THE HOME GRAIN MARKET.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1225, 20 March 1880, Page 2

THE HOME GRAIN MARKET.

We have bp&i} shown by the local manager of the New Zealarid Lo§.n apd Mercantile Agency Company a letter received by him, per the English mail, from the London office of this company enclosing a special report on samples of grain sent ffome for the purpose of ascertaining the relative value of Australian grain in the London market, anij from it we extract the following, which ought to be, and no doubt will be, perused with interest by the farmers of this district : [copy.] Special Report on Samples of Grain Received pep. San Francisco Mail, Oth Depemjjek. "We have the pleasure to report on and value your New Zealand grain. "Wheat No. 1 (Velvet), "is what is here called Pearl, being round grain, and pale white in color, but is not a clear white. 57s per 4961b5. Jio, 2 (Tuscan) —Originally Tuscan seed, bold, deep yellow color,-and strong. 59s per 4901b5, No. 3 (Red Straw)— Bold grgiq, full yellow color. 57s per 4901b5. No. 4 (Red Chaff)— Large grain, pale yellow, weak. 57s per 4961b5. No. s'(Lammas) —Good strong, fair color. 57s per 4961b5. AIJ the above are good quality, and seem t.Q have well harvested. Barley, ?fo. G—Fine color, even, bold grain, but rather io.o &6s per 4481ba. This grain should arrive here before I the end of April, as after that date maltsters leave off working. Oats. No. 7 (Canadian)— Very superior, | stout, fine color, worth to-day, in retail, 36s per natural quarter ; in lines of from 200 to 300 quarters, 30s per 3361b5. No. 8 (Potato)— Scarcely go fine ; Is to 2s less in price than the above. No. 9 (Danish)— Fine feed, although not bo heavy. Saleable in large quantir ties, say 500 to 1000 quarters, at '2Ssto 30s per 3361b5. [Extract N.Z.L. and M.A. Co.'s London Letter.] We may add that while we agree with the gentlemen who were asked to value, as buyers, the grain you sent as to the relative superiority (in point of value) of the Tuscan wheat. Sample No. 2 Experience has shown us that this particular type of wheat has a certain weakness of constitution which renders it unusually liable to damage on a long voyage; and if cultivated with the view of being shipped to this country it must be well harvested and pat on board ship in perfect condition. Sample No. 1, described in your list as " velvet" wheat, is known here as " pearl," and though of good quality and in fine condition, is deficient in color. The truo white velvet wheat as grown to perfection in Oregon and other favored wheat-growing districts of the United States is much more brilliant, and vtyile possessed of good strength, has a pale creamy tinge in it which makes it specially attractive to buyers of choice parcels. The sample you send is dull, " leaden," and rather dark. [copy.] London, January 23, 1880. Referring to our letter of 21st current, we beg to add that ordinary feed oats are a good deal goverped by the price of maize, as both articles are i)ow use<i for horses and cattle. On the ISth October last year good Russian oats sold here at 19s 6d per 304 lbs (L 7 3s Sd per ton) an(l maize was at 29s per 480 lbs (L 78s 2d per ton.) At that time oats were in liberal supply, and maize was rather scarce. At the present moment the same description of oats sell at 19s (L 7 per ton), while maize is at 26s (LG Is Id per ton). Maize is much used for distillation, but where it is scarce and dear, as in last October, substitutes are taken such as rice and molasses, whereas osts 9-re not much used for distillation.

