A RECORD WOOL CLIP.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1188, 25 July 1911, Page 8

A RECORD WOOL CLIP.

-ANNUAL REVIEW AND STATISTICS. The principal feature of the wool year, according to Messrs. Dalgcty and Co.'s "Annual Wool Review," has been that a, record clip was shorn, tho oversea exports having amounted to 2,1ti8,700 bales, an increase of 3-1,107 bales on the ship.nients of the previous twelve months. Ow'ing to a, slightly lower level of prices, j tilts average per bnlo was ,£l2 10s. -Id., as * compared with £13 lis. 2d. in.tho preceding season; but even at this rate the \ value of tho clip was a little over .£30,- •! 000,000. It is a fact worthy of notice |that the 2,000,000 bales limit in exports ■ ivas reached for the, first time in-the year '11)0(1-7, nnd that th'e past year's returns ,'nre nearly double those of IDO.I-1. There j could not, therefore, be better proof of [the marvellous recuperative powers of the I country than is shown by these figures. ■Australasian Flocks. According to the figures given, the Hocks in Australia and New Zealand now total la little over 11G millions, having increased ■during the past twelve months by a little over half a million head. A greater nuni■hw of sheep, however, aio now depastured' lin Australasia than at any period during Ithe past 17 years, the previous record 'having been in 1891, when tho figures Teaohed a, few under 125 millions. The in'crea?? during the past twelve months is considerably below that what has been expected, but is accounted for to a considerable' extent by the very large iiumibers which have l>?cu slaughtered for cxiport and home consumption. A very high standard with respect to Hie cut per head . (has now been reached, escecifilly in rciganl to merinos, a fact which will be appreciated when it is stated that though : there■were many more sheep to shear 20 ;years ago. the clip shorn during the past 'season eclipses all previous records. ! Future Prospects. ' As regards the future, "Dalgety's ; Annual Keview" states that prospects for another bounteous season are encouraging, ,whilo the outlook, broadly speaking, is distinctly good. A splendidly grown and sound wool clip is expected, and provided somewhere about current rales are maintained during tho coming selling season, woolgrowcrs will again reap a good reward for their labours, which continue jto do so much towards the general prosIneriht of these lands. Stocks of raw Itvool being everywhere normal, the trade Ipracticnlly' enters upon the new season (without being in any way encumbered, so tthnt there seems CTery probability of a i satisfactory demand prevailing during the l«nsmnjr twelve months. Present wool ■values are by no means excessive, in fact laro well below the average of the past 50 [years, and aro fully justified under existiine trade conditions.. I The compilers can be congratulated upon jtbo excellent manner in ■which tho report iof the past season's wool business has |heen wtritten, as well as upon the very -.interesting way in which the statistical !TMrtion is shown:.and incidentally it. may >be mentioned tint the printing and geiiieral get-up of Dalgefv and Company's publication is of the highest order.