RURAL AFFAIRS IN THE HOME LAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3384, 22 January 1919, Page 15

RURAL AFFAIRS IN THE HOME LAND.

SENSATIONAL PRICES FOR PEDIGREE CATTLE. . REMARKABLE TRADE FOR CLYDESDALES. (From Otjr Special Correspondent.) GLASGOW, November 2. No branch of British enterprise has been so severely tested during the four years of war as that of agriculture in all its departments. So far as prices are concerned, there has been nothing to complain of except perhaps in certain instances where the cost of feeding-siufis has made a profit almost an impossibility, as, for instance, in the production of/ milk. Lar<ie demands have been made upon the farmers of the country, and they have responded nobly. In every parish in the United Kingdom the Government has called for a greatly increased amount of tillage, while at the same time the'y have depleted the labour supply to such an extent that many farmers were often at their wit's end to know how to meet their obligations to their country. The flower of the young men belonging to the farm-servant class have joined the fighting forces of the nation, leaving their employers with few others than those over military age. But the resources of the country were not exhausted even then. In other departments of trade, such as engineering and the production of munitions, every encouragement was given by way of high prices and the exemption of young men, but not so in the production of food. Sie farmer had to find his own way out of e difficulty, and make good the wants of the authorities' and their fellow creatures. Men who had long since gone into retirement came forward and " did their bit," however little that might be, and the women folks of the country have played a part in the emergency which will for ever redourid to then.-, oredit. In cultivation and in stock-raising they have regarded no duty as too menial, and night and day they have stuck to their work until now, when the end of the fighting is near at hand, the British farmer, and particularly the Scottish farmer, can claim that his victory is as complete as anything which has been accomplished on the field of battle. CLYDESDALE AFFAIRS. So far as the exportation of Clydesdale horses is concerned the year 1918 has been almost a blank. Up to the present—-and it is' not likely that any more will leave this season —the numbers are as follows: South America, 3; Canada, 2; South Afrioa, 2; and the United States of America 14—in all 21. This paucity in numbers has, of course, to be largely accounted for by the lack of shipping facilities and the enormous prices ruling in thi3 pountry. As I have, already indicated in these columns, a great boom in Clydesdales is expected when hostilities cease, and there is now little doubt of this being so. My only fear was that this might in some degree be checked by the distribution' of a large number of horses from the army for ordinary work on road and field. I gave expression to this view a few days ago to a veterinary major who was home on leave. He assured me that there was no fear of anything of the kind taking place, as an enormous number of animals of this class would bo required in France and Belgium to overtake the work there, and in other countries of the Allies as well. At any rate the prices of high-class Clydesdales and of seasoned geldings of the breed have never reached such figures as those now prevailing. One of the great events of the year in the Clydesdale world in Scotland is the annual sale at Lanark. The business there will afford a fair indication of the trend of things in general. The sales extended over four days, and the stock disposed of consisted of the surplus stock from the various studs in the country. A feeling was abroad that a limit had been reached meantime for commercial horses; but that limit, it will be admitted, is a very good one. On the first day of the sale the stock included 86 mares from three to eight years old. As is customary a show was held previous to the sale, at which awards were made. The first prize mare, a three-year-old by Stonewall Jackson (18132) out of a dam by Scotland's Special (13737), made £325, and the second prize one, a year older, got by Scottish Crest (13182), was bought for £2£o. The 86 mares sold averaged £ll6 19s 3d, as compared with £99 last year. There was nothing "classy" in this department. Geldings were selling at quite phenomenal figures, 128 of them making too fine average of £l2O as against £ll4 2s 9d in 1917. The first prize horse realised £290, and another from the same stud made £240. The second prize gelding, however, topped the market at £3OO, whilo a second animal from the same owner realised £240. These horses were the last to enter the ring and made a fine finish up for the day. So far as I know no suoh price as £3OO has ever before been paid for a five-year-old gelding. On the second day of the sale some 75 brood mares and seven stallions were posed of, the former averaging £l3B Is 4d and the latter £lO9 Bs_ 9d each. There was nothing vory outstanding in either section. The top figure for mares was £SOO, given for Greenfoot Nannie (41904), a five-year-old by the double champion Bonnie Buch-

lyvie out of a Buchlyvie Again mother, and tracing back to other noted horses, including the Cawdor Cup winner Revelanta. Mr William Dunlop, Dunure Mains, Ayr, is one of those men who know exactly the animals which fit ono another. He bought from Mr George Argo, Petty, Fyvie, for £430 the throe-year-old mate Marigold by his own horse Auchenflower (12007) out of a dam by Baron of Buchlyvie (11263), other sires represented in the pedigree being Sir Hugo and Baron's Pride. This is. indeed, remarkable breeding—on tho sire's side, Achenflower by Montrave Mac, Montravo Mao by Macgregor, and Macgregor by Darnley; and on the other side, first dam by Baron of Buchlyvie, second dam by Sir Hugo, and third day by Baron's Pride, the half-brother of Sir Hugo and the sire of Baron of Buchlyvie. The only stallion to attract attention was Blackwood Chief (19008), a three-year-old by Dunure Magnet, out oi a dam by Douglas Chief. He went to County Durham at £3OO.

