428 The Live and Dead Meat Trade in July, [aug., 



fell slightly. The extreme quotation for Downs was 8d. } and this was 

 only reached at Chichester, Newcastle, and Salford. Although some 

 markets held in the week ending July 22nd were described as the 

 worst of the season, yet more hopeful signs of some recovery were not 

 wanting. Trade was decidedly better at Hull, Newcastle, Peterborough, 

 and Wakefield, all of which are important markets, and on the whole, 

 the price of Downs averaged a fraction more for first and second 

 qualities, Longwools also exhibiting a similar advance. The last market 

 at ' Islington was considerably more cheerful, and, notwithstanding a 

 much larger supply, buyers purchased so much more freely that prices 

 had to be quoted \d. per lb. higher all round except for ewes, which 

 were almost unsaleable. Looking back to the corresponding market 

 last year at Islington, we find that Downs made up to 8£cL, Longwools 

 7^d. y Cross-breds 8|d., Scotch Half-breds g\d., and Cheviots gd. per lb. 



Fat Lambs. — Lambs have been freely marketed all the month, and 

 values have been in sympathy with those of mutton. In the first week 

 the average of 40 markets was gd. per lb. for prime, S^d. for second, 

 and 7fd. for third quality. Thus it will be seen that big forward 

 lambs were making no more than small mutton, and many were sold 

 as such. The next week the average price declined nearly \d. per lb., 

 and the top price at Islington was 8%d. In the third week there was 

 a further reduction of about \d. for first quality, with no sign of im- 

 provement in the last days of the month. 



Fat Pigs. — The supplies of fat pigs have not been large, even for 

 the time of year, and while, on the one hand, dried bacon was fetching 

 a high price, on the other feeding stuffs have been too dear to induce 

 farmers to fatten more extensively. It is not surprising, therefore, that 

 where pigs were on offer they should find ready purchasers at full 

 prices. Even at these, however, it is maintained that there is very 

 little profit attached to feeding them. Bacon pigs, at the beginning of 

 the month, averaged 75. 3d. per stone in Great Britain for prime small, 

 and 6s. yd. for heavier, pigs. These prices were increased later in the 

 month by about id. per stone. 



Carcass Beef. — The values of all home-killed beef were remarkably 

 steady, but the extreme uncertainty of the Argentine trade was again 

 exemplified. In the first week Scotch long sides were fetching 6fd. 

 to 6fd. per lb. against 5§d. to 6\d. for English, and 6\d. to 6\d. for 

 port-killed. It must be understood that the English beef in the Central 

 market which is here quoted is not of the primest quality, while the 

 port-killed is the best of its class. The supplies of the latter were also 

 short, and none was procurable at Smithfield under 6\d. per lb. Chilled 

 American started at 6d. to 6|d. per lb. for hind quarters, and remained 

 very steady at about those figures during the whole of the month, 

 while Argentine began at 5§d. to 5fd., and afterwards declined to 3fd. 

 to a^d. per lb. Frozen also began at the high values of /^\d. to /\\d. 

 for hind quarters, and 2f<2. to 3d. for fores, but declined steadily till, 

 at the end of the month, it stood at 3§d. to 3fd. for hind, and 2\d. to 

 2f<3. for fore quarters. In the second week Scotch and English de- 

 clined Id. per lb., and port-killed \d., the latter being quoted Id. dearer 

 than English, and on the 21st the difference was \d., but at the end 

 of the month both were quoted at 6d. per lb. for first quality, while 



