542 



Prices of Live Stock. 



market and market from 35s. 2d. to 36s. per cwt. on the 

 average of the year. 



Comparing the prices of 1897 and 1896 in the customary 

 form, the liveweight returns above quoted show that, with 

 only a single exception in the case of the prices of cattle of 

 inferior quality at Glasgow, prices of meat per cwt. have 

 ranged in every grade ot cattle higher in the year 1897 than 

 on the average of the preceding twelvemonth. 



It is a distinctly encouraging feature to observe the very 

 considerable increase in the number of fat cattle sold by 

 actual liveweight, that is, at an agreed on rate per cwt., the 

 total reaching 5,345, against 3,593 in 1896. These were sold 

 at seven places during the year 1897, Dundee and Edinburgh 

 supplying much the largest proportion of such sales. To 

 these transactions should be added also the sale by liveweight 

 of 796 store cattle at Edinburgh, a figure which compares 

 with 437 stores sold by live weight in 1896. The total 

 number of store cattle which were in 1897 returned as having 

 passed over the w^eighbridge, including those last mentioned, 

 reached 5,297, against 3,266. These sales were most 

 numerous at Shrewsbury. The increase may indicate an 

 improvement in another direction. The calculated price of 

 these stores ranged from 21s. per cwt. for some inferior stock 

 at Edinburgh to 35s. 4d. for prime stores at Shrewsbury. 



The customary tables are appended. 