The great feature of the day's business was the sale of the foals. Eighty nine filly foals—some of them very young—averaged £B7 3s 3d, as compared with £SB 63 Id last year, and 118 colt foals averaged £6O 13s 3d as against £42 2s 5d in 1917. The blood of the celebrated Dunure Footprint (15203) predominated, and if there is one feature of the Olydesdalo trade which has in it an element of doubt it is the preponderance of one line of blood—that of Baron Pride (9122). The first prize colt foal was by Dunure Footprint out of Mary Howat (38670), by Bonnie Buchlyvie, a half-brother of Footprint, and, starting at £SO, he finished at £4OO, going to Carsbrook Mains, Larbert. When tho second prize foal entered the ring the sale was well advanced. Ho was from the stud of George Argo, and there was a lot of people after him. Got b v Dunure Indenendence (18706), he is out of Royal Bell "(23633), by Montravo Mao (9958), tracing back to Royal Champion and the noted Gartsherrie. In the end he passed out to join the famous Dunure stud at £550. This is, I believe, a record for a Clydesdale foal of the age — five months old. A large proportion of the others made £IOO and over. The first prize filly foal was bought by Mr James Howie, Hillhouse, Kilmarnock, the noted breeder of Ayrshire cattle, who has recently been going in for the very best class of Clydesdales. At the good figure of £340 he secured a daughter of Dunure Intent (18334) out of a King's Cup Bearer (15038) dam. The second prize colt, by Dowhill Stepping Stone (19092) out of a Sir Dighton mother, was sold at £285. For the third prize filly foal, by Golden Wonder (19138), the price was £l6O. Drumcross Radient, a big powerful horse which won the Cawdor Cup and Brydon Challenge Shield a few years ago, is somewhat of an outcross from the Baron's Pride lino of blood, and his stock are selling well. Mr James Howie gave £l7O for a filly foal by him. Three big stylish filly foals from Mr Chapman's stud at Johnston, Glenboig, sold well. One. by Dunure Footline, the Glasgow premium horse of 1917, realised £4OO, a get of Dunure Footprint, sold for £2BO, and one by Johnston "Leader made £126. There was an animhated demand on the thoird day of the sale for young females. The average for 262 fillies was £l2l 2s 3d each, as against £95 0s 2d for animals of the same age last year, and for 93 yearling fillies the average was £lO4 14s, as compared with £73 13s in 1917. Many of the best animals went to breeders in the northern counties of England, where the Clydesdale is making splendid progress. There were buyers, too, from Lancashire, Yorkshire, and other parts of England, where studs of the highest merit have been established. The first prize yearling filly, a daughter of the noted Dunure Footprint out of a mare by the Cawdor Cup champion Revelanta, went to Fifeshire at the good price of £B2O. The second one by the same sire was withdrawn at £3BO, but was subsequently parted with privately at over £4OO. The third prize filly, by Levenbank out of a Belmont Conqueror mother, went to England at £225. For the 262 two-year-old fillies the run of prices was eminently satisfactory. Here it was a case of Dunure Footprint almost right along the line. The first prize one from Mr A. M. Simpson, Whitecross, East Kilbride, was got by Footprint, and went by the name of the martyr nurse, Edith Cavell. She is out of a mare by Mr Simpson's own stud horse High Degree, and is a regular dandy. Her price was £570. The second prize one from Mr George Argo, also by Dunure Footprint out of a Revelanta mother, went to Yorkshire' at £460. A filly by Dunure Wave out of a Bonnie Bucylyvie dam was third, and made £4OO. Among the other prices-for two-year-olds were £460 for a get bv Dunure Birkenhead, a son of the famous breeding horse Apukwa (14567), and £430 for a young mare by Dunure Footprint. The final day of the sale was perhaps as remarkable as any, reflecting as it did the general demand for Clydesdale animals fit to do their bit in harness, which should be the genuine test of any breed. The general excellence of the draught horses ..of Scotland may be judged from the fact that 393 two-year-old geldings made the remarkable average of £9l 14s 6d, the figure for last year being £73 