COMMERCIAL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 198, 11 June 1878, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

On Tuesday last Mr C. W. Bridge offered Tfor sale by auction the dwelling house and land of Mr John Bell, at Wainui. The property consists of 185 acres of land, together with a convenient house and out-buildings. The whole was put up for sale in one lot. Owing to the unpropitious state of the weather, the attendance was small. The biddings commenced at £11 per acre and quickly ran up to £12 ss. There being then no further response, to the auctioneer's appeals, it was announced that the reserve was £13 per acre, at which price Mr Bridge- stated that he was prepared to treat privately. FROM THE LYTTELTON TIMES. Christchurch, Friday Evening. STOCK AND 'STATIONS; ■ We have to chronicle another week marked by very little business in most -descriptions of grain. The, late hard frosts have been followed by copious and and continued rain, much to the gain and joy of the farming body. Accounts from the country districts, agree in reporting a very backward seed time, and that the acreage put. in up to the present moment is less than at the same period last year. Now that the ground has been softened and made workable, we have no doubt operations will be pushed forward vigorously to make up for lost time. During the week two vessels, the Western Monarch and the Trevelyan have cleared -for London, carrying between them 23,934 sacks wheat a large portion of which is on growers' account. Potatoes.—Some heavy clearances have lately been made. Prices remain about the same, 45s to 47s 6d. Flouh.—A fair business has been done at £11 to £12. The demand for oatmeal has increased ; it is quoted at £20. Dairy Produce. —The improved feeling for really good butter has been maintained, and prices are firm at 2d f.o.b. Higher are looked for as the season advances. Cheese is quoted at s|d to 6d. Hams and bacon in cloth, 7d to Bd.

The land sales on Thursday amounted to 6796 acres 16 perches, as follows :— Ashley, 3778 ; Selwyn, 1005 acres 1 rood; Akaroa, 419 ; Ashburton, 1420 acres 16 perches; Geraldine, 133 acres 3 rood; Waimate, 40; realising £13,592 4s.

Messrs R. Wilkin & Co. report:—Wool. At our sales on Thursday, we catalogued 20 bales and 25 bags of wool, all of which were sold. There was a fair attendance of the trade, and prices were even. Crossbred, clean, well sorted, 9d per lb ; do, dirty and badly sorted, 7£ to petlb. Merino, clean, fairly sorted, 8d to per. lb ; do, dirty and badly sorted, 7£d to 8d per lb. Pieces and locks, £d to 64d per lb. Sheet-skins—Owing to the very wet state of the weather, we only catalogued 2684 skins on Thursday. There was a full attendance of buyers, and the bidding was spirited throughout; Cross-breds, large, full-woolled, 5s 5d to 7s 2d each ; do, large, two-thirds to threefourths wooled, 4s 9d to 5s 2d each ; do medium, half to two-thirds woolled, 3s 8d to 4s 9d each; do, small and inferior 2s 7d, to 3s Bdeach. Merino, large, wellwoolied, 4s 6d to 5s 4d each ; do, half to two-thirds woolled, 3s 8d to 4s 6d each ; do, small and inferior, 2s 6d to 3s 8d each. Pelts, large, early shorn. Is 4d to 2s Gd each ; do, small and inferior, 3d to Is 4d each. Tallow—To the wet weather we may also attribute the small quantity of butchers' fat, only 72 bags being catalogued, for which the bidding was spirited. Best, clean, well-saved. 2|d to 3d per lb ; second] quality, 2d to 2£d per lb ; inferior and heated, If d to 2d per lb. Hides—There was a fair supply to hand, but the attendance of buyers was very poor, and only one line of ship's hides, held over from last week, was sold at 4£d per lb. There were no calfskins to hand.

Mr W. J. G. Bluett reports on the live stock market for the week ending June 5. as follows:—On Wednesday, June 5, at Addington Saleyards ha had 97 head of fat and store cattle, which sold, fat stock up to £10 5s a head ; stores, from £3 12s Gd up to £4 12s Gd. Some, however, were withdrawn, as not robing owners' reserve. Friday, May 01, at Leeston monthly sale, his entries comprised — 299 head of cattle, 807 sheep, and 492 pigs, soiling as follows:—-Dairy stock, from £8 17s Qd, £9, £1310s up to £20 a head ; syringing heifers from £82s6d, £9 17s Gd up to £11 10s a head ; stores from £3 18s 6d, £4 5s up to £5 lis a head. Lambs from 5s 6d, 7s Gd, up to 8s 3d each. Merinos and cross-bred ewes and wethers from 4s 6d to 8s 6d each. Fat pigs from 17s 6d, 235. up to 44s a head. Stores from Is, 2s, 4s 9d, 8s Gd, up to 18s a head.