CANTERBURY RAM FAIR.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4368, 20 March 1875, Page 1 (Supplement)

CANTERBURY RAM FAIR.

(From the Lytldton Times, March 6.) Although no one conversant with the matter expected the ram fair to be so great a success as its predecessors, all must have been surprised at the result. The contrast between the two was unpleasantly great. Numerically speaking, some deg Tee of improvement was shown in the entries, but here all signs of it ended. The proportion of good rams brought forward yesterday was no better, if so good, as last year. The attendance was limited, with a marked absence of buyers from other parts of the colony ; and the bidding throughout could scarcely have been of a more spiritless character It was, in fact, painful at times to listen to the extravagant language some of the auctioneers resorted to in the hope of exciting a little animation amongst the bystanders. 'J. he natural consequence of this was, that very little business was done, and many of the sheep were knocked down at very low figures. The cause of these unsatisfactory features in the ram fair is of a manifold character. In the first place, money is not so free as it was twelve months ago, and wool has receded » trifle in value, added to which those fanners who obtained a supply of rams twelve months ago do not find it necessary to replace them yet with new blood, as a ram can be advantageously used for at least two years in the same flock ; and, finally, there can be no doubt that ram breeding has been greatly overdone in this province. The latter point is one which demands very serious consideration. Breeders who could show anything approaching to good blood on the sires' side, no matter how poor the dams might be, went in for rearin" stud sheep, and the result has been that the country is full of mongrel rams, no more fit to propagate their species than to be exhibited in a crack English show yard. Men who should still be purchasers of ram 3 to improve their flocks have, in fact, suddenly become sellers of rams, thus at one and the same time decreasing the number of expected bidders at the ram fair, and stocking the country with a description of animal quite useless for breeding purposes. Yesterday's exhibition gave a practical proof of this, while at the same time it taught these would-be breeders a sharp lesson. Quite half of the entries should never have been saved for stud purposes, and a great many of them were so thoroughly bad that the attempt to sell them only excited laughter. The failure to sell means a loss to the breeder, and it will doubtless have the effect of making them more chary in future of what they do. Certainly it is to be hoped in the interest of all that it will.

The fair was held on the grounds of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association, than which no more suitable place could be found. The total number of entries was 1990, which included a large proportion of rams imported from England. The rams were all entered by agents, and the selling was conducted on precisely the same principle as last year, the agents being allowed to sell for half-an-hour each in turn, the order of sale in the first instance being decided by lot. Messrs. Ford and Co., who had 323 entries, opened the ball, Mr. Newton officiating with the hammer. No sooner had he commenced than it became evident what an uphill game the auctioneers would have to play, for lot after lot were passed unsold, and only two or three sales were effected before his halfhour had expired. During the day they offered a number of pure-bred imported Lincoln ram lamb 3, the property of the Hon. W. Robinson; a number of well-bred Lincolns and Leicesters, from the flocks of Mr. Threlkeld and Mr. Marcroft, together with a fewEomney Marsh, Southdown, and cross-bred rams. The imported Lincolns were sold at fair prices, and a fair amount of success was met with in selling the others. Messrs. Matson and Co., represented by Mr. J. T. Matson, were the second to sell. Their entries numbered 1322, which, as aptly remarked by the auctioneer in his preliminary, comprised " some of the best sheep in the province, and some of the greatest mongrels ever seen." Among the imported sheep in their entries were fifty rams imported by Mr. Lysaght last year, and from the flocks of prominent breeders in Lincolnshire. They were very fine, but did not produce a purchase, the whole lot being passed in at the owner's reserve. There were also 150 Lincolns, bred by Mr. John Grigg, 274 Leicesters, bred by Messrs. Hay, together with representatives of these and other breeds for a multitude of clients. The auctioneer did a good proportion of business, indeed it may be said that the only run of the day was on Messrs. Grigg and Hay's sheep, offered by him. Mr. Wilkin had the third place in order of sale, and at different periods employed Messrs. Aikman, Newton, and Campbell as auctioneers. Mr. Wilkin had 209 entries, all above the average quality, and some remarkably good. He had imported Lincolu3 from some of the most noted breeders ; high class provincial bred Lincolns ; Eomneys, bred by Dr. Webster, Oamaru ; Lincolns, by Sutton Bros., Southland ; Leicesters, by the Southland Company ; and merinoes, by Currie, of Victoria. The majority of them proved too good for the market, and had to be passed in at the reserved prices. The most notable sale in the above lots, in fact the principal Bale of the day, was one of Dudding's rams, recently imported by Mr. Cathcart Wason, a- fine, sheep all over, which was knocked down to Mr. Gammack, of Springston, for forty-one guineas. Mr. Mitchell was the fourth to _ sell, and was very successful in transacting business. He had in all one hundred rams, comprising a really splendid lot of Leicesters, bred by Messrs. K. and E. McLean, Auckland—sheep which held a prominent position for quality among the colonial bred stock; and a number of good Leicesters, bred by the Hon. E. Gray. The McLean rams were only for letting on hire, and many of them were let at good figures. Messrs. J. and R. H. Campbell were last on the list of salesmen. They had only fifty-seven entries, which were not _of such a character as to command the attention of buyers. Mr. •!. Campbell tried one pen, and not finding a purchaser withdrew the rest.