STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3196, 16 June 1915, Page 16

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly Stock Sales. Burnside, Wednesdays Ashburton, Tuesdays Addington, Wednesdays Waiareka Railway Junction, Tuesdays. Fortnightly. Clinton, Thursday# baiclutha, .Fridays tlore, Tuesdays Oamuru, Tuesdays Wallaeetown, Tuesdays. Monthly. Palmerston, Ist Monday Ngapara & Wintou, Ist Thursday

Mataura & Waikouaitl 2nd Thursday Riverton, 3rd Thursday Wyndham, last Thursday Balfour & Thornbury, Ist Friday Duntroon & Otautau, 2nd Friday Riversdale, 3rd Friday Waikaka ; last Friday. Periodically. Heriot, Kelso, Waipiata, Lumsdcn, Mossburc. Orepuki, Clilden.

BURNSIDE MARKET. At Burnside on Wednesday 3372 fat sheep were yarded, comprised mainly of inferior sorts, perhaps two-third of the yarding being northern sheep—a proportion being useful and well-finished animals. Values of heavy sheep were easier throughout the sale, while others, although opening easy, sold at values ruling the previous week. Best wethers made from 23s 6d to 265; others, 20s to 22s 6d; best ewes, 20s to 225; others, 17s 3d to 19s; extra heavy sheep, 26s 9d to 27s 9d. The 700 fat lambs penned ranged from good to bad. Best sorts sold at rather better prices than the previous sale, making from 18s 6d to 21s; medium, 15s 6d to 17s; light, 11s 6d to 13s 6d; extra, to 22s 9d. There were 190 medium-weight fat cattle yarded, which sold at • prices, comparatively, much the same as the previous week, beef making from 30s to 37s 6d per 1001 b. Best bullocks, £l3 5a to £l4 7s 6d; others, £ll 15s to £l2 17s 6d ; best heifers, £9 10s to £l2 5s ; others, £5 5s to £6 15s. The 70 ordinary and young sorts of store cattle were not in demand, and values ruling for same in this market show no improvement on recent values. Dairy cows were forward in small numbers, and were mainly ordinary sorts, and sold at £4 to £9 2s 6d, while calves made from 12s to 30s. About 70 fat pigs were penned and but 16 stores. The baconera wore chiefly light-weights, but sold well; while porkers were hardly so keenly sought after. Others were neglected.

ADDINGTON YARDS. The yarding of fat sheep was fair, and freezing buyers, having some space, forced prices, and values rapidly firmed to the extent of 3s per head, compared with last week, a capital sale resulting. Quotations: Prime wethers, 19s to 265; prime ewes, 17s to 245; ordinary wethers and ewes, 15s 6d ' to 18s 6d and 14s to 16s 6d respectively. The 1588 fat lambs penned, ranging from prime to unfinished, also participated in exporters’ operations, and values were better than recent ruling rates, ranging from 6jd j to 7d over all. Quotations: Prime lambs, 18s to 22s 6d; medium, 15s to 18s 6d. In the store sheep pens good wethers and lambs sold freely. There was but a moderate yarding. Ewe hoggets, to 11s lOd; good mixed, 10s to 11s; forward wethers, to 18s 6d. There was a fair supply of fat cattle forward, comprising good sorts. Values for beef ruled much the Same as the previous week —viz., from 23s to 37s 6d per 1001 b. The quality of the yarding was considerably better' than has been the case lately. The demand for the medium young stores, in consequence of lack of feed, was dull, and sales were difficult to effect. The yarding of fat pigs sold freely, and North Island buyers operating a brisk sale resulted for all sorts. Dairy cows of quality were scarce, and sales were freely made of animals showing promise at up to £ll 10s. COUNTRY SALES. At Palmerston last week there were but small entries, Show Week in Dunedin having drawn all farmers to town. At Balclutha on Friday there was a good yarding of sheep, chiefly breeding ewes. The space question, as with freezing, works further afield, is a serious matter. The demand was slack. Six thousand sheep were offered, and values ruled as follow:—Prime wethers, 22s to 245; medium, 18s to 20s 6d; prime ewes, 21s to 235; medium, 16s to 18s; prime weighty lambs, to 21s 9d; others, 15s to 17s 6d. The cattle offered sold freely excepting for young sorts; At Clinton but small yardings of stock were on offer, and the demand was not keen. __ TO STOCK BREEDERS. It will be noticed from an advertisement appearing in this issue that competitions open to the world are to be held in connection with live stock at the PanamaPacific International Exhibition at San Francisco. Entries are invited from New Zealand, no entry fee is charged,, and transport to and from the Exhibition for all animals entered from New Zealand will bo free. Entries are to be in the hands of the secretary of the Executive Committee, Panama-Pacific Exhibition, care Department of Agriculture, Wellington, by 31st July next. It is anticipated that Romneys and Corvicdalcs, in fact all purebred animals sent, will be eagerly sought after, and that American sheep-owners, according to Mr Clifton, the New Zealand Commissioner at San Francisco, are intensely, interested in New Zealand sheep. Further details may be obtained from the local secretary in Wellington, and it now remains for our studmasters to rise to the occasion and demonstrate how we can grow British breeds in the Southern Hemisphere. SERIOUS DROUGHT. A report from Wagga estimates that, as a result of the drought. New South Wales will have lost 15,000,000' sheep, over 1,000,000 cattle, and a great many horses. In Riverina this estimate is considered to understate the mortality among sheep. In the Tarcutta district the first cold blast killed off fully one-third of the sheep. In the Junce district sheep have died in thoq* sands, and are still dying, and similar tohty is taking place in most parts of Siverina. One owner, who sent 13,000 goodass sheep away to grass, had only 3000 to bring back. The inspectors of the Stoo|: Pastures protection Board report that stock is everywhere in poof condition} grass hi

very scarce, but water is plentiful. Crops are doing exceptionally well. Even those wheat crops which had been sown early, and apparently died down through lack of moisture in April and the two weeks ot May, have revived and are growing vigorously, giving excellent promise of an abundant yield. » TREE-PLANTING. Planting suitable timber trees, in order to be able to cope with the future commercial export of fruit from New Zealand, merits our attention. A correspondent writer in the Nelson Evening Mail hits the_ nail on the head, and his remarks are applicable to Central Otago quite as much as to Nelson. Ho says, inter alia : “It certainly is a fact that most kinds of fruit do remarkably well in the Nelson district, but where do you get your timber for cases to pack your fruit in? You have no forests around Nelson that will produce a great number of cases, and I should say that the Nelson district will want many million cases a year shortly. I mad© inquiries at the mills at Motueka, and was told that they were turning out about 8000 cases per day, and yet could not half keep up with the demand; that the timber was cut somewhere in the Collingwood district, and on the West Coast; that this supply would be worked out in a few years; and they did not know w'here the future supply was coming from. Now, supposing the supply had to come from Canada, or even as close as Australia, the price of those millions of cases would go right out of the Dominion, and bo a loss to your landholders, who have land wasting. In fact, worse than wasting, it is growing noxious weeds, and pests of all sorts. Why not grow forest trees on this land? Surely there is someone in your district who could supply, say, pine trees in quantity.” HEREFORD BULL SALES. A record for April was established at the show and sale of pedigree Hereford bulls held in connection with the Hereford Herd Book Society at Hereford on Wednesday. There was again an excellent home trade. The area from which the purchasers come is rapidly extending, and this applies notably to Gloucestershire and Midland counties and Wales. The Board of Agriculture purchasing officers were again good customers. The entries numbered 225. The best prices were lOOgs, 115 gs, 85gs, the general run being from 40gs to 60ga.