6d; prime, 25s 6d to 31s; ewes to 24s 9d, and hoggets to 19s 6J. Fair-quality wethers formed the larger proportion of the small entry of store sheep, the bulk cf the balance being composed of hoggets. The demand was fair, and ovcrvtVrng sold at high riding rates. The largo' entry of an indifferent class of dairy cows sold from £4 to £ll 2s 6d. The yarding of fat pigs included some of very prime quality, but there was no quotable change on the previous week 6 prices. * CULLING SHEEP. The experienced sheep man who is most successful lays stress upon two things. The first is having plenty of feed during tbo lambing, either as pasture or in grown crops, to supplement the pasture, and the second is judicious culling among the breeding stock. No matter how good a flock may boT there will always t>e Some inferior specimens. These should be culled out and replaced by younger sheep of one’s own breeding if possible, or as near as possible to the typo already characteristic o.f the main flock." This, of course, is not so important when dealing with the halfbred or crossbred owes, aa in the cas© of a purebred flock. It is, nevertheless, good practice to cull severely, so as to maintain the highest possible standard. In these day* of breeding sheep for mutton and lamb there is no reason for paying too little attention 'to the fleece. The careful breeder takes this into serious consideration. He will not tolerate a ewe with a loose, washy fleece any mn« than he will overlook those with weak point*

in the conformation of the carcase, such as a mean head, weak nock, Hat ribs, drooping quarters, or a shabby leg of mutton. The advantages of having the flock of one typo are, first, the lambs or ehcep mature at one fhno; secondly, they wiU fatten more evenly, and tlu;a enable the- faxmcr to get them a)vay in oven drafts,"which | is very desirable; and, thirdly, tiio wool will be more of an even length of staple, and of tho one class, which will in turn command a higher price than that of 'a mixed lot. It is by selecting, culling, and judiciously mating that the good sheep of tho present day owe their robust, rounded carcase and their even fleece of wool. If we neglect to cull the inferior sheep and allow them to go on season after season, ? they are inclined to revert back towards their original wild character. The soleotion of the male as well J as tho female ia f of tho utmost importance.

THE AMERICAN BEEF TRUST, j Alarmists saw in tho recent advance of prices • of Argentine cattle and. the low prices realised in London for the heavy shipments of chilled beef tho beginning of the war by tho American Beef Trust to freeze out ' rivals.— The process was thus outlined:— The American Trust has put up the price of oattlo in tho Argentine from 50 per cent, to 70 per cent, higher tihan it was two or , three years ago. Although in a small measuro this rise may be due to a shortage in suitable stock resulting from tho drought of 1910-11, tho fact cannot bo ignored that payment of these prices has been engineered by the trust so as to weaken as much as possible all other competing companies Breeders will soon be face to face with the problem that if tho monopoly of tho freezing and general meat ox;>ort trade fails into the hands of tho American Trust, price* for cattle on tho hoof will very soon ha brought down again with a run, and tho operation of breaking the breeder will commence, just as is tho attempt which is now being made to break the competing export companies. In consequence of appreciating these facts tho Argentine breeder finds that he has to look ahead, and to quickly got out of any fool’s paradise which lie may imagine himself to bo in at the present moment on account of the high prices ruling for stock, and to endeavour to grasp the situation a? to what will be his own end as a breeder if the American Trust shall become paramount. What affects the Argentine to-day may in a few years’ time bo affecting Australia and Now Zealand. No harm is done by sounding a warning note, lint it would appear tho warning was a little premature. Tho C.C. and 1). Co. in their report of June 12, sav«: —“Interest in tho future of the chilled-beef business is unabated, and, although the Argentine Government, found themselves unable to accede to the request that they should take stcjis to exercise some control over the industry, tho importing companies appear to have successfully overcome their difficulties for the present, as a reduction in prices in j Argentina has been accompanied by a ' material improvement in prices here. It i* noteworthy that th : a has born accomplished in the face of continued heavy shipments; but the market appears able to absorb them without the assistance of * break-up ’ prices. Tho closing quotations arc sid to s|d per lb for hindquarters and to per lb for fores. It is a little difficult to find, any reasonable oxp'anation of the wide difference of over 2d per lb between tho two parts of tho beast. These prices have been established without any corresponding advance in home-bred beef—in fact, both English and Scotch side* are slightly easier than a month ago, although the supplies offered are still very moderate.”

