STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 7

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Deotbb.

Weekly Stock Sales: Monthly: Burnside, Wednesdays Ngapara, first ThursAskburton, Tuesdays day in each month Fortnightly: Clinton, Palmerßton, Bulclutha, Fridays Winton, and WaiGore, Tuesdays kcuaiti. Oamaru, Tuesdays Periodically : Invercargili, Tuesdays Heriot, Kelso, Kyeburn Butchers and graziers kept prices at the stock markets at the same level as the previous week. Supplies were not excessive. The fine weather having put heart into those in want of store sheep the prices paid were wonderful. At Addington it was the annual Grand National sale week, and some good sheep brought fancy prices. These sales were more or less of a sentimental character, and hardly on business lines. I should like all farmers to read the letter of Mr W. Nelson, of Toraoana, to the Minister of Agriculture on the slump in frozen meat in London, published in tliis paper. Mr Mackenzie 's, as usual, hopeful, and speaks more as a politician than a business man. I prefer Mr Nelson's opinion. Unpalatable as it may be, Mr Nelson's opinion is that of a sound business man, and when he says that in the rule of " supply and demand " is to be found the cause of the slump I agree with him. I just make one quotation from Mr Nelson's letter with which, I regret to say, I agree: "Then comes the question of remedy. It is very simple, but not overnice. It means lower prices- to the producer. Take it this way : Amongst the frozen meat consumers in the Old Country there are many half-crowns to be spent in meat every week. Are we to give them 51b or 101b of meat for their half-crown? I say that the supply exceeds the demand Then we must pfive 101b for half a crown. The producer will, of course, not approve of this line of reasoning, but he has to.' A few years back we in the North Island thought that if we could average 7s to 8s for as many lambs as we could grow our fortunes would be made, but of lete years we have been getting from 12s to 16s, so that the smaller figure looks like ruination, but it is not so. We can still do very well at Bs. We have got to face it." I think, however, that we would certainly be saved groat lost by organisation and control, and although many don't agree with mo, I f.ay that the meat salesmen and butchers want managing, and that they have not assisted to extend distribution bj lowering prices to consumers as they could and should have done. They have been content to pocket the big margin betwecD their buying and selling price, and make hay while the sun shone. Mr Mackenzie and others at the A. and P. Conference hinted darkly and suspiciously about the machinations of the American Meat Trust ac a cause of tba slump. The American Meat Trust have had enough to do to manage the 11 ' own affairs and the large Argentine shipments under their control, and they have done so as business men. With the control in their hands they have cleared their meat as it came along, whilst New Zealand meat was under no control or management, but left in the hands of a disorganised mob of would-be sellers to compete against each other and reduce prices. Mr Nelson is also right where ho says: "I commend to every freezing .company in the Dominion — namely, not to increase the killing accommodation. Already we aro killing too fast. I am aware that proposals to increase the killing capacity exiet, but I am cure it would be much wiser if such proposals were not carried out. At the same time increased storage would be of considerable value." Yes, we want more storage in New Zealand, and not more rapid killing facilities.

For the next four months little or no meat will go Home. Burnside and Oamaru did little or nothing last week, and will olc&e down by the end of the month. The Canterbury works will also close down 6oon. One important reform, wanted is to regulate shipments, and with that, of course, the killing. At present out system is to rush sheep and Jambs to the works during the first four months of the year in immense quantities, and the next four months lesser quantities. The supply will have to be spread over 10 months, and we should try for regular shipments during the whole 12 months In the South Island, with facilities for growing the best of root crops, winter feed should be as abundant as it is at present, and the- North Island can grow winter feed other than turnips, which, however, do fairly well in many parts.

A cable from London last week announced the fact that 4663 frozen pigs arrived from Hankow (China) in London along with beef, poultry, deer, eggs, etc. This is one more instance of the fact that the sleep of long ages in that immense and fertile country is about over, and that China is about to awake. Now this is of importance to us, and means possibly, and even probably, another powerful competitor ere long. China may, come with a rush as an exporter of many of the products we export from New Zealand. This shipment of 4663 frozen pigs looks insignificant, but what if it is only & beginning, as was our shipment of 4800 carcases of frozen mutton in the good ship Dunedin in February, 1882. That did not look a bigT.thing, but it- was the beginning of a trade that means now over 5,000,000 carcases per annum from New Zealand alone,, to say nothing of Argentina and Australia — another 5,000,000 or co, all developed since that first shipment. There is nothing to stop China going in for sheep and cattle. There is no need for alarm, but we must never imagine we in the colonies are for ever to hold! the British market to ourselves, for we shall hay© formidable rivals. The progress of this new development in China will be watched with much interest. It probably means that we must not set too high a value on our land in the first instance, nor on our stock and products. We must be cautious.

