COMMERCIAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1458, 23 January 1886, Page 3

COMMERCIAL.

CHRISTCHUECH CORN EXCHANGE. The Corn Exchange reports for the week ending Friday evening, the 22nd January : With grand harvest weather, the crops are being secured in good condition, and though on light land the grain has suffered from continued dry weather, in not having filled as well as could be wished for, the returns on the whole will, we believe, be satisfactory. The few samples so far offered are barely a fair criterion of the season's crop, and as yet prices of new grain can hardly be said to bo fixed. Sales bo far made have been on ihe basis of last season's values. From infonnation which which we can rely on, contributed from different localities, wo summarise the various crops ;is follows ; Wheat Less acreage ; yield above average; good quality. Oats Larger area under crop ; yield about average on what will be threshed (in many instances this crop has been fed where the yield promised badly and feed was required) ; quality poor. Barley Smallor area ; yield under average ; quality irregular. Grass seed (rye)—Less area cut ; yield light; quality good. At date it is too early to Bpeak of. other produce. Quotations are as follow :

Wheat-Prime milling, 3a 2d to 3a 4d ; medium, 2s 10d to 3s; chick wheat (whole), 2s 9d. Orts—Short bright feed and milling, Is lOd to 2s Id ; slightly discolored, short feed, Is 9d ; long and inferior, Is 7d to Is Bd.

Barley—Malting, 3s 3d to 3s 4d ; feed Is Pd to 2s.

Dairy Produce—Unchanged values. The above prices are those paid to farmers, and delivered f.o.b. Lyttelton. Cocksfoot—Reports are encouraging as to the quality of this season's crops, the dry weather having been unfavorable to the growth of the holcus (fog) and goose grass. There should be a good local and intsrprovincial demand for this seed, as the dry weather has enabled a clearance to be made by fire of large areas of bush, both here and in the North Island. .Returns of the faw shipments made last season to Loudon were very satisfactory, and we hear of arrangements being made by some growers to again avail themselves of this outlet. No sale* have, so far, come under our notice, and reliable quotations cannot be given at present.

GHRISTCHURCH STOCK: MARKETS.

At the Addington yards on Wednesday a small entry of stock and hardly an average attendance of buyers. Fat Cattle —The supply of beef was of mixed quality, none being extra good ; tpe demand at the early part of the sale was most dragging, mutters improving a little as they progressed. Taken throughout, rates about equal to last week were paid, viz., 17s to 19s per IOOIbs. Steers sold at from £5 10s to £7 12s 6d ; heifers, £4 15s to £6 ss. Fat Sheep—A moderate entry ; a few lines of good quality yarded, others very medium ; do improvement took place in late recorded values. Crossbred wethers sold at from 7s to 9s 6d ;do ewes; 5s to 8s; merino wethers, 4s to 7s 3d; being about l|d per lb on an average. Store Rheep—Only two or three small lines offering. No alteration for the better to be noticed. Fat Lambs —Hardly such a heavy entry aa of late. Sales made at from 4s 9d to 6s 9J, according to quality. Pigs—A very small number penned ; demand continuing very dull. Porker*, 16s to 23d ; stores, from 4s to lis per head, Store Cattle—A fair entry, and pretty good clearances made at late quoted values. DUNEDIN PEODTJOB MARKETS. The following is the report for the week ending Wednesday : Wheat—The market is quita cleaned out of all sorts, and as millers' stocks are very low they are anxious to buy. Sales have been of small parcels at 3s 6d ; while for a superior line of prime velvet 3s 7-)td was offered. Other good milling qualities are also in demand at prices, say, Id less. Chick feed (whole and dry) is very scarce, and easily commands 2s lid to 3s 2d ; seconds and inferior, 2s 3d to 2s Bd. Oats—There has been a considerable amount of speculation in oats, causing a rise in values. Shippers, however, are entirely out of the market, as quotations here are much above their limit, so that any aales that have been made at the advanced rates are speculative, and in | anticipation of a further rise later on. | Trade buyers prefer to use up stocks held by them in preference to buying at advanced rates. We quote fine milling and best bright feed, 2s 3d to 2s 4d ; medium do, in good color, Is lid to 2s Id; inferior and discolored, Is 8d to JslOid. .. Barley—There are several inquiries for malting barley, and already we have heard of high prices having been offered for this season's crop; as yet it is too early to fix values. The market is bare of feed and milling sorts, and some small sales have been made at 2s 4d to 2s 9d. Chaff—Good quality, well cut, is wanted at £3 ss, »nd for anything exceptionally good £3 7s 6d might be got; ordinary, £3 to £3 2s 6d. Potatoes-Kidneys, £7 per ton.

