COMMERCIAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 2, Issue 296, 18 March 1881, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Ashburton Retail List. Butter, inferior to best, tp lb, 8d to lod. Eggs,F dozen, is. Cheese, prime quality, F lb, 4d to 6d. i jaeon,. prime smoked, 1? lb, lod to is.' Hams, in cloth, lb. Is. Flour,,in bags, Ip loolb, 13s. Qatmeal. t? 251 b, 4s. Lard, 1? Bs , 7d. .-The Christchurch Com Exchange. The following is the report of the Christchurch Com Exchange for the week endrbg Friday evening, the 18th inst.:— There is no material change in the aspect of affairs in the grain trade, scarcity of tdtinage to a great extent retarding sales being effected, and at the present time there is no immediate prospect of the want being supplied. Wheat continues to pour in from all quarters, with no appearance of any abatement in the supply.- The long spell of dry weather has enabled the machines to keep at steady work.

Wheat.—Tuscan in large lines, in good condition for shipment, is worth 3s 9d to 3s f.d.b.; other wheats of good quality and •good condition, from 3s 6d to 3s 74d, f.0.b.-; for-good-shipping parcels, where the quality is not quite up to the beforementioned, 2d per bushel under these quotations chick wheat from 2s to 2s 9d per bushel. -Oats.—There is a better enquiry for both milling And seed qualities, with only a'few lots coming forward. Bright milling samples are saleable at from Is 7d to Is 9d per bushel; feed parcels, Is 4d to ls 6d pier bushel. Barley.—A good many samples of what might be termed second-rate malting are coming to hand. This quality is heavy of sale at from 2s to 2s 4d ; fair to medium, 2s6dto2s9d; first-class malting, 3s to 3s 6d per bushel; feed barley. Is 6d to Is IGd per bushel, f fapass Seed,—The demand continues good, and prices have advanced. Good well-cleaned farmer’s parcels are worth from 3a ,to 3s 9d per bushel; indifferently clfeaned, 5 according to sample ; cocksfoot, 2jd to 2|d per lb.

Cheese and butter.—There is no alteration :in values, 3d to 34d for the former, 6£d to 7d per lb for the latter. Hay is worth L2 10s, delivered in Christchurch.

; Auctioneers’Reports. 'Messrs. H. Matson and Co. report on the Live Stock Market for the week ending Thursday, March 17th, 3881, as follows For yesterday’s weekly sale at Addington there was a considerable falling off in the supply of all classes of sheep. Still, both- in fat and stores, there appeared to be sufficient for the requirements of buyers without glutting the market. -■ Mutt bn, of which there were several lines of extra prime quality, represented a fair proportion of the entry at the commencement of the auction. Probably owing to the small attendance biddings were dull, and one or two of the first lots of fat sheep were passed in unsold. ■>-Trade, however, soon improved, and for crossbred mutton there was a good competition through the remainder of the sale, resulting in a clearance of nearly every line, including those previously passed, at prices averaging 6d to 9d per head over last week’s rates. Heavy weight crossbred wethers brought as high as 13s ; mixed weights and sexes, 9s 6d to 11s. For merino mutton the demand is not quite so strong, and several lots were turned out unsold at a decline of 6d per head under late quotations. The Supply of store sheep was* less than forseveral weeks past, and for aged merinos in low condition there is a slight dullness in;the market. For lines of 2,4, or 6tooth'ewes, merino or cross-bred, prices ate, however, well maintained, and during the past week wehavenoticodsalesof young merino ewes made at from 7s 6d to 8s 9d per head, being higher than anything be-fore;-this season. Amongst others on Wednesday we placed 1,400 aged merino ewes at 4s 2d to 4s 3d, and another line of 500 (in very low condition) at 3s to 3s sd. Generally speaking, the sheep sale was a success, "and with the exception of two small lines of merino wethers, every lot of our entry was cleared at prices as per qnotations below. The fat lamb season has now nearly come to an end, and very few are being sent to.hand. These, however, are being taken up by farmers for store purposes at from 7a 6d to 8s for the best lines, 4s to 6s for scrubbers. The cattle trade, still continues dull and unsatisfactory. Beef is unaltered in price, and sales are difficult to make, whilst to quifcstorecattle, a still further reduction in values has to be accepted. The totals yarded for the day comprised 7175 sheep, 362 head of cattle, and 2*>7 pigs, of which our entry included 4586 sheep, 176 head of cattle, and 135 pigs. We scld calves at 16s 6d f and a few dairy cows and springers at from L6to L 9. In pigs there is a good demand for stores and highly satisfactory -prices are being obtained. Fat pigs aer also selling fairly well, but not so in comparison with stores. Store pigs are selling remarkably well, but yesterday’s market was noted by a alight decline in values. The commencement of caring operations and cold weather will probably put a little more animation into the demand for fat pigs, which at the present time is somewhat dull, prices being; 2s to 4s. per head “down” from lasijweek. XJoihitry; Sales — On Tuesday, at the Tinwafipl held our usual fortnightly . saV &f live stock, etc., for the Ashburton district. There was a large entry of sheep, mostly merino ewes, the: greater portion of which wpre disposed of at values a little less 1 thatt “Were accepted a month ago. Our enffty fof'the’ dayconsisted of 7714 Sheep, 6I Ir catUei J 46 pigs, and 5 horses. In - sheep our principal sales, were, 1000 mermo'V'e wter at J 3s 7a ; 600 do., 4s 9d; 23(P561V > 6s'; 1 327 do., 5s 9d ; 100 fat 9a ; 17,0 d0., 7s 9d925,, mermo ewes, 3s 4d ; 900 lambs (small), 4ss?dA;3Wjnerino;Owoa, 6s ; 500 do. ; & ' ■ . jetc*- ijn cuttle, we sold most vff but at low trices;; as'follovusl i Sat IS, 7atL3 X7a 6d, lat L 7 10s, sat ]

