;i8 



Live and Dead Meat Trade in November, [dec, 



Second Week. — There was a very general and decided improvement in 

 the demand for cattle in the second week, and in a few places a rather 

 sharp rise in prices. Ipswich advanced 6d. per 14-lb. stone, and Ss. gd. was 

 again recorded. Peterborough went up $d., Derby 4^., Norwich and 

 Lincoln 3<f., Leicester alone declining 2d. But even where there was no 

 quotable advance there seemed almost everywhere more disposition to make 

 offers, and markets were cleared, even of second quality animals, with 

 greater ease. This was especially noticeable in London on the 9th, where 

 no advance was made on the best cattle, but secondary classes made 

 id. per lb. more than the previous week. It is perhaps worth recording that 

 two handsome young Shorthorn cows, which had only had one calf, fetched 

 £20 10s. each, a noticeable instance of what quality will do even with 

 London "drape" cows, seeing that £16 each was about the average for the 

 useful fat cows standing beside them. On the same day the sheep trade 

 also revived a little, but the improvement was confined to those of prime 

 quality and small weights, of which there were few in the market. Hamp- 

 shire tegs were again sold at S^d. per lb., sinking the offal, and Scotch 

 wethers 8d., this being an advance of \d. and \d. per lb. respectively. 

 Heavy sheep were comparatively slow of sale. In the country the markets 

 generally showed no improvement, the same reluctance on the part of 

 butchers to do business, which had so long prevailed, being still apparent. 

 They complained that there was no profit to be made out of sheep at present 

 prices. London and Wolverhampton recorded an advance of \d. for prime 

 Downs, but Dorchester and Shrewsbury were lower by \d. With these 

 exceptions there was no quotable change in prices worth mentioning. 



The trade for fat pigs was better in many places with a slight advance, 

 but the movement was not general. Bacon pigs were cheap in proportion 

 to the wholesale prices of dried English bacon, which is reported as scarce 

 and dear by factors. 



In the dead-meat market at Smithfield prime beef was very firm, and the 

 chief cause of the low quotation for English beef was its deficiency in quality 

 as is shown by the relatively high prices of Scotch. Short sides were in 

 demand at *]\d. per lb., and whole or ''long" sides at 6\d. for first quality. 

 More striking than this was the price realised for a few carcases of Welsh 

 Runts consigned direct from the country and thoroughly well fed. These 

 exceptionally fine sides made 6d. per lb., which was \d. more than the best 

 Deptford killed, and \d. per lb. more than the highest quotation for English 

 beef for the previous week, when the quality was only of the usual character. 

 This incident helps to explain why port-killed beef in the Central Market 

 is so often quoted somewhat higher than English. The former is the best 

 of its class, while the primest English is so seldom sent to the dead-meat 

 market. At the same time it should be observed that the quality of that 

 usually on offer is too good to be quoted as "second." 



The trade for other classes of beef showed little change, except that 

 Argentine chilled was reduced by \d. per lb., best hind quarters only fetching 

 4%d. The transactions in frozen beef were extremely small. There was 

 virtually no alteration in the value of British mutton, demand being still 

 limited, and some of the larger Dutch carcases selling as low as /\\d. 

 per lb. 



Pork and veal were a quiet trade, pork firm in price and veal being 

 quoted at jd. per lb. for second quality. It frequently happens that there is 

 no British veal at Smithfield which can be quoted as first quality. 



