COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume XXII, Issue 2718, 25 April 1874, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

.;',, Pkbss Office, April 24. The pressure of the grain season is now over, so-that sales are now quieter. Exportersdo. not care to pay over 4s6dto 4s 7d for whsatj as the bulk of their orders are now filled. The millers continue to buy choice parcels suad; r are paying fair price*. Flour meets a steady demand at £ 12 for 2(Jolb sacks and £12 10s in bags. Bran is now selling at £6 6e nett, at" the, mills. Oats are not so eagerly enquired for, but prime milling samples sell up to 4s 6d. fair feed fetching 4s 4d. Barley is worth 5s to 5s 3d for choice malting samples, butter is moving off at lid, but the demand is somewhat quieter. Cheese, is coming forward ireely and the parcel must be very prime if it obtains 6d. New cure of hams »'jd bacon will shortly be ready, meantime stocks of old are quite out.

Messrs H. Matson and Co report on the live (stock market as follows : —At the jards on Wednesday last, the following stock was brought forward viz :—266 head cattle and 4765 sheep. Jn cattle, our sales were 220 head for Messrs Burgess,' Johns. Garforth, Ferguson, Kinly, Chapman, Tosswill, Lainey, Cavanagh, Bail, Kruse, Maddison, Tubman, Davis, and others' at prices if anything less than the previous week. The great Bcarcity'o_ r feed is operating greatly to the disadvantage of sales,: _tnd we look forward to very low prices for all classes of stores, and comparatively high rates for fat stock. In Bheep, ; our sales were 2565 for Messrs J. C. Boys, T. Rowe, J. P. O'CallaSban T YLock, Ledley, Henderaon, Milne, ackson,-Strange, Jones, Heywood, Tombs, and others, as follows:—121 cross-breds for Mr T. Eowe at 16s 6d ; 141 do for Mr J. C. Boys at 13s 3d j 112 cross-breds for Mr J. P. O'Oallaghan at 15b and 16s 6d ; 160 merino ewes at 6s 6d and 6s 9d; 418 cross-bred ewes at 8s 9d j 270 lambs at 7s 9d and 8s 3d ; and the ordinary miscellaneous collection of merinos, lambs, and cross-breds, at fair rates. The sale of sheep was a success compared with that of the cattle ; we sold every line entered in our books. Country sales—On Monday, on account of Mr Jos. Judge, we sold at Ellesmere Arms Hotel yards 180 head of cattle at from £3 to £6 15s per head. There was a fair attendance, but biddings-were slow, the great cry being for feed, farmers declaring that they were never so short of feed for their stock. We also sold 200 ewes at 4s per head. On Tuesday, at Mr Francis Lawrey's farm, Bpringßton, we held a clearing sale on account of that gentleman, ■ when we sold 2000 sheep from 3s to 26s 6d per head. The attendance was an average one; biddings were somewhat languid for inferior descriptions, but for good quality stock most animated. Severa* horses were "disposed of at from £13 to £25 per head. The unusual scarceness of feed has almost put a stop to large transactions in store stock, paddocks around .Christchfl-oh are almost .bare of grass. Wool, hides, and skins. —On Thursday, at our usual sales, a very large quantity of skins, as also Beveral bales.of wool, was disposed Of -at for best butchers' cross-breds", 3s 3ai; Ss 9d, to 4s 2d each; do, lambs, 3s 6d to 4s 3d each; merino, do, 2s 4d, 2s Bd, 2s lOd, to 2s lid "each ; second quality of all descriptions, 6d to 9d each lower ; bides 3|d to4£dperlb. ; Messrs B.W:alfcon & Co report- the sale of the qaf/ber Nautilus by auction for JE445.