5 H Live and Dead Meat Trade in August, [sept., 



month there was a marked scarcity of prime animals, and these made very 

 high prices in Scotland. At Edinburgh 455. 3d. per live cwt. was re- 

 corded, 44s. 6d. at Perth, and 445. 3d. at Glasgow. The month ended 

 with a clearly defined improvement in the demand at Islington on the 

 30th, when the market was cleared early at a general advance of ^d. 

 per lb. 



Veal Calves. — There was no change in the first week's average 

 value of fat calves from that of the last in July, the mean quotations 

 of 24 British markets being 7fd. for first and yd. for second quality. 

 The highest quotation was 8fd., and that was only touched at Ruthin. 

 There was an advance of fd. per lb. in the following week for first 

 quality, which was lost during the third week. Prices subsequently 

 remained firm to the end of the month. 



Fat Sheep. — At Islington on the 2nd there were just under 5,000 

 sheep and lambs at market, and these were more than sufficient for 

 Bank Holiday. Although business was slow, quotations showed that 

 the advance of Id. per lb., which had been established the week before, 

 was about maintained. This was not the case everywhere, for the 

 improvement then made in several markets was lost. Others, however, 

 were better, and the average price of Downs, both of first and second 

 quality, was about the same as the previous week, neither was there 

 any material change in the quotations for Longwools. Trade was 

 decidedly better at Leeds, Leicester, and Norwich, and slightly so at 

 Derby. The next week there was a fall in the average of 18 markets 

 amounting to about fd. for first and second quality Downs, Longwools 

 showing about a similar decline. The reports of the trade all over 

 Great Britain were very unfavourable, no market being quoted higher 

 and 25 being described as worse. It would be safe to say that the 

 heat was answerable for the chief part of this added depression. The 

 highest markets were Chichester, Dorchester, and Newcastle, but even 

 at those Sd. per lb. was not exceeded for prime Downs. Shrewsbury 

 and Wakefield were the lowest at 6f d. Fat ewes and heavy longwoolled 

 wethers, such as the two-year-old sheep of the Romney Marsh breed, a 

 large number of which were on offer in London, were extremely un- 

 saleable, ewes being only worth ^\d. per lb. The next week there 

 was a falling-off in the supplies of fat sheep in our six largest markets 

 of over 5,000 head compared with the second week, which was equal to 

 about 8 per cent., but there was no improvement in values. From this 

 time to the end of the month the trade remained very quiet and dull, 

 with extremely little change in values. Downs left off with an average 

 of y±d. per lb. for prime small sheep of about 64 lb. in weight and 

 6§d. for second quality, i.e., wethers of 80 to 88 lb. There was a frac- 

 tional decline in prime Longwools, which averaged about 6fd. and 

 6d. per lb. for first and second quality respectively. At the last August 

 market at Islington there were 6,110 sheep and lambs on offer. The 

 values on that day were extremely difficult to estimate owing to the 

 very wide variations of breed, size, and quality, added to which, whole 

 classes being almost devoid of offers, quotations were often merely 

 nominal. A large number were left unsold, and the reported reduction 

 of Id. per lb. all round was really a doubtful description of actual 

 transactions. 



Fat Lambs. — These met with a somewhat variable trade at the 



