COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1861, 22 September 1913, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. A fair business was done in jiivcet/Henfc shares on Saturday. Tito tulcrf recorded were:—Sic at Export (525. 6d.) at 625.; Union Steam tftt- ; aiul Wellington Woollen preference at 595. 6d. and 60a. Tho Quotations wero as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. Bank New Zealand 10 19 0 — Uuioa Bank — 54,10 0 Well. Investment — Oil 5 Well. Trust and Loan .... 7 16 — Palinerston N. Gas 9 0 0 — Wellington Gas (£10) ... 16 0 0 — Standard Insurance — 1 '2 3 Christcliurch Moat 15 7 6 — Gear Meat (£1) 3 4 6 — Well. Woollen (prcf.) ... — 3 0 6 Taupiri Coal 116 — Weiitport Coal — 19 3 Westport-Stockton — 0 4 3 Leyland-O'Bricii — 14 6 Golden Bay Cement — 1 0 0 W.F.C.A. (£5) - 7 2 6 W.F.C.A. (£1) - 18 3 LOXDOX WOOL SALES.

To-morrow evening the fifth of tho series of London' wool Ealcu will begin, and on present indications it appears very probable that crossbred* will not see any advance; while merino wool will rulo firm. At the Antwerp sales merino wool was 5 to 10 centimes above the Juno rates', while erossbreds wero lower by about the s-ame figur&y. At the Adelaide sales Rood grasy meriilo wool was about 21 per cent, above last year's very high prices, while inferior greasdes wero rather lower. Howover, the wool to be offered in London to-morrow will bo mostly Eliped—that is, the New Zealand wools—and there are special buyers for this. By tho time the now clip is, ready for tho market the position will probably havo changed, and tho American demand will most likely bo felt. TURPENTINE. After remaining depressed for sometimo turpentine is a rain advancing, and * tho latest cable adivlces give tho price at 31c. Turpentine is more ao-uirately called "oil of turpentine," since it is produced by tho distillation of the crndo "turpentine," which' is an exudation from pine-trees. The Scotch pine, the siva-mp pine of America. (Pinus Australia). the pinus Pinaster (marituna) of tho Girondo district of Prance, and the pinu3 sylvostris of Ruesia are the principal sonrcos of supply. Preparations for collection are usually made in winter. Three pocketrlike cavitics, cacli capable of holding about a quart, arc cut in tho American trees at a distance of six to twelve inches above tho ground. , The "turpentine" which exudes from incisions periodically made in the tree accumulates ini these cavities, and is ladled out from time to time by the collectors. Borne of tho "turpentine" on the trees. That is scraped off and form 6 the material known in commerce as "common frankincense." Ifyrrh J-s a mixture of certain, resins, an essential oil, and tho gum exuded from an Arabic shrub. The "turpontino" is' transported to central factories for distillation', the distillate being tho oil of turpentine—the familiar colourless liquid used in house-painting and for many domestic purposes. The residue is "common resin," or colophony. Hugo interests are involved in the American trade. According to a recent issue of the London "Oil Trade Koviow," the sue pension of a leadi-nar conecrn in tho United States a few "months ago created a feeling of unrest. besides causing incidental embarrassment to other interests in- the interim, and a sentiment of uncertainty was rail-red over the marketing of new crop supplies. The announcement, of Financial difficulties was made shortly, before the opening of the new season l , and it was only natural that the impairment of powerful remurces s-hoaild have prompted misgivings in connection with the'.movement of th« approaching crop. Hecoipts at Sa-vannah increased materially for a time, fox surpassing deliveries. This was owing to the unusual difficulty experienced in obtaining transport facilities, in cor'ieouente of tho rush to move perishable food crops. Tho congestion of stocks was only temporary. The demand in Europe, however, had been extremely quiet, the trade taking, little Interest in tho article. It must not be forgotten that tho depression in turpentine last year was lortrelv associated with tho bearish tactics thon adopted to discourage producers, in their preparations , for the next crop. The effect of that policy upon this season's outturn was problematical, as thcro wero. estimates of shortage; -based on fc check given to crop preparations at) tho unfavourable 6tage of the market. Imports of terpentine into the Unietd Kingdom in the first half of the present year were only lJJ,os9cwt.. against, 196,445 cwt.. in tho same period of la?t year. All grades of resin had moved v ory slowly owing to the slumD in Quotations, although latterly tho mo.rket had exhibited sofhe attempts at steadincra which, however, wero not maintained. This was not surnrising taking into account tho heavy stocks in Europe, whil? 'here wero a!;i aocumulitions in tho "United States. The arrivals of rosin into Britain in- tho first half of 1913 amounted to 8<t3,639c.vfc.. icontrasted with 643,196cwt. in tho same timo of the preceding year. Consumers wore indisposed to operate owing to the disturbed condition of the industry in tihe United States.

THE BUTTEB 3IAPKET. There is a flrmuete about the butter market that i-9 cheering. Danish is selling at J32s. to 1345.,. as against 130s. to 1325. a year ago, which seems to promiee last sea-son's level of pricce- for Australasian butter, if so tho dairymeh of New Zealand Are assured of anothor profitable season.

CUSTOMS. Customs duties collected at tho port of Wellington' on Saturday ' totalled £2029 76. Bd., the amount for the week being £22,671 7s. 7d. The returns for each of the past eight weeks, compared with th# figures for the corresponding period of the previous year, show aa under:— " 1913. 191!. £ £ August 2 12,5<0 12,3<8 August 9 24,194 10,479 August 16 10,344 9,114 / August 23 27,014 27,261 August 30 .-. 15,876 17,218 September 6 20,434 10,446 September 13 22,266 26,132 September 20 22,671 21,'558 £155,339 .' £134,556 The beer duty collected for the past week totalled £209, as against £226 2s. for t-he corresponding week of last year.

