COMMERCIAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1249, 9 May 1884, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

, ' Ashburton Guardian Office, ft?-'Friday Afternoon. Messrs H. Matson and-Co. report on the w-... H live stock market, etc., for the week ending - Thursday, May Ist, as follows:—For >'l yesterday’s market, at Addington, a large sup- , " p]y of stock again came, to ■ hand, the pens - allotted to fat sheep being filled to excess, '.. stores representing a crowded entry. In both ? cases the quality and description of the sheep consisting chiefly of ewes and i-,1 JaxtaTlght Mights'; with a few Tines Of prime r/., %ethers, “ stores" of cull merinos, aged cross--1 ■ ■ breds, -and a small proportion of two-tooth gjt, ‘crossbreds, lambs, etc. Referring first to the m£ r t ale of.fat sheep, we hesitate in using the term : "collapse of values,” as this may appear a ij&s- little too strang, tut exhibiting.as the markets if*.- ’ have for some' time past a downward leniency, S£~-f:vwtlucn certainly bad no sale since the turn in ■I-.,' ' prices at which the decline in rates for medium p‘- ‘ class mutton was so apparent as yesterday. 's Fair- weight - and quality - crossbred ewes ’ brtmghl 12s to 14s,'one exceptionally heavy Iff line to 16s 3d, equal to a rate per lb of from A? •’ 2d to a shade over d per lb. The com-r'y-'s? paratively lew wethers on offer drew the attcntiopt qf . exporters, who Secured the major R portion', prices for'Heavy weights ruling from • - -16 sto 18s (in one instance to 20s) ajqal to: per lb! Taking average of the day’s prices, we must re--7^ corcha decidcd drop of fid per head, many of ‘f the second class lots suffering to the extent of sf*:. js. Fat-merino - withers were but an indifiii! - ■ ferent feature in the market, and the few prime to hand sold at from 103 to iis6d. Uf our own entry we topped the market \vi:h a line of extra prime heavy wethers on account of Mr • Kinley at 20s per head, placing also a draft of - . 240 good wcfhers for Mr S. Bailey at 163 gd : 200 6-tooth wethers for Mr Marmaduke Dixon '7 at 14s rod; 280 crossbieds, account Mr John ’ Gebbie, wethers 14s 3d to 14s 6d, ewes 13s to B- 13s fid ; account the New Zealand and Aus--1 tialian Land Company, from the Levels estate, ig.i v. sent to, hand by Mr Orbell, a line of heavy . weight well grazed ewes at 16s to 1653 d; ' wethers, .for Mr fctewart, at 17s ; crossbred I ewes,'for Mr Birdlirg at ns 6d to 125, half- >!■" breds at iqs fid ; 2-tooth half-bred wethers, r for Mr Judge, at 13s gd ; ewes at 13s 3d, 131 ■jJr'. crossbred ewes, for. Mr W. Mills, at 12s 9,d ; mixed crossbieds, for Mr Kinley, at 12s fid to V' ,14s; crossbred ewes, for Mr Manion, at 10s ‘"'■'-•--fid to I2s 6d, etc. In stores ihe inferior class of sheep on offer, the weakening of the mutton -<’f jjS'< 'trade, and the near approach of winter, " brought about an indifferent feeling on the part of buyers, and the sale from first to . fast dragged considerably.,; . for aged illI' condindnei lines of merinos’it was difficult -V" *to elicit any competition,, or in some cases , '.even a bid, 1 and a good few lots of the worst ‘■ - of this class of sheep went out unsold. ’ No remarks are required, to explain this state of things, except that owners have overtook - 1 - their market, and “ shady ” lines which might ' have;been- got rid of a month since buyers will now scarcely have at any price. The dull trade, nnfpjrtvmately, is: not confined alone to y* the classes above-mentioned, as for young l sound .drafts of sheep .bu-iness is very much }*! quie.er, and values are marked by a decline of " 10 to 15 per cent, below last month’s rales. j* ? .. Lines of two-tooth crossb eds in medium cons’Aition are now procurable at from lls to 12s Y . - . per head ; fresh conditioned merino wethers at 6s fid to 7- fid ; merino ewes in fresh condition with fairly good mouths, fis to 7a ; cross- . bred iambs (be.-t maintained values of any), 7s ' fid to 9s. In fat cattle the business trails- - - acdQßS%wcre« «f anything but a satisfactory ■i - • . character, and with a late sale a good-few lines , * wetp passed pnsold. With the introduction of the new'system, viz, the commencement of th<* beef sale at the conclusion of the fat sheep L" ] ” and pigs, we anticipate much better results, if ■''? not in price at least in point of clearance, as |i,i ( by this change the auction sale will commence B' an hour or so earlier, and at a time when ' there are buyers present to compete for what is offered,' df yesterday’s'entry wle submitted about 90 head, dealing half the number at v v.". prices ranging from. 16 to ■Ly los-lor steers ; light weight heifers, L 4 18s to L 5 los and L 6. We cannot report ; any improvement on ; the market rate per icolb, which still rules from 17s to 19s as per quality. In store cattle there was a larger entry than for some vveeks r,'past, the cla c s of stock being also much better -trade was noticeable/mnst of the lines under jC,).. offer changing hands during the day. Of our . :, < entry we placed oyer 150 head of all descriptions. Two - to ihree-year-ohl fresh conditioned ,t I, steers, L4Ssto Ls 10s; mixed sexes, L 3 15s f*",!,'’ to I 4 15s ; yearlings to two-year-olds, 403 to 655; younger ages at. lower proportionate ’ rates. > !The following is the Christchurch Com Ex- . change report for the week ending Friday even • * ing, the 9th instj—The.lmsiness done in grain and-' produce has shown no marked Y alteration during the past week, there being a .- continuance, of the depression existing in the I previous week. Buyers still decline to oper- ■ ate to any large extent, arid are merely trying to keep things moving in the hope of a turn . for the better. Thee is still a large proportion of wheat; coming to hand cold and damp. I This'has given an impetus to those possessed pof inventive genius to exercise their abilities r ; in the,direction of diying without deteriorating "*jhe value to any great extei.t, and in at least Sjif' . one instance, there is the promise of a fair ’ i‘.. '■ amount of success. It is to he hoped that the means used will not prove disappointing, as it :£[ + will be greatly to the advantage of the fatmet the experiment should prove successful. r Values for the week are as follows :—Wheat : £oun fl and;dry Tuscan, 3s sd; pear), 3.3 4(1 ; v Hwtenh.iSS3d> f.0.b.; with very little disposi's' 1 . '■- li° Q on the part of buyers to purchase.—Oas : :1V ■ - Bright short feed continue in active demand at Ji-I’' 1 ’' “ 2s 2d to 2s 3d ; and first class milling might -* ' -'command 2t 4d, f.o.b. —Barley : Nothing but t '_ prime malting saleable at 3s 9:1104s, Christ- ’ 'church.—Peas: Prussian blue in good request at 3s fid to 3s pd ; grey, 35 to 3s 3d, f.o.b. f..‘' Beans ;3sto 3s 3d, Christchurch.—Potatoes : I,'':.- - The outlet* b ing at present very limited it is .I - difficult to quote with any precision nominally ?T" - 393 at country stations.—Butler and Cheese ; mmv- to lod for the former, with very litile ' -enquiry ; the latter, 46 to sd, f. o,b.