166 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



we have had a dragging trade at gradually declining rates, \ 

 and our quotations to-day are £10 os. for barrels; £9 1.5s. 

 bags; £8 r2s. 6d. Westerns; and square Marseilles, £8 

 . f. i. The stock in warehouse amounts to about "2 oilOtons. 



Fish Oils. — The business in this article has been very 

 limited during the year. Sperm Oil was £68 in January, 

 rose to £87 in April, continued steady at about this price un- 

 til lately, lint is now quoled £22. I'ale Seal has fluctuated 

 between £35 and £40. Southern Oil from £42, declined 

 to £31, rose again to £39 in August, and after touch ns £32 

 early last month, is now £36. Cod Oil opened at £30, had 

 advanced to £35 lOs. by Midsummer, and h^s since gradually 

 fallen to about £31. 



Rapeseed and other Oil Seeds. — The imports have 

 amounted to 200,000 qrs., and the re-export to 100,000 qra. 

 In dock aud warehouse there are about 45,000 qts. of Rape, 

 and 20,000 qrs. of other oil seeds ; aud n float, nearly 60,000 

 qrs. The qualities have varied s >, it is impossible accurately 

 to follow tlie course of prices ; and we must content ourselves, 

 therefore, with saying they have ranged from 6s. for 

 heated Black Sea See.', up to TOs. (or finest Bombay. Poppy 

 Seed is 52s., Niger SSs., Teel, Sursee, Giugclly, and Sessaiue 

 533. to 59s. according to quality. 



Rape Oil. — The consumption continues to increase, and a 

 greater proportion of English-made oil has been used than 

 formerly. The absence of speculation the pist year has kept 



prices uncommonly steady; Eugliah refined Oil ranging from 

 408. to 473., and foreign "Js. per cwt. higher. Brown Oil has 

 borne a relative value of about Ss. 6d. less than refined. Our 

 lowest quotations were in April: highest at the end of July ; 

 and the article is steady to-day at 45s. for English. 



Rape Cakks. — We may re-write our last gear's paragraph 

 on this article, namtly, that " they have been in varying de- 

 mand throughout the year, at about £5 lOs. per ton for English, 

 aud £6 10s. for best foreign makes." 



Tallow possesses but little interest in a ciicular devoted 

 chiefly to Linseed and its product; but although there is little 

 analogy between Tallow aud Linseed Oil in this country, it is 

 otherwise abroad, and the value of it consequently must exer- 

 cise cousiderable influence upon the exportation of the latter 

 article ; we therefore continue to publish our resuojc (,f the 

 prices current during the year. 53s. was the price quoted iu 

 our last, next 543. 9d., and in February 52s. In March a>;aiii, 

 54s. 9d. to 563.; and in April it was nearly as dear; May, 

 543. to 539. ; June, 533. 6d. to 523 ; July, SOs. to 48s ; and 

 August, 493. ; September, about 503. ; and the flucfuiitions 

 since are so trivial they are scarcely worth recording. Tn-iiay's 

 value is 51-. Tiiroiighoiit the year the trade has maiktd no 

 features of any interest, and it has partaken of the dulness 

 common to almost every article of commerce which has cha- 

 racterised the business of the year 1858. 



London, Jan. 1. Edwards, Eastty & Co 



TRADE OF THE PORT OF HULL. 



REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1858. 



From the influeace of the severe '• panic" both in Europe 

 and America at the close of 1857, the operations of the manu- 

 facturing and commercial classes of this country during the 

 past year have been characterized by so complete au absence of 

 speculative euterprize, as to leave a depressing effect on busi- 

 ness generally ; nevertheless, sound and healthy action has 

 existed for some time iu the manufacturing districts, and with 

 an easy money market, and the extended prospects opening 

 with the new year, a more active state of things may be (airly 

 anticipated. The trade of this port during the past year has 

 not continued to show that advance which under other circum- 

 stances was to have been anticipated. The tonnage entering 

 the port was last year 1,080,200 tons, against 1,083,632 tons 

 in 1857, showing a trifling difl'erence of 3,432 tons, whilst the 

 steam tonnage exhibits a slight increase, being respectively 

 45,998 ton?, against 45,930 tons. The tonnage of vessels re- 

 ported inwards on foreign voyages was 743,751 tons, against 

 737,331 being au increase over 1857 of 6,420 tons. 



