FARMING & COMMERCIAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 64, 10 December 1918, Page 8

FARMING & COMMERCIAL

i AUCTION SALES ■ forthcoming fixtures. . 1 ■ : ■':<.. to-day. : : Levin Yards," 12.15 p.m.—Stock sale (Abra- ! " ham and Williams. Dalgety and Co., ': and N.Z.'.Loan,'Co.). .. 157 Lambtbn- Quay, Wellington, 1.30 p.m.— j Sale_of unclaimed and damaged cargo | (E.* Johnston arid Co.). ■ jCourtenay'Place, 2 p.m.—Sale of poultry ; and furniture'(Williams and CW. ! "•':/■" TO-MORHOW." :AUen-Street, 11-a.m.—Sale of grocer's 1 stock-in-trade (G. Thomas and Co.). -To-Horo Yards, 12.15 p.m.-Stocl; snlo (N.Z. ■ Loan Co.). ' Shannon Yards* 1 p.m.—Stock sale (Abraham. and Williamß). j' , ..,",; ; 'THURSDAY:- .• - .Paraparaunm, 12 noon.-Sale of stock and implements (Abraham and Williams ! and Levin, and Co.). - Mrs. J. R. Oswald's Farm. Otaki. 12.30 p.m. —Sale of stock and sundries (N.Z. Loan Co.). . \ ;. FRIDAY. Town Ilall, Waverley.—Sale Brewer Estate Murray, Eoberts and Co., Freeman R. : . Jackson, Ltd., and Smith, 'Webster, and ; Co.). I FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE !•. : OUTBK-EAK.3N SUSSEX. ■ The Hon. W. D. S. MnoDonald.'Minister, of Agriculture, has received advice that the Board of Agriculture; London, has confirmed the existence of foot and inouth disease in Sussex, 1 and that an order has been made prohibiting the movement of animals in a large area surrounding the seat of infection. It is understood that at the date of advice the disease was' probably confined to one farm; meanwhile no shipment of cattle, sheep, or pigs'from .England to New Zealand;willv.be permitted.' I WHOLESALE PRODUCE PRICES I Messrs. Laery and Company, Ltd., Allen Street, reports , wholesale prices as follow:—Feed barley, 6s. 3d.'per *>ushel, sacks in; oats, feed Algerians, . 6s, per bushel, sacks in; cats, feed Gartons, Gs. sd. to 6s! Gd. per bushel, sacks in; oats, Dun, 6s. 6d. to Gs, Bd. per bushel, sacks In'; chaff, oaten, sheaf, good bright, .£l3 7s.- Od. to .£l3 10s., second and medium 2s. 6d. to .£l2 2s. 6d.'per ton, in'samples upon application; flour, in sacks, ,£l6 15s. per ton; oatmeal, 25's, per ten, loose, in 2001b. sacks, ,£37 per ton;'rice pollard, M 10s. per ton; potatoes, new, 255. to 335. cwt,; fowls, is. Gd. to 9s. per pair; ducks, !)s. 6d. to 12s. 6d. per pair; geese, lis', to 12s. 6d. per. pair; turkeys, Is. to Is. 3d. per lb. iivo<jweight; butter,. farmer's separator and dairy, in bulk and in pound pats, Is. 2d. to Is. 2Jd. per pound; eggs, Is. 7d. to Is. Bd. per doz.; dressed pork, 'fO's, to JOO's, lOd. per pound; bacon pigs, Bd. to 81d. per pound; choppers, M to 6<d. per x -pountf; beeswax, 2s. to 2s. Gd. per pound;.bacon (best factory), sides jis. 3d. per lb., rolls Is. sd. per lb., hams, Is. 3d. per lb.; salt (Lochiel, coarse), Jill 10s. per ton; bluesfone, 755. per cwt. ~ COMMERCIAL ITEMS INVESTMENT SHARES. .Yesterday's quotations, for. investment (hares were as follow:Buyers. Sellers.£s.d. ■ .£ s. 'd. National Bank '. ■— 6 9 0 Metropolitan Building ... 11 2 6'-, ■■ — National Mortgage 4 9 0' — N.Z. and River Plate ... 'i 19 6 ■ — N.Z. Refrigerating '■ ' — 2 6 0 3reat Export (525. 6d.) ... 211 0 ■ — Auckland Trams (0rd.)... 019 6 — Huddart-Parker Iprc-f.) 10 9 '. , — P. and 0. Def. Stock ... TO 0 0Well. Woollen (ord.) — 7 16 0 Well. Woollen (prcf.) •... 4 16 0 - Westport Coal 110 6 •. '- , Leyland-O'BHen 1 6 6 : 1 ,7 7 Golden Bay Deb. (£SO) ... - 50 0 0 \ . GEAR. MEAT COMPANY. : The annual report, of the Gear- Meat Preserving and Freezing Company of New Zealand, Ltd., to be submitted to shareholders on Monday evening next, states that, including the amount brought forward, and after making allowances for depreciation and payment of Interim'dividend,,'there Temains. a. balance of £81,423 16s. 6n., which' the directors recommend for appropriation as follows:— £ b. d. In payment of 'dividend of 10 ■ per cent, for the year ended ' November 30, less interim .dividend of 5 per cent., paid i in June. 4,600 o 0 In- payment of dividend of 5 ; per cent. ,from profits 'earned I ' by reserve funds, less 21 per cent, paid'in June 2,300.0 0 In payment of special dividend of 5 per cent, as last year 4,«00 0 .0 Appropriation towards liability I for. taxes, etc:, in New Zealand and Great Britain ..;... 