Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-12-22
|DEMAND FOR UVE
HOGS IMPROVES
GAINS MADE ON CHICAGO MAR.
kEr WHEN BIDDING TURNS
ACTIVE.
ALL SORTS OF CATTLE
SELL At HIGHER LEVELS
Brisk Demands For Bovine Stock With
Opening Of Weeks Trade = Sheep
and Lambs Advance, With Holders
confident-Rsvievv Of Market Condi.
tions-current Quotations.
Chicago. Dec. ee.-Hogs gained

nearly two years, or d total Of ie1,Voo'
being 10000 more than previous week.
PIG. 900 more than a year ago. 'e'ooV
more than two years ago and around
275 900 less than three and four years
ago when receipts were unusually
small. For 1918 to date eleven markets
received 24.407000, being 119,ooo more
than year ago, $4,000 less than Two
E, years ago and 5,660.uo0 more than
three years ago.
Armour & Co. paid as high as 1915
for extra choice 275-pound butchers,
but they bought a good many mixed
around s755 and butcher mixed at
s7.60a7.65. Comparatively few hogs
with any weight sold below $3.50 the
general range being about as narrow
as any time this season. Pigs were
! in large supply and sold 10@2o cents
/ lower. more at 1925 than any otner
price.
owing to the increased proportion OF
$50 q $780, pound averages among the
arrivals the estimated average weight
of hogs at Chicago last week dropped
three pounds or PIP pounds against 215
pounds previous week. 21s pounds
year ago and 21i pounds two years
ago.
Cattle.
| A good demand hoisted prices for all
sorts of prime cattle.
Chicago remained the principal fat
cattle center of the country the past
week, mostly a warned-lo kind COM
| ing into the western markets. while
eastward 1t was light plain quality
class in most instances, and there were
short runs Of Canadian cattle. No d.
rect Argentina shipments came into
the New York market. tho few
steamers from Liverpool brought re-
shipped" carcasses from that market.
Still, Argentine and Canadian stuff,
such as it IL, both al regards quantity
and quality, has effec, IN reducing do
nestle demand to some extent, altho
no such disastrous conditions as pes
simistically inclined folks had pre-
dicted has thus far shown up In the
beef trade under pressure OF foreign
competition, and the possibility OF its
coming now seems remote.
| In the local trade short-feds and
warmed-wp stuff il by far the biggest
quota Of supplies. but there are still
big cattle aplenty for trade needs, and
above them. in fact. as evidenced by
the mean favor these grades continue
to get. Many Of them overstayed the
market, feeders who stood to lose
heavily on them having held on in
hopes Of reaction IN the trade, but this
seems improbable now. since consumer
favor is strongly partial - the handy
weights. and probably will be for
months ahead.
Light and handy stuff is bound to
come freely for many weeks. Much Of
the run right now Is sixty to eighty
day fed cattle which, having eaten a
fair quota OF hish-priced corn, the
owners resolved to cash them rather
than take chances on a long feed. A
big quota Of the stuff starved out in
Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska in the
drouth period. and moved to sections
where feed was more plentiful, is now
coming into the trade, and has been
for some weeks past. January and
February will doubtless be months of
big supplies in the market, tho there is
no certainty that quality will hold as
good as noted in the general supplies
! the past two weeks.
| Winter storms and severe cold
weather. bound to be had in a shor:
time, will jar loose lot Of this short
fed stuff, and no small number Of feed
ers have in the past two weeks dis
counted the probable rush of the ma
jority to cash in by getting here ahead
Of the big crowd.
This week a light run will be inn
perative TO hold the trade in decent
shape. Christmas period always means
big poultry consumption and a poor
beef selling time. A Monday run under
10000 doubtless will prove all the de-
mand requires
Sheep.
Sheep and lambs advanced. with
holders confident.
The trade Is expectanr Of light runs
! this week by reason of the Christmas
holiday and the break in prices the
past week. Tho. no heavy supply will
be needed until after the holidays, with
light receipts some reaction toward the
| high levels prevailing here at high time
| two weeks ago is possible or probable,
| but a continued dumping Of habitat
stuff in the market hopper could hard
| ~ have other than demoralizing in
! fuence on the market for such classes
at this juncture.
The market is on an irregularly low
! er basis as compared with Friday OF
last week, most good to prime lambs
showing 40G50 cent decline, while
some Of the more common and meo1um
| grades are possibly as much as IS cents
lower. Yearlings have declined about
as much as lambs. while best matured
wethers and handy ewes show 1925
cent declines and many of the palmer
! grades and fat heavy eve: are go 20
cents down.
Receipts, locally, show decrease for
I ha ~ nh
previous. while the aggregate market
ing at Missouri river points is fully ~
large as last week, Chdcaso's shortage
being responsible for q decrease Of TO-
600 for the week in tho six points
totals. Supplies have been coming
freely. however. for this time Of the
year and the big run Of over $1,000
here last Monday and slumping dressed
markets east have besn twin handi-
caps.
!