STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 7

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

I Bt D*ot». W««kly Stock S»l«a: Monthly: Burnside, Wednesdays Kgapara, first Thurs▲shbuxton, Tuesdays day in each month Addin S t<ra r Veduesdays Gknavy, second WedWoiareka Railway nesday m each month Junction, Tuesdays D^ntroon, second Fri- - <t»y in each month Fortnightly : Clinton, Palmerston, Bfclclutha, Fridays Winton, ac€ WaiGote, Tuesdays kouaiti. Oamaru, Tuesdays Periodically : Invercargil!, Tuesdays Heriot, Itelso, Kyeburn Both at Addington and Burneide markets were heavily supplied last week, and as export buyers were not operating prices went down Is to Is 6d per head, and a x 'good deal of the stock remained unsold. Even at the reduced prices export buyers could not operate. Graziers took the few tegs offering, but the demand for store sheep was poor. No doubt the wintry weather at the time of the sales had a depressing effect on farmers, who/had previojusly bean buying 'reely at moderate rates. . The Burnside and Oamaru freezing works might as well have been closed this month, as very little- killing for export has been done. All the works from Christehuriih to the Bluff will be closed for the season by the 28th of thir month. Usually the Canterbury works open again about Christmas time, the Oamaru works about the middie of January, and Burnside and Southland about February. "Whether this -wilt be so this, season remains to be seen, and depends on our weather and how stock i« doing. Much also depends on how the glut of meat in London is disposed of. / Some think the freezing work 3 will open later, so as to seet he market somewhat bare of old stocks. I Messrs H. S. Fitter and Sons, writing from London under date 9th July, say: — "Tho cold and weather lias helped the beef and pork trade, but bas had a depressing effeqt on the demand for lamb and mutton. Home-killed mutton has been in plentiful supply, and more Home-killed ( lambs coming forward at times than could be cleared without some difficulty." They also report the frozen mutton trade in a very unsatisfactory condition. Stores full and everyone anxious to cell. Some sheep, from New Zealand lately have been of very* : poor quality, and compare unfavourably . with those from, River Plate. Th© 'rozen. \ lamb trade ;3; 3 going from ba<2 to worse, sales, although heavy, not being sufficient to cope with continued heavy arrivals, and forced sales by come holders unable to obtain storage .had a. disastrous effect on. prices, } completely destroying all confidence in th« prospects for the future. The stocks of ; lamb on hand are now co large that it must take some time before the surplus- is to decreased as to enable holders to stand 1 out for better prices. Teg 3 and large lambs '< will be difficult to dispose of, and are practically resaleable in the provinces. In last week's Witness my readers, I hope, noiioed what Mr W R. May, of Richmond, Nelson, said to a reporter on his return from a visit to England. Mr May is an experienced business man, and has one of the largest grocery businesses in the Nekon province, and also rune a large butter factory at Richmond. He took some trouble to look into the matter of the selling of our frozen meat, and was able himself to see that Ihe fraud of selling New Zealand meat as English or Scotch was common enough. Mr May holds the opinion that the Dominion growers of lamb and muttonshould start retail shops for a time as the b3&t mean* of bringing Ne« Zealand frozen moat before the British public. I have always held the same opinion. I fJon't say the Government should enter upon this busine-Sa, but unless shops to sell New Zealand frozen meat under a controlling . body representative of New Zealand interests are opened X consider advertising by the Government a mere waste of money, as Argentine and Australia would get as much benefit — perhaps more — from such ad- ■\ ertisements as New Zealand. The Athenie sailed on the 13th inst. with 1525 boxes of butter and 1363 crates of cheese. The "butter wa» all "stored" butter, and more is yet to go Home. I don't &lnJc it if likely to enhance our reputation

