STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 19

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly stock Sale*. Burnsido, Wednesdays. Add«ngton, Wednesdays. Waiareka Bailway Junetion. Tnesdaya BlTersda"J nlBht ft-’idaye (March, April, and May). Wallaoetown, Tuesdays. Aehburoon, Tuesdays. Heriot, Thursdays. WintOn, Thursdays. Wyndham, Thursday*. Clinton, Thursday*. Balolutba, Friday*. Gore, Tuesday*. Monthly. Edendale, Ist Monday. Palmerston, 4th Thursday. Winton, 4th Tuesday. Mataura, Ist Thursday. Xokanul, 4th Monday.

Monthly (continued). Duntroon , 3nd Wednw (j a _ ” —. _ Woodland*. Ird Wednesday. , Balfour, 3rd Thursday. Thornbury, Ist Friday. Otautau, 2nd Wsdneeday. Rlversdale, 3rd Friday (eicept March, April, and May). Waikaka, last Friday. C3ydevalo, last Friday Periodically aa Advertised. t-nmsden, Mosaburn, Orepuki, Waimahaka, Waikouaiti. hirerton, Ngapara, and Otago Central Sala*.

pr- OTAGO. A capital week of summer weather was experienced in Otago, and farm work made good headway. Shearing operations have progressed apace, and are approaching the end. The grass season is upon us, and harvesting af cereals will soon be general if this weather continues. Haymaking is in full swing, while the dairying season, although on the wane, has been a good one, and there is an increase on the output of produce.

I COUNTRY STOCK SALES. At the sheep sale at Tarras (Central Otago) on Friday some 9000 to 10,000 sheep were yarded. There was a good attendance of settlers anxious to increase their holdings of fine-woolled sheep, and competition was very healthy. The entry comprised sheep “off shears,” mostly wethers, few ewes (about 500) being included. Stock were in nice order. Twotooth wethers made 18s to 19s 6d for* best, while medium wethers realised 15s to 16s 9d, old wethers 5s 3d to 8s 3d. a inewoolled crossbred wethers, four and sixtooths, -were not in the same demand as those quoted, owing to the fact that the former class would be turned out on the hills and the latter should now be fattened off. However, they made 17s to 18s, and halfbred two-tooth ewes 29s 3d, fine crossbred 30s. Compared with values at this sale last year, two-tooth ewes were 4s to 5s cheaper, and ■wethers 3s ,easier. No sheep were offered at the Clinton fixture, but at Balclutha some 1500 store sheep were sold on Friday. Two-tooth wethers made 19s 4d to 19s 7d, good fourtooths 21s 2d to 21s Bd, mixed sex rape lambs 19s 2d, small 13s 6d, fair ewes 13s Cd, old sorts 5s 3d to 7s 4d. BURNSIDE MARKET. The entry of fat cattle at Burnside totalled 217, compared with 176 the previous week, the quality being very fair to prime, even though the supply of well-con-ditioned cows . was fairly large. The demand at opening was somewhat better for the medium-weight cattle if prime, but heavy animals were no dearer. Quotations x may be stated as very firm for light-weight carcases,. at the best rates of the previous week, with here and there some shillings’ improvement; but weighty cattle were unchanged, beef making up to 36s per 1001 b. The selection of fat sheep was fairly representative, the proportion of heavy sheep being large, together with a good tail of fair to medium ewes. Values early in the sale were much the same as the previous week, but the tendency throughout was to ease, and, although export buyers were present, they did not help the market much. Prices towards the close of the sale were down, heavy wethers and ewes Is to 2s, with light-prime wethers unchanged. Butchers’ wethers may be quoted as making to 4£d per lb. and light freezers (few offering) £d more. The yarding of fat lambs, 453 (803 last Week), were all wanted by butchers, who practically secured the lot at an advance