It looks as if our Minister of Agriculture were trying to preach the preferential idea to British statesmen, and he appears to think that' some relief or benefit is to come to us in the colonies from tariff reform in England. Now I have always believed in Mr Chamberlain's doctrine, which, as I understood it, was based on mutual sacrifice: the colonies to get preference by granting Britair freetrade for her manufactures or this market. This would suit every farmer in New Zealand admirably, and benefit him greatly bj securing cheaper raw material and good prices for his productions. Only under such a condition would the British nation tolerate a tax on the meat of foreign countries or on* their other food products. But would th-a Ministry of which Mr Mackenzie is a member agree to such a thing? He knows their main supporters — the working man — would not tolerate it. They are even now asking for higher tariffs on British goods to keep up wages for the town worker. The farmers' votes in the other direction won't count with Mr Mackenzie's party at election times. So I &cc no hope for preference to New Zealand meat in Britain, and until New Zealand lowers or abolishes her Customs tariff on British goods I consider it idle for New Zealand politicians or others to ask the British Government to tax any iood product from foreign countries to benefit New Zealand, seeing we give them practically nothing in return. We have nothing to offer in return except freetrade to Great Britain, and although the farmers of New Zealand would agreeto this the Government and the people behind them will not. I happen to have a letter from Mr Chamberlain written t*>me years ago in reply to one of mine, and in this he distinctly lays it down that the colonies, as well as the Motherland, must make sacrifices to bring reciprocity about. Our Government sinoc then have done much to make tins more impossible than it was then. It is to be regretted that this i« the case. The New Zealand farmer is dependent on the Briti-h market for the sale of nearly all his product, and this export is our main .support, and yet in our legislation and tariffs only the city worker E.nd his employer seem to be worth consideration by the Government in their policy. If Mr Mackenzie's -itar-emente moan anything, would they mean that his own opinion is absolutely opposed to the Government of which he is a member?

I make the following- extracts from the letter of thf London correspondent of the Pastoralists' Review, dated June 4-, as showing- that those in charge of the celling of Argentine meat .know how to, and are able to, deal with the difficult situation better than the disorganised lot of people handling New Zealand meat : " South American mutton has met the position all along, and at the present low prices it has secured most of the trade ; in fact, it sp*-ms to me that one of the leesona to be learned from the present condition of the market is that New mutton in general has practically no preference over Argentine when real ding-dong competition eete in. Can-

terbury mutton, as usual (selling on its name), has not done so badly, 2£d being about the lowest for heavy carcases, whilst l|d for heavy North Island! is accepted. The fact is, speaking of mutton, the Argentine people are mopping 'up the business all round, selling low, and they are moving their stuff. Swift's and other North American houses handling Argentine meat refuse no offer on a business basis, and move off their goods at the market price of the day." The best authorities state that about onehalf of the beef, mutton, lamb, and pork consumed in Great Britain is foreign meat, mostly frozen meat, and that the British public eat and pay for a very large portion of this foreign meat believing it to be Home-fed is quite certain; hence, the Foreign Meat-marking Bill now introduced to the British Parliament. This bill is brought forward ir the interests of the British farmer, who is well aware that, foreign meat is largely sold as Home-fed to his detriment, end, I think, to ours ako I hope the bill will be passed, for I believe that it will benefit our frozen meat trade, acting as it would as a standing advertisement for it. By it all dealers in foreign meat and bringing out its intrinsic quality announce this fact on their shops, carts, etc., and a class of shops selling frozen meat only would become numerous, and probably there would be two distinct classes of butoher— the one selling Home-fed only, and the other frozen or foreign, only. Then, the frozen meat would be pushed and sold as it never has been hitherto, and efforts mad© to sell it at its best— that is, in an. attractive way and properly defrosted, which very often is not the oase now. On this point, I quote from the same letter: Every time I sit down to a joint of meat, excepting Home-bred, I realise more and more th© *atal practice of cooking frozen mutton and lamb before the frost is fully out. The great secret of enjoying this meat an dbringing out its intrinsic quality and flavour lies in hanging it well. This is n&fc done in 90 per cent, of instances. The carcase is taken out of store, brought on the market, and sold — all in a morning-. In the afternoon the retailer has it in his window, and the next day frequently the householder has a joint in her oven. Imagine the toughness and insipidity! When a carcase is in the right state to cut up it wearsi such a mottled, unpleasant look that people would not buy joints cut from it; but that is the proper time. The customer likes to see the sheep or lamb bright and fresh. "A carcase or joint should hang four days now, more in winter, and if arrangements were made so that frozen meat should not be sold' or eaten before there would be a great access to the demand." My own idea is that a Meat-marking Bill would benefit the froeen meat trade. The retailers of meat have never helped 1 the trade. They have got all that is possible out of it and used it for their own purposes. I don't blame them for this. Of course I air not referring to the regular frozen meat shops. Take the position of the wholesale prices now. Good New Zealand mutton at l£d per lb. Have these prices been properly reflected in the prices charged to the consumer? That is the point that suggests that the substitution — fraud — is so profitable to the retailer. In the interest of all parties I think a Meatmarking Bill should be passed, and not withdrawn, as was Lord Clifford's. One of the first things any combination of our frozen meat management has got to do is to open shops of their 1 own to ■sell our frozen meat, or to control those who do. The retailer should have a direct interest in pushing the trade and increasing: consumption, and no one of the retailers has had much in that waj yet. Even the present retail frozen meat shops fell Australian or Argentine as New Zealand when they can, and that is generally when it is to their interest to ,do so. We want New Zealand meat cold and pushed for sale 03 New Zealand.' Let Australia and Argentine sell theirs in the same way — as their own.