COMMERCIAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVIV, Issue 4448, 22 May 1897, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

DUNEDIN MARKETS. Wednesday, 19th Mat. Fat Cattle.— 2l2 head came to hand at Burnaide for this week's' market, about one-half of which were go jd quality, the balance made op of three parts fat steers and aged cows. Owing, no doubfe, to the fact that some of the largest buyers in the trade have been purchasing outside of this market, also to the full Bopply to hand last week, the demand to-day was exceedingly weak, prices obtaining showing a material drop compared with last week's, and only for graziers .operating pretty freely, also several pens being turned out unsold, a much larger drop would have been experienced. Bust bullocks brought £7 5i to £8 5a ; one or i wo extra heavy, £8 I7d 6d ; medirim, £5 16s to £6 15a ; light, £3 10i to £5 lOj ; . best-cows, £5 2a 6d ; medium, £3 5a to £4 10s ; inferior and aged, £2 10a to £3 2s 6d. . Fat Sheep. — 1,803 were penned, nearly all crossbred wethers and ewes— the latter preponderating — quality comparing favorably with previous entries. In the absence of a demand for export the supply was considerably in excess of require merits, and while prime wethers realised nearly up to lait week's prices, those obtaining for ewes suffered a drop of la 6d to 2<J— more particularly towards the close of the sales. Best crossbred wethers brought 13s to 13j 6il ; a few pens extra heavy, 13s 9d to 14s 6d ; medium, 10s 6d to 12s 6d ; light, 939 3 to 10s ; best crossbred ewes, 8a 9i to 10a 9d ; extra heavy, Ha to J2s"6d ; medium, 7a 6d to 8s 6d : light 6a 6d to 7s 3d Pigs. — 78 were penned, mostly grown, only a fsw Buokers in the lot. A very fair demand was ' experienced, and pric-e were in favor of sellers. Suckers brought 8s to 10a 6d ; stores 20s to 23s 6d ; porkers, 243 6d to 30a ; baconers, 38s to 48s ; extra heavy, 52s to 60s each. Sheepskins.— The auction sales are well attended, and although there is no improvement of any consequence to note" in values, very satisfactory Competition is to be met with from week to week, bes crossbreds fetsbirig, for. best, 3s 9d to 5a 3d; medinm to good, 2a 6d to 3s' 6d ; inferior,: Is 9d to 2s 3d ; pelts, 3d to la 6d ; beat do merino. 2s 9d to 4a ; medium, la 9d to 2s 6d ; pelts and inferior, 2s to Is 8d ; best green crossbreds, 3s to 3s 3d ; extra large, 3a 6d ; medium, 2s 6d to 2s 9d ; best green lambskins, 2s 9d to 3s • medium, 2s 3d to 2s 6d each. ' Babbitskina. — There is a very steady - demand for these, and all coming forward meet 'spirited competition at the weekly auction sales, best autumn fetching 9d to lOjrd ; medium, 7d to B£d ; summer, 4£d to fid ; suckers "and half grown, Idto3fcd per'lb. Hides.— -Heavy sortsareingood demand, but light," though saleable, have not the same attention. Best fetch 3£d to 3id ; medinm/2|fd to 3d ; light, lfd'to 2|d ; inferior, id to ljd per Jb. Tallow and Fat.~2Jearly all the busi. ness done lately is con Sued to oddments from the country, best rendered fetching 13s 6d to los ; medium, 303 £d to IBs ; butchers' best caul fat, Us to 11s Gd ; medium, 9s 6d to 10s 6d ; inferior, 83 6d to 9s per cwt (ex store, net). , T>UNEDItf GRAIN M>BKfiT, ■ Messrs Samuel Oee and Co., Stafford ■treat, Dunedin, report for the week endincrM»y 19 at follows : — Wsiktber still con tinueiifine, arid ploughing for ntxt ytM>s gulp prop I* la fall i

' swing, though a shower or two would do no harm. Oaii.-~Afc the auction sales on Monday the^demand WBs very poor indeed. Afteri wards, however, some inquiries were on i foot, but nothing startling 'in them took i place to-day, when' actual business re- * gutted arid at an advance of r ld ' per » bushel on all grades ? and still a keen de- \ mand. The drought" on the other side is ) telling its tale, and pinching now started, i and to this alone is attributable the pre l- ■ sent advance. Nothing is known publicly l as to what is doing in the Sydney markets, > from soijie unexplained c»use, but in the j case of Victoria we have, and, to the effect > that they are up there about 3d a bushel. 'Arrivals are falling off, but there are ■ robie oats in stores now than there were »t the same period last year. We quote : Prime Sutherland* up to : 2s 3d, also bright heavy Sparrowbills ; while for ordinary,' 1 2s Id ; discoloured, Is lOd to 2a ; seed orts in dujs or Tartars up to 2$ 4id. ( . Wheat. — The arm and keen tone in the i market for this cereal still continues, and \ Anything prime offering is readily sold at j our quotations of last week — in fact, pos- / sibly a shade higher. The English and all foreign markets stirred themselves a Is a quarter during the past week, while Victqri»n markets are allfirm and advancing^. jWe quote :. Prime milling, Tuscan ancf velvet, southern grown, too, up to 4s 4d ; other sorts, 4s 2d ; fowl feed, §3 4d. Barley. — The market for this still maintains its activity, and the crop this season being short of some of our former seasons, and the drought having bad ' a very tangible effect on it, prices have ruled high from the very start of the /season, and still rule. We anticipated it many months ago, but lest it should be thought by. some that we were trying to " jn'mp" the market, we have refrained right through the season to give a quotation, or say what we thought of it. We are now, however, . free to do so. Since January our spies of barley alone have been over 70,000 bushels, and we have sold as high as 4s 3d for prime, and quote this as top figure for malting, and from 3s 4d to 3s 9d for good, while inferior is worth 3s, milling 3j, feed, according to quality, 2a 3d to 2s 6d. Chaff. — Prime, up to £3 7s 6d ; medium, £2 103 to £3. Potatoes. — Northern, up to £3 2* 6i ; sou hern, £2 15s to £3. The Otago Fruit and Produce Agency, Princes Street South, agents for the Teviot and Alexandra Fruitgrowers' Co. (Ltd.), report for the week ending May 19— Fruit.— Oranges, D.B. Tahiti, 7a 9d to to 9s'cise. Pears : Imported, 10j to 13a case ; loc >1 winter nelte, 3d to 4d per Jb ; other dessert sorts, 2d to 3d per lb ; cook- . ing, 2d per lb. Apples : Cooking, l£d to i 2£d per lb ; dessert, 2d to 3d per tb. Bananas, 2d to 2|d, per lb. Tomatoes : Hothouse, 2£d to 3id per lb. Grapes, Is to Is 2d pur lb. jf'ie -melons, 3s to 4s per cwt. Cocoanuts, 8s to 9s per sack. Peanuts, 2d to 2£d per lb. Walnuts, 5d to b'd perlb. Produce. — Butterf: Salt dairy, 7d to 8d | per lb ; fresh, 6d to 8i per lt>. Potatoes : Derwents, £3 to £3 10a per ton ; seed kidneys, £4 to £5 per ton. Onions ] (local), £7 to £8 per ton. ] ' Poultry.— We sell by auction every Friday morning. Pric-s last week were : Hens, 2s 6d to 3s Id per pair ; roosters, 2a 6d to 3s 6d per pair ; ducks, 3s 3d to 4s per pair ; geese, da per pair. We receive consignments of all kinds of fruit, farm or dairy produce for sale on commission. Returns weekly. i