NOTES. The "British Trade Eeview" reports that the scheme of Middlesbrough ironmasters to form a• limited company to luidertako the distribution of Middlesbrough production is camsing much anxiety in Scotch pig-iron circles, as such a scheme would do away with the Glasgow market. The Glasgow market for 50 years has been a leading medium of speculation, and at one time wa-s ■ regarded as a true barometer of general trade. Fortunes were mado and lost, but, ala&, the Glasgow market has now degenerated into merely a small affair, with brokers content to nip up a few peiico on the 500-ton warrant. The Glasgow iron merchants and export houses have framed a strong protest against, ony schome which would do away oven with this,-flickering market.

The trade in imitation Panama, hats or Ado-mba hats, as they a.ro often termed, from Japan continues to grow, according, to a Consular report on the trade of. that country. According to a British Consular report, the labour employed In making these hate is mottly that of quite young girls, who take about a week over each hat. There are several small factories' scattered about Okayama. prefecture, which is the centre of the industry. although tlio fibre itself comes from Formosa. It would appear that the supplies of this fibre are becoming exhausted. by too constant plucking of the leaves, and it. may bo necessary to find another source of supply or to turn to F«ymo different material. Each leaf produces four strands, and about 1200 strands go to make one lady's hat. The price of tbcse strands is 85 sen (Is. 9d.) per 1000 of best fi'iiality.

a .sulphur. mountain. ■ COJCPAXT EXPLOITING WHITE ISLAND. ' (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Auckland) September 20. i Whito Island, its mouutaiu top imprcg- ; rated with sulphur jutting out of deep • water in the Bay of Plenty, ie shortly to ! become the centro of considerable indusi trial activity. For years pas>t the icuuul. with its steaming lakt> and boiling *uli phtir springs has been regarded as an in*teresting thermal wonder. The apparently unlimited supplies of suJptouir lying there are now, however, to bo exploited l thoroughly. A company lias been carrying on operations at White Jflland foi* eomc considerable time, and <ut the end of last week the company's iirst load of sulphur reached Auckland. Several important works are to bo taken in hand almost at once, and there is every reason to bclievo that a larso and thriving industry will bo built up. The operations at the island have for tho past eighteen months been carried on by tho White Island Sulphur Company, that concern* however, for the purpose of providing further cash capital for ite enterprise,' has floated a new company called the New Zoaland Sulphur Company, which iq equipped with £25,000 cash in working capital, and with reserves to provide a further £20,C00. That sum will be spen't in putting up works at the island with complete retort© and Tclining plant, trucks, rails, etc., prospecting plant, and shipping and lauding facilities, including moorings and a wharf. Iu» Accordance with a scheme titled upon some eix months ago thn retorts and other hoavy. plant which lmd bc-en lying at Taumnga pending tho putting into operation of tiiie scheme have , r.ow been safely landed at White Tsbud, The company ha.?, now iccured improved communication with the island by ohartor- i ing th£ auxiliary 6choonor Wampu. I The flr«t shipment or sulphur w*,s lend- I ei tn Aortclaad la rod oocdltlaa. J

although this cargo was in the crude state it is .stated that from 75 per cent., to BO Per cent, is pure. Tho company considers its prospects bright, and is conlldcnt of , being- übJe to turn out 111 the course of the licit three or four months puiro sulphur to tho extent of SCO tons per month. Furthermore, it is erpccted 'that in the near fut.iiro there mill he no difficulty in at least doubling that output, and ultimately even larger. Much of the raw product, which contains q. considerable amount of gypsum, I will probably be used largely as a fertiliser, and in dairies and farms ap a. fly preventative. Already farmers have made application for test quantities. There i 6 every likelihood, too, of the other pro--1 of the island being put to commercial use, one of these being the free hydrochloric .'K id that has been found in the lake which occupies the crater of tlie volcano. NORTH OTAGO ST ASSETS. (By Tologrepli—Pree3 Association.) Oamaru, September 21. There is a fairly good demand i'or wheat, but low oU'crings have been received l'rom the country, farmers being busy sowing oat*, and laying down new pastures. Then, again, the quantity in farmers' hande is not large. The net pricos paid at country stations have been Velvet. ■ 4s. Oid. to 4s. Id.; rcdclraff, is. 9d.; Tuscan, 3s. 6d. to 3s. 7d.; Marshall's white, 3s. 6d. Oats have eased a, little, but the indications are that they will improve again; ad no large quantity is held in tho district. The net prices are:—A grade Gerton's, 2s. Id.: and I) grade, 25.: 70s. ,is tho prico paid for oat6heaf chaff. Very little is doing in potatoes, and for orders to fill 40s. to 425. 6d. have been paid net on trucks for freshly-picked lots. Otherwise, the prico paid has ranged from 33a. 6d. to 355. WOOL SALES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, September 19. The Antwerp sales have closted at animated bidding, with prices unchanged. 5300 bales of La Plate were offered, 3661 beinj sold. LONDON MARKETS. (Eec. September 21. 5.10 p.m.) London, September 21. Oopra 13 firm. Good business 16 doing ill' South Sea, bagged, September-October shipment, at £31 7s. 6d. per ton. Jute.—Native first marks. September shipment, £35 ss. per ton; October shipment, £34 15s. ' New Zealand! hemp is Arm, owing to the estimates of the Indian crop being 1,100,000 bales bolow last year; prices are unchanged. Cotton—September-October shipments of American middling cotton are clearing at 7.17 d. per lb. Riwbber.—Fino hard Para rubber is quoted at 3s. 7}d.- per lb.