MUTTON DEARER.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 457, 19 May 1932, Page 15

MUTTON DEARER.

Beef Prices Show Slight Advance. SMALL STORE YARDINGS. Beef prices advanced slightly at yesterday’s Metropolitan Market at Addington, but it was in the main due to the short yarding and the improved quality. Fat sheep sold well, heavy wethers being particularly keenly sought after. This class was a shilling a head up, and all other sorts were firmer. The yarding of fat lambs was larger, but owing to the small interest of butchers in the sale, prices were lower. The store sheep and store lambs were a mixed lot with the exception of one or two good lines. A small gallery watched the sale, and bidding was not keen. Pat Cattle. The entry of 315 head of fat cattle was over 100 head less than that entered at the preceding market, and as a result the sale was a little more free. The advance in values was not quotable though, and the extremely low values ruling last week were little altered. No North Island cattle were forward, but there were some very prime lines of handy-weight and heavy steers forward from Canterbury graziers, and one line from the West Coast. As usual the entry included a big proportion of light types of indifferent quality. These met with an extremely dull demand. Best beef made to 23s 6d per 1001 b; good, from 18s to 21s 6d; ordinary. 15s to 17s 6d; and inferior, from 14s down to 7s 6cL Values were:—

Extra prime heavy steers, to £ll 2s 6d. Prime heavy steers, £7 10s to £9 3 os. Prime medium-weight steers, £5 10s Ordinary quality steers, £3 15s to £5. Tight steers, to £3 10s. Extra prime heifers, to £7 12s 6d. Prime heifers, £5 to £6 10s. Medium heifers, £3 to £4 10s. Tight heifers, £2 to £2 15s. Extra prime cows, to £9 2s 6d. Prime cows, £4 5s to £6. Medium cows, £2 10s to £4. Tight cows, to £2. Pat Sheep. The entry of fat sheep numbered 3300, as against 3000 last week. The quality was gor-d and some very fine lines were included. Competition wa« brisk from the outset, especially for heavy wethers, which were a shilling a head up. All over, prices were firmer, hut not quotably so. Owing to the activity of one exporter, who consistently paid over the schedule, other freezers were able to secure very little. Top price for wethers was 225, secured for the top pen of a line of fifty-one. which were sold on account of J. A. Brown (Whiterock Downs) at an average of 19s Sd. The sheep were halfbreds and were the best line seen at Addington for a considerable time. They were exceptionally well finished. Top price for ewes was 19s lOd fcr nine sold on account of T. A. Stephens (Irwell). Values were:— Extra prime heavy wethers to 22s Id. Prime heavy wethers 16s 9d to 19s. Medium-weight prime wethers 14s to IGs 6d. Ordinary wethers 12s to 13s 6d. Tight wethers 9s to 11s 6d. Show ewes to 19s lOd. Extra prime ewes to 16s 7d. Prime heavy ewes 11s to 13s 6d.

Medium-weight prime ewes 9s to 10s 6d. Ordinary ewes 6s 6d to 8s 6cL Tight ewes 4s 6d to 6s. Store Sheep. Entries of store lambs and sheep were much the same as they were last week, and thtere was little outstanding about the appearance of the offering in either section. Though the bulk of the entry of store lambs changed hands, the demand was not so good as it was last week, and values all round were from 6d to is a head cheaper. The best of the ewe lambs made 9s, and the limit for rape lambs was 8s sd. Tire store sheep entry included several big lines of station wethers, among them a draft from the Molesworth station. The sale was a dragging and irregular one, with a restricted demand, and values, both for wethers and ewes, were cheaper, the difference on last week’s rates in more than one instance exceeding Is a head. Values were: Good rape lambs, 7s to 8s sd. Ordinary m.s. lambs, 4s to 6s. Good ewe lambs, to 9s 3d. Ordinary ewe lambs, 6s to 7s 6d. Good four, six and eight-tooth wethers. 9s to 12s. Ordinary four, six and eight-tooth wethers, 5s 9d to Bs. Small two-tooth half-bred wethers, 5s to 7s 6d. Merino wethers, to 6s Id. Ordinary two-tooth three-quarter-bred ewes, to 12s. Ordinary four and six-tooth half-bred ewes, to 11s 6d. Sound-mouthed ewes, 7s to 9s. Aged ewes. 2s to 3s. VMrtars. The entry of vealers was only onethird as large as that of last week and the quality generally was very poor. All killable sorts sold at rates slightly better than those ruling at the preceding market. The top price was 61s. Stove Cattle. There was a poor entry of store cattle with no adult cattle quotable. Two-year-old Shorthorn heifers made 42s 6d; eigh teen-months-old Shorthorn steers, 30s; Shorthorn calves, 17s 6d; fresh cows, 22s 6d; potting cows, 8s; potting bulls, to £3 2s 6d. Dairy Cattle. The entry of dairy cattle totalled 60 head, as compared with 84 last week, it included some good cows and there was a good demand for these, without any change in values. Heifers and cows in profit were hard to sell. Values were: t second an< * third cal vers. £7 10s second and third calvers, £4 Others,- 25s to £3 10s. Good heifers, £4 30s to £6 ss. Medium heifers, £3 to £3 15s. Others, £1 to £2 10s. 3Tat Pigs. „ i? h t erG a F ood en try of fat pigs, which sold at prices about on a par with those ruling last week. Values were: Choppers. 45s to £5 6s. Baconers, 35s 6d to 43s 6d. Heavy baconers. 47s 6d to 555. Extra heavy baconers. to £3 Is 6d. Average price a pound, 3id to 4d. " Porkers, 23s to 26s 6d. Heavy porkers, 28s 6d to 33s 6d. Average price a pound, 4Jd to sd. Store Figs. There was a large entry of store pigs, and the market throughout was very dull. Values were: Weaners. 2s to 4s. Medium weaners, 5s to 7s. Sucking pigs. 7s to Bs. Slips. 4s to Ss. Small stores, 5s to 7s. Medium stores, 8s to 10s. Good stores, to 14s 6d.