55,000 0 0 io be carried forward to next I year's account J4.923 16 6 ;''._ £81,425 16 6 . OVinj to the satisfactory condition of the company's insurance-reserve, the directors frecommend the payment of a bonus 6i 5 per cent, on the paid-up capi-tal-out of that account. The directors express their Tegret at the death of Mr. David Anderson, who for over thirty years had been a valuable member of the ' hoard. The vacancy has been filled by ' the appointment of Mr. A. de B. BranS n, Tr' T 2 e retirin S directors are Messrs. ' W. H. 8. Mom-house arid Allan • Strane, i pho, being eligible, offer themselves fo> re-election.' The auditors, Messrs. Ernest W.. Hunt and E. R, Dymock, also offer : tnemselves for re-election. ',"■- N.Z. LOAN AND MERCANTILE AGENOY,.CO. ■ 1 | The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile ! Agency Co.,i Ltd., has received a cablegram from its London office intimating ( that the company will holds its annual i meeting in London on December 19. i l .After bringing into account the balanco - ?.j GeD « al Revenue Account, £96,1.34 0s , lid., .and making the following appropriaUons: General Reserve Account £25,000, ■! ■Premises Account £50,000, Dividend Equali. ' lation. Account £15,000, the amount avail- I able mßev-enue Account, for the year ( «nded June 30, 1918, is £17<,',722 18s. 2d. ■ The directors recommend a further ad. • dition of £70,000 to.Dividend Equalisation 1 *SS?SS ' ma ? l? K e # 6 . total .of this account ! £100,000, contribution of £10,000 to Staff > Benevolent Fund, payment of final divi- ; ; dend of 2J per cent on the' preference ( stock, and a final dividend of 3f per cent., plus 2 per cent, bonus, making 8 per cent, for, the year on the ordinary stock; ' £24,105 12s. 6d.»t o be carried forward., The i Reserve Fund now stands at £650,000. j ; Customs duties collected ■at the port I ! £H7O Ws fd 40 " yeßtertlay aui0 «"t«l to i 1 ■ MINING NEWS ' ' . "7 i 1 WELLINGTON SHARE' jfARRET. ' ' The quotations recorded yesterday for , mining shares were as under:— .-.■.' Buyers. Sellers. , „, .. £s. d. £s. d. g9 9 010 3 I iwaihi 2 3o _ • \ STOCK EXCHANGE. v • By Telegraph-Press Association. 1 I Auokland, December 9. f . Sales.-New Zealand Insurance, £11 2s. I ■tij m oll^ er \ r Si - e^-J 6s - 9d - Talisman, j £10 10s. 3d.; Waihi, 435, 6d. } TALISMAN CONSOLIDATED. { (By Telegraph-Special Correspondent.) f -_ . Auckland, Beccmhcr 9. 8 .During the month of November the s Talisman Consolidated, Limited, crushed \ and' treated 850 tons, yielding bullion ivalued at £8869 Is. 9d. The costs for tile :7nonth totalled £5 4s. 10d., made no as l follow:-Mine development, 235, 7d.; min-lv ing, 38s. Bd.; mijling, 325. 9d.; general, <r 9s. lOd. The directors have sent to Lou- | don the following . cablegram :—"Number / iltteon level, rise from 62 feet to 82 feet- ' width, 30 inches; value £5 15s. From 82 v ifeet to 83 feet; width, 12 inches; yalue, 45." t —■■■■■ - i

NEWS AND NOTES

YORKSHIRE LETTER REVISED SPECIFICATIONS (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, October S, 1(118. An important meeting of the Specifications Committee was held in Bradford last Monday, which has. a direct bearing upon- the whole trade right, away from the mower to tlie manufacturer. To those ill distant countries where the raw material is produced, the work of such a commutes will in all probability be as Latin mid Greek,, but 'to those in closer touch with, the piece end of the industry, the word :speciiicattons is a Well-known term. Ona often wishes that every wool-grower in the world could look inside a- .modern faotory, ami witness the various operations through which his raw material passes from the sorting board to the finished product. There are innumerable operations, and to see the actual processes would furnish far more information than nil the writink in the world. As a matter of fact,' the passage of wool through.the scouring, combing, spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing operations