COMMERCIAL

Southland Times, Issue 17964, 3 March 1917, Page 4

COMMERCIAL

JKHrmBttVD STOCK AB9 FBOSVCE HASXSTB. TIMES OFFICE, Friday. FAT CATTLE. —Tlie market remains practically unchanged, all classes of stuff being readily bought up by freezers after butchers’ demands are satisfied. .These conditions have every Indication of continuing so long as freezing space is available. Values may be quoted:— Prime ox beef, 45/- to 47/-; heifer, 41/3to 43/-; cow, 40/- to 42/-. FAT SHEEP. —This market continues Strong, high prices ruling for all kinds «f good stuff. A good many fat lambs have been forward at district sales during the week and have met with ready and good sale. In some instances extreme values have been realised. Prime wethers are worth from 34/- to 37/-, .with medium to good from 32/ C to 34/-. Extra prime ewes arc bringing from 28/- to 33/-, with medium to good fetching from 25/- to 28/-. Lambs are going at from 24/- up to as high as 29/-. STOKE CATTLE—The market, which has been rather quiet for a few weeks past, is showing a slight improvement. In the yards, prices have been just about on a par with those obtaining for some time, but a fair amount of private business is reported to have_ taken place during the week. Several lines are said to have been sold north which should have a hardening effect on the market as should also the exceptional prices ruling for sheep which some graziers will be passing over in favour of cattle. Meanwhile the ground Is covered thus: — Three-year-old bullocks, £l.l 10/- to £l4; two-year-olds £8 10/- to £lO 10/-; yearlings and IS-monthers, £4 10/- to £6 10/-; two-year-old heifers, £6 to £7 10/-; yearling and 18-monthers, £3 10/- to £5 10/-; calves from £2 to £4.

STORE SHEEP.—The market is extremely buoyant, all classes offering being eagerly bought up at prices which are highly satisfactory to vendors. Twotooth ewes are in very strong demand, •dao wethers; while lines of good for-

ward rape lambs are meeting with a very ready sale. Current quotations are; Two-tooth ewes from 30/- to 32/-; twotooth wethers, from 25/- to 28/6; four and six-tooth forward wethers up to 33/-; good forward lambs from 20/- to 23/6; smaller sorts from 16/- to 30/-.

OATS. —The market is firm in consequence of the bareness of supplies, very few new oats being threshed so far. There is a keen demand for immediate consumption, and prices have been paid for Immediate delivery which are no criterion as to what may take place later on. At the moment, prices in Canterbury have gone up through the eagerness of forward sellers to cover their commitments, and it Is expected that prices in that province will rule considerably lower later on. If that is the case, this market will be in a similar position. Already Auckland merchants are turning their attention to Australian Algerians, which can be purchased at from 2/4 to 2/6, f.0.b., 5.1., Melbourne, and milled and clipped Algerians, for which the ruling price is about 2/11, Lo.b., s.l. It is expected that the local markit will open in about a week's time when quotations can be given with some reliability. CHAFF. —There is a firmer tone in the market, and prime oaten »sheaf chaff Is now worth £3 .15/-, o.L, for prompt delivery. PERENNIAL RYEGRASS.—This continues very firm and, whilst the general price is from 4/6 to 4/9. prices in excess of this have been paid for choice, heavy samples. All heavy lines on offer are eagerly competed for, the superior quality of the Southland seed giving merchants every confidence in buying in spite of the fact that large quantities are reported to be available in Canterbury. ITALIAN RYEGRASS. Southland merchants are being under-quoted by Canterbury and, in consequence, are not very keen to buy at the high prices being asked by farmers. From 4/- to 4/6 will be extreme prices although, a little earlier in the season, higher prices have been paid.

