SCARCITY OF BEEF.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1132, 20 May 1911, Page 8

SCARCITY OF BEEF.

\ POSITION IN THE SOUTH. ' j. (By Talegrapli.-Sperial Correspondents \. ■ Christchurch, May 19. ;'■•■ Tim scarcity of beef cattle- referred I to at the meeting of master butchers | held in Wellington on -Wednesday oven- \. -ing is a matter that has been attractj ing the- attention of local butchers for I somo tinio past. Last winter fat cattle ! were very scarce, and tho prico of beef f. was abnormally high. This coming | '-winter tho prospects aro oven worse, bot. oauso of tho long spell of' dry weather . during tho latter part of the summer ! and during the autumn. 'The South f. Island is very short of heef cattle, and > Christchurch and Dunedin butchers have ! -been. drawing upon tho • North Island j all through tho summer and autumn. [. 'Purchases are mado either direct from \ .northern graziers or consignments aro j sent down to tho southern markets. At i Addington on Wednesday thcro were ! '.some 50 head of North Island cattle in | ;tho yards. | Otago is much worse off for heef than i j Canterbury. Tho chief supply .of fat r '.cattle used to bo from the large sta- • tions. . This sourco of supply has mow j: - .'been practically done away with by tho j'. icutting np of such estates as Clyde- [■ , vale, Moa Flat, Morven Hills, Five r /Birors, etc. _ ■ In Canterbury, and particularly in ;. . Hho Amuri district, not only aro largo f numbers of cattlo grazed and fattened I j for beef, but attention' is' now being ; ipaicl to other breeding of special heef j. \ cattlo, owing to tho poor quality of | tho storo cattle. Banks Peninsula is j. one of tho chief sources of supply of t bed for tho Christchurch market, and 5 every week drafts aro sent in from \ .'there. Thb present position is accentu--1 jated by tho dry season and subsequent ' i shortage of ; feed. The prico of beef has | .[been fairly stationary at Addington i j-latoly, as the market has been well -sup- [ [.plied,, but this is no doubt caused. { j through graziers selling before tho win- ! iter sots in,'as !t considerable propor- \- |-tion of the cattlo coming, forward aro ■- ijiot well finished. A littlo later on, I (there is every probability of a riso in [ | the price of beef cattle, and there is |. (little doubt that the retailers will make I ,a corresponding advance, as they com- ;.'• i plain that the year has been an miproI 'fitablo one for their business. .