Unusual Moderate Prices for Commodities wont un Oww Consesronoext Canton, Jan. 29.
Flowers are dirt-cheap this season, five coppers being enough for a large bunch of chrysanthemums, "Street sellers have done a thriving business, Dut with correspondinty low profit.
Water lilies gre especially plentiful, Formerly at this time of greatest demand they were as high as sixty cents q plant, but ten to fifteen cents covers the purchase price this year.
Ordinarily prices soar at Chinese New Year, but the tendency was to hold cheap sales instead of advancing Drices this season, Even incense ets and vases went for a song. Likewise with scrolls of fine penmanship, though there was more than an even chance of buying imitation hand writ ing of some famous person. The dif-Acuity of distinguishing the real from the spurious made the average person reluctant 0 buy, and this depressed prices, It the opening figure was $10, one ould, perhaps, close the bargain for 80 cents.
'Most flourishing of the holiday trades was of pork and poultry. Few others were anything to' brag about. Melon seeds and confectionery sales @ropped below what they were in ast years, Irrespective of the Chamber of Commerce order that store debts had to be cleared before the New Year it Is estimated that not more than thirty per cent. of debts were met,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.