COMMERCIAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1268, 31 May 1884, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Ashburton Guardian Office, Saturday Afternoon. Messrs H. Matson and Co report on the live stock market, etc., for the week ending r. Thursday, May 29th, 1884, as. follows;—Yes- -} - r - Gfdky’s sheep market in point of numbers fell considerably below the average, of the past month’s sales, though about i,oco only short of last week’s auction. In muttonithere was but a-limited choice, merino wethers and cross- ‘ ewes predominating to a great extent, with a few consignments of prime wethers, aS*The -moderate entry, however, proved more than sufficient for the requirements of thejtrade, and with an absence of any outside demand one of the weakest markets of the season was experienced-, and one-showing more actual de- - dine in values during the week than at any previous sale. Not only is this in part the result of the dulness in the export trade, but from all sides wc hear of the depression in , local.busiaess, so that both combine in con- •- •' junction with heavy supplies to bring about greatly reduced and unsatisfactory prices. , Medium. r quality . two.tooth and four-tooth crossbreds are now selling at from 13s to 14s 6d-; good merino wethers, 9s to 10s, equal to a rate of from a trifle over 2d to per lb. The best .wethers, owing to their scarcity, cer- ' tainly command a little more attention, and one or two lots of good sheep were placed yesterday at from 15s fid up to 18s qd, at which latter figure we topped the market with a very choice pen of wethers sent to hand by Messrs •Gunn Bros, of the Mount Hutt farm. We consider is now the maximum rate per lb for the best half-bred wethers, few lots realising that price, and per lb may be quoted 9 the average for lines sufficiently good for ex» portation. Reduced as values were on Wed* nesday, several lots of sheep went out unsold, owners in various instances refusing to accept the decline, whilst buyers, op the other hand, ' were equally indifferent as to purchasing. On account of Mr R. M. Morten, we placed some Of his prime wethers at 163 3d ; on account of Messrs Gunn Bros, crossbred wethers at 18s ’’ ~ Qd; medium weight do, 13s 6d to 14s 6d ; and ~MF~Pgtmei, mixed croßstwaide, rt T6s I for Mr Wotheispoon, light weight 2-tooth crossbreds at 13s; for Mr W. Miles, 2-tooth crossbreds at 12s and 12s gd ; for Mr J. T. Brown, lightweight merino ewes up to 4s I id, for Mr Hetherington crossbred ewes at 16s, and a few Leicester ewes at 19s 3d. On account of a - • ' client we also placed during the day 100 carcases of frozen mutton shut out from shipment at ij£d per lb. In stores there is even a greater collapse than in fat sheep, and for several of the lines on offer yesterday it was difficult to get a bid. Of our entry we placed 370 inferior L|mbs at 6s id, 300'5-tooth merino .., : wethers at 6s 3d, 1,000 cull merino ewes at 23 sd, passing several other lines of crossbreds at owners’ reserves. In beef there was a large ‘ entry, most of the fat cattle pens • being filled before- six o’clock in So weak * was the trade that even the best quality offered no temptation to purchasers, and the various lines were disposed of at’ a still further drop.in values. On account of Mr Hanrahan, we sold steers at from L 6 15s to L 7 2s fid, heifers at L 5 10s to L 6 Js ; cows for Mr Hawkins at L 7 5s to L 7 10s; light weight at L4"‘lto L 5 12s fid; light weight steers for Mr Mason at L 5; mixed t - v> cattle forMr-Andersofi at L 5 7s fid to L 7 ios; and a line of good bullocks on account of Mr ~ L7 7s;fid; equal to a quotation of ~ ‘ from 17s to 19s per icolbs, according to quality, Dull as the market was in sheep and fat catt’e, business transactions in store cattle were even worse; in fact, there is an absence of any desire to purchase this class of stock almost at any price. With beef at the rates as gjven abpve we anticipate no improvement in some-considerable time; probably not • until spring, and then of course prices will be . Governed, to a great: extent by the value of fat J ca££fe.' * Dairy cows are now selling well, and lor good, quiet,, sound milkers L 6 to Lio is being paid. The entry of pigs yesterday was much smaller than for some weeks past, and if any alteration- in prices may be noted it certainly was with an upward tendency. We placed pur numbers as follows:—2 at 80s, 3at 82s, 4 at 795, Jkt 675, 2 at 555, 3 at 455, 6 at 375, 6 at 435, S at 73s fid, 5 at 735, 4 at 52s fid, Aat jqs fid, 6at 375, 5 at 575, 9 at 15s fid, 9 aF*3s fid, 4at 265, etc. The totals yarded for the day comprised, 7,299 sheep, 378 head of cattle, and 136 pigs, of which our entry in--cludtd sheep, 149 head of cattle, and 90 pigs. '- s