COMMERCIAL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 82, 1 May 1877, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

[From thk Lyttelton Times.] Ciiristchuruh, Friday Evening. In the grain and produce market, transactions have been fully up to the average during the week, and merchants and others are experiencing some difficulty in the matter of storage for the immense quantities of grain, &c, coming to hand. In wheat, operations have been principally confined to second and third-rate samples, the market for which shows no improvement, whiie on the other hand prime milling parcel-* readily command the advance recorded last . week. Our onotaiions are from 2s 611 to 3s for Sprouted, and 4s 9d to 5s for milling parcels delivered at the Christchurch railway station. The oat market is decidedly weaker, and there is an unusual absence of export enquiryfor this cereal, which as a rule, is rather "in brisk demand at this period of the year. Tartarians are neglected, as the Australian seed season is now almost over. Farmers invariably hold this kind too long. Tartarians should be sent to market in the months of February and March, when rhey. command milling rates for seed purposes. Our quotations for Tartarian >ats are from Is lOd to 2s, and short; oats, from 2s to 2s 3d, for feed and milling respectively. Barley meets a dull market, except for orime malting, which commands 4s 6d ; discoloured ami inferior from 2s 6d to 3s. Potatoes haye_been, largely dealt in a*t a ilecune"'" of ss"oti" last week's rales. We quote 35a to 37s Od as buyers' rates; ■oilers offer freely at 4-os. Millers' quotations for flour arc nominally iils to £15 15s in bakers' parcels. Sales, however, of some large-sized lots have Seen made at £13 to £13 15s f.0.b., with further transactions . pending. Bran is £3 10s, and sharps, £4 10s; demand dull. Dairy produce ; Butter continues dull it last quotations, which may be considered nominal ; cheese, s_-d to 6d, fair

demand. Although the shortening days and falling leaves ] roc'aim the near ; pp oach of winter, the weather very v'avourable for the country, and stock must be doing well both on runs and farms. The stock market is very active, and is likely to continue so for some time as die demand for store sheep is not nearly satisfied, notwithstanding the large drafts which have been sent into the market from the runs. At the yards, on Wednesday, there was a large entry of both sheep and cattle, there being 1.1,508 of the former, and 651 of the latter, brought forward, and, in both classes, nearly all found buyers. Best eross-3rcds breds reached 12s while second quality ranged from 10s 3d to 10s 9d per head. Merino wethers brought from 7s 9d to 8s 3d, which is equal, on the average to 2d per lb, onrquotation for the week. A number of cross-bred lambs were offered, showing a wide range from 4s 3d to Bs. Merino ewes, broken mouthed, mixed with wethers, sold at from 23 6d to 3s 6d per head. Messrs H. Matson and Co. report on the live stock market, &c, for the week ending Thursday, April 26,1877: —AttheAddington Market Yards on Wednesday last 637 head of cattle, 11,508 sheep, and 38 pigs were penned off for the day's sale. There was a fair attendance, and during the sheep sale biddings came fairly, but for cattle there was a slackness, which has : :ot been noticeable of late. Many persons present attributed this to the fact that in consequence of the cattle being sold out..!de in the pens, and not in the building is heretofore, buyers were unable to get t proper view of them. We, however, .'tribute the slowness in bidding and ■ uluction in vfflues to the crowded state of . ac market, the approach of winter, with 13 consequent shortness of feed, and to 'uyers fully realising the fact of their .•• .'ing little or no marginforprofit-between ; lie store animal and fat beast. We look . oon Wednesday's sale as a slack market for that day only ; the yards being filled with fat cattle, the trade having ample ipp'ies on hand, and many holders, who wire disappointed in the values obtained, ..,dcirig stock out unsold. Ln the sheep Market, although ihe sales were conducted : i;jou the same system as the cattle sales, :'::_re was no hitch whatever, and bids ame freely, the representatives of- the Boiling-down establishments rendering ■-•reat assistance throughout the da}'. Our entries comprised 282 head of cattle, 7070 '•iheep, -and 12 pigs. In cattle prices ranged from I'll 7s 6d, for fat bul- ] K-ks, to £2 12s lid, for young stocks, according to quality, springers from! £9 10s to £15 per head, In cross-breds, we have quitted two lines of mixed sexes ! r 7s9d all round, and have numerous tquiries for good sound grazing fines of :OS3-breds at say 8a to 8s 6d per head. "here is a large number of very inferior cvu'AS-bred stock on the market, for which

there is but little demand, buyers preferring to give an extra price for good sound forward conditioned sheep.' At Papanui, on-Thursday last, we sold 35 head of prime beef and milch cows, for Messrs Claridge, Hyam, and Tubman. The fat cattle sold from £9 10s. £10, to £11 10s per head ; springers, £13 to £15 per head. Wool, sheepskins, hides, tallow, &c, at our Wool Stores on Thursday only a small quantity of wool came forward. A very large supply of sheep skins (3200), chiefly prime cross-breds and butcher's merino's, 50 bags rough fat, and 130 hides were catalogued for the days sale. The wool to hand being of inferior quality, commanded but little attention, but the sheepskins were competed for with the usual amount of vigour. Best butcher's crossbreds made from 3s 6d to 4s 4d each, and extra large to 4s lOd ; second, 2s 6d 2s 9d. to 3s each ; best merino, 2s 6d, 3s, to 3s 3d each ; hoggett's, 2s 6d 3s to 3s 6d each. Countries skins and woollies brought good values. Salted hides fetched 4d per _ lb. and green do and calfskins were withdrawn at 3i-d and 6d per lb respectively. Rough fat commanded good competition from 2d, 2£d, 2_d to 2|d per lb ; cask tallow, 3f d per lb.