MARKET REPORTS.

Office of The Prairie Farmer, Chicago. Jan. 2, 1884.

FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.

The extremely cold weather of the past week interfered with business very generally. In financial circles, as in others, the arctic wave made matters rather quiet. Early in the present week, however, business at the banks was active. The arrival of delayed mail trains added to the volume of business; but while there was much activity, the monetary situation remained about the same as usual.

In the loan market quotations were 6@7 per cent.

Eastern exchange sold at 70@75c per $1,000 premium.

Government securities are as follows:

4's coupons, 1907Q. Apr.123¼

4's reg., 1907Q. Apr.123¼

4½'s coupon, 1891Q. Mar.114¹/₈

4½'s registered, 1891Q. Mar.114¹/₈

3's registeredQ. Mar.100

GRAIN AND PROVISIONS.

The leading produce markets have been irregular for several days past, and the tendency, in the main, was downward. Yesterday wheat was moderately active, but the market was depressed at the close. There was a drop, also, in corn, oats, mess pork, and lard.

Flour was quiet at about the following rates.

Choice to favorite white winters$5 25 @ 5 50

Fair to good brands of white winters4 75 @ 5 00

Good to choice red winters5 00 @ 5 50

Prime to choice springs4 75 @ 5 00

Good to choice export stock, in sacks, extras4 25 @ 4 50

Good to choice export stock, double extras4 50 @ 4 65

Fair to good Minnesota springs4 50 @ 4 75

Choice to fancy Minnesota springs5 25 @ 5 75

Patent springs6 00 @ 6 50

Low grades2 25 @ 3 50

Wheat.—Red winter, No. 2 96 @ 98c; car lots of spring, No. 2, sold at 93¾ @ 95c; No. 3, do. 77½ @ 81c.

Corn.—Moderately active. Car lots No. 2, 57³/₈ @ 57⁵/₈c; rejected, 46½; new mixed, 48 @ 48¼c.

Oats.—No. 2 in store, closed 33½ @ 33⁵/₈.

Rye.—May, in store 58 @ 58½.

Barley.—No. 2, 62 @ 63c; No. 3, 44c.

Flax.—Closed at $1 41.

Timothy.—$1 25 per bushel. Little doing.

Clover.—Quiet at $5 90 @ 6 15 for prime.

Provisions.—Mess pork, February, $14 45 @ 14 47½ per bbl; May, $15 @ 15 05. Green hams, 8³/₈c, per lb. Short ribs, $7 42½ per cwt.

Lard.—January, $8 75; February, $8 85.

Lumber.

Lumber unchanged. Quotations for green are as follows:

Short dimension, per M$9 50 @ 10 00

Long dimension, per M10 00 @ 11 50

Boards and strips, No. 211 00 @ 13 00

Boards and strips, medium13 00 @ 16 00

Boards and strips, No. 1 choice16 00 @ 20 00

Shingles, standard2 10 @ 2 20

Shingles, choice2 25 @ 2 30

Shingles, extra2 40 @ 2 60

Lath1 65 @ 1 70

COUNTRY PRODUCE.

Note.—The quotations for the articles named in the following list are generally for commission lots of goods and from first hands. While our prices are based as near as may be on the landing or wholesale rates, allowance must be made for selections and the sorting up for store distribution.

Beans.—Hand picked mediums $2 00 @ 2 10. Hand picked navies, $2 15 @ 2 20.

Butter.—Dull and without change. Choice to extra creamery, 32 @ 35c per lb.; fair to good do. 26 @ 30c; fair to choice dairy, 25 @ 30c; common to choice packing stock fresh and sweet, 20 @ 25c; ladle packed 10 @ 13c; fresh made, streaked butter, 9 @ 11c.

Bran.—Quoted at $11 87½ @ 13 50 per ton; extra choice $13.

Broom-corn.—Good to choice hurl 6½ @ 7½c per lb; green self-working 5 @ 6c; red-tipped and pale do. 4 @ 5c; inside and covers 3 @ 4c; common short corn 2½ @ 3½c; crooked, and damaged, 2 @ 4c, according to quality.

Cheese.—Choice full-cream cheddars 12½ @ 13c per lb; medium quality do. 9 @ 10c; good to prime full cream flats 13 @ 13¾c; skimmed cheddars 9 @ 10c; good skimmed flats 6 @ 7c; hard-skimmed and common stock 3 @ 4c.

Eggs.—In a small way the best brands are quotable at 25 @ 26c per dozen; 20 @ 23c for good ice house stock; 18 @ 19c per pickled.

Hay.—No. 1 timothy $10 @ 10 50 per ton; No. 2 do. $8 @ 9; mixed do. $7 @ 8; upland prairie $8 00 @ 10 75; No. 1 prairie $6 @ 7; No. 2 do. $4 50 @ 5 50. Small bales sell at 25 @ 50c per ton more than large bales.

