COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16254, 3 July 1918, Page 10

COMMERCIAL.

GRAND AND PEODUCE MARKETS. (BY OUB COMMERCIAL EDITOIS.) Tuesday Evening. The continuance of the wet and stormy ■weather ha 3 had a more or less depressing influence upon business. Deliveries from tho country are at a complete standstill, owing to the state of tho puddocks and roads. Thero is an improved demand for feed oats and oateheaf chaff, but this can only be met liy supplies in store. Potatoes are nominally 4'6 at country stations, but none can bo delivered. There are fewer potatoes in store at the present time than is usual fox July, when merchants generally lay in a stock in the event of • bad weather. This year there was little 6torago room for potatoes, and •those merchants who have been able to obtain deliveries before the rain 6et in are fortunate. Thero ia not a very keen demand for shipment, as the northern markets have lieen well supplied of late from Australia. It is reported that freight from Australia has risen, and may restrict further shipments from there. SALE OF WHANA WHAN A HERE FORDS. At the first annual sale of rising two-year-old Hereford bulls, on account of Mr G. R. lleamisb, Whana Whana, Hawke's Bay, Meesrs Dalgety and Co. report keen competition, tho highly satisfactory average of 83 guineas for 13 lots being obtained. Prioes r.inged from 31 guineas to 165 guineas. The I.«n price was given by Mr F. Williams for "Whana Bonzer, and Mr C. R. Edgcombo gave 135 guineas for Whana Grateiul. Mr E. J. White gave 120 guineas, 92 guineas, 90 guineas, 80 guineas ('2), 65 guineas, 60 guineas, and 55 guineas; Mr F. J. Addis, 100 guineas; Mr H. liim-pus, 81 guineas and 05 guineas; Mr G. Elliott, 85 guineas; Mr J. Mclldowie, 75 guineas; Mr J. Ormond, 55 guineas and 50 guineas; Mr H. J. H. Glazebrook, 50 guineas and 31 guineas. ASHBURTON STOCK MARKET. Owing to the boisterous weather there was only a small entry at tho Tinwald stock sale yesterday, and tho attendance also suffered. For the small yarding there was a fairly brisk demand, and practically the whole of the yarding changed hands at full market rates. Tho following are the principal sales: —Fats—Ewes: 10 at 263 Gd, 20 23s 9d, 11 26s 9d, 31 2-ls lid, 11 30s 3d, 37 265, 31 25s 2d, 26 ■JBs 3d, 16 25a 3d. 7 260, 6 275, 9 2Us, C 5 28e -Id. Wethers: 50 395, 20 383 Gd, 15 293 3d, 9 31s 3d, 49 35ft sd, 14 36a 9d, <« 36s 9d, 18 37s 7d, 34 34s Id, 104 325, 10 325. Lembs: 12 28s Bd, 20 275, 7 245, 120 265, 170 275, 103 26s Gd, 93 26e. Stores —120 ewo hoggets 22s 3d, 33 empty ewes 18s, 74 four and six-tooth wethere 36s Gd, • 105 four, sis, and eight-tooth wethers 27s lid. Cattle.—There was a yarding of 40 head of cattle, and for those of prime quality and suitable for tho local butchers satisfactory prices were obtained. The top price was £16 2a Gd a head for a couple of steers Kent in by Mr Vincent Wright from off his Luginhor Estate, and a couple of others, sold on behalf of tho same owner, brought £14 17a 6d, and a single steer brought £12 J2e Gd. Seven as primo steers as have been seen in tho Tinwald yards for many weeks were 6ent in by Mr James Cow, of Tinwald, and they were passed in at £17. Fat heifers brought from £10 153, £11, £11 15s, £12, £12 58 .up to £13. Fat cows brought up to £12. A line of 7 cows duo to calve in October was passed in at £7 15a, and a couple of purebred yearlings were passed in vt £1 9». EGG MARKET , REPORT. At the auction sale of guaranteed fresh eggs held yesterday by. Messrs Harria Bros., auctioneers,-on behalf of. tho Egg Farmers' Association^. owing to the recent boisterous weather,' the entry was much smaller than last week. Prices realised were as follows: —First grade hen eggs Is. lljd per dozen, pccond. grade hen eggs Is lOd per dozen, duck "eggs le lOd to la 10Jd per dozen. 