, 1874-05-09

growing IN populhr ihsoTs Hooaa ncihE handled
Philadelphia and Doston aro also competing
vigorously with each other for tho
Inject TRADE WITH o111oAao.
Daltimoro, NJ an exporting pont. will probably
double itH hnnafng or inland trade within tic
nexE thu CO or four yoara.
Tho 1nn,bor trado exhibits satisfactory In
orenae. the shipments to tho interior from the
yards boing much larger than cver before during
tho las. half Of the wlntor scaaon' Il1ccH have
fully Offset to doaferH BY tho fact that tloro has
boen botter n,nrglu Of profit, becnnHe the coat
OF lumber to tlio local trade was proportion-
ate1y }eFs. There llaa atso boon moro lumber
ccpt during tho twesve months succeeding the
tlte, whom Tho demand Tas certainly an extraor-
dlhaty ono, to moot an extraordinary occasion.
It could scarcely bo expected, and 1t certainly
Is not to be hoped, that tho people OF Chicago
will over want to rebuild the city In twelve
month. The donand everywhere Ia reported to
hare boen larger. the farmers III the interior
having
nounHT VERY LrBENALLY,
being bottor able to bur, In consequence OF q
ptcuniary position, while the mild weather has
enabled Them to make improvements during q
time when they haye to Ho idfe in an ordinary
winter.
The figures in tho abovo tablcs do not giyc a
bor trado with tho intorior. A radical change
has recently beon made in the mode Of shipping
lumber. Instead Of shipping by feet, tho raii-
roads, since July last. havo carried by weight; !;
aud It has boon to tho advantage Of tloale,a to
forward nothing but dry lumber. Hence, as
rule, about 8 900 foot, and sometimes more, are
put Into q oar, while the rairoad companea re-
port tho load TO the Board OF Trade a. only 5000
foot. Consequently. one-third more should bo
added to The shi pmonts giyon above to find tho
.. REAL VOLUME OF THE LUMBER
shipped out Of Chicago during the past wiuter.
Tle trade is 1css active now, BECAUSE the farm
era are busy In tho felts.
Tho last remsrk applies also to hardware, the
tory. More goods have been sold than during
the Same period last year, aud some dealers aa-
aerted that tho volume OF business, so far
as they wele atjlo to asGertain, was
much greater than usual. The .domaud
aud is accounted for in part by the circumstance
in relation to tho wenthor referred to bofore tho
farmers being able to repair their 1ences and
outhouseB during days generally too cold for out
door operations. The doalera also Btate that
trade III more steady and much
MORE UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED
as regards time than 1t ordinarily is. qenorally
1t comes with rush. about this date, af.or
season Of two or three months Of inactivity; but
in, tho lending establishments has been
and Forwarding tlem to parties In ti,o country.
Ono reason for the continued activity is tho
lower price Of metals, especially iron. Lead and
tin have also been lower, but not go much 80,
at tho Last. Tin 1s now advancing, aud an On
larged demand ia tho result.
IN 1noN AND STEEL
the trade has boon rather light. a smaller
trade in miscellaneous articles embraced under
the head Of hardware is reported to bo about
AZ usual. The general market ia depressed, owing
to tho falling Oft In rallroad building,
and the production Of iron from tile
ore Is now small. Many furnaces and mills have
Of railroad supplies are alsu generally Inactive.
It il thought, however. that prices have now
touched bottom. and that u period Of much
greater activity must soon ensue.
ollandise iron has been worry fair tor tho time Of
the year, waich is generally quiet one.
MORE GOODS HAVE BEEN SOLD,
though In dollars aud cents the amount foots up
3 little lesa. Tho trade has, hoveyert' beou
moro satisfactory than d year ago, as then
prices wero steadily deo'inlng, diminishing
tho profit, whereas now. the market is steady,
under tho belief that prices can 80 no lowor.
BOOTS, AND snoEa, ETC,
In the Wholesale boot aud shoo trade, dealers
report an inoreaHo OF about IL per cent. The
latter part OF April exhibits = falling otf,
the business for two weeks being a little 1eas
than that for the aamo time iu tue previous
yoar; but the aggregate Of the four months is
4aTkoT, uB EtAkeQ. Au9 I6CGuL uul4 HeALQeE put8
partial embargo OIL purchasing..
The same is true Of the Wholesale clothing
trade. It has been nlo1o active titan ever be-
fore, though recently experiencing partial lull,
tia present time being just OH the dividing line
betN cen the winter aud the summer trade.
THE WHOLESALE MILL1NERS
report an increase Of from 20 to 25 per cent In
tla cash received, while the quantity Of goods
sold la probably from IS to AZ per cent greater
lhan lust year, owing to diminished prices. Thoy
a. could be expected with the great competition
now mot with in Chicago, and IRON other points.
1o drugs aud chemicals. the country trade is
much better than ever before, while the city
trade is comparatively light. The ag-
gr'gsstn Of tue = tTo tst gvss IS. tosn % whioh
there ,s no Increase, dealers seem satisfied with
the situation, ~ buyers order only for the sup
ply OF immediate wauts, and pay cash, when be-
fote they used to ask tor credit. Several coun-
,rry aoaors in towns like Peoria, Quincy, and
KGokuk, now order almobt all their goods from
hero, inatead of sending to New York for them.
This fentsne of the trado is gaining with each
succeeding year.
Dealers in
MUSIC AND JEWELnY
say thnt the city trade IL light, but that orders
from tho country are nors numerous than ever.
They state TINT the farmers are evidently put
ting their money largely into articles which Mrs.
Potpi!nr used to Gull "artic}es of bigotry aud
VIRTUE" and arc developing d fondness for mu-
sio which il unprecedented in tho history Of the
West. Pracos nre low urlor close competition.
BUILDING 1s PROGRESSING
rather slowly, and materials arc III less demand.
The trade is aad to be largoly cursalod, owing
to tue scarcity Of common brick, the stock Of
which is very light. The work on hoyernl struo-
lures already commenced has besn suspend
cd until brick can be procured at I.
reasonable rate, tho ptesont ratos being deomod
much higher than will have TO bo paid when the
new brick comes into marriott, witch will bo in
tho course Of week or two. Tho building il
principally in the residence quarter, worry few
storoa being under way In the business section.
In the important article of lime, It Is reported
that fully as much hns been sold within the past
month % In April 1873. For the four months,
rather loss lime has been sold in the aggregate,
hut there are not 30 many persons
in tho business as there weye
year ago, which makes the trade OF
individual firms now actively engaged, consider
ably larger by comparison. Prices are low. how
ever, tho competition being still sl,arp enough
to bear prices down to II very low point.
CAPITAL.