THE ARGENTINE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4789, 15 December 1924, Page 4

THE ARGENTINE.

recovery from slump. TRADE WITH NEW ZEALAND. Mr C. E. Robertson, of rhe firm of Wright, Stephenson and Co., who wus the official representative of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand at the International Show held at the Argentine, and Messrs S. J. and C. Goulter, of Blenheim, have returned to New Zealand. Air .Robertson states that al the lime of his visit the Argentine was .steadily recovering front the slump, or, as it was termed there, the crisis, ami a.o prices for beel. had advanced considerably and new markets w; openii.g up on the Etuppcan Continent, the country was looking forward to a period of prosperity. Dm jig the crisis dairying had bee.) turned, to as a more jirolitable system of (aiming than cattle raising, and fattening, but owing to the improved positii n of the beef market and the really unsatisfactory labour for this technical class of farming, he was of the opinion that no great advance would be made in dairying for some years to come. Up to the present the co-operative factory system had not been a success, but there were some huge proprietary concerns which engaged in the producing as well as in the manufacturing business. ENORMOUS HERDS. One of these concerns milked on one property 7000 head >f rriesimi cattje, and another, founded by Mr Reynolds, formerly of Cambridge, New Zealand, milked on its properties nearly 14,000 dairy Shorthorns. Machine milking was not practised, and the cows were only milked once ,a day, the calves running with the cows. The country was an amazingly rich agiicultural one, and there? were mauj very large concerns working huge tracts of land. One company, for example, ran .4,250,000 sheep ; the largest cattle breeder owned 200,000 breeding cows, and quite a number of Shorthorn breeders bred and sold 1000 bulls and over a year, and one pig breeder bred and fattened 12,000 pigs annually. Lines of one brand steers, fat at two years and nine months, had been sol.d by one breeder in successive years in drafts of 40,200 and 12,500. The country had been well named the Amazing Argentine. The Shorthorn cattle were the finest in the world, but the dairy cattle and sheep could be vastly improved upon. NEW ZEALAND SHEEP. The prospects for extending the trade in New Zealand sheep were excellent, and in time there would be a demand for dairy cattie. Stock of a high standard were required, and ill their own interests the breed societies would require to insist upon their inspectors passing nothing for export except stock of a really creditable class. Quite a number of shipments of rough-looking sheep had been made and had called forth severe criticism. The market required quality from New Zealand. English breeders had loaded the market With the other kind ; in fact, at a joint sale of English Romneys and Lincolns following on the Exhibition not a singl.e bid was forthcoming. UNITED STATES AND CANADA. After spending two months in Sbuth America Mr Robertson proceeded to the United States and Canada, and while there attended the National Horse Show at New York and the Pacific International Live Stock Exposition at Portland. The former was rather disappointing, but the latter wins remarkable for the scope and diversity of the live-stock display. The 4000 entries of live stock at the latter show 7 were all housed in one large building, covering 13 acres. The organisation was simply wonderful. Parades of stock were held daily throughout the exhibition, which continued for ten days, and'even church services for the stockmen were held on the Sunday at this show. The sheep (of which there were 770 exhibited) and the beef cattle were very disappointing. The features of the show were, the dairy cattle, the pigs, and the horses. There were over 700 entries in the pig section, and 150’0 animals were exhibited, including six carload lots or truckloads of 50 each. Mi' Robertson considers that the driving competition at this show for teams of six heavy horses was the most spectacular eveht he saw in his travels. Six teams comneted —two teams of Perclierons, one each of Belgians and Shires, and two teams of Clydesdales. The teams went over the course at a sparkling pace and were handled in the most expert) fashion. Four hundred pounds in prize-money ivas offered for the contest.