MARKET REPORTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIX, Issue 11542, 31 March 1898, Page 6

MARKET REPORTS.

ADDINGTON. Entries in nearly all classes of stock were smaller than at the previous sale, and business throughout, except in the case of fat sheep, was of an unsatisfactory nature to vendors. Entries for the day comprised 16,184 sheep and lambs, 388 head of cattle and 795 pigs. Out of the 190 head of fat cattle, about 50 of which were in dealers’ hands, the bulk were good useful sorts, with a pen or .two of prime steers. There was little or no competition, and a considerable fall on late rates was experienced, cow beef suffering the most. Prime steers brought <£6 to 2s 6d; inferior aud secondary, -£3 12s 6d to £5 ; good heifers, £4 10s to £6 ; and smaller, £2 17s 6d to <£4; good cows, <£4 to £5 12s 6d; and others £2 7s 6d to £3 15s. At per 1001 b beef ruled from 15s to 16s 6d for prime, 12s to 14s for good, and from 7s 6d to 11s for inferior j.and cow sorts. The store cattle pens were filled with small mixed lots. There was no competition, and most of those which changed hands were taken for hoiling-down purposes. The dairy cattle were a mixed lot and met but a poor demand exc< rt for really good cows and springers, a few of the very best selling at from i 5 to <£6 10s, and others as; low as £l. The yarding of fat sheep was large and included some very good lines of wethers and ewes. The demand for anything approaching freezing quality was very good, and exporters and butchers were in competition for all the better lots. Freezing wethers quite held their own, and in the better classes of trade ewes there was an advance of from Is to 2s per head, and even secondary quality ewes met a better demand;- 'Prices realised were :—Best crossbred - wethers 12s 6d to 14s Id, secondary do ips'.to 12s,‘best maiden ewes 11s to 13s 4d, secondary do - 7s 9d to 10s 6d, best mixed' sexes 11s- to 1 13 s 6d, secondary, do 8s 6d to , 10s 6d, best ewes 9s to 11s 9d, good do 7s to’Bs 6d, and inferior to secondary sorts • 35,-7d to 6s 6d, merino wethers 2s 3d to 3s. Fat lambs again , came forward in •• -large, -numbers, - but. - there was little life in. the sale, buyers for export not appearing very anxious to secure; supplies. A nice ; line of nearly 500 from Sir John Hall’s (estate: were taken, at 10s 4|d, and this was about the ; top price (with. the exception of 10s 9d, which was obtained for a little lot), freezing sorts selling down to 9s, good butchers’ lambs from 6s to 8s 6d, and backward lots, of which there were a large number, down to 3s‘ 6d. Store sheep were represented by much smaller entries than of late, and the bulk of these were odd lots, there being an absence of really good straight lines, while the quality throughout was inferior, and the sheep showed signs of suffering from the dry weather. The continued scarcity of feed and the -advent of frosts made farmers less inclined to operate than ever, and the few that changed hands eithfer went for boiling down dr to dealers. A: few little lots -of .. forward wethers, brought from 8s to 10s 9d, according to condition backward wethers, fisfdOd to -6s 6d ; half-bred maiden ewes for turnips, 6s to 6s Sd, and forward four-tooth do, 7s 5d to 7s 9d; two-tooth breeding ewes, 2s 6d ; four aid six-tooth do, 3s Hd to 4s 9d ; sound-mouthed do, 2s 6d to 3s Id; cross-bred boilers. Is 4d to Is lid ; merino do. Is 2d to Is 6d; pure bred four-tooth Lincoln ewes 12s, and do hoggets 8s 9d ; store lambs 2s 5d to 5s 9d. A line of 650 two-tooth wethers from the south were withdrawn at 6s 9d, and a line of 1265 sound-mouthed half-bred ewes from Marlborough at 4s. The pig yards were again taxed to their utmost capacity. Baconers were, slightly easier, prices ranging from 4d. to 4)d per lb, porkers from 4d to 41d; good stores quite held their own, but the supply of smaller sorts was in excess of the demand, and several, lots were passed. Per head, baconers ran from 32s 6d to 565, porkers20s to 325, stores 16s to 255, and small pigs 4s to 12s,

1 ’ BURNSIDE, • TPer Press ASSOCIATION, j DUNEDIN, March- 30. The Burnside market -.was well, attended; to-day.' '■ Fat Cattle-One hundred and fifty-five- werq yarded, which proved, too many-for trade demands,,,and_,with a~ slow, dragging sale, which was not finished till 6. p.m., -prices were low'and unsatisfactory for anything not really prime. The latter - .commanded fully late rates. Best bullocks, very heavy, £8 to £9 12s 6d; good, £6 2s 6d to £7 15s; medium, £5 to £6; best -, cows and< heifers, £4 17s 6d to £6 2s 6d; others, £3 10s to £4 15s; store bullocks, £4 2s 6d to £4 15s. -Fat sheep—--3229 were penned, a fair proportion being wethers in medium to prime condition, the rest ewe mutton, mostly of inferior quality. As butchers were evidently cleared out, prices all through were a shade better than, they were a fortnight ago; say, a rise of Is to Is 6d on prime wethers, 6d to,ls on ewes. Prime heavy cross-bred wethers brought 11s 6d to 13s Id, ordinary 8s 6d to 11s 3d, very light weights 6s to 8s 3d, heavy weight ewes 8a to 10s 9d, aged 4s 6d to 7s 9d. Pat Lambs—l 276 were penned. Prices were well maintained for best lines, which went to the freezing works; butchers bought freely. Best 8s 6d to -10 s, medium 6s 6d to 8s 3d, small 4s to 5s 9d. Pigs —179 >vere penned, ranging froin suckers to prime baconers. . The.latter were in request, and [brought late rates.