L 6 7s 6d, 12 at L 3 15s, etc , etc. In pigs we sold 9 at LI 4s, 4at 20s, 12 at 18s, etc., etc. In horses we sold 1 unbroken at Ll7s 10s, and 1 at Ll 4.

Messrs J. T. Ford and Co. report on the live stock market for the week ending Thursday, the 16th inst., as follows: We report no alteration in values of mutton or beef, which can be qouted at froml|dto2d mutton, and from 36s to 18s 6d beef according to quality. Store sheep are still in excellent demand, notwithstanding the continued dry weather, and prices are good for all classes. Merino ewes are bringing from 4s 6d to ss, and exceptionally good ewes a shade higher. Merino wethers sell from 4s 9d to os Cd, 5s 9d, and 6s. Crossbreds, for grazing, are bringing from 8s 6d to 9s 6d, and crossbred ewes, for lambing purposes, sell from 9s to 9s 6d each. Fat lambs bring 7s 6d to 8s 6d, and store weaners from 7s to 7s 9d each. Store cattle are very dull of sale, consequent, of course, on the dry weather and shortness of feed. The total supply of stock sent forward on Wednesday comprised 7,175 sheep, 362 cattle, and 267 pigs. The competition was brisk from the commencement to the end of the sale, and very few lines were turned out unsold. Our entries were on account of Messrs Ogden, Saunders, Jones, Bruce, Mrs Gordon, McGrath, Hellish, S. Garforth, Mrs Jones, Evans, and others. We sold crossbreds on account of Mrs Pelham Jones and others at from 9s 9d, 10s, 12s 6d, and 14s Gd each, but Mrs Pelham Jones’s sheep were exceptionally heavy carcasses, and early shorn sheep- We sold crossbred ewes for Mrs Jones at 8s 9d each, and merino wethers and stores at 6s each. Crossbreds on account of Mrs Evans at 9s 9d each ; fat lambs at 8s 6d each ; springers at L 7 15s each; young stock at L 3 10s each.

Messrs Robert Wilkin and Co. report: —At the Addington Yards on Wednesday there was a good attendance of buyers, and the bulk of the stock yarded met with fair competition. 7,175 sheep, 362 head of cattle, and 267 pigs came forward. In sheep some prime and good quality crossbreds came forward and changed hands at prices fully one shilling per head in advance of late sales, while stoi’es were also keenly sought after, the most of which were cleared out at prices fully up to owners’ expectations. The fat cattle consisted of good medium quality sorts, for which description there was a good demand. Store cattle were, however dull of sale, and with the exception of a few indifferent pens, no sales were effected. We sold on behalf of some of our clients, medium and gcod quality crossbreds from 9s to 10s 6d each ; merino wethers, at 7s 3d. Fat lambs, from 7s 3d to 8s 9d. Store crossbred ewes, in good condition, to lOs 6d. Prime steers at L77s 6d ;do (light weights) from L 5 17s 6d to LC 7s 6d ; stores (mixed), from L 3 10s to L 5. Pigs at 14s, 15s, and 30s each. At the Tinwald sale on Tuesday, we sold fat crossbreds at from 8s 6d to 11s 8d ; merino ewes (full mouth) at 4s 7d ; fat steers at L 6 15s. Pigs (small) 10s 3d.