% Butter—Fresh, 8d for prime, and 6d to 7<< for medium. Salt is rather slow of sale lit 8d to B£d. Cheese—s£d for best quality. Eggß—Market full, and 6ales slow at 7sd to Bd. Sheepskins— Donald Keid and Co. report: Crossbreds, lid to 3s lid ; merinos, lOd to 3s 9d ; lambskins, 4d to Is ; peliß, 3d to 8d ; ski ns in bale*, 2d to 4sd per lb. Hides- -There is no change in values, prices ranging from 2|d to 4d; green ox hides, L 7« to 2ls. Tallow—There is a rather better demand for all kinds of tallow. Mixed rendered, £l4 to £2O per ton ; butchers' rought fat, 7s to lis per cwt. DUNEDIN STOCK MARKETS. At the Burnside Yards on Wednesday the following business was transacted : Fat Cittle.—226 head were yarded ; full half were prime, thereet small heifeis find cows mostly in fair killing condition. Best pens sold fairly well at fully last week's rates, while other sorts were very dull at greatly reduced prices. Bullocks sold at £4 10a to £9 (a couple of pens to £10) ; cows, £3 to £8 7s 6d. Wright, Stephenson, and Co., sold tor Mr John Grigj; (Longbeach), 18 bullocks at from £7 7s 6d to £8 12s 6d ; for Mr S. Mullins (Ashburton), 6 prime bullocks at from £7 10s to £lO. L. Maclean sold for Mr M. Stud holme (Waimate estate). V heifers from £G 5s to £6 15s ; and a few small drafts on account of other vendors. Fat Calves.—2l yarded. Pricea low, viz., 7s to 21s. Fat Sheep.—lso7 were panned. Of these 140 vvere merinos, the rest crossbreds in good condition. Butchers held large supplies from lafct week. Graziero, also, in consequence of the scarcity of grass, wereuaableto buy, so that the sale was about the worst ever held at Burnside. Indeed, a good number were held over unsold. Crossbreds sold at 5s to 8s ; a few extra fine crossbred wethers to 9s 6d; merinos almost unsaleable at 3a to ss. Donald Stronach sold on account of Allan Maclean (Makikihi), 240 prime crossbred wethers at 9s 6d, top price of the market. Wright, Stephenson and Co., sold on account of the N.Z. and A. Liad Co. (Levels Estate) 125 prime crossbred owns at 7s 9d.—L. Maclean sold for Mr M. Studboluie (Waimate Estate), 140 crossbred ewes at 7s; for the N.Z. and A. Land Co. (Pareora Estate), 198 crossbred ewes from 6s 6d to 7s.

Lambs—The market was well supplied with 818, varying in quality from small and inferior to prime. Prices were about same as last week, but towards the close there was a dull demand. Prices ranged from 3s 6d to 7s.

Pigs—Market overstocked, 189 being yarded, nearly all porkers to heavy bacon pigs. There was little or no demand, prices all through being absurdly low,— Wright, Stephenson and Co. sold 63 as follows :—Estra heavy, to 40s; bacon pigs at from 23s to 29s , porkers, at from 15s to 20s ; stores at 2s 6d to 15s. Horse Market—Messrs Wright Stephenson and Co. report as follows: —Last Saturday's sale was a large one, the entries f >r it consisting for the most part of good draughts and first-c'asa hacks and lightharness horses, for both of which kind of horses there is at present an export demand. About 50 horses changed hands. We quote first-class draughts at from £24 to £3O ; medium, £l2 to £2O ; firstclass hacks, £2O to £3O; medium, £lO to £l7 ; inferior, £3 to £7. INVEROARQILL WOOL SALE. The first wool sale of the season took place on Wednesday. The attendance of buyers was fair, including a number of purchasers from the North. The bulk of the wool was bought by Dunedin men. Crossbred ranged from 6|d to B£d ; halfbred, 7£d to Bfd ; Leicester, 6d to 6fd. Merino was almost neglected. It fetched ssd to 6£d, and was mostly passed in. Competition for all lots of well grown half-bred wool was very keen, (For Australian and English Commercial see first page.)