13s lOd; while ISO yearling geldings averaged £65 3s, as compared with £49 6s 6d last year. Of the two-year-olds no less than 134 made from £IOO to £2lO each, the average for these bein»- the handsome one of £124 12s 9d. The yearlings, too, were in great demand, 10 of them selling at such extreme rates as from £lO2 to £144. The price of £2lO for a two-year-old gelding is much bejond any previous figure for an unbroken animal of the age. Assuredly these are groat times for the Clydesdale breed of horses. MAGNIFICENT SHORTHORNS. Now that the autumn sales have been finished, some idea may be formed of the magnitude of the business done in the great beef breeds of pedigree cattle in Scotland during 1918. Record jn-ices were obtained at both the spring and autumn sales. Wherever first-class stock —animals with popular pedigrees in combination with approved individual merit—were concerned there was no lack of competition. Homebreeders have learned that it is not a wise policy to allow the best all to go abroad, and although in some instances the South American agents were present they did not succeed in carrying off the plums. And this has been emphasised during the past few weeks by the results obtained at some of the publio sales, a case in point being quoted below in connection with the disposal of the Fairlawn draft Men of capital and with plenty of enterprise and the necessary knowledge of_ their business are doing splendid service in maintaining tho reputation of the northern Shorthorn. At the sales in Scotland this year 1662 head—the largest number on record—were disposed of at public auction for £229,277

6s, giving an average of £137 19s. At the spring sales 1010 cattle were sold for £106,567 19s, or an average of £lO5 6s 4d, while at the autumn sales, recently completed, 652 Shorthorns realised £122,909 7s. the average being £IBB 10s 2d. Last year 1507 Shorthorns brought at auction £153,087 18s 6d, or an average of £lOl lis Bd. This is in marked contrast to the modest sum of £24,062 6s 6d for 1096 cattle a quarter of a oenturj ajro (in 1894), the average then being £2l 19s Id. But the figures for 1918 are even far ahead of those of the first year of the war, the average for 1442 cattle in 1914 being £sl 14s Id, while the highest average previous to that was £59 12s 3d for 1051 in ISO 6. It should be remembered, too, that the figures given above do not by any means represent the total of the trade in Shorthorns. Great numbers of first-class animals change hands annually by private treaty, and the sum of money involved must be very large. It is not easy to obtain exact data with regard to the popularity of particular families, but it is at least interesting to note how the female stock at the autumn sales came out in this respect. The principal family averages were as follows, the figures given within parentheses being the number sold:—Princess Royal (7), £703 15s; Lavender (5), £499 6s; Sittyton Violet (6), £465 17s; Orange Blossom (14), £433 10s; Nonpariel (7), £337; Clipper (19), £3Bl 6s 3d; Sittyton Secret (14), £337 10s; Queen of Rothes (9), £331 17s 2d; Rosewood (3), £3lB 18s; Augusta (22), £276 12s; Goldie (4), £273; Myrtle (22), £250 19s; Rosebud (5), £216 6s; Roan Lady (3), £203; Butterilv (29), £176 Is sd; Eliza (10), £172 10s 6d; Clara (10), £164 5s 6d; Broadhooks (33), £163 4s 7d; Bessie (5), £153 6s; Rose mary (4), £l3B 14s; Miss Ramsden (8), £l3l 2s " 4d; Jealousy (3), £lls 17s; Lady Dorothy (2i), £ll2 Is 9d; Lancaster (7), £IOB 9s; Lady Fragrance (S), £9B Is 4d; Brawith Bud (33), £BS 10s 6d; and Marigold (5), £B3 lis 7d. These figures afford some idea of the relative values put upon the families named, although, of course, whore the numbers are there may be individual instances in wliich big prices may have been got. In the case of the noted Duehesso of Glos'ter family only one heifer passed through the ring, Mr Duthie's beautiful calf, for which lie got £1627 10s. Although this fine family is very scarce in Scotland now, it still maintains a high place in the esteem of breeders in the United States of America-.' It will, thus be seen that the Scottish Shorthorns of the old Sittyton line of blood still hold the field. The Oollynie sale of this autumn will stand out as a