A NOTABLE ORDER FOR SHEEP DIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 21

A NOTABLE ORDER FOR SHEEP DIP.

•'Kibv Grove, Lincolnshire, England. "May 27, 190?. "Messrs Quibell Bros. (Ltd.), Newark. "Dear Sirs,— l shall be mucfe obliged if you will send mo the sam« quavMty of youi Powder Dip a? yoit sent last. year. " (Signed for Henry Dudding), "T. B. TOERT."

Note.— Three times within the last dec*d< Las Mr Dudding sold Rams for 1000 guineas and over. Last year his Royal Champion two-tooth, which had been dipped in Quibell's Dip, realised the handsome «urn of 1450 guineas— the highest pric« ever paid for a "Longwool Sheep. The fact that Quibell's Dips have been used on the Riby Grove flock more or le«i extensively for the pa6t quarter of a century is conclusive evidence of the euperio* qualities of jhew ! mous prep«ir».iioa*-

md th* Kiwitea was a]l ablaze." There •was some damage done in Waituna West, but there has been no fire within miles of Kiwitea. There have been heavy fires down the Manawatu i-ai'way, but they have ber»u confined to the rough hilis and swamps, «.nd will have done good. Some may think this is a heartless account of the situation. That is not the writer's intention. I have in my time sustained heavy Joss, and was •blind for nine months after fighting a fire; therefore I understand what bush fires mean : but knowing the district, I be!i«ve that what has happened is no national lc*s, but will in reality prove a gain, owing to the enhanced vaiue of the pasture on th? land over which the fire passed, and the burning up of bush rubbish which harboured nbbils, microbes, etc. The action of the Government in cominar to the assistance of those burnt out is highly coiaxafei'-d- . Able. AYiftt suupeals most to svSf.-^-rc SJ» **x

calamity, however, is the kindly as=i-t-ance o f the more fortunate neighbours. As usual, sheep-owners and drovers are complaining of having thoir i Shortage sheep held up through the of Tracks. railways being unable to supply trucks. It is all very well for laymen to say that there ought to be better provision made, and we hear • of instances of mismanagement every day. Whether it would be good policy to have in reserve sufficient trucks to meet the glut thai recurs every summer is a moot point. Til© argument used in favour of the Government's parsimonious policy is that, commercially, it will not pay to have a hundred or two extra sheep-trucks, for which there is work for only a month in the yeaj, and that they deteriorate equally as fast, when .not in use as when working. Surely the Government, with its huge surplus, can

atf<_>> il to pa\ interest on die value of a few I hundred truck* to meet the demands for 1 the carriage of fat sheep and lambs and the annual distribution of store ewes and lambs. These extra trucks need not deteriorate in the slightest if sheds are erected to protect them when the slack time comes. 1 The drought is responsible in some measure j fox the congestion that exists, but some-, ] how th* same occurs every year in Februj ary. It behoves the farmers' representatives, therefore, to impress on the Government the necessity of improving the etockcarrying capacities of our railways. The annual meeting of the Manawatu A. j and P. Association was held Xanawatm at Palmerston on Saturday, A. aid P. 24th February, when the AsstdatUn. report and balance sheet were read and adopted after k oongidejable discussion as to the best

method to adopt to improve the finances. . The association's position is sound enough, as tho assets show a surplus of £14.000 over liabilities. Mr Jacob, the retiring president, in his addres3 said the assets were there — fortunately, perhaps, they could not spend them. Amonsrst other methods suggested of strengthening the finances, Mr M. Cohen and Mr R S. Abraham favoured the commutation of subscriptions by life membership, or, in other words, mortgaging the future of members' subscriptions. Both those gentlemen are good financiers, and actuarially life members at £10 is doubtless good business. But a few years ago, when the Royal Society of England was in sore " the cause was ascribed mainly to the undue proportion of life members. Supposing 100 life members are secured, the £1000 so raised would be spent this year, a* more improvements are urgently required Would the association be in any better position in 1909? If the money so raised was ear-marked to pay off liabilities, then there would be some force in the argument, as it would mean a saving of £50 in interest. Mr J. M. Johnston said there were a number of wealthy men in the •diS'tiict who, he thought, would willingly donate, say, £25 each to the association providing they were properly apnrosohed. This appears to be the best solution of thr problem, and there are few better fitted to gather in £1000 than the proposer, who is treasurer. The election of officers di-cl not resu'tr i*i the intr-ocltiotion of any fresh blood. With such a lot of old and ti ied men there was no room for new men. The monthly meeting of the committee of the Feildinjr A. and P. Feildlnpr Society was held on Friday. A. and P. It was stated that the late Association. show had resulted in a profit of £170. Some disappointment was expressed at this result in view of the splendid list of donations and the crowd (estimated at 80001 which attended on the second day. It was decided that the executive go into the matter and report to the next meeting. A letter was received from Messrs H. S. Fitter and Son's local representative with reference to the sheep and lamb that have to be judged in London, stating that the carcases were being sent Home by the Kumara. Tho Gear Meat Company wrote stating that 85 lambs and 24- sheep had been consigned to Messrs Fitter and Son, London. The report of the London judges >s awaited witn much interest.