540 



Prices of Live Stock. 



Only one per cent, of the sheep shown in the nineteen 

 scheduled places would appear to have been weighed 

 in 1897, and the returns mainly come from three English 

 markets — London, Liverpool, and Leeds — and three Scotch 

 centres, viz., Dundee, Perth, and Aberdeen. More than 

 half of the total number of nearly 42,000 sheep returned 

 as weighed in the twelve months in Great Britain were 

 reported from the last-named city alone. The cases where 

 swine are returned as weighed alive are also very few, 

 and very little over one per cent, of the swine shown. In 

 England more, it appears, of these animals were weighed 

 than in Scotland, Newcastle and Leeds giving the largest 

 return. 



In all three descriptions of live stock there are differences, 

 which it is difficult to explain, in the extent to which the 

 market authorities or auctioneers have succeeded in dis- 

 charging the new statutory obligations imposed by the Act 

 of 1 89 1, which required them to ascertain the current prices of 

 the weighed animals. Thus in Leeds, where 1,126 head of 

 cattle and 1,800 head of sheep were reported as weighed in the 

 year, prices were given for these totals ; while at the same 

 market, out of 727 swine weighed, in no single instance has a 

 price been furnished. Again, it is remarkable and somewhat 

 disappointing to find that at the Metropolitan Cattle Market, 

 where much the largest total of cattle and of sheep in England 

 was w^eighed, prices were obtained for only 5,539 cattle out 

 of 13,690 weighed, or 40 per cent., and for only 10 sheep out. 

 of 4,557 — a result which must be regarded as far from satis- 

 factory. No difficulty of like nature appears to have been 

 encountered in 1897 at Liverpool, where the whole number 

 of animals weighed had their prices supplied by the market 

 authority. Of the Scottish returns there remains some 

 ground for complaint in this particular in those from two 

 auction marts in Edinburgh and Perth, where a difficulty, 

 not encountered elsewhere, is reported in distinguishing the 

 quality of the stock sold. 



The calculated values of the fat cattle sold in 1897 at the 

 ten places Avhence the series of comparative returns are most 

 complete, with the number of the actual transactions on 



