MARKET REPORTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIX, Issue 11530, 17 March 1898, Page 6

MARKET REPORTS.

ADDINGTON. There were large entries in all classes ot stock at the Addington market yesterday, and business throughout showed a healthy tone. The attendance was a large and representative one. Entries for the day comprised 19,868 sheep and - lambs, 442 head of cattle and 735 pigs. Fat cattle were represented by 202 head, including some very nice lines of prime steers; about twenty from Mr E. H. Ehodes, of Gray cliffs, averaging £7 15s, and a couple of extra prime bringing ,£9 15s and £lO. The presence of a couple of butchers from the other side of the Eangitata made matters pretty lively during the earlier part of the sale, and they secured'nearly fifty head. When their wants were satisfied, however, prices dropped back to'about last week’s level. Prices realised wore : Prime steers £7 to o£B 10s, secondary do 10s to £& 10s, good heifers £5 to £6 10s, secondary do £3 10s to M 15s, good cows M 103 to £6 ss, secondary do £2 15s to £4. Prices per 1001 b were much about the same. The dairy cows contained very few really good cows and springers, and business was very 'dull, £5 7s 6d being the highest price obtained. • The store pens wove well filled, but the bulk of the youngsters were of the weediest description, and the only sales made were of' a few of this class for the Peninsula, at prices which could not possibly pay the growers. There was a good entry of fat sheep, including some nice lines of freezers and young ewes, but there was too much inferior ewe mutton for requirements. The demand for freezers was very fair, and wethers of this class were readily taken at from 10s 6d to 12s 7d; a line of 630 from Highfield bringing 12s Id, and some butchers’ heavy sorts selling at up to 13s 6d. Maiden ewes and wethers brought from 10s 9d to 11s 6d, and maiden ewes from Ss to to 9s lOd. The demand for trade ewes was very fair at the opening of the sale, but as soon as requirements were satisfied there was little or no bidding, and a good many lines were turned out unsold, vendors declining to sell at the prices offered. Good young ewes brought from 8s to 10s 7d, a pen of cross-bred Downs bringing 10s 4cf, and a pen of pure-bred Downs from Messrs Eeid, of Elderslie, 13s Id; medium ewes brought from 6s to 7s 6d, and aged sorts from 3s 6d to ss; merino wethers 4s 9d, and do ewes from 2s Id to 3s lid. Fat lambs came forward in rather smaller numbers, and the entry contained very little that was choice. Freezing buyers seemed to have fixed their limit at 10s 6d, and a considerable number were taken at from that price down to 9s, butchers’ sorts fetching from 7s to 9s and backward lines from 4s 6d upwards. The yarding of store sheep was an exceptionally large one, including some large lines of station sheep, some of which came from as far south as Oamaru, and others which had been in some of the country sales. There was a fair demand for wethers for topping off, but they were disposed of at a drop on prices ruling a week or two ago, and good young breeding ewes met a fair sale, but those of uncertain ages and backward lambs were hard to quit. Amongst the sales were 260 four-tooth wethers at 9s 6d, 750 do (from Oamaru) at Ss, 640 twotooth do at 6s lid, 1000 six and eighttooth ewes at from 7s to 8s Id, two-tooth pure Lincoln ewes at 11s 9d, 550 three-quarter-bred sound-mouth ewes at 5s Id to 5s 3d, mixed two-tooths at from 6s to Bs, six and eight-tooth ewes from 7s to 8s Id, aged ewes from 2s 6d to 3s 9d, boilers from lssd to 2s 7d, forward lambs from 5s to 6s 6d, and backward and weedy sorts from 3s to 4s 6d. AIL good young wethers and ewes met a fair demand, but aged sorts and weedy lambs were not in request. Pigs came forward in strong force, the bulk of the yarding being fat sorts. The sale for these-' dragged a little at first, but soon recovered, and before the close last week’s prices were fully maintained. Baconers brought from 3Ss to 62s (a lino of 20 from Eangiora fetching 565, and 48 from Barry’s Bay 535), porkers 25s to 37s 6d, stores 14s 6d to 28s.

BURNSIDE. [Per Press Association.! DUNEDIN, March 16.. At the Burnside markets to-day, fat cattle 'were represented by 226 head, and rather less than two - thirds could be designated good beef, and not more than eight or'nine pens were prime,'the rest ■being really inferior. The demand for tillable'cattle' was good, and prices for these -advanced nearly 20s per head, best bullocks bringing .£8 to .£9 12s 6d, good do ,£6 to £7 15s, light do .£4 to £5 10s; prime cows .£5 10s to £7, good do £3 10s to £5, inferior to £1 to £2 10s. ■ Four thousand |t wo. hundred and seventeen fat sheep were penned;' The demand for good sheep was satisfactory, and late prices were fully maintained, but medium and poor quality ruled about Is .easier' Prime cross-bred ■wethers brought • vlls to 12s - 6d, , good 9s Gd •to 10s 6d, lighter sorts Bs'to 9s; prime ewes 8s to 9s Gd, good 6s to 7s 6d, inferior 3s 6d to ss. In fat lambs 1852 were penned. Prime sorts sold well, but medium and inferior were almost unsaleable, and several such lots had to return home. Prime lambs sold at from 9s to 10s, ordinary 7s to 8s 9d, small 5s to 6s 6d. There were 177 pigs penned. The demand for all classes was exceedingly keen, and prices were eminently satisfactory to vendors. Heavy weights for butchers’ purposes brought from 52s to 655, prime bacon pigs 40s to 50s, porkers 25s to 345, slips 17s 6d to 265, suckers 7a 6d to 14s. There will be no. sale at Burnside next week.

V DUNEDIN GRAIN MARKET. Wheat.—A brisk demand exists for all descriptions, and during the week prices have advanced fully Id, and some large sales have been - made. Quotations: — Prime Tuscan and red sorts, 4s 6jd to 4s 7d; medium to good, 4s sid to 4s 6d; Velvet prime, 4s 83d to 4s 9d; medium to good, 4s 6Jd to 4s 7£d; chickwheat, whole, 3s 7d to 3s 9d. Prices off trucks at Dunedin ; sacks in. Oamaru wheat, 4s 3d to 4s 4rid oh trucks at country sidings, net cash, bags extra. Oats.—The market during the week recovered, and prices are -jd to Id higher than those ruling last week. A few lines of the new season’s crop are on the market, and these for the most part are very bright in colour, but wanting in weight. Quotations: —Good to best feed, 2s to 2s Old; fair to medium, Is lid to Is 11-jd; discoloured and inferior. Is 9d to Is lOd; best milling, 2s’ Id to 2s 2d. Sacks extra! net. Barley—The market is still exceedingly firm, and there is a strong demand for all lines fit for malting. Prime malting, 4s 9d to os 3d; fair to medium, 4s 3d to 4s 8d; feed and milling, 2s 6d to 3a 6d. Sacks extra, net.