IMPORTED SHEEP.

Southland Times, Issue 20445, 24 March 1928, Page 14 (Supplement)

IMPORTED SHEEP.

QUESTION OF DUTY. THE AUSTRALIAN SUGGESTION. The Pastoral Review in its February issue discusses the suggestion that has been made to impose a duty of £2 2/- per head upon unregistered longwool sheep imported into Australia from New Zealand. It is stated that the Australian Longwool Sheepbreeders’ Association, an organisation that for the past twenty years has devoted its efforts to the encouragement and maintenance of high quality pure sheep, has for some time had before it the question of urging legislative action to prevent the introduction into Australia s of sheep of inferior quality. The difficulty has always been that there was nothing to stop speculators and dealers in New Zealand from purchasing nondescript sheep procurable there at a low figure and shipping them to Australia on the chance of finding buyers in the Commonwealth whose ignorance or indifference prompt them to purchase such sheep because they are cheap. It is unnecessary to say that importations of this kind are a serious source of trouble to the conscientious breeder who is doing his utmost to keep the standard of longwool sheep as high as possible, but it is certain that they will continue so long as there are men in Australia who will buy them simply because of their cheapness. It is obviously, therefore, the duty of all sheepbreeders’ societies to oppose such a trade, and it may be safely said that the societies in New Zealand are as anxious to stop it as are the societies in Australia. Those who are interested in longwool sheepbreeding consider that the imposition of a substantial import duty upon unregistered sheep would have the desired result, a duty of £2 2/- per sheep making it practically impossible for speculators to dispose of them in Australia at a profit. The Australian Longwool Sheepbreeders’ Association, however, does not advocate the imposition of a duty upon registered sheep bearing the imprimatur of a recognised sheepbreeding authority. It strongly urges that the duty shall be imposed only upon sheep arriving in Australia from New Zealand which are not vouched for by a vendor’s certificate issued by a sheepbreeders’ society. By this means the questionable business of dumping undesirable and nondescript sheep will be checked, and the efforts of registered sheepbreeders’ organisations in the Commonwealth to maintain the highest possible standard of breeding will be very materially strengthened. The Pastoral Review states further that there is another matter which should receive the careful attention of the Commonwealth authorities and which must ultimately be faced, and that is the question of excluding from Australia all sheep that are not registered in a recognised Flock Book. N.Z. PIG TRADE.

THE MARKET IN BRITAIN. "The few New Zealand pigs offered for sale on the market made good prices. It seems a pity that fuller advantage is not taken of the facilities offered by Smithfield for marketing Dominion porkers. It is obvious that a market attended daily by the chief users of this commodity must be invaluable both as a means of disposal and advertisement.” This paragraph is from Messrs H. S. Fitter and Sons’ last market report. It is obvious from reports coming from the Dominion that the pork and bacon problem of this country is not fully understood by farmers. The suggestion, for instance, that New Zealand should open a bacon-curing factory in England to cure New Zealand frozen pigs is an example of the failure to grasp the facts of the situation. A review of this situation would be useful for pig breeders, and point the direction their policy should take in the near future, states the London correspondent of the New Zealand Herald. Before the embargo was placed on Continental pork, a couple of years ago, as a safeguard against foot and mouth disease, England was the principal market for fresh pork and bacon coming from Denmark, Holland and to a less extent from the Baltic countries. The embargo created a revolution in the trade. Although the Continental producers could eend no more fresh pork they were not prevented from sending bacon. Having no other considerable outlet for their produce the Continental producers were forced to turn all pork they wished to export into bacon. The supply in England has been so great that prices have come down, and now remain at a fairly consistently low level. For instance, the current prices are.—Latavian, Estonian, Polish and Russian bacon, 60s to 70s per cwt.; Dutch, 70s to 755; Danish, 75s to 80s; Irish, 80s to 90s. That is, Continental bacon is selling at from about 64d to 84 per lb, wholesale. The supply is so ample and consistent that it is not likely the prices will increase. On the other hand, it is not likely they will fall any lower, as the economic minimum has been reached. Den-

mark was killing 125,000 pigs a week before Christmas. Last week over 100,000 were killed, so that it is evident there is not much chance of a scarcity of bacon in this country. Bacon made from New Zealand frozen pigs corresponds in quality with Dutch bacon. New Zealand bacon pigs at a cost of 6*d in England would be equivalent to 76s a cwt. when made into bacon. At the present time New Zealand bacon pigs are sold at 64d per lb., and Dutch bacon at from 70s to 76s per cwt. Thus price of 64d has ruled for some time and with the heavy import of Continental bacon there is very little likelihood of improvement. Producers may judge for themselves if this 6ld per lb. is a profitable proposition. It is difficult to see the prospect of any improvement under present conditions.

DISEASES IN PLANTS. CONTROLLED by fertilisers. Plants are liable to suffer from numerous diseases, and, therefore, from these causes the loss to farmers runs into thousands of pounds every year. Research is continually going on to find effective methods of enabling crops to contend successfully against the maladies that befall them. The importance of healthy seed is being impressed on growers; immune varieties are being aimed at, and more recently the advantages to be obtained from the application of certain fertilizers have been demonstrated. In this direction there is scope for further investigation. It has long been known that the stimulating influence of a small dressing of an active nitrogenous fertilizer serves to revive a young crop weakened by a run of cold winds, or will help a tender root crop to put up a fight against insect pests, and that a suitable dressing of lime will render the turnip crop comparatively secure against attacks of finger and toe. More recently the value of ground kainit has been demonstrated as a means of destroying certain injurious weeus and at the same time strengthening the crop. In fact, recent research work seems to point clearly to the advantage of enabling the crop to withstand disease, and to obtain the desirable result by seeing that it is supplied with the necessary complete foods required for healthy ground. Plants resemble animals and human beings. If deprived of any element of requisite nourishment, its constitution suffers, and it is liable to succumb to any malignant disease or pest with, which, it happens to

cone in contact. It is, therefore, essentia? that crops should have a balanced ration, jurt as much as animals, a badly-balanced system of manuring interferes with natural derelopment, leading to weak plants liable to disease, consequently, to unsatisfactory crcps and small yields.