390 



Market Prices. 



[august, 



tions, these reviews are based) stated that: "Trade has been good, and 

 prices have again reached a high level, especially in Scotland, where as 

 much as 43^. gd. per live cwt. was realized for prime Black Polled bullocks, 

 while inferior qualities also show an advance in price." 



The paucity of the sheep supply was also very marked, this being 

 attributed to the fact that so many sheep were being dipped. The 3,790 

 on offer sold much better than of late. The best light-weight Downs 

 advanced \d. per lb., that is, from y\d. to S^d., bringing the London 

 quotation for this class of sheep up to the level of those country markets 

 which had recently been considerably higher. Scotch Cross-breds made 

 &%d., and English Cross-breds S^d. for handy-sized sheep. Heavy Long- 

 wools again met with scarcely any demand, and Kents were only worth yd. 

 per lb. for 80 to 90 lb. wethers. Lambs shared in the advance to the extent 

 of \d. per lb., the top price being g\d. The trade in the country markets was 

 very firm, and where there was any change in values for sheep it was 

 generally in sellers' favour. The dearest markets of the week for sheep were 

 London, Dorchester, Derby, Leicester, Peterborough, and Newcastle, at all 

 of which places the price of first quality Downs was uniformly Z\d. per lb. 



In the London dead-meat market the supply of beef was again very 

 small, and in spite of an equally small demand, prices advanced slightly. 

 There were some very fine sides from the Norfolk marshes, but only a small 

 number from Scotland. The price of the best Deptford was, however, 

 '\d* higher than English first quality. Scotch sides sold at yd. per lb., 

 English 6^d., and Deptford-killed 6§<f. American chilled hind-quarters 

 advanced to 6%d., the best New Zealand frozen fetching 4^. and 3d. for 

 hind and fore quarters. All fresh mutton was dearer on the week. Scotch 

 and English by %d., and Dutch by \d. per lb. Lamb, however, was very 

 slow, and the very choicest small Scotch being only worth g\d. per lb. 

 There was no change worth recording in frozen mutton and lamb, but veal, 

 both English and Dutch, sold very slowly, the latter declining \d. per lb. 

 British veal was much dearer in Manchester and Liverpool than in London, 

 the prices for first quality being 6oj\ Sd. per cwt. in London, 65^. i\d. in 

 Manchester and Leeds, and 67^. 8d. in Liverpool. It should be noted that 

 the trade in British veal in London is very small, the bulk of the supply 

 coming from Holland. The very best small Dutch calves often fetch more 

 than the English, but there is a very wide range in the quality of the former 

 and the average price of all qualities would be less than that of English. 



Fourth Week. — The last London Cattle Market fell on the 27th, and 

 supplies were considerably larger, there being an increase of 250 head of 

 cattle and 1,820 sheep over the previous week. Prices were, however, well 

 maintained at last quotations, except that fat cows sold at \d. per lb. cheaper. 

 The general quality showed some falling-off, there being a larger proportion 

 of unfinished cattle. The sheep trade was firm, though the character of 

 those on offer was very various. The quotation for Longwools was higher 

 on account of the arrival of a number of Irish of more handy weights than 

 the Kents. The lamb trade was fair at g\d. to gd. per lb. During the 

 last days of the month, beef declined somewhat at Smithfield dead-meat 

 market, except for port-killed, which was scarce and dearer, Deptford-killed 

 fetching 6\d. for best States, and $\d. for Canadian " Ranchers," while the 

 best English realised 6$d. and Scotch, 6%d. per lb. There was a fuller 

 supply of chilled American, which declined to 4s. 2d. for hindquarters. 

 Mutton was firm all round, but fresh lamb declined fully \d. per lb. and veal- 

 remained unchanged at 6\d. per lb. 