is all very essential before the fabric is fit for the wearer's back, and. whereas in the woollen section of'the trade there is no combing, tlie processes are very similar) except that scribbling and condensing are substituted for' the combing operation. Thd writer had the.privilege last week of conducting a colonial wool-grower through ari> up-to-date woollen mill, and he 'frankly admitted- that although he had been connected with the raw material all his life at the growing end, two hours inside '.en mill had taught him more than all ho had been able toj gather from reading and conversation. However, we will try to-day.to sav something on im : portant matters which directly affect every reader of this issue. ■Supplies for Civilian Trade. This matter affects many firms and the whole of the general populace of this country besides many in our colonies and in the United States. Owing to sensibly diminished imports of colonial wool, the jutlook for tlie civil trade is anything but bright, there being no doubt no surplus raff wool to be handed out for the civilian trade. At least there is a combination of circumstances all of which means diminished output for this important branch of the textile industry. The War Office (Wool Office) is deter-' mined lo maintain a reasonable reserve 3f wool for military purposes, which action is fully justified. This means, little wool-available for the civil* trade, but a still more important factor is seen in the fact that all woollen mills are filled with work of military importance, and, therefore, there are very few firms indeed who bve. the machinery at liberty for dealing with the civil trade. This is an important factor completely lost sight of . by those who have a mania for talking md writing about ;i wool shortage. Such individuate have • no practical inside knowledge of the woollen; trade, and it suits them to believe those whose special privilege it seems to be to announce a vool shortage, .The great pity is that :he authorities do not see their w;ay to' lisclose the actual stock-taking results when such are tabulated, for then the trade would have' the. actual -facts upon which to bate a right conclusion. Grantsd that there arc no surplus stocks for worsted machinery engaged largely on Jivil trade, yet in tlio woollen trade there k l'ttle machinery which is available tor the handling of civil trade, the demand made by ;lhe military for woollen ivarps and wefts being such that all* wants cannot be satisfied. Importance of Woollen Machinery. Those in the trade'know the important part .that scribbling and spinning machinery on the woollen principle is plnyiug in providing for the wants cf the Army and-Navy. Take,.for instance, the.production'of flannels;.-This is colossal, and sxpands rather than diminishes. 'It is perhaps unknown to 'ninny that all renewals' v fpr the American t.roops in the shape of shirtings'are having to be made iiero in England, which has added a :olossal amount of work to those with machinery fit for that work, To keep 1,750,000 men provided with shirts'is no ight task for British manufacturers,' in iddifion to the armies of Great Britain Hid most of our .lilies. Then there are :he colossal quantities of tartan -and hub serges which have to be provided !or the same number of droops, together : nth greatcoats. In all these at least ifl per cent, of woollen yarn is used; in 'act, the bulk of the shirtings, both warp ■ md weft. The, reader will therefore sen ' ,he tremendous quantity of woollen yarns ■ vhich has to-be scribbled and spun, and ;h,e Specifications Committee have had under review the work which'to-day is : illing the hajids of the woollen' trade. L'liere are those who still, believe that 1 ess wool might be used in the produc- ] .ion of tartan serge.