at this, the opening of the season. It will not be till September at soonest that anynew season's butter can be shipped. The cheese, it. is to be feared, will not raise -the credit of New Zealand, being mostly second "and third grade. About SOO crat&3 out of the shipment wcre_from Dunedio and Bluff. A shipment -will also go In the Coi-inthic on the 7th September — all wintei? rasike, an<l mostly of turnipy flavours., TJhe stock of! winter made cheese is eery heavy, and a. lot of it must go Home, as the local market cannot absorb it. Most grooere avoid thia turnipy cheese, and holders find it hard to quit. The distribution of this tnrnipy, j cheese has distinctly lessened consumption, and I warn dairy factories that next year 1 turnip-fed cheese will be hard! to cell to local buyers, and so I strongly reconimentt dairy-farmers to make some- provision foi* winter feeding other than by turnips, or close the factories when the grass feed in done. If winter dairying is to "be carried on at all this roust be done. The butter factories hays also suffered severely fromf turnip-fed milk, and the public have bee™ complaining of the article supplied to them; all the winter. If we are to carry on winter dairying the shipments to London will extend to end of June at least - in tho fxiture. and it is most important that we ehduld keep up the quality of the • cheese' > and not allow Any turnip-fed, milk to be supplied. 1 am quite awaT© that turnips could be fed to cows in a way .that would! not taint the miM. badly, but I am con- ! yinced that the only way to get things Tifihi is to refuse turnip-fed milk at all factoriesas is done in Canada and Denmark, andi compel farmers to provide winter feed. Thk is done in Canada and Denmark, and couMl be even more easily done in New Zealand. Farmers should give this matter their <i~fention, and now that spring is coming i% the time to think about it and do wliar is nedessary to provide the required winter feed, I The Board of Trade] returns for the six months ending 30th June are now to hand, and show the- imports jnito..6reat Britain of I butter and cheese from all sources during ' that period. A3 this six months covers tho period when nearly 'all our butter an<l cheese- from New Zealand arrives a few figures on the subject -will be interesting. During this period the import of New Zealand butter was 218.607cwt. Os- compared with 167.387cwt in 1908 and 251,413cwt in, 1907. The quantity from New Zealand was less than two years ago, but the' decrease in Australian is much more marked, the figures* beinjr— l9o7, 468,1§7cwt; 1908. 316,573cwt; 1909, 231.339cwt. The decrease from the colonies was. however, mor« than made up by the imports from foreign countries. France, Sweden, and Argentina showing the greatest increases. Denmark supplied the moat, Russia next, with Franco, and Sweden abotit equal to 165,000cwt. Of course, durinjr the previous sit months tfie imports from European countries were much, larger, the six months under review beingtheir winter and spring, when their supplies ace at their lowwt. The supplier from the colonies did not have a great influence on th© market even during this period. a=* 1 the total imports -for this six months were 2,Uo.4Siewt. being lees by 200,0000wt tbaD in 1907. There> is no danpre* oi a glut of colonial butter on the London mai'Jc't, and. I judging by statistics. I should say the market outlook is honef ul. Nowadays, however. ' too* much deDOndence cannot be placed on I the statistical position. What we to , know, but cannot learn. i> what Avill the bulk, and bears and speculators do? The imports o? cheese to th° United Fin?- '■ clom for tb<» six months ending; 30th .Time w-pr*' as follows:— From Canada: 1907. '384.52Pewt; 1808- 319.1*«cwt: 1909. 305,689 <>wt. From New Zealand: 1907. 159.1 llcwt; 1808. 229,852cwt: 1909, 296,292cwt. Canada, it will <be observed, shows a •stead y d<?crease, .which is made up, and more, by the increase from New Zealand. limport* from foreign .countries show a decrease of 25.000cwA on th* two previous years. Italy, th« Uniffd States, and other countries show heavy decreases, and the total would have beeni (greater but that Holland's export increase** by some 40,000cwt in the six months. This Dutch cheese is mainly cheap ekim-milk cheese, which sells at 25s per cwt less thara New Zealand and Canadian, and does not; fonii" into competition with^ it. The fwo British colonies — Canada and New Zealand 1 — now puppi.v to the British market thres times as much cheese a« is sunplied by all foreign countries together. New Zealand in tfie six months supplied more cheese than all the foreign countries put together, tho figures being— New Zealand 296.292c\vt, fordism coifntriee 232,551cwt. The . total cheese imported into Great Britain from all sources for the six months ending 31st June. 1909, was 834,532cwt, being about 30,000cwt over tho two previous years. Tho increase is accounted for by tho increase in Dutch ekim-'milfc cheese. There seems ample room for New Zealand to. further increase her cheese exports to London,, as the decline in the supply fromi other countries (including Canada) Has been going on. steadily- for over five years. More Planet, Jr., agricultural and garden implements are i.n use in the world than any other three makes put together.— Nun mo and Blair.