1 SHIPPING FREIGHTS. t In regard to the complaints from New Zealand shippers as to the exorbitant freights between Australia and the Dominion, the Melbourne "Age" 'says:—"Tho matter was brought before tho Common-wealth Shipping Controller, who explained that the Australian Shipping Board could not regulato freight rates to and from Now Zealand, even in the rase of Australian ■ companies trading with Now Zealand. A representative of New Zealand shipping interests, who visited Melbourne, . went into the question of freights with' certain, shipping managers associated ■with Now Zealand trade. As a result, tho following policy with regard to freight rates ■was. defined on behalf of Anstralian shipping companies trading with New Zealand:—That owing to shortage of shipping and congestion of cargo, there was a tendency on the part of Australian shipping representatives "in New Zealand to give preference to'shippers having cargo . with the basic • oargo . measurement, * - viz., 40 cubic feet, to the-ton. As this naturally led to complaints from shippers with . cargo of - other descriptions that they were being unfairly shut out, it was decided to put all shippers on* aa equal footing, and to 27s Gd per ton basic measurement of 40 cubic feet to the ton, and to strike a proportional increase in the case of classes of cargo representing an additional ciibio capacity to the ton. For instance, oargo going Go cubib-ifeet to the-ton is charged 27s 6d per ton on..the.basic jneasurement, and then half rate (13s 3d) in respect of the additional 30 cilbic feet per ton, the other 5 cubic feet per ton being discounted by the shipping company. It" is stated that the New Zealand tSpresentative expressed himself aasatisfied with.this- scheme. CHRISTCHURCH STOCK EXCHANGE. YESTERDAY'S TRANSACTIONS. Sate • reported Refrigerating, £2. LATEST QUOTATIONS. Buyers. Sellers. " • ' • •- ±s. d. £e. d. BANKS— Australasia .. .. — 117 o o National .. .. 5 7 0 — New Zealand (fully pd.) 47. 7 .6 17 10 0 ■ New Zealand (£3 6s 8d liaid) .. ..12 0 0 — BREWERIES— , .•Manning. — 310 Ward; .. .. 410 0 415 0 CEMENTS—. Golden Bay .. 018 0 10 0 COAL— Taupiri .. 0 18. 6 — Westport .. — l'lo 3 Wcstport-Stockton .. — 0 7 9 INSURANCE— National .. ... — 2 18 9 MEATS— Canterbury .. .. 910 0 — WOOLLENS— Kqiapoi. 1 .. .. 7 2 6 — MISCELLANEOUS— . N. 4. Drug Co. .. 213 9 — After a ten-weeks' sojourn on business in the United States, Mr W. Me- . Nellage, of the Australian Glass Manufacturers' Company, Limited, returned to Melbourne last week full of admiration of the wonderful war spirit and meth.ods of America (says the Melbourne "Argus"). One of the most interesting matters he alluded to was the ready, uncomplaining acceptance of food restrictions to help the Allies, because the American view of its importance is expressed bv the slogan, "Food "Will Win the War." America has virtually a wheatless diet. At the end of March the Food Administrator (Mr Hoover) asked a gathering in Washington of 500 of the lending hotel, restaurant, and railway refreshment service controllers to forswear wheat foods until September Ist, when the next harvest would come in. The "husbanding of American stocks of wheat obviated importation from Ar- i gentine, he said, "and every time we save, a ship, we save the transport and supply of one regiment of American soldiers." Corn (maize) bread has replaced white bread in all the eating-1 places. It is brown, and-not un-' pn'atable. but tho paradox which Mr McXellnge noted was that the better tho class of hotel the poorer the quality of the bread. So bad .was it at une li°tel. at which he stayed overnight that he asked for white bread. "You must si"n a chit, then." said the waitress, a"d the head waiter was called up to explain the "chit." The acknowledgment of the concession of white bread was one's own confession, "I am not loval to Hoover." Like everybody in America, the Australian had corn ioaf. Hoover's maxims are on the reverse of every menu-card, and even negro waiters are quick with the retort to protests. "Sah, it's just what Mr Hoover says." i