COMMERCIAL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 1264, 7 March 1881, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

MR. W. R. MILLER'S HAWKE'S BAY STOCK AND STATION REPORT.

FEBRUARY 28th, 1881. The amount of business transacted during Deccm ber and January in store sheep left comparativelj little surplus in breeders' hands to put in tin market during the past month, and though there is ■till considerable demand for young stock, both merino and cross-bred, with few exceptions the !oti remaining open for sale are full-mouths and lots ol mixed sexe^ and ages. Fat sheep are plentiful al moderate rates. In cattle, as usual at f.u's season, very little businec3 ha :, been done, and few sale; will be attempted till we have had the autumn rain, and after flush of feed. Gnrj seed is getting firmer : (Mies of rye gra~s are readily effected at 3s 6d, bul growers are holding for 3s 9d to 4s per bushel : cocksfoot, 3}d to 4d per lb. The following are quotations ruling for stock :— Cattle.— Fat, 20s per 1001 b ; store steers, 1- 2-8-year-old, £3 ss; £4 !os, £ ', 15s for respective ages ; femal* stock, from. ordinary herds, range for same ages from £2 15s. to £5 ; dairy cows, £8 to £11 each. Shbrp.— Fat merino wedders, full-mouth, 5s to 5e 6d ; store do., 2-, 4- and o-tooth, Gs to 6s 6d, none offering ; 8-tooth, ss, aged nominal ; merino ewes, 2- and 4-tooth, 8s to 9s ; 6-tooth, 6s 6d to 7s ; fresh 8-tooth, 6s ; full-mouth, ia to 5 ; ;-,cross-bred wedders, (at, 9s to 10s Od ; stores, 2- and 4-tooth, 8s ; 6- and fresh 8-tooth, 8s ; cro^s-bred ewes, 2- and 4-tooth, ICB ; 6- and fresh 8-tooth, 7s to 8s ; 5s to 6s each. Rams.— l have sold 88 Lincolns from Mr. J. B Button, and 20 Lincolns from Mr. Frederick Sutton at £3 3s net f.o.b. at Invercargill. In Merino rams : Mr. S. Johnston'B^s 6-tooth, at £1 10s, andGO 2-tooth, £2 2s ; Hon. H. R, Russell's 25 4-tooth, and of Royse and Anderson's 70 4-tooth,. at £2 10.3 each, and several transactions pending in these classes. Horse Stock. — Till the end of March there will be little business done in draught stock. Quotations : Heavy draught. £45 to £55 ; medium do., £30 to £35 ; light do., £15 to £20 ; good hacks, £20 to £25 ; useful do., £10 to £15 ; light do., £5 to £7 10s. Wool.— By Home telegrams the present series of wool sales rule in favor of buyers to the extent of 1W to 2d per lb. compared with closing rates of last November-December. The decline is general at present, bnt there ia a good prospect of a revival of trade. Messrs. Goldsbrough's Annual Wool Review is to hand, and gives a valuable resume 1 of the trade there, showing a very satisfactory comparison with the London market rates. Out of a total of 165,506 bales catalogued 122,272 bales were sold. These, with 50,000 bales told by Sydney brokers, »nd about 25,000 sold in Adelaide— together about 200,003 bales, value about £4,000,000 sterling, have been sold in the colonies during this past season, Melbourne still continuing to maintain its supremacy as the great colonial central depdt (or the wool sates. Sheepskins, Hidks, and Tallow Ou* local market quiet. Quotations as in January. Station Properties.— There is increasing enquiry for both freehold and leasehold station property, and several are now in negotiation at prices favorable to buyers. Since last report I have sold Mr. Thomas Tanner's Mount Erin property, containing about 6760 acres freehold, with allphiiifc and improvements, 26,000 sheep and 200 head cattle to the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, as agents for ♦h«i Hon t O. M. Waterhoune, price withheld. Dunedin, Wednesday. Messrs McLza.v is Co. report as follows :— E;ef, prime 20m to 21s per lOOlbs. Mutton realises fully J|d per lb. Wool. — Cablegrams from London show that the February sales opened lit a decline in price as compared with the previous scries, bnt later telegrams report that the attendance is good and prices firm, from which we are hopeful that before the sales close prices will have recovered the fall which took place at the opening. Our next sales will be held ob Monday, 28th instant. SUBKPBKINH.— We held no sale this week, but Jricea remain at about late quotations. Hidbs.— There is an active demand, and laU quotations are firmly maintained. Tallow.— We quote mutton tallow at 24s Gd to 26s ; rough fat at 15s per cwt. Grain.— Wheat : There is none of the new crop to band in Dunedin, and it ia as yot doubtful how prices are to open ; but new wheat has been sold in Oamaru and South Canterbury at train 3s to 3s Od. Oate: Old oats have been selling at la 6d for milling, and Is 4d to Is 5d for feed. There is none of the new crop yet to hand.. Barley : There is no inquiry, and prices arc nominally the same as recently quoted.