Stock Notes.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 312, 25 April 1911, Page 5

Stock Notes.

Since our last report, the sheep market may be said to have remained fairly steady at last week's quotations. The favourable conditions of the weather have had a most beneficent effect, not only on the pastures, but still more noticeably on the root crops, and so dispelled all fears respecting winter feed, with the natural effect of adding to ihe number of buyers, aud giving a general fillip to the sheap market. The only fly m the ointment now is the low prices ruling for frozen lamb, viz., 4d for prime grades, which is disappointing after last year's quotations, especially so to those who bought lambs for fattening at 12s and 12s 6d early m the year. However, taking everything into consideration, things might be considerably worse and the Southland farmer this year is a subject for envy by his Northern brechren, where the weather conditions have been so much worse for stock, and after all it is only the inferior classes of store sheep that the drop has been mostly felt ! The state of the cattle market has been so uniformly good duriag the last few months that there has been nothing to grumble at by the most confirmed pessimists, and still prices are firmer than ever. Prime beef may now be quoted at 32s 66. per hundred, with a rising tendency and cow beef

up to 27s 6d, forward bullocks to £8, 2yr-old steers to £6, yearlings, 18 months cattle, to £4 10s, and calves, if well bred, to £3. Dairy cows are also coming into demand, good sorts readily fetching £10, and old bulls for boiling down up to £8. ' The oat market continues firm at about 2s per bushel for good samples, and as chaff is currently expected to top £5 per ton duiing the winter, oats are not at ail likely to fall — rather the j •ontrary ! ;