COMMERCIAL TELEGRAMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2231, 3 December 1896, Page 14

COMMERCIAL TELEGRAMS.

London, November 25. The total quantity of wheat and flour afloat for the United Kingdom is 2,760,000 quarters, and for the Continent 1,060,000 quarter?. The American visible wheat Bupplyiß estimated at 79,100,000 bushels. Australian and New Zealand Mortgage Agency's 1} per cants, are quoted at £101. Tallow : Mutton, fine, 21s 9d ; medium, 20s. : Pine, 19s 6d ; medium, 18s 3d. November 27. The Bank of England returns, published to-day, ihow the total reserve in notes and bullion to be £28,780.000, the proportion of reserve to liabilities being s*. Three months' bills are discounted at 3i per cent. Consols; 111}. Quotations for colonial stocks :—

New Zealand frozen mutton: First quality, Bid ; second quality, 2gd ; lamb, 3}d. The English wheat market shows a general advance of 6d, and has an upward tendency, and the American is advancing with increased firmneßs. The decline in the American visible supply is responsible for the hardening tendency. ,-, Wool is very brisk, and the market is hardening. Good greaaies and faulty ccoureds have Improved the most. The series close on the 11th December. The Bradford market is restricted. -' Sugar is firm.. . German beet, 93 3d ; Java. 11? 9d. No. 1 best Scotch pig iron (f.o.b. in the Clyde), iSslOJd. Silver, 2s 5 5-16 d. At a meeting of the shareholders. in the English, Scottish, and Australian Bank the report was adopted, and the articles of association were alteied in conformity with the acts. Mr Hegan eaid there, need be no fear for the future of the bank, as the new business would be strictly confined to legitimate banking. The report of the Queensland Investment Comjpany itates that there is a debit balance for the - sear of £3,282, making a. total debit of £14,843. This is stated to be the result of a large amount cf unproductive properties. The report states (hat the funds iv hand are sufficient to meet the debentures maturing for the next JO years, and )hat the financial difficulty is completely over)ome. . At a meeting of the Agency, Land, and Finance Company of Australia Lieutenant-colonel BosanJDuet, the chairman, eatd thegross profits amounted Naariy £32,000 of calls were in arrears ;in Australia. , 'The\Bovril Company has been 'l-uguiy oversubscribed. j ' • H November 29 tip to date 47,000 bales of wool have been catalogued, of which 44,600 hare been feold. Hides* Heavy ox, 8M to 4£d; light, „3fd to 4id | cow, B|a to 3f cl. . A Battle i Australian strained average B£<V Leather j Auitraliaa. best heavy, B£d*

JBe Milking Cows at the Show and the Babcock Tester. TO THE BDITOH. Sib,— l hare been a member of the Otago ; Agricultural and Pastoral Society for years, and have competed in the milking class for two years, taking second prize last year, the test being 4.2 fat ; bat this year, with a cow that gires far richer milk than the one I had last year, my test was only 2.2 fat. Now I will presently show that the test is absolutely wrong and outrageously misleading. The whole of the milk from the Peninsula supplied to the Taieri and Peninsula Milk Supply Company in Dunedin (and the quantity is very considerable) averages from 3.4- fat to 4 0 fat, and to. say that a cow that was picked oub of 50 milking cows' for her exceptionally rich milk gives only 2.2 fad is simply outrageous.- Mr Riddel (an opposition dairyman) took the samples of milk in conjunction with Mr J. T. Lang, Government expert. Now I think it is simply monstrous for the society to appoint one dairyman to test another dairyman's milk, especially when both are supplying milk to Dunedin. I hereby challenge Mr J. T. Lang and Mr Riddel to come to ray place with Professor Black, and let him make an analysis of the milk of the whole 50 cows in my place, and if he can find a cow that only gives 2.2 fat I will make Mr J. T. Lang (the Government expert) and Mr Riddel (of the Taieri and Peninsula Company) a present of a cow each. I called on Mr James Smith, president of the society, to see if he could get the committee to alter the system of testing the milk. I suggested that; all the milk from each cow should be churned, and then we would get the true commercial value of the milk without the slightest doubt. I know Mr Smith did what he could in the matter, but, however, it fell through ; he then suggested to separate the milk with a separator as being the next best plan, but that also came to grief. I cannot see any practical difficulty in having the milk churned, and that would Satisfy everybody. My excuse for writing this letter is to get an absolutely fair and honest test. — I am &c, Alexander Smaih. Glencairn, Tomahawk, November 28. P.B. — Every year the first prize has been ' gained by people supplying milk to the T.P. Company, of Dunedin. Mr Riddel made the teat last year.

' Price. Variations compared with last week. [*N.S.W. ... .„ (J VN.5.W. ... ... I%N,S.W. ..» \ X Victorian1} -X Victorian ; X South Australian 4 % South Australian [ % Queensland .... !J % Queensland ... ii % West Australian \i % Tasmanian I X New Zealand ... ii X New Zealand ... i % New Zealand ... >.• £ b. d. 118 15 0 107 5 0 103> 5 0 112 10 0| 105 15 0 112 0 0 110 0 O 113 5 0 106 10 0 110 0 0 108 0 0 111 15 0 106 15 0 100 0 0 £03 higher -unchanged 5Qa hjgher 10a higher 10s higher unchanged 108 lower 20s higher 10^ higher 20a higher unchanged 5s higher lOd higher : unchanged