POTATOES.—The digging of local crops has not yet commenced, but it is expected that the market will open at £4 10/-, o.t

HEMP.—The market continues very strong and there will be an opportunity —the first for over three months—of getting some hemp away from Bluff for London next week. Unfortunately the shipping space available for hemp is not large, but merchants are more than pleased to get even a small quantity away. High-fair would readily bring £37 10/-, 0.t., for Immediate delivery, probably a shade more. Owing to lack of local demand, and to the fact that there la no chance of shipping to London, tow is almost unsaleable at present and is worth only about £5, 0.t., for third grade. SALE OF DAIRY BESD. Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co. held a very satisfactory sale of Mr Colin McDonald’s dairy herd at Roseland farm, Win ton, on Wednesday. Cows brought £l2 7/6, £l2 5/-, £l2, £ll 10/-, down to £6 10/-. There was a large attendance and bidding was spirited throughout. WXHTOK STOCK SAJLE. There was a very large entry of sheep for the stock sale, about 12,000, and all lines were keenly competed for, with the result that highly satisfactory prices were obtained. There was also a yarding of about 100 head of cattle, and these also brought good values. Considering that harvesting operations were on throughout the district, there was a good attendance of farmers and buyers. J. G. Ward and Co. —50 old ewes 18/-, 28 lambs 17/-. Henderson and Co. —160 ewes 31/10, 38 lambs 17/-, 26 at 16/-. The National Mortgage report having sold 7300 sheep—2l6 four and six-tooth ewes at 31/-. 82 lambs 20/3, 420 do. 23/6, 300 two-tooth wethers 26/9, 100 twotooth ewes 26/6, 250 do. 30/-, 283 wethers 30/11, 258 do. 33/2, 60 two-tooth ewes 30/8, 251 lambs 23/2, 409 do. 23/3, 162 do. 18/8, 62 wethers 26/-, 296 twotooth ewes 29/-, 47 s.m. ewes 26/-, 150 two and four-tooth ewes 29/6, 331 wethers 26/11, 389 do. 32/8, 169 lambs 26/10, 129 f.m. ewes 18/11, 229 lambs 21/7, 30 culls 18/4, 198 do. 16/10, 59 fat ewes 27/6, 120 wethers 30/-, 241 s.m. ewes 28/3, 145 two-tooth ewes 23/3, 150 lambs 19/9, 65 ewes 1-6/10, 128 wethers 24/6, 161 do. 27/5, 102 rlo. 27/6, 92 ewes 14/7, 115 do. 33/4, 48 four, six, and eight-tooth ewes 26/2, 131 f.m. ewes 21/6, 186 wethers 28/11, 112 ewes 14/8, 31 do. 15/-. 300 lambs 22/4, 290 wethers 32/6, 326 do. 29/9; two heifers £l2, cow £6 10/-, ball £B, bull £3 10/-, 3 heifers £4, bull £lO, cow £4 6/-; heifer £5 5/-, heifer £8 8/-, bull £ls 10/-, 3 cows £5 10/-, bull £7 10/-, 3 heifers £7 10/-, 3 cows £9 5/-, 12 steers £6 5/-. The Southland Farmers’ Co-op. Association, Ltd., report having sold—Account P. McKenna, 16 fat wethecs to W. Swale at 35/7; account A. Yorke, 8 fat lambs to W. Swale at 28/-, 20 store lambs to L. Cody at 23/6; account G. and T. Deogan, 200 lambs to G. and W. Shcddan at 18/6. 100 lambs to P. A, Burke at 17/10; account P. McKenna, 300 wethers (passed) at 28/7; account Chas. Wilson, 15 calves to F. Anderson at 39/-, 7 calves to R. Russell at £3 7/-; account W. Hamilton, 7 calves to Jno. McKenxie at £4 1/-, 13 calves to L. G. Ccwies at £2 13/-.

Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co., Ltd., report having yarded 4000 sheep at the above sale on the Ist inst., and they cleared the whole entry under the hammer. Included in their entry were a splendid line of 220 prim© four-tooth wethers, fattened on Mr Donald McDonald’s Spar Bush estate; also 250 fourtooth ewes from the same place. The wethers realised 35/9 and the ewes 35/-. The following is a detailed report of the salerfeca

Sheep—Account J. Wisely, 350 two, four, six, and eight-tooth ewes at 34/to a client; 150 two-tooth ewes at 31/1 to W. Baird junr., 123 do. wethers at 28/. to Irwin and Sons; account T. M. Stewart, 11 fat ewes at 22/1 to A. York, 250 wethers at 31/- to Jno. Woods, 100 do. at 31/- to R. Bailey, 5 do. at 36/- to D. C. McKerchar: account Don Macdonald, 120 four-tooth ewes at 35/- to J. D. Shand, 131 do. at 35/- to Adam Baird, 163 ewes at 35/1 to Jas. English, 222 wethers at 35/9 to W. Swale; account Thos. Wilson, 298 wethers at 27/- to J. A. Keith; account H. Cunningham, 131 lambs at 18/3 to Thos. Macdonald, 4 lambs at 25/6 to W. Swale; account C. and C. Thomson, 99 ewes at 31/6 to Jno. Scott: account R. Flnlayson, 160 lambs at 23/1 to W. Norman, 54 ewes at 19/3 to H. Cunningham; account J. A. Taylor, 36 lambs at 14/- to Geo. Clinch, 2 rams at 6/- to H. Cunningham; account J. Cunningham, 1 fat ewes at 35/- to W. Swale, 2 rams at 8/- to H. Cunningham, 4 rams at 5/- to H. Cunningham, 150 lambs at IS/8 to Smith Smith; account G. and T. Deegan, 47 ewes at 26/11 to C. Affleck, 6 ewes at 18/- to C. Affleck, 25 ewes at 16/10 to C. Botherway, 151 lambs at 23/7 to Moyian Bros., 300 wethers at 33/- to Finlay Bros., 169 ewes

ta32/l to A. Blsset; account Thos. Gerrard, 22 ewes at 29/8 to W. P. P. Allison, 19 lambs at 18/7 to F. C. Bidder; account Alex. Gerrard, 28 lambs at 20/- to Leggett Bros.; account Jno. Casaerley, 14 ewes at 33/2 to D. C. McKerchar; account Jno. Reed, 82 ewes at 22/4 to Geo. Caider jnr., 6 wethers at 36/- to W. Swale; account Jno. Mcßwon, 43 lambs at 26/3 to W. T. May and Sons; account Peter Larson, 6 ewes at 31/7 to D. C. McKerchar: account S. H. Day, 90 ewes at 21/3 to Caider and Clark; account client, 230 lambs at 21/- to J. H. Cox; account A. and R. McDonald, 65 twotooth ewes at 37/9 to P. Joyce; account P. Joyce, 48 ewes at 21/3 to Martin Forde.

Cattle.—Account W. Hamilton, 3 steers at 10 guineas to R. Russell; account E. J. Paul, 1 cow at £2 to W. Swale, 1 cow at £5 to R. Russell, 2 calves at £2 12/at It. Russell, 3 calves at 16/- to R. Russell; account P. Larson, 1 cow at £7 6/. to L. G. Cowle; account J. Mclntosh, 1 dairy cow at £lO to P. Larson; account H. Cunningham, 1 cow at £4 15/- to R. Russell; account Alex. Gerrard, 5 steers at £5 19/- to C. and E. McDonald, 2 heifers at £2 16/- to R. Russell, 1 cow at £5 to R. Russell, 2 calves at £2 9/to R. Russell.

(Per United Press Association^ CHRISTCHURCH, March 2. Offerings of wheat tills week have been extremely light, and the quality of many lines offered has been slightly inferior to previous offerings. Most of the parcels submitted have changed hands at the Government prices. The demand for oats Is still unsatisfied. Short sellers are eagerly endeavouring to cover commitments, and in consequence prices have jumped up by fully 2d per bushel for white oats, Gartons being saleable to-day at from 3/2 to 3/3 on trucks, according to stations. There Is also good demand for seed. nCTOBX&JT MARKETS. (Australian & N.Z. Cable Association.) MELBOURNE, March 2. Barley, English, 4/6; Cape. 3/3 to 3/5. Oats, milling, 2/3 to 2/4; feed, 2/- to 2/1. Potatoes, £3 10/- to £7. Onions, £6.