As a rule, oats and maize run within 10s per ton, but the latter always fluctuates the most, as it has influences other than what oats have. Your ftne NewZealand oats would have a special market, viz., for the race stable 3, job masters, and for seed. ■ Oats are now at a low value (we mean ordinary), and maize at about an average price. We think you might reckon upon getting about present prices, should your friends ship oats, to arrive here before the end of June. Fine sorts of barley are very dear in consequence of the inferiority of bur last crop, and we should not recommend shipments to arrive here some months hence, unless they can be made with a large margin with present rates. From the above it will be noticed that the tuscan heads the other samples by 2s per bushel, but it would be well for farmers to note the special remarks in the letter in regard to the care that should be exercised in the harvesting of this wheat when it is intended to ship it. It is also worthy of notice that the velvet, red straw, red chafl", and lainmas are apparently of equal value in the eyes of the Home buyers. Barley.—We would draw attention to the latest date upon which this cereal should arrive Home, and from it farmers will at once perceive that it could not be sold to advantage, in London the. year in which it is harvested. We would therefore again remind our readers that the malsters will always give a higher price for barley that has been in stack for a few months than for that either stacked for a few weeks or threshed, as unfortunately is too often the case, from the stook. From the observation on this grain in the London letter, which we quote, it will be gathered that barley should be threshed about October and shipped in November. Oats.—We need hardly pass any remarks under this head, as the letter under notice says all that is necessary to enable farmers to judge whether it will pay them to ship this grain or not.

The local representative of the NewZealand Mercantile and Loan. Agency Company informs us that the above report is extracted'from letters received. by : him' from the London office of l;he; Neiw Ze&£ land Loan and Mercantile Agency Com- : and from reports specially prepared at the request of the Lbndon manager by. Wo,- of the -largest grain merchants in thes Metropdlis. *" We understand that the local representatives of the Company still have portions of the samples which they sent Home, and that they will be glad-to* show them! to anyone desirous of seeing them. . r

We take the following from the-New Zealand Loan and . Mercantile Agency Company's weekly report for the week ending December 8 last: — wheat. s d. s. d.

English, White, new 44 0 to 56 0 Red „ 42 0 99 52 0 Konigsberg and Dantzig, new 52 0 99 62 0 Rostock, Wismar, &c. 54 0 99 57 0 Saxonka ... ... per 496 lbs 55 0 99 9 Samaru ,, & 9 dp o Kxibiin|ifi ... li J) 56 ft Marianopoli' & Ber- '' "djahski ..." "... ' 510 f9 '53 0 Odessa ... ... ' 51 0. 9J 53 0 Rostoff ... ... , t Ope: 47 Q 93. 49 Q gon ... „ 57 0 ,, 60 0 Australian. ... ,, 59 0 61 0 New r Zealand' ... „ 55'0 91 60 0 AmericanWinter.!. ... ,, 56 6 99 57 6 Spring, No..1 ... „ 54 0 56 0 „ No. 2 ... 52 0 9t 54 0 „ No. 3 ,, 50 0 J) 52 0 mite.,, fi? o 99 37 o East Ir t . _ Club ... . .... ,, 53 0 91 zi.o Ordinary white . „. §10 99 53 Q Hart and soft ved „ 50 0 99 52 0 BABLEY. English, Malting ... ,4i^0 99 56 0 Scotch 44 0 9 9. 50 0 Danish ,, ... per 432 lbs — 99 45 0 ri'ericli „ ..... 40.0 9 9, Danube & Odessa, per 400 lbs 25 0 99 26 0 Algerian, Smyrna, &c. ' 25 0 n 25 6 OATS,"'. English— ■ . . i 28 Q Poland and'potato „ 94 6 99 White and black „ , — 99 Scotch— Hopetown and potato ,, 24 9 m o Angus and ,, Common ... =r. 31 Irish-^ White feed ...per 304 lbs — ,, — Black ,, ... ' ,, ;— )) — Swedish ,, 20 0 9 9 21 0 Riga® Revel undried, new,, 17 6 18 6 ,, dried ,, ,, IS 6 99 19 6 Archangel and St. Peters2° 0 burg ... ... ,, 19 0 II V St.Eetersburg,heftyy,perS2Qlbs SI 0 22 0 Dapjsh, ktf» owed.,, >> 80 Q gi" o Finland ... . ... ,, .20 0 ,, 21 0 Dutch & Hanoverian,&c. ,, — . 99 — INDIAN CORN. American— White ... ...per 480 lbs None. Yellow and Mixed ,, 29 6 }9 30 6 Ibraila, Odessa,&Galatz — Yellow ... ... n Danubjw ... ,, gl Q )) 0 31 0 i) 31 6 French— Yellow and white „ — it ' —