THE WOOL SALES. LONDON, February 15.

Otago Witness, Issue 2399, 22 February 1900, Page 15

THE WOOL SALES. LONDON, February 15.

Tho third series of wool sales will com-

ful. In the hold the sheep were in good order, and looked well, the bags being perfectly white and clean. Before the dock labourers had been down 10 minutes they had made an awful mess. It was a wet. muddy clay, and the men walked about anywhere over the sheep. All the top layer was black v.itli mud, and many of the bags were torn. The sheep wore hoisted out in slings, and several times .1 noticed sheep slipping and falling from a 'height of 20 or 30 feet on to the cargo below. Of course this meant breaking and bruising the sheep and tearing the linen bags. I am told that this is the worst dock for discharging. A mpn was there on behalf of an insurance company, and protested vigorously against the way the stuff was being treated, but nobody seemed io pay any attention to him. I spent Friday at Smithfield, and saw large quantities of frozen meat. The great bulk of it did not look as well as I expected. Most of the carcases are more or less chijoped and bruised, and, though this may not affect the quality of the mutton, it must- affect the price. All praise the grading of the Burnside sheep. The great complaint about New Zealand^ meat is that there are far too many consignors and too many brands, and the idea seems to be that if it "were concentrated in a few hands it could •be placed on the market to greater advantage. 1 don't know how far this is true. The River Pla.te Company are held up as an example. ■While I think they are a very bad example at the other end, it is quita possible that they can teach us something at this end. Just now there is a glut of colonial meal, and the market is practical!^ clear of River Plate.

mencc on the Bth of May. The catalogue is limited to 300,000 bales. i ! Messrs Dalgety and Co. have received the following cable from their London office, dated 13th inst. :—"The thiid series of wool spies have been fixed to open on the Bth May. The quantity of new v/ocl to be admitted is limited to 300,000 bale*."

WELLINGTON, February 15. j The third wool sale for the current season ' was held to-day. Price, for coarse and medium croasbveds ruled quite on a par with the January sales, but fine crossbreds and merinos showed a further drop of a penny. , Bellies, locks, and pieces sold at full rates, j Fine crossbreds fetched 6J,d to 7d. up to 7gd for superior; medium crossbreds, 6d to 6id; ] coarse cro&obrcds, 52d to 6d ; log stained crossbreds, 4jd tc scl; lambs' wool (superior), 7d ; to 8d; medium, 6d to 6'zd; do seedy, 5d to sid.