- Every reader by ;his tiine should know' that both tartan J ind drab serge' is made from a 2-24's or i 2,21's worsted warp and 11 skeins ; voollen weft. The worsted warps can he f sasily provided, because these can be ipiro by worsted spinners. The produc;ion of the woollen weft is where the '. ;hoe pinches? and it is here where the vhole position of the woollen trade in i ts relation to the making of serge cloth ( or the Army has been i reviewed. At he first the tartan and drab serge were iractically all pure wool. Stocks of raw- • naterial dwindled very fast, ,when it. was j lecided to use about 25 per cent, of nungo. A third .revision took place when 3 t was decided to use 6fl per cent, of •irgin wool, the balance being noils, vastes, and mirago or cotton. This pro- j •ided an excellent fabric for our fightng forces, the cloth being. Round, warm, 1 ind well-made. Using larger quantities ' if in (in go soon brought, about a scarcity, he result being that during (lie present ationing period, and owing lo there be- v ng big supplies of short clothing wools 8 t was decided to allot to manufacturers r md giv ( o them the privilego of making j. ;heiir woollen blends out. of 75 per cent. ■ if virgin wool and the balance substi- 1 rites. It now transpires that less wool 1 vill do, with all the sound warm projerties of the cloth being retained, and j ;herefore the trade is advised that little •aw material is going to 'be available for r lie civil trade. The crux of the matter 1 s, Can the woollen trade do any addi- t ;ional civil work? g Woollen Machinery Commandeered. It -will be remembered that from September 1 the Wa,r"Office issued an order sommnndeering all -woollen machinery, ind if nny firm desired lo irun one or ,wo m.-tchi'nes on civil trade they had to ibtain written permission from the IV lartment. Is it likely that the former, vill give that privilege lo manufacturers vhen their looms are standing for the vant of woollen wefls? All worsted khani las been proved to bo too thin and papsrv, the cloth wears well enough, but n t'has not about it that heat-retaining * iroperty that .is essential for our S( ighting forces in the trenches. We ' enow for a fact, that application has n jcen made to the Department, and in a () 'ew instances the privilege has been ;ianted of allowing firms to ictnin one fi| scribbling machine in six for the civil y ■rndc. It looks to-day as if that pn-, t , •ilce is going' lo be withdrawn, be- f| •ause the. Department wants still more j voollen varus in order to cope with the j| ■eouirem'cnts of the Cloth Section of the 0| Department in providing cloth for our f( ighting forces. The order issued this veel; is clear enougn. "Ihul the p rade should be informed that it will ri not bo possihlo.lo issue licenses to run (V nachinerv for civil purposes Jo firms t ivlio deliveries are in arrears. ■ that ]r shows clearlv enough that there am p ini's, essentially ensj.iged in tlio woollen ,) trade, who no doubt, owing to the big f, profits obtainable for woollen tweeds have been running too ninny machines For their own civil trade to the neglect ri if military orders,'and every right-mind-ed person'.will agree that it is high time fi ill civil trade stopped if, the Department p is wanting khaki doth for the clothing p, jf British aud Allied troops. • ' ■ „ r Tops for the Civil Trade, n A rumour gained currency last mar- j<

ket day in Bradford that it wns the intention of the Ton Department to issue no more lops during the current rationing period tor the civil trade. We are nble to say qii unquestioned authority that this is not so, and it is a pity that thcso stories get abroad. We understand that there is iuv intention whatever not to honour tho key certificates which have been issued to spinners, and althougii a spinner may 'not be nble to pick and choose at will, the Top Department intends to issuo tops to the best, of its ability and honour, all sub-certificates. There is not much, likelihood of any large quantities of raw materia! coining to hand, this side of December, but stocks are not so low as to cause any panic. There is still plenty of business to be done by spinners, but the majority are acting wjjth considerable reserve, believing it to be policy lo sell no further until they actually 'obtain tops at the hands of the Department. The present policy, favours spinners selling yar n s for' export to France, in'which case can be obtained freely, the best, being preserved for military and export, purposes.