STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3509, 14 June 1921, Page 9

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly Stock Sales. Burnside, Wednesdays Addington, Wednesdays Waiareka Kailway Junction, Tnesdaj's Wallacetown, Tuesdays Fortnightly. Rivcrsdale, Friday Ashburton, Tuesdays Heriot, Thursdays Winton, Thursdays Wyndham, Thursdays Clinton, Thursdays Balclutha, Fridays Gore, Tuesdays Monthly. Palmerston, 4th Thursday W inton, 4th Tuesday

Monthly (continued). Duutroou, 2nd Wednesday Woodlands, 3rd Friday Milton, 2nd Tuesday Balfour, 3rd Thursday Thornbury, Ist Friday Duntroon, 2nd Wednesday Otautau, 2nd Friday Hiversdale, 3rd F’riday Waikaka, last Friday Olvdevalo, last Tuesday Periodically as Advertised. Laimsden, Mossbum, Orepuki, Mataura, Waikouaitl, Riverton. Ngapara, and Otago Central Sale 3.

OTAGO. Another fine week in Otago was experienced, and rains would do a world of good. There was no sale held at Clinton last week owing to the show upsetting arrangements, but this week the usual sales at Balclutha and Clinton will be Held. The next wool sale in Dunedin will be held on the 20th inst. BURNSIDE MARKET. The yarding of fat sheep at Burnside was for the most part of medium quality, only a few pens of merit outstanding. There was a good demand by practically only butchers, and sales were made on a parity with the top rates of the previous week. Light and unfinished sheep were rather dearer. Rates on the run of the sale may be quoted 4d for wether and 3jd per lb for ewe mutton on the hoof. There was a very fair entry of fat lambs, the quality being somewhat ragged. Best pcnnings had the keen attention of exporters, who secured supplies at the improved races noted the previous week, lamb making about 7d per lb. The quality of a larger yarding of fat cattle titan the previous week showed improvement, and a good sale resulted at about 10s a head under last sales rates. Opening at about the top of the previous week’s values, prices eased as indicated, and steer beef for the most part realised close up to 37s 6d per 1001 b, with best heifer not far behind. Under 100 store cattle can;© forward —a mixed lot. Prices showed no change, although the quality was not as good as usual. A yard of nice forward 2£-year-old shorthorn cross steers made £5 10s; same age, but not so well bred steers, £4 17s; two piens of cows, mixed ages, in only fair order, but good factory sorts, realised £3 12s 6d ; other sorts unchanged. Values of fat pigs and small sorts wore about tlie same as at last sale. ADDINGTON YARDS. The yarding of fat sheep at Addington was a large one, and the quality for the most part good. Sales throughout were made at an advance of about a shilling a head compared with rates ruling a week ago, wethers touching 28s 6d, and ewes 26s 6d. A fair entry of fat lambs came forward, about 5000, a big proportion of them being on the light side and lacking finish. There was a good demand, and the previous week’s rates were sustained. A very fair yarding of store sheep, but not us many as the previous week, met with an active demand, and clearances were effected at an advance of Is to Is 6cl a head. The quality of a small yarding of fat cattle was moderate, and sales were made at higher values than a week ago. Prices moved up £1 a head, best steers making £lB to £22. The competition for a moderate entry of store cattle was a good deal better than it has been of late, and prices firmed up a bit. Springers, both cows and heifers, sold well at up to £9 to £ls. Owing to a large entry of fat pigs, prices eased a little for bacon sorts, but porkers were unchanged, while a big entry of store sorts met with a weaker demand than at the previous sale. NORTH ISLAND STOCK VALUES. Values of store stock arc much about the same as a week ago in the North Island. Indeed, there is not much “doing” at present in the Auckland district, hcef is about similar in value to the previous week, these comments applying also to the WanganuiFeilding districts, where feed is none too plentiful, dairy cows in medium factory timed, at the clearing sale, averaged £ll 10s. In Taranaki, matters in the stock line are dull, although in profit dairy cows sell well, and best grades of milkers due to calve in the spring find ready buyers. In i he Wairarapa lambs made 6s to 10s 6d, two-tooth wethers 11s to 12,s 6d, extra 15s 6d, mixed in-lamb ewes 6s to 11s, inferior in-calf cows £1 to £2, dairy sorts £8 to £ll, Jersey wr-aner heifers £3 10 s. In Hawke’s Bay, forward wethers 15s, ordinary 9s 3d to 12s, hoggets 6s to 10s 6d, mixed in-lamb ewes to 14s, dairy cows £8 to £9 10s. COUNTRY BALES. At Palmerston on Thursday, the 9th, there was a fair yarding, and a demond

