THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



465 



TEWKESBURY FAIR was very well attended. The 

 supply of cattle was about the same as usual at this time of 

 the year. Mutton, out of the wool, sold at 7d. ; and in the 

 wool at 8d. per lb. Beef sold at from 7d. to T^d. 



WAREHAM FAIR was fully attended. There was a 

 large supply of stock, but the scarcity of keep prevented 

 much of it from changing hands. 



WORCESTER FAIR.— There was a very large supply and 

 a brisk trade. Beef of good quality averaged 7d. per lb. A 

 short supply of mutton, and of middling quality ; in the wool 

 at 9d., and shorn at l^i. to 8d. per \h. Stores very dear. 

 Sheep and cows all sold ; plenty of buyers for all kinds of stock. 



IRISH. FAIRS.— Drogiieda : There was a large show of 

 store cattle, and anything approaching primeness in quality 

 met a fair demand. Good beef went to 659. per cwt., and in 

 some instances Is. more. In stores, three-year-old heifers 

 brought from £8 to £12 Ss. each; two-year-olds averaged 



£8 each ; yearlings from £3 to £5 lOs. per head. Some good 

 lots of wedders brought from 57s. Gd. to 653. eacli; hoggets 

 averaged 45s. each. The pig fair was largely supplied, and a 

 good deal of business was done. CAPrAwniTE : There was 

 a firm demand for good stock. Springers were much sought 

 for, at rates ranging from £7 to £12. There was a moderate 

 show of store sheep, which brought from SSs. to 40s. each. 

 Fat pigs rated at 48s. to SOs. per cwt., but the supply was 

 scarce, the sales being chiefly confined to stores. Bansha : 

 High prices were obtained for fat cattle and sheep, but the 

 supply of each kind was very limited. Beef realized fully 558. 

 to 603. per cwt.; store hoggets, 36s. to 423. each. Ennis : 

 The supply was larger than was expected; good beef cattle in 

 good demand. No fat sheep, but those in forward condition 

 commanded very high prices : the average for good useful in- 

 calf heifers was £13 each. There was a fair inquiry for those 

 in condition, but a large number of others left unsold. 



REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE 



DURING THE PAST MONTH. 



April has had but few of its characteristics. 

 There have, indeed, been showers and sunshine ; 

 but the temperature has been below par ; and after 

 such a prolonged season of cold, the sharp night 

 frosts and cutting winds that have prevailed have 

 been very disappointing. But little progress has 

 been made in the growth of the spring wheat, even 

 in the best cultivated and most eligible soils, and 

 as the long prevalence of low prices had seriously 

 discouraged the cultivation of this grain, we cannot 

 look for more than an average crop under the most 

 favourable circumstances; while backwardness and 

 many failures in the light lands and wet clays 

 scarcely permit this moderate expectation. It is 

 true there is yet time for a favourable change ; but 

 the failures of last season have brought out the 

 unwelcome fact, that stocks are universally short 

 in Europe, and this country is the undoubted ex- 

 ception that old stores still remain good. The crop 

 last year in Ireland has turned out so deficient, 

 that several country markets have been fairly with- 

 out supplies, and this being often repeated, has 

 opened the eyes of all interested as to the real 

 state of things, and at last brought about an in- 

 crease in the value of wheat of 2s. to 3s. per qr. 

 in the course of the month throughout the United 

 Kingdom. It has been doubted by some whether 

 the advance will be maintained ; but when it is 

 considered that the price of wheat is yet moderate, 

 and that not only Ireland, but Portugal, Spain, and 

 Italy, all had seriously deficient harvests, while 

 France, Belgium, and Holland were also below an 

 average, the probability seems rather in favour of 

 a further rise than otherwise. The imports into 

 London during the last quarter show a decrease as 

 compared with 1859, of 84,843 qrs. wheat, 31,784 

 sacks 30,657 brls. flour. The state, too, of the 

 wheat trade had been so discouraging to importers, 

 that the stock of really good wheat in London was 

 brought down to between 40,000 to 50,000 qrs. ; 

 and though inferior qualities might reach to 

 150,000 qrs. more, what is this to a population of 

 nearly 3,000,000 souls, but a supply for three or 

 four weeks ? Oiu* anticipations of last month have 

 therefore been fully realized, and we now look 



rather for a further advance than a return to the low 

 prices lately ruling, there being no port in the world, 

 either foreigner English, overburdened. Nor has 

 wheat alone been influenced by the changed aspect 

 of aflJairs. Spring corn has likewise risen in value 

 from the prevalence of ungenial weather, very few 

 of the meadows yet showing any quantity of grass, 

 and, as a consequence, stock has seriously suffered, 

 not only in the northern parts of the island from 

 the severity of the season, but by the failure of 

 fodder in the midland and southern counties ; so 

 that, all things considered, low prices, either in 

 breads tuffs or meat, seem distant. The following 

 quotations from foreign ports will show the value 

 of wheat abroad, as well as the probability of im- 

 ports. 



The French markets, though improving slowly 

 before the rise in England, have been chiefly 

 stimulated by the change in this country. The 

 best wheat at Paris was worth 56s. per qr. At 

 Nantes 41s. per sack of 280 lbs. had been paid 

 for flour, and 43s, was subsequently demanded. 

 At Louvain 62 to 63 lbs. per bushel wheat had sold 

 at 54s. : at Ghent as much as 56s. per qr. was paid. 

 62 lbs. wheat at Groningen brought 528. 6d. 

 per qr. The quotation at Cologne for fine wheat 

 was 53s. per qr. Sales at Hamburg had been 

 made of fine red for England at 53s. to 54s. per 

 qr., freight included. High-mixed at Danzig had 

 been sold, freight included, at 58s. per qr. Fine 

 wheat at Konigsburg was worth 52s. per qr. At 

 Riga 48s. per qr. was demanded for good red 

 quality. Good soft wheat at Odessa was sold at 

 43s. to 45s. per qr. Native wheat at Naples sold 

 at 53s. per qr. Berdianski at Genoa was worth 

 52s. per qr. Prices in Spain continued very irre- 

 gular, and since the late rains were more moderate. 

 Wheat at Barcelona had brought 74s. per qr., and 

 flour 57s. per sack of 280 lbs., while at Santander 

 the price for first quality flour was only 4 Is. per 

 sack of 280 lbs. The demand for Naples in Algeria 

 had sent prices up to 55s. per qr. for hard wheat. 

 Notwithstanding the opening of the ports in 

 America, supplies, as yet, at New York were so 

 moderate that prices were rather improved than 



