THE PRODUCE MARKETS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 604, 4 September 1909, Page 8

THE PRODUCE MARKETS.

POTATOES, EGGS, AND STOCK FOODS. WRONG SORT OF ONIONS./ \''. That onions are coming into tho market just now in a sprouted condition reflects just a little reproach upon tho farmers who are establishing the onion' industry of this country. Mr. Mitchell, of Mesa's. Lasry and Co., who handle a largo quantity of farmers' produce, thinks that this is due to tho selection, of varieties that are not'good keepers. He be-, hcves that farmers would do better to grow tho eld favourite brown Spanish (which keeps well) rather than to produce such sorts as the silver •akin, which, is not a good keeper., Other authorities attribute the fault to bad storage. One duty is obvious: it may be profitable to delay the marketing of onions (or any-pro-duce) till the season of greater' scarcity and bigger prices,, but it never pays to hold on after that produce has begun to deteriorate. What is happening now is that the eprouting local onions are coming into conflict with imported onions from Japan, which are in very fair condition. It is not always easy to know when' is the verybest time to market one's produce; it is more often easy to see (afterwards) when was the very worst time And that is tho position just now with soino lines of onions. Califorman onions have been quite bumped out of New Zealand by tho excellent and lees expensive goods from Japan. Between Japanese imports and Chinese retailers, things in Wellington are growing quite Celestial. Lggs are down! The grocers' shop.windows are telling us this in-large letters. And,-in truth, we are, very near to the bed-rock timo of the year for egg pricos. It has been gossipped among people who do not profeas to be authorities that eggs "fell" more .violently this', season, than ii their habit, and they give a two-edged exclamation. First, say they, the poultry industry is making gigantic strides, and liens are laying more eggc. Secondly, times are bad; breadwinners have bsen retrenched or are expecting to-be; and, as eggs are among the first of tho edible luxuries that the sword of domestic retrenchment reaches, eggs aro. accordingly "off." Hence the Tow prices. But. this, it seems, is all ''moonshine. The ..merchants say that the arrivals of eggs are no greater than usual; the sales are. Justus large as usual; and the prices aro no lower. than usual. We' are,' in tact, near to bedrock, and prices may soon be expected to "move on".again. "During the last, four years," says one salesman, "the lowest wholesale price of eggs has beerl between Ud.vand : lld'.' per dozen, and it is anticipated that, this season, "tho lowest price will be between lid. and 12d." ' ■

It is a tradtional part of every Wellington baker's practice to make a gallant attempt, to-buy up eggs when they are at uinepence a dozen. These ho "puts down" in water glass or soino other mysterious coneoctiou, whence they emerge si Various stages during the next six months to bo'made into cakes. Last year the bakers waited for. the nincponny* stage, and, it never came. TJiia year they have not yet bought their eggs; they .are still waiting for ninopenco. Will it come, or will they gulp down the extra price and buy at tonpouce presently? TiHbuy at tenpence; and subsequently'see egg's selling , at must bo an unspeakably, bitter experience.'But last yearthe bakers who "missed the tide" at liincpcnca went on waiting even after the upward tido had ?pt in, and for the rest of the ■ season.. they just'.-.had to buy eggs at the current prices, from week to week,, and .use fresh' eggs. There were some, excellent c&lks made last season! Others gave extensive ordors for dried.egg or canned egg, and caused quito a flutter of excitement among the operators in the. prescrvod-egg • industry.The trouble in New, Zealand is that so soon as eg»s drop to Is. retail, or even Is. 3d., the general public begin to patronise that article Df food; they thus relievo tlio market, stiffon tho prices, and luost ungenerously frustrate tho fond hopes of the bakers. At the low levels of prices, the egg consumption in Wellington City is appalling.' Just at present many prominent grocers are selling eggs almost at cost price, making a "cut liue" of them' in to at-, tract tho cuntoraers of their rivals—or, at least, ■ to. save losing their owu.. Elevenpenny eggs, itseems, have their trade uses. One expects'to. see water-glass-bottles prominent in-chemists' windows soon, for householders will bo "putting down" eggs. '' '. ; ■.: v ' Potatoes, in spite, of-the little ruffles'which the local blights and the Tasmnnian scare -provided, have experienced a • rather, screno season. Growers learned a lesson in the previous season, when they held back their supplies for a rise, and not only had the mortification of seeing prices fall, but lost a lot of their potatoes by the,rot, which resulted from tho Irish blight. This year; imbued apparently with a wliolesome fJar of a "similar experience, they liavo u/arketed' the tubers moru freely. Prices apparently have not suffered .from that modo of. procedure, and probably a great many potatoes' have gone into consumption. in a sound condition that would, if helf back, have succumbed to the usual rot. One other resultof the freer marketing was.that theTe'was no room' , left i for Tasmanian potatoes to get a. footing, and the potato imports this season have been very, limited. On the whole, it has been a, very good potato year, aiid with the aid of the ■"bumper'.', wheat season, the good potato year, the splendid 'returns for butter and- cheese, and the pleasing wool prices, this , old Dominion of ours ought to right itself after all. New potatoes are expected in November. .■,'■'

Grass seed has not been greatly bought up this season. It is said that less bush-felling tlian usual has bten done this year, and there has consequently been.less usa for grass seed on new burns. No doubt when the. retrenched Civil Servants get to work on the model bush farms that a'conscience-stricken Government has provided for them there will be an:: enormous revival in : the grass l seed industry. Meantime, however, a rather improved demand is expected, in tho spring months now beginning. ' The extensive exportation of ryegrass seed to Britain has kept up the prices. ■ Pollard and bran have been less of necessities" and more of "luxuries" in this winter of abundance of stock feed. They have been in Soor demand. When the dairy farmers g«t own to the work of winter dairying, as ia now being advocated, perhaps bran and pollard, as a spice to the necessary chaff feed, will become indispensablo and expensive. Meanwhile, present prices are lower than those of last year. '.'■■, ; . .' Maize is beginning to reveal a good volume of supplies from the North leland, and prices have at last weakened considerably. Very little maize, however, is now coming from Australia or tho Islands. So," at the lower rates, the New Zoalanders have the market to themselves. ■ : .' ."■..''