PROTECTING SHEEP IN RAILWAY TRUCKS. Now that complaints are rife about sheep trucks on our railways, and losses through falling when travelling for long distances, attention may be directed to a device patented by Mr H, Preston Stark, of New South Wales. The device can be used on the ordinary two-deck sheep truck. The floors arc to be covered with chequered frames, which can be raised very simply, and retained at any height desired. Tho method of procedure is to hav;e the framework on the floor when loading, when it provides a secure foothold for the cheep. When tho floor is filled the frame is to bo gradually raised until it is just on a level with the (animals’ bellies, their legs penetrating through the interstices. In this position it is impossible that they should fall, as in cuss of the logs giving way the body is supported by tho framework. This latter is of flexible material, and in tho ultimate truck it is proposed to ho of chain covered with short tubes to prevent discomfort or possibly hitching. Provision is made against sagging, and the spacing is such as to prevent jamming or pinching in any way. When the sheep arrive at i their destination tho frame is to bo lowered 'io allow tho sheep to be driven out. 1 SOUND, CLEAN MILK. It is satisfactory to find that the South Island Dairy Association has taken in hand tho making of regulations to ensure that clean milk is supplied to dairy factories. Tho regulations, which are published elsewhere, if adopted by directors of factories connected with the association, should do a vast amount o? good. They represent tho minimum precautions necessary to secure , f'lean milk, and there should be no sympathy with tho suppliers, who refuse to

comply with their requirements. Those who supply good, sound, clean milk arc entitled to protection from factory managers and directors against the slovenly and careless supplier. The pity of it is that there should be engaged in the industry persons against whom it is necessary to make regulations, such, for instance, us that kerosene tins and gaivanised-iron vessels must, not bo used. If the suppliers as a whole support the factory managers and directors in this matter the few who will not conform to the regulations will soon be brought to their senses. THE DAIRYING BRANCH. According to the Dairy Association’s circular the dairying branch of the Department of Agriculture is about to issue instructions for keeping milking machines clean. These may prove serviceable where the users of the machine are anxious to supply sound, clean, milk; but something more than instruction appears to be necessary in many instances. On this point Mr Fred Nathan said some very plain things at the annual Dairy Conference at Palmerston North, when ho spoke as follows: “There is no question to my mind that the adverse reports we have had from London arc due to the filthy milk we get from filthy milking machines. I am not talking from hearsay—l am talking from what I have actually seen; and not only are the milking machines filthy, but the separators also. I have seen separators with maggots in them, and I have seen milking machines in such a state that it was impossible to get the milk down through the pipe. We have had to send a man round to get the farmers to clean the machines, and inside of a week the machines are as bad as ever again. Although it may, perhaps, be a nasty and rude thing to say. one is inclined 'to think tliat because farmers arc mixing so much with pigs, they do not recognise dirt when they see it. Until they do recognise it wo are going to have this trouble. I might mention that some agents have got instructions not to buy butter from certain factories this season, and you have onlv got yourselves to blame in this matter. The department can stop a man milking, but they won't. One can almost call the Department of Dairy Inspectors a department of ‘could not and would no l'—they can’t do this, and they won't do that,' and the result of the whole thing is that, the position we have attained through backing up the department and struggling to get to the market with our butter is going to be ruined through 50 nor cent, of the farmer* being too cussed lazv to clean their machines. The suggestion I made to the Prime Minister, when I interviewed him a short time ago. was that every dairy farmer should be registered, and if the whole of the separator room and milking plant was not kept in proper order and condition, the factory—if a private concern, then the pro-prietor-directors should report the matters to the department. They could then visit the farm and give that man seven days to clean up and put his place in proper order. . Then, if he does not do so, give him no more seven days, but cancel his registration and prevent him supplying milk.” REJECTED MILK. Dairy factories as a rule are not so close together in the South as they arc in the

