CANTERBURY BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 4031, 16 June 1931, Page 16

CANTERBURY BUDGET.

(From Our Owm Correspondent.) an excellent season. CHRISTCHURCH, June 13. Not for many years has the province i experienced such a favourable autumn from the point of view of stock fattening. | The absence, until lately, of cold weather ; lias had an extremely beneficial effect on pastures and crops, particularly the tin nip crops, which have seldom, been better. In this respect the season is in distinct contrast to the autumn of last year, when very dry weather left farmers in most places with very bare crops to face the winter on. This year there is little cause for anxiety on this score. Though prices have been in keeping with the low values for stock, turnip growers in those districts that cater for autumn fattening have been doing good business, particularly those in the region between Ashburton and the Rangitata River, where thousands of acres are grown each year, chiefly tor the use of runholders who bring their sheep down from the hills to fatten them for the market when the cold weather starts to make itself felt on the high country. A lot of land here is not of the best for ordinary cropping, but for turnips it is excellent, more especially that part of it that lies nearer the hills, which gets the benefit of the periodical north-west rains. For good turnips about £3 to £3 10s an acre has been paid, while others have made from £2 to £2 10s. Where there is a grass paddock run-off for the sheep in wet weather, of course, there is a premium.

ADDINGTON MARKET. What is claimed to be a record clearance of fat lambs and fat sheep for this late stage of the season was affected at Addington this week, when over 15,000 head were absorbed on a particularly spirited market. From the vendors’ point of view, it was one of the most satisfactory sales this season, the more so because it coincided with another improvement in the export schedule rates for lamb and ewe mutton amounting to -]d per lb. Exporters’ quotations for lamb were nominally 0 1-Sd per lb for weights up to 361 b, with corresponding reduction for overweights and seconds, but actually they were paying up to 6.jd in many cases, and probably a shade over that in competition with the trade buyers. At this sale last year the export rate was Sd per lb —consequent upon a reduction of id —so that the disparity that existed between this year’s prices and last year’s some months ago has been substantially narrowed. Up to 23-8 d was paid for ewe mutton, but the schedule for wether mutton was unaltered. This, however, "had little effect on the price a head, which advanced in sympathy with that for ewes in the face of the butchers’ demand. Outside the big National Markets in August years ago, there have been few sales at Addington at which the entries of fat sheep have been so big. It totalled close on 10,000 head. At the last National Market the yarding was about 6000 head, and at the same sale in 1929 it was 7000. this total up till then being the biggest for 10 years. The normal entries at this time of the year vary from 3000 to 5000. The offering of over 5000 fat lambs on Wednesday was also considerably above the seasonal average. Peak prices were reached in the fat sheep pens, where the tops out of one line of heavy wethers were sold at prices equal to those that ruled for prime wethers at the corresponding sale a year ago. This was a line of 108 sheep of exceptional size and quality penned by Messrs E. and W. Mason (Hawarden) and making from 20s lOd to 27s lOd. They were fine-wools bred by Stonyhurst halfbred rams out of Corriedale ewes. Ten of them sold at the top price, seven at 27s 4d, 10 at 26 s lOd, 12 at 26s 7d, and 69 at 20s lOd. The average quality of the fat sheep offering was much above the average, both in the wethers and ewes. The bulk of the wether offering was taker by the butchers, who, despite a certair amount of irregularity in the sale, were keen buyers. About two-thirds made over 16s. With freezing works keen buyers the market for ewes W'as a livelj one right throughout, and consid ing the size of it the auctioneer: made good time in disposing of th.

offering. Fully two-thirds of the entry made over 13s, a price that was considered very good five or six weeks ago. For size and general evenness of quality there have been few yardings at Addington that would eclipse that offered this week. Pen after pen of well-grown, excellently-finished lambs changed hands briskly in the face of keen competition from the export buyers and butchers at the improved prices, which in many cases were exceeded. A noticeable feature cf the sale was fairly heavy purchases of big lambs by the works men, who paid in cases up to 22s a head for them. Anything at all well-finished was worth 18s and over, and more than half the entry exceeded this figure, with many lambs selling at over £l.

Helped to a greater extent than usual by lines outside the province, the yarding of fat cattle, which numbered a little under 500 head, was too big for the market to absorb, with the inevitable result that prices dropped, the easing being about £1 a head all round. Even the best of the beef suffered. The outside cattle, while overburdening the market, did a lot to raise the general quality, which showed a distinct improvement, there not being the same proportion of haphazardly-fin-ished beasts penned as there has been at recent sales. With the big selection t-j pick from, butchers naturally were critical, and concentrated their Ifttention chiefly on the better grade beef. Their limits, however, were very strongly de fined. The best of the beef was bringing up fo 30s a 1001 b, with a lot of it making from 22s upwards. So far vendors have not had a particularly satisfactory year, with mutton prices being as low as they have been, and - it will probably be some weeks yet before any improvement is shown. Compared with previous years the demand

has been very limited. Buyers of adult sheep were not as active as they have been at recent sales, and though there was little change in prices the market was rather dull, particularly for the less attractive sheep. Here again there was a big variation in quality. Ewes formed the bigger proportion’of the offering, and many of them were penned in lines that would scarcely fill half a truck. Among the larger lines were one or two that appeared to be quite good buying for anyone looking for good lamll- - returns. One line of three and foui-year-old three-quarterbreds from the Peninsula, in lamb to English Leicester rams, were quite reasonably priced at 15s 7d. A second draft out of the same line made 14s. Another pen of quite wellgrown four and six-tooth three-quarter-breds that had been served by long-wool rams were by no means dear at 13s 66. Any sound-mouth ewes that had been properly served sold at round about 10s to 12s.

APPLE EXPORT.

Details of the various grades of apples exported from Canterbury this season according to varieties were available from the Horticultural Division of the Department of Agriculture this week. Altogether 21 varieties were shipped overseas with Stunners, Jonathans, and Delicious heading the list. The details are:

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. At a meeting of representatives of school committees in the Geraldine district a resolution favouring the establishment of an agricultural course at the Geraldine School was unanimously passed. The Director of Education (Mr T. B. Strong) attended the meeting and explained the proposal. He said that until it was possible to add a farm the idea would be to build up a strong agricultural course with an enthsiastic teacher on the staff specialising in agriculture. This teacher would be able to go out among farmers and arouse interest in the course. The man appointed would probably have his B.Se. degree, and he would be quite ..capable of teaching commercial and classical subjects. There would be plots a'; the school for conducting experiments, and an outline of the course of instruction

would shortly be available. This would be supplemented by visits to district farms, a fact that would have double value in that it would interest farmers m what was going on at the school.

Extra' Good Variety. Fancy. Fancy. Grade. Delicious 1580 1277 142 Adam’s Pearmain 641 624 — Boston Russets 56 12 — Ballarats 50 — — Cox’s Orange 636 370 Dunn’s Favourite 462 555 —— Glengyle Red . . 236 88 1G Jonathans • .. 3744 2545 402 King Davids .. 20 8 — Lord Wolseleys 784 35 —— London Pippin 31 11 — Newtown Pippin 175 263 121 Pioneer . 385 95 — Ribston Pippin 4 9 21 Rokewoods 684 427 133 Scarlet Nonpareil 77 12 Statesman 712 185 22 Stunners 7679 1826 —— Tasman . . 630 85 — Worcester Pearmain 511 73 ■ Rome Beauty 70 47 10