of Is to 2s per head, out-bidding exporters. Lamb made to BJd per lb. The store cattle penned was comprised for the most part of ordinary cows, together with an odd penning of medium steers. All graziers’ sorts met with good competition, but fat cows showed no appreciation. Fat pigs were not in great demand, and the lower rates recorded at the last sale were still in evidence. Stores again sold freely, baconers made to Bd, and porkers to 9d per lb. NORTH ISLAND STORE STOCK VALUES. The holidays over in the North Island, more interest is being taken in stock values. Fat lambs are moving off freely, and the recent wool s les have served, together with the evident abundance of stock feed, to enliven the markets generally. Beef at Westfield in the Auckland province makes up to 30s per 1001 b. In the Waikato forward four-tooth wethers sold at 20s to 21s 6d. In Poverty Bay, at the Matawhero yards, a very fair demand was experienced for two-tooth wethers at 19s to 20s 6d. extra 25s 6d. In the Wairarapa two-tooth wethers made 16s to 17s 6d and medium two-tooth ewes 20s. In Hawke’s Bay mixed wethers made 23s 3d, two-tooths 19s to 21s 6d, year-and-a-half-old steers (Hereford crosses) £4, two-year-olds £5 to £5 ss, and three-year-olds to £6 10s. In the Wellington province small twotooth wethers made 15s 6d to 17s 3d, forward sorts 19s to 21s, small lambs 8s 6d to 10s 3d, good shorn rape lambs 14s to 17s 3d, and woolly rape sorts to 19s. STOCK NOTfiS. . The . warm weather now being experienced in Otago is of the kind wanted, and vegetation generally is of a more fattening nature, and both cereal and rootcrops have made great headway. Some early oats are about ready for harvesting, but this work will not be general for some time yet. Stock are doing well, and lambs are now putting on condition in a satisfactory manner. The various freezing works are handling some excellent consignments of lambs and wethers, although the limited weight of 361 b for the former and 561 b for wethers, in order to secure top rates per IL is not easy to secure for a big proportion of the stock being killed. The province is full of grass, and the further one goes south, the greener the pastures. It is difficult to know what kind of stock to purchase in order to graze them for a time and make a profit. Store values, in comparison . with prices of fat cattle, leave no margin for the grazier. There is no excuse for not “doing” the milking cow well. The recent hot weather has been all against the sale of heavy sheep and cattle, city people at this season in New Zealand being desirous of small joints. Lamb now is very saleable in the towns, there being a wide demand, as witness last week’s sale at Burnside, when exporters were out-bid in most instances. There are now seven 3090 gal British Friesian cows, one five times 2000 gal, five that have accomplished the performance on four occasions, 19 with three such yields to their credit, and 59 twice 2000gaI. Altogether 256 2000 gal cows have appeared in Great Britain, no less than 228 of them being of the British Friesian breed. Wool has been coming in fast during the week to Dunedin, and all hands handling same have been hard at work in order to have the various catalogues complete on time for the wool sale next week.

The bulk of the wool coming in to-day to the stores necessitates a great deal of handling before it is submitted to the buyers. The. growth of one factor alone in connection with the. wool sales nowadays is somewhat staggering, in its dimensions, and indicates its popularity, viz., the reclassing in the stores of the farmers’ lots. Started in a small way, this business has grown yearly, and now, .the writer understands, about 75 per cent .of the wool which comes