North Island, and as a consequence the competition for milk is not so keen as it is in the North Island. All the same, >t might be desirable that there should bo an agreement amongst dairy factories that they shall not-receive milk from a supplier when it has been refused by the manager of another factory. Much of the dirtiness of milk in the North Island is put down to the strong competition that takes place between co-operative and nroprictary factories. According to Mr Moore, who followed Mr Nathan in speaking at the conference referred to, and was rather inclined to think Mr Nathan had reflected' too severely on the farmers in the district, the competition was so keen that if one dirty supplier left a proprietary company the 00-operativo companies were only too willing to shake hands with that supplier and get his supply. So long as that kind of thing goes on we need not expect the careless, slovenly man to turn over a new leaf. UNDESIRABLE FLAVOURS. That it is important to avoid the use of vessels which rust or from which small particles of iron or copper may got into the milk is shown by the investigations of the United States Dairy Division. It was found that the presence of very small amounts of iron or copper in the cream cause, certain undesirable flavours to increase in intensity during storage. These flavours arc often designated as “metallic,” “oily.” or “fishy. Experiments were carried out using known quantities varying from 1 to 500 parts to a million parts’ of cream. The butter ay as stored and examined at intervals varying from 20 to 187 days. The most noticeable feature avas the rapid development' of bad flavours in the butter containing the. iron. Butter made from cream which had stood in rusty cans developed a peculiar taste easily picked out. The influence of copper avas even more marked than that of iron. The work shows that if cream is kept in rusty cans or comes in contact avith iron or copper during the process of butter-making it may take up iron or copper from rusty cans, exposed bolt headis, or other metal parts of pasteurisers or churns in sufficient quantity to affect the flavour of storage butter. While there is nothing to show that the nature of the flavour is appreciably changed, it does demonstrate very clearly that the rate of development of tlie undesirable flavour is greatly accelerated during storage by very small quantities of iron or copper. It is almost'.unnecessary to say that the remarks apply to cheese as well as to butter. THE USE OF THE SEPARATOR.

Hero arc a few points which should pc kept in mind by those who use separators; (1) See that the machine is perfectly level, including the stand and machine when put together, and test occasionally to see if correct; (2) keep all lubricators full and in perfect working order; (3) run the machine at the speed advised by the makers; at ad times turn or run at an even speed-, not increasing or decreasing during separating operations; (4) get up speed gradually, and allow to run at full speed for a few minutes before turning on the milk tap; (5) allow the machine to run down of its own accord, excepting, of course, those typos with- brakes attached; never stop the machine when running quickly, as it is sure to throw the bearings out of the level; (6) clean all parts thoroughly when taken to nieces. If these matters were attended to regularly by the operator in charge thei‘6 should not lie much difficulty in getting the machine to do its work properly—tliat is, making a clean skimming. The machine, if in good working order, should not leave any more than I per cent, fat in the separated milk; this may be tested occasionally, and if this figure is much higher there is evidently something radically wrong with the machine and it- should be overhauled at once and the fault remedied. t FIG-FEEDING TRIALS.

Mr Charles White, of Newnham. Tasmania, has conducted several useful tests on feeding pigs on grain. The latest he has in Viand (save the Launceston Courier) deals with fattening pigs with barley, based on the average price. The experiment bejtan on May 12 of this year, with four pigs, Berkshire-Yorkshire cross. The results were: Live weight of pigs on May 12. 2561 b; number of days fed, 73: live weight on July 23, 7271 b; live weight increase, 491 b; daily average gain per pig. 1.681 b; food consumed, 15431 b, 30.80 bushels crushed barlev, 1001 b sharps ; live weight of pigs, 7271 b; less 301 b offal each, 1201btotal, 6071 b. Starting weight, less 201 b offal each, 1561 b; estimated dead weight gained, 451 b; at 4d per lb, £7 10s 4d; 30g bushels Ixirley at 4s per bushel, £6 2s; —profit, £l 8s 4d. No allowance or charge is calculated for attendance on the pigs. It will be noted that the price of barley has been calculated at 4s, whereas the actual market rate is only 3s to 3s 3d. This would allow of another 30s profit, or 7s 6d per head. Mr White proposes to pursue the tost, further. Commenting on the above, another pig-breeder remarked that in the event of barley being dear, as was often the case during a dry year, stout short oats would prove a very good second. Good short oats, growing fine, was almost equal to barley mixed with milk. A VALUABLE PROPERTY. The following, which appeared in the Napier Daily Telegraph in reply to a- Southland inquirer, lias attracted some attention: “Mr G. P. Donnelly’s Turn moo property consists of about 1800 acres. The manager wintered 15 wethers and hoggets (mixed) to the acre, and in the following spring the ground carried 19 sheen to the acre, in addition to 500 head of bullocks which were being fattened.” On the above paragraph being brought under t.lie notice of a gentleman who is well acquainted with the grazing capabilities of the North Island, he rcniarked that it was rather a large order. Ho knows the property referred to, which is probably one of the best, in the Hawke’s Bay district. but his experience lias been that any land carrying anything like the number of stock mentioned would become foul in a short time, and the stock would have to bo removed or largely reduced. On that account ho thinks it would not be safe to have more than five or six sheep to the aero in the Hastings fiats. When a phenomenal growth sot in after warm rain during the spring the sheep had to be removed and the grass cut for hay.