Hides and Pelts.—Green-cured light hides 8c per lb; do. heavy cows 8c; No. 2 damaged green-salted hides 6c; green-salted calf 12 @ 12½ cents; green-salted bull 6 c; dry-salted hides 11 cents; No. 2 two-thirds price; No. 1 dry flint 14 @ 14½c. Sheep pelts salable at 28 @ 32c for the estimated amount of wash wool on each pelt. All branded and scratched hides are discounted 15 per cent from the price of No. 1.

Hops.—Prime to choice New York State hops 25 @ 26c per lb; Pacific coast of 23 @ 26c; fair to good Wisconsin 15 @ 20c.

Poultry.—Prices for good to choice dry picked and unfrozen lots are: Turkeys 14 @ 15c per lb; chickens 10 @ 11c; ducks 10 @ 12c; geese 9 @ 11c. Thin, undesirable, and frozen stock 2 @ 3c per lb less than these figures; live offerings nominal.

Potatoes.—Good to choice 35 @ 40c per bu. on track; common to fair 25 @ 30c. Illinois sweet potatoes range at $3 @ 3 50 per bbl for yellow. Baltimore stock at $2 25 @ 2 75, and Jerseys at $5. Red are dull and nominal.

Tallow and grease.—No. 1 country tallow 7@7¼c per lb; No. 2 do. 6¼ @ 6½ c. Prime white grease 6 @ 6½ c; yellow 5¼ @ 5¾c: brown 4½@5.

Vegetables.—Cabbage, $8 @ 12 per 100; celery, 35 @ 40c per doz bunches; onions, $1 00 @ 1 25 $ bbl for yellow, and $1 for red; turnips, $1 35@ 1 50 per bbl for rutabagas, and $1 00 for white flat.

Wool.—from store range as follows for bright wools from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Eastern Iowa—dark Western lots generally ranging at 1 @ 2c per lb. less.

Coarse and dingy tub25 @ 30

Good medium tub31 @ 34

Unwashed bucks' fleeces14 @ 15

Fine unwashed heavy fleeces18 @ 22

Fine light unwashed heavy fleeces22 @ 23

Coarse unwashed fleeces21 @ 22

Low medium unwashed fleeces24 @ 25

Fine medium unwashed fleeces26 @ 27

Fine washed fleeces32 @ 33

Coarse washed fleeces26 @ 28

Low medium washed fleeces30 @ 32

Fine medium washed fleeces34 @ 35

Colorado and Territory wools range as follows:

Lowest grades14 @ 16

Low medium18 @ 22

Medium22 @ 26

Fine16 @ 24

Wools from New Mexico:

Lowest grades14 @ 16

Part improved16 @ 17

Best improved19 @ 23

Burry from 2c to 10c off: black 2c to 5c off.

LIVE STOCK MARKETS.

The total receipts and shipments for last week were as follows:

Received.Shipped.

Cattle25,59413,722

Calves353166

Hogs45,37631,864

Sheep14,2068,903

The live stock receipts are increasing, and show a large gain over last week.

Cattle.—The receipts for Sunday and Monday were rather large, being estimated at 6,800 head of cattle, as against 3,700 received in the corresponding time last week. Shipping grades of cattle were active and firm yesterday at $5 @ 6 67½, exporters taking a fair number. Common lots were lower, with sales to dressed-beef buyers as low as $4 25. A good share of the day's trading was done at $5 70 @ 6 60. Quotations are as follows:

Fancy fat cattle$ 6 75 @ 7 00

Choice to prime steers6 05 @ 6 70

Fair to good shipping steers5 55 @ 6 00

Common to medium steers4 25 @ 5 50

Butcher's steers4 50 @ 5 00

Cows and bulls, common to good3 00 @ 4 25

Inferior cows and bulls2 00 @ 2 95

Stockers3 40 @ 4 40

Feeders4 25 @ 4 75

Milch cows, per head25 00 @55 00

Veal calves, per 100lbs4 00 @ 7 25

Hogs.—The receipts Sunday and Monday were estimated at 18,000 hogs, against only 6,700 received in the corresponding time last week. Although the receipts have been increasing during the last few days, supplies are still remarkably small for the first half of January. The great bulk of the crop has undoubtedly been marketed, but there are known to be a very good number still unmarketed, and it is believed that farmers are unwilling to ship freely to this market while packers are so largely inactive, fearing a decline in prices. Shippers have been taking most of the hogs lately. Butchers took in the neighborhood of 1,900 hogs, leaving a few thousand still unsold. Sales were made of heavy at $5 10 @ 6 25; light at $5 10 @ 5 75, and skips and culls at $3 50 @ 5.

Note.—All sales of hogs are made subject to a shrinkage of 40 lbs for piggy sows and 80 lbs for stags. Dead hogs sell for 1½c per lb for weights of 200 and over and for weights of less than 100lbs.

Sheep.—The market opened with a good supply, the receipts for Sunday and Monday being estimated at 2,500 head, as against 1,968 received in the same time last week. There was an active local and shipping demand for all desirable offerings, and prices ruled firm at the recent advance, sales being made of fair to choice at $3 65 @ 5 60.

COMMISSION MERCHANTS.

J.H. WHITE & CO., PRODUCE COMMISSION

106 S. Water St., Chicago.

Refers to this paper.

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