COMMERCIAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2104, 1 February 1908, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

TiiE WOOL SAiiUl-j. Tress Association. TLUAKU, Jan. 31 The third wool sail' 01 the season took place yesterday ; iloi bales were catalogued," but a comidcrablo. number were withdrawn. '1 ho wool was n very poor lot and very earthy. This, combined with the luci that much ol the wool altered hail been passed in at the previous sales, made the sale slow. There was a decided lack of animation, and lor coarse crossbred, which comprised the hulk ol the catalogue, there was practically no com petition. It was stated that buyers had received an intimation of a. ten per cent drop in London, which, rostrioted operations, and fully a. third was passed in. The number of hales actually sold would not exceed GO per cent. Inferior crossbred declined on the second side by three-quarters to a penny; medium crossbreds by a half-penny; threoqunrter-bml and half bred were at par to hall penny, the lop price was lOd tor Jl-1 bales of half-bred ewes. The range ot prices was; Crossbreds ltd to 6 id, tluuequarter-bred 6d to 7d, halt-bred Sjd to lOid. Merino improved a little, being 9d to 9Jd compared with Sd to 9£d at last sales. HASTINGS RAM FAIR.

Tress Association. NAPIER, Jan. 31 The ram fair was continued to-day, when flock rams of Border Leicesters, Suuthdowns, English Leicesters, and Oorriedales, of all ages, and Lincoln and Romney llocks 3 shear and over, were oll'ered. Lincolns and Romneys in most instances brought, fair prices, hut other varieties were slow of safe. Lincolns brought up to 3 guineas, which price was paid lor 91 3-shonr sheep, bred bv Mr. D. S. Fleming, of Wanstead. Romneys realised up to -It "uiueas, this being obtained tor -i-shoars, bred by Air. E. Eglington, of Featherstone. Ton Border Leicester shearlings, bred by Messrs Nelson Bros., Limited., brought 33 guineas, the top price for that variety. For Soutlidowns guineas was the '"guest figure, and this was obtained foi some shearlings bred by Mr. Geo. Rhodes, Ellesmere, Canterbury. Coiriedales sold at 9 guineas, and English Leicesters at half a guinea.

BUTTER and cheese extorts

Tress Association. WELLINGTON, Jan. 31. The Atlienic, which sailed for London on Thursday evening, took the following butter and cheese : I iom Auckland: 11,321 boxes 'butter, (m 3 cases cheese. New Plymouth: 11,t 1L boxes butter, 2323 cases cheese. Fatca: 40,32 boxes butter, 0100 cases cheese. Wellington: S3SS boxes butter 2378 cases cheese. Lyttelton : 540 boxes butter, 309 cases cheese. Dunedin: 2017 boxes butter 9/o cases cheese. Other ports, 3oJo. total 37,459 boxes butter, 16,331 cases cheese. These figures disclose a considerable falling-off in _ the totals shipped bv the hist iortiughtlv steamer, being 6793 boxes of -butter less and 2391 cases ol : cheese less, which is an indication of the falling-off in the milk supply. Last season, however, there w-as a similar falling-off, but there was a big recovery in the next shipment. The figures for the corresponding shipment of last season wore 37,671 boxes of butter anil 8592 cases of cheese. This shows a slight falling-off on Thursday's shipment of butter, but nearly a hundred per cent, increase in cheese. Owing to the increased cost of running steamers,. the tno steamship companies trading between 'Wellington and T.itea are raising _ freight rates, as from to-morrow, from 10s to 12s 6d per ton. MATAWHERO SALE. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., report on stock sale held on Thursday, 30th January:—The same dry weather conditions prevailed, which resulted in small entries; attendance much below the average, and a dull sale. SHEEP. We varded 1344 -and sold 1299,-the largest number being placed after the auction. The following are the day’s prices:—Ewes, sound-mouthed, 9s 9d; cull ewes, 7s 7d; fat ewes, lightweights, 11s; wethers, two-tooth-ed, small, 10s 6d; average line twotoothed wethers, 12s; lambs, 8s; Border Leicester rams, £3. CATTLE. A small entry and lifeless market. We yarded 85 -and sold 50. Beef was neglected. Good beef steers made £7; heifers, two years old, £3 to £3 2a 6d; yearling heifer:-;, £2; mixed yearling, £2 2s 6d. HORSES. We sold three young draught marcs under fair competition at ;wj, £35 10s, and £4O 10s. We draw special attention to our next sale on Wednesday, sth February. The aniiuil draft of the Ngatapa ewes will be forwarded -at that sale. Wo understand' the high quality of those ewes is well maintained, if net exceeded. As will be seen from our advertisement, the ewes have all been carefully dipped. Anyone who wants an even fine of good ewes should avail themselves of this opportunity.