much on a. par with other Otago centres for fat sheep. Store sheep, however, were dull of sale owing to the prospects of winter foot! in the district being indifferent. Fats made Burnside prices, hill lambs of poor quality sold from 3s to ss. At Balclutha on Friday, the 10th., there was a large entry of sheep, some 7000, which included about 4000 tat lambs and 1400 fat ewes and wethers, the balance hoggets and a few pens of aged ewes. The quality of the fat lambs was very fair, and sales were readily effected under keen com petition at rates comparable wilh recent Burnside prices. Fat ewes were, however, cheaper by fully 2s 6d a head than has been obtainable at the metropolitan market, forward lambs made 15s to 17s, hoggets for turniping and holding over winter made 5s to 8s 6d under a slow demand, cull sorts realising 2s to 4s 3d. Few, if any, decent ewes were offered, a small line of twotooth ewes with Romney rams made 18s, aged sorts from 2s to Bs. STOCK NOTES. Tli ore is one satisfactory feature about the stock markets in Otago, and that is if the trend upwards is slow, it is at least perceptible. How much it is helped by the line open weather being experienced and how much by the outside demand can only be imagined. It is a.t least cheering to hear that if we are suffering owing to the fall in values of our rural products, that the Commonwealth is hopeful that there is light ahead. The slump in live stock values illustrates (says the Pastoral Review), how intimately the pastoral industry is connected with the frozen meat export trade. The prosperity of the one almost invariably implies activity in the other. The present time is no exception to the rule. A number of factors have contributed to bring sheep and cattle values down to the current level, and in the widest sense it is the same set of conditions that is operating against the profitable conduct of the meat export trade. The tightness of money is forcing graziers to realise more stock than the local markets can conveniently absorb, a similar financial stringency has reduced the purchasing powers of consumers an the other side ot the world resulting in a reduction of meat values. True, there is at the moment a large accumulation of frozen meat in cold store in England, but that, is mainly duo to the same cause Llad the European countries been in a position to purchase some of the meat, as they would had conditions been normal, stocks would have been smaller and the market more stable. The high cost of production in the grazing industry has its corresponding factor in the meat trade in increased freights and charges. It is difficult to say just what it costs now to bring to maturity a wether or bullock, but it is known for a fact that the exporter cannot kill, wrap, freeze, and ship them to London under about 4d per lb as against three half-ponce six years ago. Sufficient to say that to-day wether mutton is only fetching 8d per lb, and Australian beef 4d to 5Ad per lb at Smithfield, and there are indications that the market will go lower. It is satisfactory to hear that in the opinions of Sir Thomas Robinson and Mr F. J. Walker, both of whom have recently been in London, and are intimately connected with the meat, trade, the present depression in only temporary. They confidently anticipate that better conditions will prevail in six months’ time. There seems no reason to doubt their prognostication. The improvement cannot come too soon. At die British-Friesinn Cattle Society's Show and Sale the champion bull Chilgrove Briarwood made 600 guineas. Bull calves made up to 275 guineas; and in-calf heifers 240 guineas The average price for 140 animals was £lO5. Near Macclesfield (England) in April at a clearing sale the. Friesian bull Tarwin Pel Klaas 2nd limp.) was bought by the Marquis of Bute for 1.600 guineas. The highest, price for cows was 350 guineas, paid for Routh Blossom 4th. a. seven year old, and her heifer calf by the high-priced bull reached 210 guineas. A throe-year-old female, Ilaydon Blossom, was sold for 320 guineas, and 35 bead averaged £256. At another notable sale, a Friesian heifer calf Rlyd Gentle, made 500 guineas, and her dam March Gentle. 320 guineas while the cow Monkton Bangle realised 420 guineas. Tumworth pigs, when well fed. are noted for growing quickly, and if kept long enough make unmet se weights. Recently there arrived from Devonport, Tasmania (says the Victorian Weekly Times) one of this breed which scaled alive 8331 b. The animal was killed at the Melbourne Abattoirs about, a- week later, and its dressed weight was 6791 b. Tin's was the biggest pig ever killed at the abattoirs, and its weight is considered a record one. Fifty-four Guernseys at the .annual show and rale at Reading, England, made, an average of £99 15s. The winner of the challenge cup, Valencia Thyne, made 26/) guineas. A three-year-old, Lynehmere Rosy, realised 240 guineas, and another of the same age, realised 200 guineas.

