FARMERS AND FARMING. No. XVI.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2137, 20 March 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARMERS AND FARMING. No. XVI.

I \m now drawing fast to the usual Ini-ire- production* of, the farm, which are mostly sold in the country. In f.ict the r'inainini? productions to bo considered ure horses, oats, hay, and chaff and wool. Iv dealing, with, the question, of selling and purchasing of hovers in thi* c mntry, we cannot driw tho fine and distinct lino of demarcation which ccists between, tho different classes of miinils in England, and indeed mostly iv all old countries. Tho elegant and well-ti lined hunter, the beautiful and evenly m itched c irri ige horses, and the mig-nifi'-ent driy hor-es of England are practically unknown in this country. That we possess sound good horses no one can dispute. As we are only a young community, birely o>it of our swaddling clothes yet, we may naturally hope for an increased stock of tho very best animals. Evon as matters now stand we might have very much suj erior animals than we can now boast of. The great mistake is generally made by the gross and cruel neglect of the young 1 colts and fillies ; and their too early use to Strong, not to say over work. Colonials profess to havo developed within them an overwhelming love for a ho»e and a race meeting. Yet there are few people so addicted to abuse an animal as they are, and in very various ways, on the farm or the road, in the stable or at work, he is maltreated. Very many horses are done up and < apparently aged by the time they are five years old, the very time they should be coming to their prime and be in splendid' condition for earnest work, in fact) in the best condition in training, which " demands " the highest price in the market. These preliminary remarks bring me to consider what would be a fair average all round price for the hor*es which change hands in this country, particularly in our own province. In computing 1 an average price I include all classes of horses, the best, the worst, and the medium. Our renowned racers and the poorest bcrub that ever placed one log before tho other. From my own experience and many inquiries, this average price will be the very moderate one of £10. Of course, . the principal part of the selling and buying of horses is done through the medium of •' our friends " the farmers' boon companions and undying servants. His commission charged upon this occasion is 5 per cent, yard fees, six pence when sold, and one shilling when not sold. The average number that chango hands through the medium of these gentlemen is about 220 per week for this province. This number at £10 each equals £2200, 5 per cent commission on this, amounts to £110. Yard fees, at six pence per horse, £o 10s, and most probably when the purchase is made by a farmer, there will be the inevitable three months bill at 1\ p6r cent, or another 5s per horse. The latter item we will leave out of account, and be content with the half a guinea for every horse sold. There is an immense amount of fraud and decaption practised more or less in all trades, but I think the hor.se dealing trade is prominent in the art of all kinds of swindling and trickery. It is a very rare phenomenon indeed to hear of a guaranteed horse, he is somewhat of a curiosity. Why is a guaranteo of sucii rare occurrence ? I will not ask our breeders of horses for general purposes whether they are honest enough to give a guarantee: the question ia, dure they do it ? and I unhesitatingly say no, not in a great majority of instances, and for these reasons : Our horses are allowed to run wild from their birth to the time of hunting them to the stock yard for the purpose of first accustoming them to the touch and control of man. The age at which this is done will vary from 18 months to about three-years-old And the way in which this breaking in is accomplished I can characterise in no other way than *as inhuman treatment of one of our most useful and intelligent of animals. Very frequently these poor brutes are broken in and trained in some three or four days, and then sent to be sold. Who, honestly speaking, could give a guarantee with such an animal as this, wild and practically unbroken? No one. There are very few of our horses that have been properly trained from when they were young, hence very few can be thoroughly relied upon. It is nothing but gross laziness on the part of our farmers, that they wont take the trouble to handle the foals when a few months old. In a former letter upon auctioneer.*, I mentioned a very common mode of of selling hor*ex, by which the prioo is run up beyond the point of honest competition. I refer to the term " trotting " by bogus or false bidders. I wonder if this is done in the interest of sellers, for it cannot pobsibly be in the interest of purchasers. Or rather is it not to the Advantage of the auctioneer from two points of view, first, that of increased commission, and secondly, from the desire to enhance the price of an animal bo as to cover some bill that, is overdue ! If tho latter, neither seller or purchaser is benefited, but it is simply aud purely a dishonest way of increasing the price for their own benefit and safety. Or do they take these horses at a valuation (most probably made by themselves or their agents) to cover some bill, and then seek to make an additional profit upon the transaction. If our farmers never heard of "confiscation," this is it. Tricks of trade, wheels within wheels. If there is nething gained by this " trotting," we may be bure that auctioneers would not keep np a dishonest practice. I look forward quite cheerfully to soon gottiujr out of the miry swampy wood of facts of inordinate profits and charges, reaped out of producers and consumers. I long to be started with that part of my subject which will give me the greatest pleasure to pursue. I mean matters of policy or remedies, though before that haven of rest is reached, I havp yet to traverse unpleasnnt paths of extortion aud monopoly, if anything, of a more virulent form than those already described. It in not a pleasure, but what I consider an absolute duty to follow these dark roads of human selfishness and avariciousness, to ferret out as far as possible all their doing's, to estimate the excessive profits made and fees charged, to drapr them to the light of day, so that honest men may see nnd judge for themselves. Further on in this series of letters I shall have occasion to treat money matters, not as they now exist, but rather as they should and will exist if only our farmers can be brought to a reasonable conception of their present and future duties. Ut. Prosim.

The London "Times'' is valued at £n,000,000{ " Standard," £2,000,000; "News," £1,000,000; Telegraph, £1,000.000. A kin'glk London dealer last year sold nearly SOO.OOO tropical birds of gay plumage for the trimming of hats and costumes. Thk Prince and the Prisoner. — The Homo Secretary has received a communication from the Prince t>f Wales on the subject of the remarkable sentence passed by Mr Justice Denman on Magee, the man who was guilty of endeavouring to extract money from His Royal Highness by threats. The Prince, it is said, is much distressed that Magee should have been sentenced to seven years penal aervi- | tude, and is anxious that if possible, the Home Office should, at th*» proper time, intervene for the purpose of i educing the term. The Germantown "Telegraph" has proved the efficiency of the following receipt for salting beef, though a number of years : — For 1001b tnke four quarts of Liverpool fine salt, four ounces saltpetre, and four pounds brown sugar. Mix intimately, and when the meat is packed, which should be closely, sprinkle tha mixture evenly over the layers. Keep the meat closely pressed together by weights. The sugar nnd salt, with the juices of the meat, make all the brine that is necessary.