ON THE LAND

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 37, 20 September 1923, Page 51

ON THE LAND

MARKET REPORTS. There were 229 head of fat cattle penned at Burnside last week. A medium yarding, including several pens of extra prime heavy-weight bullocks and heifers. Prices opened considerably firmer than at the previous week’s sale, but declined as the sale progressed. Towards the end of the sale, however, prices again firmed, and may be quoted equal to the opening rates. Extra prime heavyweight bullocks realised to £23 10s, prime heavy-weight bullocks £ls 15s to £l7, medium-weight bullocks £ll 12s 6d to £l2 10s, lighter kinds £9 15s upwards, best cows and heifers to £l3 ss, medium from £9 10s to £lO 10s, others from £7 15s upwards. Fat Sheep.—A medium yarding eventuated, 2349 being penned. The bulk of the yarding consisted of wethers, a good proportion of which were of medium quality. Prices opened slightly firmer than at the preceding sale, but there was a declining tendency as the sale progressed. Values again rose at the close, and all classes were then selling Is to Is 6d above the opening rates. There was good competition from graziers for all medium-weight sheep, and this naturally helped the sale throughout. Extra prime heavy-weight wethers brought from 52s to 56s Gd, prime heavy-weight wethers 45s to ,50s 9d, medium wethers from 36s 9d to 41s 9d, light kinds from 32s upwards, prime heavy-weight ewes to 38s, others from 30s upwards. Pigs. —A medium yarding was offered, all classes being represented. There was a keen demand, and enhanced prices were realised, both for baconers and porkers. Prime baconers realised up to 8d and prime porkers up to 91d per lb.

The yardings at Addington last week were under the average in the fat sheep section, but over it in fat cattle. Sheep advanced by about 2s per head, and cattle receded by about 20s to 255, the sale, nevertheless, being a good one. • Half a dozen spring lambs sold at from 32s to 365. Fat Sheep.—There was a small yarding of eight races, and a rise of 2s per head for best wether mutton, which realised from 8d to B£d per lb, lighter 7£d to 7|d, ewe 7£d to 7|d, lighter 6fd to 7£d, extra prime wethers to 56s 3d, prime 45s to 49s 6d, medium 41s to 44s 6d, light 37s to 4(s 6d, extra prime ewes 46s lOd, prime 38s Gd to 41s 6d, medium 36s to 38s, light 32s 6d to 35s 6d, extra prime shorn,ewes 36s to 40s, prime shorn wethers 34s to 41s 6d, prime hoggets 32s to 35s 6d. Fat Cattle. There were 460 yarded. The market was easier. Best beef brought 46s per 1001 b, prime 42s 6d to 4os, medium 39s 6d to 41s 6d, rough down to 255, extra prime steers £24, prime £l7 to £2O 10s, medium £l4 to £l6 15s, light and unfinished £9 10s to £l3, extra prime heifers £ls 2s Gd, prime £ll 10s to £l4, ordinary £7 10s to £ll, extra prime cows £l4, prime £lO 10s to £l3, medium £7 to £lO. Vealers attracted a fair entry, anything good being sold at late rates. Runners realised £7 10s, good vealers £6, medium calves £3 to £4 10s, small 10s to £1 10s. Fat Pigs.—There was a small entry, and a good demand. Prices were improved for pork. Choppers realised from £3 to £B, light baconers £4 to £4.105, heavy £4 15s to £5 Bs, extra heavy £5 14s, average price per lb 7d to Bd, light porkers £2 10s to £3, heavy £3 5s to £3 15s, average price per lb 9d to lOd.

Sheep Farming on Native-Grass Pasturage (Contributed.) SHELTERING NEWLY-SHORN SHEEP. If stormy weather accompanied by cold rain should come on soon after shearing and there is danger of loss, start to get the sheep together in time. Get them to shelter. The indolent shepherd who thinks “it might clear up” who neglects to face the storm “with bold endeavor” and delays action, finds that night has come on and that little or nothing has been done. If the storm continues, the next day he laments a loss that might have been averted by promptitude of action. A reason for action should be found not only in the risk of loss but also in the wish to avoid cruelty to animals. In hilly country, where there' is no possibility of getting the sheep under cover, loss may be averted, or at least minimised, by driving the sheep from the bleak hill tops

to the lower-lying land, or more sheltered gullies in the holding. Young lambs may be saved in the same way; care being taken that no mis-mothering' is caused by rash and noisy dogging. Do not trust the sheep to find shelter for themselves; the writer has known them to perish on the hill tops in a storm because they neglected to seek shelter on the lower-lying land in the same paddock. But the sovereign remedy for newly-shorn shee'p is to put them under cover.

Before beginning shearing the sheep manager should insure himself against a heavy death rate from a cold rainstorm. How is this to be done? A great deal may be done by constructing pens under the wool shed where the shearing takes place, and in some cases other buildings may be used in the same way. Three feet to three feet sis inches would be high enough for such pens. In many cases the sheds are built this height from the ground, and those about to build should take the matter into serious consideraion. What business acumen can the man be said to possess who pays all his attention to getting his flock of one, two, three or more thousand sheep shorn in record time, and only bestows a passing thought on the question of how the closely machine-shorn sheep will, fare when they are turned out? All necessary hurdles for penning should be made ready beforehand, for time is doubly valuable" when there is little assistance available, and the few willing helpers are called out in the pouring rain, it may be after a hard day's work.

Where practicable, newly-shorn sheep should be turned into well-sheltered paddocks near the/ homestead for two or three days after shearing, before turning them into the larger and more exposed paddocks on the run. Another good plan is to shear all wethers, hoggets, and dry ewes first, and to defer, somewhat, the shearing of the wet ewes. Rough weather causes wet ewes to dry up in the milk to a great extent and this cannot fail to have an effect on the lambs; indeed many leading sheep-men are so well aware of„ this that they defer the shearing of the ewes till they get away the first draft of lambs to the freezing works. Working on this plan may entail a little more expense in riding round the unshorn sheep, and getting together the shearers a second time, but whenever it can he managed it is undoubtedly the better plan, wet ewes being, almost invariably, the first to succumb to rough treatment; moreover the sheep that are first shorn will be immune from danger of loss from cold, storms before the second half of the flock are shorn, so that the whole of the sheltering accommodation may be used for half of the flock at a time. It is clear also that with a time limit to work to—what is left of the day after the rain sets —half the number of sheep may be brought to shelter when it would be impracticable to handle the whole flock. CATTLE USEFUL AMONG SHEEP. Where the hill country is too rough to permit ploughing the native grass grows abundantly during wet seasons. The spring growth gets ahead of the sheep. To purchase enough sheep to keep it down would often be impracticable financially, owing to the fluctuations of the market, and the keen demand for them at this time, which is frequently followed by a drop in value in midsummer or autumn. Frequently the surplus grass runs to seed and afterwards there is a great deal of what graziers call “flag.” This flag is neglected by the sheep; they prefer the shorter green grass. In danthonia country, therefore, as in rough bush country, it is profitable to run a limited number of cattle among the sheep. They clean up this rough “flag,” break through bushy and rushy obstacles, and thus purify the pasture for the sheep. , Calves, however, should not be used for this purpose; they require more succulent 1 and nourishing food.

(To be continued.)