, 1880-01-01
PROVISIONS.

PROVISIONS.
THE M4tnKEr FOR HOO rnonUCTs
has been quite irregular, much more so than |
usual, Though the trlde now spreads over
the wotc year, with no intcrmission Oil nc |
count of hot weather.
The market WIS rather tame III January,
but II little more life wns infused Into It tho |
next two months. though our stocks were |
large, every available foot
Of s.oragr-rooln ltelns full nbout tho close of
winter. Hogs were plentiful md cheap, and
the packers operated freely III full faith that
tie product would |,a wnistetl. But the de-
mand WIS not equal to the supply, and tho
spring production WIS surnew,nt fcssened fil
consequence. The people who believed that
n biz decline must occur In tho summer were
numerous enough 10 develop heavy short
interest, n1Ni they oversoll themselves OH
pork. as consequence, they gut squeezed
n little III April. A fnlr speculative Inquiry
followed, mostly on Southern account, and
the market WIS worry steady during Aay nild
June, with no pressure either WHY. Tho
first rcnI excitement Ut the year occurred
July 10, when the country was startled by
tho report that
TIE YEL1.ow-FEvElt
Ind broken out in Memphis. Coming at such
M rarly tlate, 1t wns f,.aretl that the South
would be swept MS with the bosom OF dcstsuc-
tIon before tho frost season, aid there was u
general pa,lic In provisions, rs most of the
pork and Il great deal Of tho meats hero wrro
being carried for tic Southern trade. Dur
ing tho 10tl. and 11th the market broke about
S1.3711 on pork, 47j11c oil lard, 371Sc OIL slloul-
ders, and nearly SIC on short ribs,-thc latter
selling down to S3.05 for August, equivalent
to ss.p,1< spot. Tile collapse broke nearly
all the Southern people who wero connected
with It, caused some severe suspensions here,
owing to inability to communicate with some
principals In tine, nlld tho llI1wllliagncss Of
others Ia forward money nmia so much ILL.,
certainty with regard to tho future. a good
many local operators lost heavily BY being
forced 10 cover OIL tho break, and consider
nb1u sums Of money are yet owed here Oh
those deals, some OF which will probably be
owing ut Doornsluy. Nlnny complaints
wcro heard about the punIc fniti, dis
ptaycd by Southern men, some Of whom
,yere nluntlautIy nbie TO nav, but would not,
Tho market continued tame, and tended
f1ownwnrls for seyernl weeks afterwards,
chiefly BECAUSE of fears That the fever would
sprcad. Pork dcclInctl to s7.77h III August,
and this Invited Investment BY few OF the
fpr-stgl,te.l ones. by tho tilno the market
had advanced little above $500 they Ind 1t
under control. nI,tl tho result was u corner In
October, tue Top settling price oil which was
about si:IO0, though tllo market wns quoted
as high ns st3,50. Tho artic1o known rs
"short ribs" was taken hold Ut about tho
snu,o time, but the resulting squeeze culml-
,,uted earlier the settling price being &c per
lib o,, tho Scptcmbcr deal. There was a,,-
ether pressure I'll October, but 1t was not n
.4so,,cczen In tho acccptetl sonse of tho
worJ. ,rhnrp WINS u genuine scarcity of short
r,hs, which caught the short operators ut
about s575M5S0, This wns caused by O
,n,,ri, moro
VIGOROUS SOUTHERN DEMAND
thnn Ind men lacked for. In fact. tho Soutl,
neyrr took an much ns last yrar. Tho yollow
fcvcr ,,Itl not snreml h,yond tle outskirts OF
Nrmnhis. nftvr ali. The Soutt. Us a whole
WIS 1,rospcrous, with biz crops Of sugar and
rice. and a fair yfold Of cotton, md thoy took
m,r nork md ncatg twlco MS freely rs III 1878.
and continued to do 30 into ti,e cold weather,
~ tho closo Of October tl,a stocks Of short
rii,s ind tnen exhausted, not only hero, but
In nhout every other Western city, Tho .lc-
,nn,d had mrttuf nwav tba bia stocks Of
snrnr nnd nhsnri,cd n c,trrent nrotluction
' nnor,v oo,,o, tn That af Tho urevlo,,s anmmsr.
M cnnrsn Errono bah also hccn tnkluc fu.o.
~. Int tf,e Ur,.at incrense, In tho consnnntton
,vas Jnn,nvt1,
"sTn M,' "o' ".'.s'..." >., ,,,,.,,,o..
1Ne plesSa!s ~ poth A.o !"ca''7 o"Auih w
t0ber was cotnc!dent With tho autumn boom
In grain, aud perhaps helpad to bring that