DARFIELD MARRET.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14987, 6 June 1914, Page 13

DARFIELD MARRET.

jt. At the Darfield Market yesterday ! o-S A entr . v «f sheep and lambs totalled ;-'UO, of which 2-300 were in the fat pas, lambs accounting for 1700. the c-aiance being made up of wethers and £~'n S ln about equal proportions. The ; "I"* of the lambs were of light to mejaium quality, only a few pens being prime .sorts. The stores were made up I Practically of lambs, a small lot of mejnno ewes making up the balance. mere w as a fair attendance, but com- **" u ' on for fats was barely as strong 341 a t late markets, and several lines *ere passed at auction. Prices were:— *at lambs, 17 s 4d to 20s 9d; light and unfinished, i_ s to 16s 10d . fat c^. bred wethers, 18s 10d to 22s 6d; fat firStS? 3 £ wes ' 15a 9d to 183 Id; un- *?* ld " fa * merino 6Wes > ewe lambs, 16s 3d; aged merino eW £ S ' *s »d to ss. Principal sales were: vJrbl ; sa- 20 at 19s 9d; F. >arby, 80 at 19 s gJ oq at ig s 9d; J. ii vST^'i 75 at 18s "<*: P- Morrison, T"» }% d o \° IBs ■*<": C. AlcCausland, 131 at 18-s 8d; W. Broughton, 364 at U S fn'i a 'A d r/ 8 fa t crossbred wethers las iud ;G- Gudsell. 71 far, crossbred wethers at 22s 6d,

THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE. Messrs." H. S. Fitter and Sons, writing on April 24th. say:— ! 'Small Home-killed* mutton has been very short, and continues to realise high prices but for large mutton the demand is slow, and it is not easy to find buyers at satisfactory prices There are not many old ewes coming to hand, and prices remain steady "The supply of English lamb has '«° sh0 3 a *7 d Prices continue firm The Zealand mutton trade is just now very disappointing; the larger supplies lately to hand might account for a slight fall in pricTs. but not wholy, for the poor demand which we have lately experienced. The trouble is chiefly with the heavy sheep These are plentiful, and are not much wanted in the provinces, consequently they i have to be sold at very low price's and this affects the value* of tbe medium weight carcases. There is no doubt that these large sheep pay excellently well when the supply does not exceed the demand, but when this happens it is difficult to increase the output without considerably weakening the price. The quality of some of the New Zealand mutton now on hand is not quite so good as it might be, and several reclamations for quality have been made by c.i.f. purchasers. The lower prices ruling for wether mutton have naturally affected tho price of ewes. "The first spell of warm weather always upsets trade all round for a few days, but if it continues it should help the New Zealand lamb trade considerably. There is quite a good demand, and larg£ quantities are going into consumption, but lower prices for mutton and a slump in chilled beef have had a depressing effect on the market, and lamb prices have shown a temporary weakness. Tegs are now more plentiful, but they are going off fairly well.

"Heavy shipments of chilled Argentine beef continue to arrive, and prices have not improved. The demand for frozen beef is consequently extremely slow, and present quotations aro more or less nominal."