Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-02-10
PROVISIONS IN STRONG SYMPATHY
The Wheat Crop Of the Country and
What Has Become Of it.
STOCKS SUFFER FROM A BEARR RAID
Nickel Plate Certificates in Demand
DenYer's Earnings.
CHICAGO.
Especial Telegram to the Globe]


difficulties have had a permanent effect
upon the markets. Coming at a time
when the crowd, and especially outside
traders, were all bulls and prices were
booming, the suspension of orders then
caused a setback that for the time has
turned the tide. When the tendency be-
came downward a good many rushed over
to the bear side and orders. received, in
stead of being nearly all buying orders,
are now largely to sell. Not so
much is doing, either, and busi
ness does not show nearly the
animation it did In the. corn crowd af-
fairs were really uninteresting to-day, al
though the fluctuations were marked and
would usually have induced a good deal
of liveliness. Outside advices continue to
favor the idea of still further advance
ment. The British agriculturists are
taking a very gloomy view of the coming
harvest, and reports concerning the dam
age done the winter wheat in this country
do not diminish. Corn, however, is OK
pectod to arrive in large quantities now the
railroads are carrying freight again.
The relative high price of the lower
grades is expected to give the producers,
hitherto under the influence of the inspec
tion scare, more confidence in shipments.
As to provisions which have been holding
up remarkably well compared with other
markets, the bulls are less confident. The
packers are again sellers. The Cincinnati
Price Current, the authority in the trade,
believes prices are too high calling atten-
ton to the fact that while pork is 45c
barrel lower than at this time last year,
and lard selling at about its price then,
that last year barrel of pork represented
2B barrels of family -four, or 1424 bushels
of potatoes, while now the proportion is
358 barrels of -four End 20 bushels of po-
tatoes. The promise of hog supplies, in
number and quality, is better than year
ago and the resources for feeding material
for the fature of 1888 incomparabIy bet
ter. The early prophecy that the hog
packing would fall below last years
aggregate has proven unfounded. There
has been some reduction in the number
of hogs killed in the West compared
with the preceding week, but the compar
ison with the corresponding time last
year is maintained, returns indicating for
the season to date, at all points, 5,165,000
hogs against 5,225,000 year ago, def
cheney of 10000, the same as a week ago.
The quality of hogs is being maintained
relatively better than year ago, and cur
rent operations generally show much heav-
ier weights than at the same time last
year. There have been storms to impede
shipments the past week,
and from now forward to
the end of the month the killing will un
doubtedly exceed the corresponding time
last year, so that the footing up for the
winter is likely to fully equal last year in
number of hogs and probably exceed it in
pounds. At Chicago the aggregate of
stocks of provisions is about 47,OOO,OOO
pounds less than year ago. On Noyem-
Der l the stocks then were 60,O0O,OOO
pounds below the corresponding date in
1881, so that the present exhibit shows
that the relative shortage has been modi-
fed. That market has received 100000
pounds less of product, but
whether this implies that
interior points hold correspondingly more
cannot be told.
On the board to-day wheat was only
fairly active, and prices irregular, with the
whole range of the session about 13Sc, and
at the close cash or February was about
&c less than it closed at 1 o'clock yester-
day, March q C lower, April about % C low
er, and May about 1c lower. Early sales
were at a $8c advance on the closing fig
ures at o'clock yesterday, but ruled weak
with moro sellers than buyers, and fell of
irregularly about q then rallied &c,
again fell off 1870 from the highest point.
and closed quiet and easy. Nearly all the
speculative trading was in May, other fu-
lures ruling dull. The break was induced
by large speculative offerings, considerable
pressure being brought to bear to induce
lower prices. The receipts were light
There was very little change during the
afternoon, matters being quiet, although
the brisk business in May continued. The
bulls still urge that, taking the country al
a WHOLE it is fact that the stand of the
winter wheat crop of last fal
was not as favorable as that o.
year ago, and consequently the
plant cannot as we'll withstand the effect:
of unfavorable weather; that the late biz
yards in the winter wheat belt have covered
the ground with coating of ice, while ont
more element of strength which ought tt
be noticed is the fact thatsa large part o.
the wheat crop of the Northwest has moved
out this season in the form of -four. and i
will be found, when we get the export de
mand which usually comes in the spring
that we have not as much wheat in the
country as was expected. But these
arguments are not keeping May whea
steady. Spring and winter wheat to-day
have been quiet and easier.
There is no change to note in the condi
tion of the -four trade.
In the corn pit trading was only of 6