COMMERCIAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1072, 17 February 1883, Page 1

COMMERCIAL.

CHRISTCHURCH MARKETS i Feb. 15

Retail prices : Fresh butter, Is ; eggs. Is 2d ; cheese, 8d to lid ; milk, 4d ; beef, 2d to 6d ; mutton, 2d to 4d ; pork, 6d ; hams, Is ; bacon, lOd ; lamb, 2s to 3s per quarter. Wholesale prices : Barley (malting), 4s to 4s 3d ; butter, 9d to 9-|d ; cheese I new), s£d ; flour, £lO to £lO 10s ; hams and bacon (cloth), 9d ; oats (feed), Is lOd to 2s ; milling. 2s to 2s Id ; potatoes (new), £3 to £3 5s ; wheat (milling), 4s to 4s 3d.

Messrs Robert Wilkin and Co report: At the Addington Yards on Wednesday a plentiful supply of all descriptions of stock came forward for the week’s supply. There was a fair attendance of the'trade’ and prices ruled very irregular throughout the sale. In fat sheep the supply was fully equal to the requirements of the trade, the bulk of which comprised second and medium quality lots, and prices ruled about sixpence per head lower than those obtained by last week’s sale. A large supply of good store sheep found buyers at late prices, A good entry of fat cattle again came to hand, but for this class of stock the biddings dragged and late quotations were barely maintained. The total entry for the day comprised 9984 sheep, 436 head of cattle, and 98 pigs. We sold medium quality cross-breds at ICs 9d, a draft of merino wethers at 8s 3d and 8s 6d, a line of lambs (firstcross) at 7s Id ; prime steers at £8 2s 6d ; ditto heiters, from £5 to £6 2s Cd; cakes at 18s. Pigs (medium sized) from 14s to 235; breeding sows to £3 10s.

On Thursday we held in our New Zealand Wool Stores the usual weekly sale of sheepskins, etc., at which there was an average attendance of buyers. The competition was somewhat slack, and in consequence buyers did not operate so freely as usual. Our catalogue comprised 1737 skins and 6 bales of skins. Woolly skins, large, 4s 7d, 5s 2d, 6s ; second quality, 2s sd, 3s 4d, 4s 3d, 4s 7d; pelts large and early shorn, Is lid, 2s 3d, 2s 6d ; medium, Is 3d, Is sd, Is Bd, Is lid ; small and late shorn, 3d, Gd, ild, Is 3d ; lambskins, large, 2s, 2s 4d, 2s 7d, ; second quality, lOd, Is 4d, Is Bd, 2s. Fat and t a ll ow —There was a good atten lance of the trade and spirited demand ; 67 packages were catalogued and all disposed of j fat, best quality, clean and well saved, to per lb ; second quality. 2£d per lb ; heated and inferior at Id ; tallow, in small lots, to 22s 6d for best quality ; at 14s and 15s for second quality. Hides and calfskins not sold.

‘ Oh! but ain’t I happy though,’ fluttered Mrs Spoopenkyke, delighted to have a chance of making herself pleasant to her husband. ‘Here’s just a lovely piece, called ‘ See that my Grave’s Kept Green,’ by Mr Morceaux. Let’s play that.’ ‘ No ! Mrs Spoopenclyke, we won’t.’ growled her husband, ‘ wo won’t play anything about graves, or keeping anything green, or keeping anything clean, or anything of the kind, we’ll play the ‘ Sweet Bye and Bye.’ They got ready at last, and after two oi three flourishes Mr Spoopendyke drew the bow across the strings, but not a sound came from the fiddle. ‘ Oh, but isn’t that just too fuuny ?’ giggled Mrs Spoopendyke, watching the performance with her hands on the piano.

‘ Oh, but isn’t it ?’ jelled Mr Spoopendyko, ‘ it’s the most exquisitely funny tiling that was ever known. With your appreciation of humor, all you need is a joke about a goat upon the first page, and an 1 ad.’ of St Jacobs Oil to be a copy of Puck on Wheels. Don’t you see the measly bow only needs resin. ’ When the bow was rosined they tried it again. This time there was noise enough, but the horrid discords were past all bearing. * What ails the measly thing ?’ screeched Spoopendyko. 1 What’s the villain been selling me anyhow?’ ‘ Maybe you didn’t tune it first,’ ventured his wife timidly. ‘ Ob, you’ve got it now, Mrs Spoopendyke, haven’t ye ?’ screamed her hushusband. • Didn’t tune, didn’t I,’ that’s what’s the matter! You know all about it, don’f ye ? All you need is a baldheaded man beating time to two kegs of beer to be a Thomas’ orchestra.’ Ho tuned the violin, however, and started to play once more. It went better for the first three bars, but in the fourth a string broke and hit him a stinging blow on the eye.

‘ There, I told you so,’ whimpered Mrs Spoopendyke, rushing for a wet towel.

‘ Dod gast the measly fiddle,’ screeched Spoopendyke, smashing it into atoms over the head of the marble statue of Shakespeare in the centre tableand then dancing round ©n the fragments . ‘ Can’t you keep your mouth shut, Mrs Spoopendyke ? You told me so, didn’t ye ? If you saw me pulverised you’d yell out, ‘ told you so,’ wouldn’t ye ? Got any more to tell ? Know any other murders or tragedies that are going to happen ? All you need is to have lived a few hundred years ago and ride on a broom to be a Mother Shipton,’ With which climax Mr Spoopendyke fired himself into bed after throwing the wet handkerchief out of the window.

‘ Well,’ said Mrs Syoopendyke as she turned down the gas and put the rocking chair where her husband would fall over it next morning, whan he went down stab’s, f I was right, anyhow.”— Boomerang.