Wheat— The imports of this article have been closely 

 approximating to last year, tlie decrease being about 25,000 

 qrs. as compared with 1857. In taking a retrospective 

 view of the wheat trade since our last annual circular, we 

 must notice that the present year has been entirely devoid 

 of those serious fluctuations to which it is so often sub- 

 jected, a slow and gradual decline being, with one or two 

 exceptions, its chii'f characteristic throughout tlie year; a 

 bountiful Providence, for the last two iii-gatlierings of the 

 crops, appears to have furnished the world at large with 

 abundance, and peace and plenty happily prevail. The 

 high price of all cereals, but more especially wheat, during 

 the late war, caused increased exertions— not only on the 

 part of our own agriculturists, but also in most of the corn- 

 produciniT districts in Europe as well as America — to stinui- 

 late production to the utmost ; and the improvements in 

 agriculture, both at home and abroad, have made rapid pro- 

 gress within these last two or three seasons. Thus the 

 country is placed in- a better position as regards food for 

 the masses than has been the case for several years past ; 

 and another favourable seed time has laid the foundation for 

 cheering prospects for the new-born year. A monthly re- 

 view of the fluctuations in value would not only be tedious, 

 but uninteresting; suffice it to say, tliat at the commence- 

 ment of the year good red English wheat was worth 46s. to 

 48s.per o041b8., receded in February to 428. to 45s., and 

 continued gradually drooping until June, when prices were 



as low as 408. to 42s. ; in the mouth of July the animated 

 accounts received from the Baltic, the Rhenish Provinces, 

 and Germany, which countries suffered from the severe 

 drought prevailing, gave a little impetus to the trade in this 

 country, and prices advanced in July to 45s. to 48s. : but 

 the improvement was short-lived; the favourable promises 

 for our own crops, and the prospect for an early harvest, 

 caused prices again to recede until the end of August, when 

 new English wheat appeared in the market, and sold at 

 45s. to 47s., gradually declining during September, October, 

 and November, until it reached 38s. to 40s. in December. 

 (Opinions differ materially as to the results of the late har- 

 vest ; some are sanguine enough to say that it exceeds the 

 crop of 1857, while others affirm it to be nothing more than 

 an average. No doubt the dry season was suitable to the 

 heavy soils, at the same time unfavourable to the light lands ; 

 and were we to venture an opinion, there is a full average 

 crop. It is our duty merely to record facts; and we find 

 that a quarter of good wheat at 40s., its present value, and 

 Norfolk Hour at 27s. 6d per sack, is lower than has been 

 the case for the last six years. The extreme low prices of 

 English wheat has occasioned foreign to be greatly neg- 

 lected. The stocks are about the same as last year (75,000 

 qra.), the greater portion of which is of secondary quality ; 

 and we close the year with symptoms of improvement, a 

 slight advance in agricultural markets, and a more decided 

 feeling of confidence amongst the trade generally. 



Barley. — This article has again maintained its prominent 

 position amongst our imports of grain in the present year, and 

 though somewhat short of last year, the import is one of the 

 largest in tne last decade, the total being 214,363 qrs. — princi- 

 pally from Denmark, Sweden, and the Black Sea, whilst very 

 little has reached us from the German provinces bordering 

 upon the Baltic. The home crop for the last two years 

 having neither been large nor remarkable for fineness of quality, 

 tlie foreign imjiorti liave gone freely into consumption, and 

 only at the end of the year now closing, the supplies, especially 

 of grinding iinalities, have been somewhat in advance of the 

 consumption, and some accumulation iu warehouse has taken 

 place in consequence. Prices] have undergone comparatively 

 little variation, the difl'erence between the extremes being only 

 some 3s. to 43. per qr. both on malting and grinding descrip- 

 tions. The highest rates were in the beginning, ai.d the 

 lowest iu the middle of the year. Very fine malting qualities 

 of English, being extremely rare, still command good prices — 



