COMMERCIAL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 220, 30 December 1909, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., report: —At Matamata on Wednesday, 22nd inst. we yarded 818 head of cattle and 1300 sheep. Buyers present made Brisk competition for sheep and all sold, and a fair demand existed for cattle considering the busy season and proximity ito the holidays. Small fat steers j made £6 12s to £6 15s; forward to fat cows, £3 llsto£l 2s fid; empty cows, ! in fresh condition, £2 18s to £3 ss; 2 to 2J year vld steers, £3 173 6d to £1 ss; IS months steers, £2 143 to £3 2s; vearling steers, £2 2s to £2 7s; empty 2ycar old heifers, £2 16s to £3 Is; do. been with bull, £3 12s; yearling heifers. £1 18s to £2 3s; calves, 18s 6d to I £1 8s; aged bulls, £3 to £4 10s; dairy cows op to £5 12s 6d. Sheep: Ewes i and lambs, 13s; 2 and 4 tooth wethers, 10s lOd; 2 tooth do., 9s; mixed pens of ewes and wethers in forward condition 10s 4d to lis; 2 tooth ewes, 12s lOd Pigs: Wcaners, 8s to 13s 6d.

The magazine par excellence for Australasian women—"The New Idea" -closes another successful year with a fine Christmas number. It does not run to coloured supplements and pictures of Santa Claus, but it caries throughout a wholesome atmosphere of Christmas time. Charles Barrett, for example that charming writer on Nature subjects writes of a Christmas at OHnda amongst the birds and flowers. And coming to less romantic subjects "Bridget" gives a great deal of seasonable advice on Cooking an Australian Christmas Dinner, whilst Lilian Turner outlines a wonderful scheme for the entertainment of the boys and girls. The fiction is, of course, redolent of Christmas trees and sprees, and the true spirit of the season is admirably interpreted in two articles by Anne O'Hagan ("The Gift and the Giver") and "Junius" ("The Pearl of Parables.") But Christmas has not been allowed to overburden this issue, and there are many fine articles and stories of a bright, helpful character that have nothing to do with the particular season of the year but are good for all time. There is, for example, an excellent explanation of what Flctcherism is, and how that principle of diet may be applied to Australian life. There is a capital department open for the object of teaching young foil: how to make cheap and novel toys, there is the usual budget of fashions, with six free patterns included and there are the customary sections devoted to literature, science, and home life. The publisher, in conclusion, announces that next year "The New Idea" will appear in a new dress, and our readers may look out for quite a new style of cover for the January issue.