COMMERCIAL.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2483, 5 March 1881, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

S. C. Times Office. Saturday Evening,

Large parcels of grain are reaching town and the stores are becoming rapidly filled. The requirements of the millers are abundantly supplied and the principal arrivals will be shipped direct to Europe. The Elizabeth, barque, arrived from Lyttelton on Friday morning and is loading up with wheat and oats for the Cape, where there is likely, owing to the despatch of troops, and other circumstances, to be an unusual demand for breadstuffs. The samples of wheat from all parts of the district are very fine ; in fact a better quality has never been witnessed and the returns of the harvest are uniformly satisfactory. _ Some remarkably fine grain from the Point has commanded the top price, being clean, bright, and almost transparent. Prices are ranging from 3s to 3s 2d, the average being 3s Id. Very little business is doing in oats. Some parcels of long Tartarians have been bought during the week at lid per bushel, and good short oats have fetched as much as Is 3d. For barley there is no demand and prices arenominal. A considerable quantity of rye-grass has been grown in the district. Mr Kelland has harvested several thousand bushels in fine condition. There is a moderate enquiry the wholesale figure ranging from 2s fid to 3s 3d. But little is doing in clovers; the principal sowings taking place in spring. Flour is quoted £8 to £9 per ton ; sharps, £3, and bran £2 10s to £3. At Winchester fair on Wednesday, 3000 sheep, 160 head cattle, pigs and horses were yarded. Sales were rather dull and a considerable quantity were turned out unsold. The prices realised were as follows Fat sheep, 8s 9d to 9s 8d ; fat merino ewes, 5s to 5s fid ; stores, 3s to -Is ; lambs, 4s fid to fis fid; steers and heifers, £4 10s to £7 ; cows, £3 to £3 10; yearlings, 325; pigs, 15s to 30s.

Wellington, March. 4,

Mr James O’Shea reports:—Flour, Adelaide, £l3 15s to £11; <'anterbury, Christchurch City Mills, £lO 15s to £llss; other brands, £lO 5s to £lO 15s; Oamaru, old, £ll to £ll 5s ; sharps, 70s to 75s ; bran, 60s; oats, feed, Is 8d to Is 9d ; milling, Is lid to 2s ; potatoes, flukes, 45s to 50s ; other kinds, 40s; maize, 3s to 3s Gd ; hams, and bacon, 8d to 9d equal sorts. DUNEDIN MARKETS. Oats, Is 5d to Is 8d per bushel; milliner wheat, 3s Cd to 3s 7d per bushel ; fowls’ feed, 2s to 3s : barley, malting, 2a (id to Bs Gd ; feed, Is 9d to 2s G i per bushel ; hay, £3 per ton ; chaff, £2 15s per ton ; straw, £2 per ton ; bran, £3 per ton ; pollard, £4 per ton ; flour. £9 10s to £lO per ton ; oatmeal, £9 per ton ; butter, fresh, Gd to 8d ; salt, very unsaleable, Gd to 3d ; eggs, Is 2d ; bacon in rolls, 84 ; side, 84d ; haras, 10H ; fresh pork, 4id per lb ; potatoes, £2 15s to £3 ner ton.

Mr Donald Stronach (on behalf of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Limited), reports for the week ending 2nd March as follows :

Fat Cattle.—The moderate supply of 150 head came forward for sale at the Burnside Yards to-day, of which about 20 were stores. This number proved ample for the trade demand, and competition was barely sufficient to maintain last week’s prices. Bullocks sold at from £G to £lO ; and cows at £4 10s to £7 15. We sold a draft on account of Mr J. C. Bnckland at £6 to £6 I7s 6d for bullocks, and £4 15s to £G 15s for cows. W 6 quote prime beef barely 21s jrer lOOlbs. Fat Calves.—l 4 were sold at from 19s to 35s per head. Fat Sheep.—2sl2 were penned, of which 1107 were cross-breds, 720 merinos, and 685 stores. There was a fair demand without any quotable change from the last market rates, crossbreds fetching 7s 9d to 11s per head, and merinos Gs Gd to 8s Gd. The stores realised Gs per head. We sold 505 crossbreds from the New Zealand and Australian Land Company’s Moeraki Estate, at from 8s 9d to 10s 3d ; also drafts on account of Messrs J. and S. Wilson, at 9s 3d, and Patton at 10s Gd. Best mutton may be quoted, as last week, l§d per lb. Pat Lambs.—ln all 719 lambs were yarded, of which 484 were stores. Prices for fat lambs ruled from 7s 9d for good, to 10s 3d for prime. We disposed of a draft on account of Messrs J. and S. Wilson at 9s 9d, Fat Pigs.—2s sold at from 12s to 40s each. CHRISTCHURCH MARKETS. Messrs Robert Wilkin and Co report ; At the Addington saleyards. on Wednesday 7784 sheep, 5G7 head of cattle, and 180 pigs were penned fur the week’s supply. Sheep —We sold on account of various clients as follows—Medium quality crossbred wethers at 9s;'To merinos, at Gs Gd ; fat lambs, at 7< and 7s 3d ; prime bullocks, at £9 : good do. at £7 10s ; medium, do. at from £6 2s Gd to £G 15s ; mixed stores, from £3 12s Gd to £4 15s ; store pigs, 225. Messrs J. T. Ford and Co. report:—We sold fat steers on account of various clients at from £G 10s to £G 15s each ; springer.-, at £G 5s each ; 11 head of young steers from £4 10s to £4 12s Gd each. Privately durin; the week we have placed for different clients upwards of 13,000 store merino and crossbred sheep, and have large sales pending of several other lines. Prices we have obtained are as follows, on. the stations Full-moulbed ewes (4000), 4s G i ; I wo-tooth ewes (1000), 7s : full-mouth ewes (2000), Gs ; full and broken (2000) 3s Gd ; GOOO ern--shred ewes, 7s Gd: 2000 crossbred ewes, 7s ; 1500 half-bred Jambs, Gs 3d each ; lota l , 13,500; and there is every reason to belie ve that prices have an upward tendency. Muisoix can be quoted at J ; fd per lb; beef, IGs per lOOlbs, and solitary instances bring a little more, Adelaide, March 3. Wheat, 4s 3d, market firm ; town flour, £lO 5s to £lO 10s; country brands, £9 5s to £9 10s. Freights to London, steamers, 455; sailing, 455; freights to United Kingdom from Adelaide, 42s Gd to 45s ; ditto from outports, 45s to 47s Gd. London, March 3. At the wool sale to-day, 7000 bales were catalogued, making a total offered since the opening of 120,500, bales, of which 10,000 have been withdrawn. The tone of today's auction has been dull