into store is reclassed, to the benefit of the growers. Gone are “the good old days,” when the mixed qualities on offer where ofttimes secured by speculators and reclassed by them to their great advantage. The farmer to-day requires every penny there is in the wool business, qnd under the re-classing system, it is possible for him to secure top values for all his good wool, no matter the “counts.” Yes, the brokers have to work a bit harder, but they "like it, and of necessity make a small charge for the extra work. WEEKLY PRICES OF FAT STOCK FOR EXPORT. The New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board advises that the following prices are being offered for fat stock for export on January 21, 1927: — Hawke’s Bay.—Prime woolly lambs: 361 b and underbid, 371 b to 421 b 7id, 431 b and over 7d. Second quality lambs 7Ad. Wellington.—Prime woolly lambs: 361 b and under BJd, 371 b to 421 b 7Jd> 431 b and over 7d. Second quality lambs 7Jd. Prime wethers: 561 b and under 5Jd. 571 b to 641 b 4jd, 651 b to 721 b 4Jd. Ewes: 561 b and under 31d, 571 b to 641 b 3d. Canterbury and North Otago.—Prime woolly lambs: 361 b and under 82d, 371 b to 421 b Bd, 431 b and over 7d. Second quality lambs 7J-d. Prime wethers: 561 b and under 54d, 571 b to 641 b sd, 651 b to 721 b 4|d. Ewes: 481 b and under 3?.-d, 491 b to 641 b 3id. DEHORNING OF AYRSHIRES. Writing to the Scottish Farmer on the very live question of removing the horns of purebred cattle, a world-famed breeder, Mr A. W. Montgomerie, says: —“The question of dishorning has been receiving a good deal of attention lately from breeders of Ayrshires. The advantage and disadvantage of having horns have been freely discussed. A good number of prominent breeders have started to dishorn, and a large number are strongly in favour of it, if it were at all likely to become general. During the past year or two I have studied the question very closely from all points of view. Having been trained from my youth to admire a beautiful, well turned up horn. I have very reluctantly decided that the advantages derived from a dehorned animal far outweigh the other, and have now decided that all calves born here in future will be dehorned at birth. FRIESIAN BULL SALES. Messrs H. North and Sons, Omimi, report the following sales of some of their well-bred black-and-white bulls: —To Mr A. Rance, Waimatuku, Southland —Rosevale Sir Abbekerk Inka; dam, Rosevale Topsy Abbekerk, now on test and likely to make a good record; sire, Rosevale Inka Sylvia Model, son of Burkeyje Sylvia Posch. To Mr A. Pollard, Colac Bay, Southland —Rosevale Model Korndyke King; dam, Rosevale Korndyke Queen, just starting on test and a beautiful cow; sire, Rosevale Inka Sylvia Model. To Mr Robert Jenkins, Arrowtown — Rosevale Sir De Koi Plus; dam. Rosevale Kitty Posch, 22,7721 b milk, 7121 b fat, age five years; sire, Rosevale Plus Triumph, one of his daughters on test making 6001 b fat in six months. To Mr E. F. Pannet, Clydevale—Rosevale Artis Posch Netherland; dam, Rosevale Mary; sire, Rosevale Korndkye Sylvia Posch, the oldest son of the famous cow Burkeyje Sylvia Posch, and who now ranks among the leading bulls in New Zealand for C.O.R. daughters. To Mr R.. J. Brown, Pukemaori, Southland —The exceptionally well-bred bull Rosevale Champion Sylvia Plus; sire, the imported bull Echo Sylvia Sir Griselda, whose daughters are all making high records under test; dam, Rosevale Sylvia Triumph, on test, and milking over 901 b daily. Messrs Tait Bros., “Forestvale,” Greenhills, Southland, report two sales of young Friesian bulls. The bull Forestvale Mimosa De Koi was sold to Mr James Brown, “Newark,” Waianiwa, Southland. This bull made a name for itself in the Southland show rings this season. His first success was at Winton, where he secured first in both the yearling classes, and repeated the performance at Otautau, and later at the Southland Show he again won both classes, and in doing so beat the prize-winners of the Gore and Wyndham Shows. His dam is Pontiac Burke De. Koi (imp.), and the sire Bainfield Prince Mimosa, an animal that is well known in Southland show rings. Forestvale Colantha Cadillac was sold to Mr T. T.. Bagrie, “Hartford,” Waipahi. His sire is King Cadillac Sarcastic, and his dam Colantha Freckles. A WIN FOR THE WOMEN. Half in jest, half in earnest, the East Barkwith Farmers’ Discussion Society debated the question. “Have Women a Place in Agriculture?” (says Farmer and Stockbreeder). The affirmative and negative sides of the question were ably put forward by Mrs Reeve and Mr A. W. Noble respectively. Mrs Reeve said that her opponent would probably suggest that women were unfitted to take a large share in the •work of the farm because they were moody, wayward, and temperamental; but, after all, it was better to be ruled by a temperament than by a temper, as men so often were. She spoke of women’s work, in milking, and all branches of dairying,.in looking after the poultry, and m the lighter kinds of field work. Jn the feeding of young stock, and in any branch that required patience and tenderness, women were, she declared, preeminent. The hand that rocked the cradle ■was perfectly capable of engaging successfully in agriculture, and in actual fact many women were as good farmers as the men. Mr Noble said his opponent’s contention that the hand that rocked the cradle was good at the raising of young stock he did not for one moment dispute, but he suggested that the stock she was most successful in bringing up was a certain kind of young biped. He would submit, however, that the question was ndt whether woman could do certain things in agriculture, but whether she was fitted to be a controlling or directing force in the industry. And their whole experience told them that she was not fitted to control anythnig but a very young man. While there was here and there few women who were successful in agriculture, they were the exception and not the rule, and if they knew anything about their

hard faces and mannish ways, he thought they would agree that these ladies themselves proclaimed it to be a man’s job. The agricultural organiser for Lindsey supported Mr Noble. He would rather have butter even made by men than by any women he knew, and the same thing applied to cheese. Women had not the knack'of handling men, and did not understand the psychology of the labourer. You could not say to them: “Do this,” and “Do that.” You must consult them; and that was where women made a mistake. Miss Pratt, of the Ministry of Agriculture, vigorously championed the women. They had probably forgotten . that agriculture was really invented by a woman — Eve. Ever since she could remember she had always heard about the depressed state of agriculture, and if women controlled the industry they could not mismanage it worse than *the men. Apart from women’s enormous direct contribution in the carrying on of the industry, the wives and daughters of farmers and farm workers helped considerably in many agricultural occupations. When at the close the question was put to the vote, an overwhelming majority voted on the side of the women.

HIGH-CLASS HIGHLANDERS FOR PERU. It may be of interest (writes our special correspondent) to state that five highclass and fashionably-bred Highland bulls have been bought in Scotland for a Peruvian breeder. They are to be used in crossing experiments at an altitude of 16,000 feet above sea-level. It is very questionable if ever such a high-class lot of the breed left this country at one time before. First of all there is the two-year-old red brindle Moar Riabhach of Atholl, belonging to the Duke of Atholl, which carried off the male championship at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show at Glasgow last year, and was first in his class at Kelso this year. The other bull is a close relative to Moar Riabhach, and of like colouring. He is Fearchar Riabhach of Atholl, the yearling which was first and champion at the Highland Show at Kelso this year. Accompanying these noted young sires are three bull calves, all of the finest breeding. Both the older bulls are by the grand breeder, Alasdair Ruadk of Farr, and out of cows of the old Te Riabhach family of Taymouth descent. One of the calves is so good that he was intended for next year’s .Highland Show at Edinburgh. Many breeders are sorry to see such exceptionally fine cattle leaving the country. They are all splendid examples of the old. native breed of the Scottish Highlands. Good luck to them!