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Blackburne And Smith (S. S. Black-burne and A. L. Smith), Commission Merchants, 122 Manchester Street, Christchurch. This firm was formed in 1892 by the union of businesses which had been carried on separately by the individual partners, and by the addition of other lines. Mr. Blackburne had for four years held the agency for Little's Sheep Dips, whilst Mr Smith had, in 1891, acquired the agency for the Milburn Lime and Cement Company, of Dunedin. Little's Sheep Dips have been widely used for about thirty years in all sheepcarrying countries. Originally the manufacturers produced a fluid dip of a non-poisonous character. This was the original fluid dip, and was the first sheep dip introduced into New Zealand, and so great was the demand for it, that it acquired almost a monopoly of the fluid-dip market. About fifteen years ago a powder dip, under the same name, was brought out, in order to meet the requirements of those who prefer a poisonous article. This powder has several advantage, as glycerine in a dry state is incorporated with it; and by a special process the powder itself is ground much finer than any other. These peculiarities make Little's Powder exceptionally easy to mix, and this quality, combined with the moderate price at which it is sold, has led to a large and everincreasing demand for the article; so that, although the fluid dip still holds it own, the value of the powder dip now sold in New Zealand exceeds that of the fluid which was being sold when Mr. Blackburne took over the business. In the firm's lime and cement department the trade has of late assumed considerable proportions. The cement manufactured by the Milburn Company—which possesses the latest American machinery and plant—compares favourably with the imported article. Owing to the rapid extension of trade, Messrs Blackburne and Smith have been compelled to seek larger premises, and have recently erected a commodious brick building of two stories in Manchester Street.