landmark in the history of the Shorthorn breed. The results obtained far exceeded the most sanguine expectations of the most optomistie the red-white-and-roan. Mr William Duthie had the magnificent average of HlO-ii 17s for 20 bull calves, with a highest price of £4410 given by Mr H. O. Wills, of Bristol, for Colynie Royal Regent, a superb dark roan March calf by Masterstroke (126820) out of a Princess- Royal dam. This is a very marked improvement on his average of £655 16s 3d, -and a top price of £2835 in 1917. The second best pricct was 2500 gs given by Dr Wilson, Tarty, for one of Clara tribe by Quartermaster, a full brother to the great breeding Masterstroke. The 20 heifer calves offered by Mr Duthie averaged £333 I3s 9d, the leading figure being that noted above for the Duchess of Glos'ter heifer. Mr J Duthie Webster, a nephew of the "Shorthorn King," had an average of £135 6s 8d for nine bull calves, and three heifer calves sold by him averaged £269 10s. The Uppermill sale took place on the same day when Mr James Durno disposed of 15 bull calves at an average of £348 19s, as against £ll6 9s_4d in 1917. The top figure was 1900 gs, paid for a dark roan Missie calf named Scottish Prestige by the noted sire Mesmerist. The Uppermill heifer calves —six in number—averaged £282 12s 6d, an Orange Blossom making 550 gs. At Aberdeen there was a sale of drafts drawn from all parts of the country, The outstanding feature- of this sale was the great demand for well-bred females. The 507 cattle of all ages sold averaged £lsl 8s 7d. The demand for heifer calves was quite extraordinary. For 181 of these the average was the handsome one of £173 16s lOd. A new record was set up for these Aberdeen sales. Mr Alfred H. Reid, Hillhead, Ellon, received 1800 gs from an English breeder for Violet Crest, an April call by the Cbllynie-bred bull Silver Crest out of Violet Rose 111, by Golden Mint, a bull bred at Boquhan, Kippen. A NonparieJ heifer calf made the second best price of 920 gs. On a -third day of the week a draft from the noted herd of the Messrs Peterkin, Dunglass, Ross-shire, was disposed of, when 44 Shorthorns averaged £l9l lis 6d. A small lot from Throsk, Stirlingshire, taken straight from, the grass averaged £lO6 lis 6d. The finish up of the week was at Rothiebrisbane, where Mr James Durno offered a draft of 68 head, and he had an average of £259 16s 3d The principal demand was for such fashionable families as the Clippers, Augustas, Myrtles, and Butterflys. Some sales have taken place south of the Tweed, which are -worthy of note as showing the universal popularity of Scattish Shorthorns. At Penrith a draft of Shorthorns from Mrs Burnyeat's herd at Millgrove, Cumberland,, averaged £99 3s 9d, with a highest price of 350-gs for a Clipper four-year-old cow. On the same day Mr A. J. Marshall. Bridgebank, Stranraer, sold at Penrith a. draft of 38 heifers, for which he obtained fhe splendid average of £333 14s 3d. A yearling Lavender realised 870 gs. The Fairiawn pale of Mr W. M. Cazalet at Tonbridge, Kent, was eminently successful, the draft of 45 head making the fine average of £267 16s. At the 1916 sale of Mr Duthie's bull calves at Collynie Mr Matthew Marshall, Stranraer, paid £2310 for Collynie Clipper King, but later Mr Cazalet, recognising the merit of the calf and his suitability for mating with many of the Fairiawn females, induced Mr Marshall to part with him at a considerable profit, and thus saved him from going to South America. That the investment was a wise one is proved by the,, money now paid for his offspring. Some of the first crop of Collynie Clipper King's calves were included in the sale, and the following figures were obtained for them:—Heifer calves—Fairiawn Clipper XI, 480 gs; Fairlawn Clipper XII, 850 gs; Fairiawn Rosebud 11, 580 gs; Fairiawn Broadhooks 11, 170 gs; and Fairiawn Jealousy IV, 4?ogs. Bull calves —Fairiawn Forester, lOOOgs; Fairlawn Martagon, 400 gs; Fairiawn Air Raid, 2500g5; and "Fairiawn Temerair, 700 gs. The draft sale of the Edgcote Shorthorn Company, Banbury, at which Scottish blood predominated, was also a huge success, the 51 head sold making the grand average of £342 18s 9d. That this is the day of the Scottish Shorthorn there can be no manner of doubt