1909.] The Live and Dead Meat Trade. 



965 



Perth. At the last Islington market there was again a good muster of 

 cattle of fine quality, but it was noticeable that amongst the 1,210 on 

 offer there was an increased proportion of animals of inferior finish. 

 Trade was slow, and some concession on the part of sellers was found to 

 be necessary to effect a clearance. Scots made yd. to y\d. per lb., 

 Devons up to y\d., and Shorthorns from 6|d. to y\d. A few second 

 quality Herefords were sold at 6fd., and Shorthorns weighed after sale 

 were found to have realised from 355. 2d. to 38s. md. per live cwt. One 

 lot of twelve Shorthorns was sold to weigh at 365. per live cwt. The 

 latest reports to hand from country markets show a tendency to weak- 

 ness. At Leicester, on the 24th, trade was dragging at easier rates, the 

 highest price of Shorthorns at that market being yd. per lb. 



Fat Sheep. — The depression in the value of sheep and mutton is the 

 dark spot in the whole position of agriculture, and all expectations 

 of its early removal have, so far, been falsified. It is now seen that 

 it was not the large supplies of Dutch carcases which kept down prices, 

 as was so generally supposed, nor the abnormal consignments of Scotch 

 mutton which followed. Both these influences have passed, and still 

 there is no sign of immediate recovery. As compared with last year, 

 the prices now ruling are estimated to be from 105. to 155. per head 

 lower, and some instances have been given where sheep, purchased in 

 the autumn, have realised several shillings each less than cost, besides 

 the whole expense of their winter keep. 



There were 7,050 sheep penned at Islington on the 1st, and all 

 but a very small proportion were of excellent quality. The supply was 

 composed almost entirely of tegs, classed as " Downs " of the Oxford- 

 shire, Hampshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk breeds, and weighing from 

 70 to 80 lb. dead weight. The demand, however, was painfully slow, 

 and the market could not be nearly cleared. A few pens of very small 

 choice tegs may have fetched y^d. per lb., but y\d. was quite the top 

 price for 70 lb. sheep, and 6fi. for those weighing 80 lb. Good half- 

 breds were sold by the hundred at 6%d. per lb., while the best fat 

 ewes sold at ^d. Even Cheviots did not exceed y\d., which was fully 

 2d. per lb. less than they were worth a year ago. Things were 

 certainly no better in the country, for no less than sixteen markets 

 reported a downward tendency, more or less pronounced. Basing- 

 stoke declined %d. per lb., Bristol id., Dorchester Id., Peter- 

 borough Id., and Salford id. The highest price of first quality Downs 

 was S^d. at Dorchester and Derby, and the lowest yd. at Hereford and 

 Ipswich. There was rather more disposition to buy shown at Islington 

 on the 8th, and, there being a decrease in numbers of 2,000, the market 

 was about cleared. Still prices were no higher, except for Cheviots, 

 which advanced \d. per lb. At nearly all markets a similar state 

 of things prevailed in the week ^following, nominal values remaining 

 generally unchanged. Shrewsbury and Wellington advanced \d. per lb. 

 and Wolverhampton id., but Ipswich declined \d., and Derby and 

 Leicester id. per lb. The top price quoted that week for best Downs 

 was Sd., except at Dorchester, where it was Sid. Chichester, Derby, 

 Salford, and Wolverhampton were all quoted up to Sd., but yld. was 

 the more general, while the lowest was yd. at Hereford and Ipswich. 



On the 15th the third week opened with a decidedly more cheerful 

 market at Islington, and it was hoped that the turning point was 

 reached. The 5,850 sheep on offer were readily cleared at id. per lb. 



