COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 208, 30 March 1877, Page 12

COMMERCIAL.

Mb. Hbnbt Deivee (on behalf of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company) reports for the week ending March 28, as follows :—: — ° Pat Cattle.— 3lo were yarded at the market to-day, and although this was rather a large supply, fully last week's quotations were obtained. Best pens of bullocks brought from £9 109 to £14 ; do cows, at from £10 to £lo los— or equal to 27s 6d per 1001 b for prime quality. We sold 90 head at the yards, and have placed 50 privately. Fat Calves. — 20 came foward, and were sold at 20s to' 655. Fat Sheep.— 2,3oo were penned, chiefly good cross-breds. Price» were equal to last week's rates, or about 2d per lb for best quality. At the yards we sold 600. Fat Lambi. — 200 came forward, and sold readily at an advance in price of Is to Is 6d each. Store Cattle.— No transactions of importance have taken place during the week. Store Sheep. — The demand still continues for young merino ewe*, and wethers. We have during the week sold, of various sorts, 6000 at the following quotations, say : Merino wethers, two, four, and sixtooth, 5s 6d ; do full-mouthed, 3s ; merino ewes, two, four, and sixtooth, 6s 6d to 7s ; do full-mouthed, 2s 6d to 3s 6d ; cross-breds, fourtooth and over, 7s to 7s 6d ; do two-tooth, 6s to 6s 6d. Sheepskins. — At our sales yesterday we catalogued 1000 skins, all of which sold at very full prices. Full-woolled merinos, 4s 9d each • green shearlings, Is lid to 2s 7d ; pelts, 9d to Is 9d ; lambs, Is 6d to 2s 4d. Hides. — Good demand at late rates. Inferior condition, 5s to 13s 9d ; shipping order, 15s to 17s— or equal to 4d per lb. Tallow. — "We sold several parcels medium quality at 28s 6d to 29s ; rough fat, 22s per cwt. Demand good, specially in shipping Grain.— Wheat is very slow of sale, at lower rates Millers careless in buying, except top samples, at 5s to 5s 3d ; secondary, 4i 6d to 4s 9d ; inferior, 3s to 3s 6d. Oats— Few offering. Good shipping parcels wanted, and saleable at 2s 3d to 2s 4d for feed, 2s 6d milling - old are held for 2s 7d to 2s 9d. Barley— Samples are much discoloured and inferior; very little good malting coming forwardFine, 4s 6d to 5s ; secondary, 4s to 4s 3d ; grinding and feed, 2s 6d to 2s 9d. Mb. Skenb reports for the week ending March 28, 1877: Every one is now settling down to work after the holidays and racing dissipations. Enquiry has begun for ploughmen, and such as are bred to farm work. It can be safely asserted that there will be no lack of work, and fair pay for such. So many additional acres are getting yearly added to the arable land, that ploughmen can never be too plentiful. Couplea are rather plentiful at preeent ; as usual, those without families are picked. Town work is pretty brisk, and we have good prospects of plenty work during the winter. The building trade is healthy. Ironworkers still growl at the dullness in their line. Female servants are short of the demand. Hotel people (male and female) are constantly needed. Storemen and clerks are more asked for. Wages— Shepherds, £60 ; couples, £65 to £80 ; ploughmen, £52, £55, and £60 j cooks, grooms, waiters, 4c, 20s, 255, 30s, and 50s ; female servants (private houses), 10s, 12s, and 15s ; hotel do., 12s, 15s, 20s, and 30s ; dairy hands, 15s, 20s, and 25s ; day labor, 7s, Bi, and 9s ; carpenters, 10s, 12s, and 13s ; storemen and clerks, 30s to 603 ; boys and girls, ss, 6s, and 10s. Mb. A. Mbecee reports as follows for the week ending March 28, 1877, retail prices only :- -Fresh butter, in i and lib prints, Is 3d to Is 6d ; fresh butter, in lumps, Is 2d ; powdered and salt butter, Is 2d. Salt butter, in kegs, Is Id per lb; cheese of the best quality, Is; English and American cheese, Is 4d ; side and rolled bacon, lOd to lid ; Colonial hams, Is 2d ; English hams, 1» 6d ; eggs, 2s 3d per dozen. Mb. M. C. Fibming- reports (wholesale prices) for the week ending March 28, 1877, as follows : — Oats (feed), per bushel, 2s 3d; milling, 2a 65. Wheat (chicks), 3s 6d to 4s. Barley, malting, 4s to 4s 6d ; feed, 2s 6d to 3s. Pollard, scarce. Bran, J34 ss, bags included. Flour, large bags, £14; small, £15. Oatmeal, £12. Potatoes, new, 4s per cwt. Hay, new, £3 15s ; old hay, £4 per ton. Chaff, £4 per ton. Straw, £2 per ton. Me. J. Vezbt reports for the week ending March 28, 1877 retail : — Boast beef, 6d to 8d per lb ; boiling do., 4d to 5d per lb ; stewing do., 4d to 6d per lb ; steak, 6d to 9d per lb ; mutton, 3d to 6d per lb ; veal, 4d to 8d per lb ; pork, 6d to 8d per lb; lamb, 2s to 3s 6d per quarter.