1 At the recent sale of the Histon herd of Middle White, pigs in England in April 180 gs was paid for Lady Choice, a two-year-old sow, a yearling sow making 130 gs. A three-year-old boar, Histon Shrewsbury II , made 20Cgs. and two yearling boars 60gs a piece; 55 head averaged £49 10s. THE SHORTHORN—A MILKING TYPE. Melba XV of Darbalara, the property of the Scottish Australian Investment Company (Ltd.), of Gundagai, has beaten the record of her dam, Melba VII of Darbalara, for butter-fat and that of the South Australian cow Rosemary VI for milk production during a 365 days' testing period. This Australian record maker is of the Shorthorn milking breed, and it is claimed that she has put up a world’s record for butter-fat and milk within a year for the breed. Melba XV was four years eight months old at the commencement of the test, (says the i Sydney Morning Herald). She calved on i April 23, 1920. The first test was taken on May 9, or 11 days after calving. Ihe last test, was begun on April 29, on the 361st day of the lactation period. All the tests were carried out by officers of the dairy branch of the Department of Agriculture in accordance with the rules of the United Purebred Dairy Cattle-breeders’ Association of New South Wales. Calculations are made in the testing of this association under three scales. Scale A, under which Melba XV was tested, applies to cows tested for the first sub-period within 15 days after calving, and the calculations for the first sub-period (33 days) are obtained by averaging the results of the first and second tests. The result, of the second sub-period (30 days) is obtained by averaging the totals of the second and third tests, and so on. Thirteen tests are taken during 365 days, and the thirteenth result is averaged with that of the twelfth, to give the yield for the last, or twelfth, sub-period. The effect of this system of averaging js considered to make the test as near as possible similar to one taken every 15 days. The figures relating to Melba X\'s production are as follows: Butter Milk, lb. Fat, lb. 273 clays (0 months) .. 18,131.25 773,302 365 days (12 months) .. 21,635.50 954,172 The estimated quantity of commercial butter from the above is 11501 b. j FEEDING MILK TO TEST COWS. I The question of the legitimacy of feeding milk to cows under test is being raised by the Australian Jersey Herd Society (says the Weekly Courier). The matter arises out of the fact that Messrs Alexander Brothers, of Kiama (N.S.W.), included milk in the ration of their cow. Fairy of Fairfield, which, under official test, put up the record for Australia for nine months’ milk production, and is now on the high road to gaining the full year’s record. At the annual meeting of the United Bleeders’ Association at Easter Mr MTnnes asked for a ruling on the question of whether, under the rules of the association’s testingscheme, it was permissible to feed milk to cows. The matter was discussed, and the ruling was that milk feeding- was allowable, there being nothing in the rules to the contrary. The Jersey Society’s motion “protests against the action of the United Breeders’ Association in adding a new rule to the rules, allowing whole milk to bo fed to cows under test, without giving notice of the intention to move such rule, and considers this rule is, thereiore, ultra vires.” Also “that a new rule be added to the rules, that the feeding of milk (whole or skim) to cows while under official test is prohibited, and that, in the event of milk being fed to anv cow whilst, under test, the record so resulting be disallowed.”