AUSTRALIAN WOOL CLIP.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2210, 24 July 1914, Page 10

AUSTRALIAN WOOL CLIP.

LAST SEASON'S KESULTS. V,'c have received a copy of Dalgety's "Annual Wool Itcview for Australasia," which contains an exhaustive summary of everything relating to the past season's clip and tne marketing of same. The publication is in its sixteenth year oi issue/ and deals comprehensively not only with tho past clip, but also with many branobes o£ the industry connected with, wool. Reo'ord Produotlon, The number of eheep estimated to have been shorn waa 109,691.,264 head, including lambs, which produced '7.871b. per head (including lamhs), as against 71b. for tho previous season. A splendid average monetary return of 6s. 4ct. por head was realised, the total wealth produced by the Hocks in wool alono being £34,959,463. The oversea exports of wool, plus quantity retained in, tho Commonwealth and Sew Zealand for manufacturing purposes, give a total of 2,639,280 bales, which makes the clip 6lightly bigger than the record one of tho season 1911-12. Results to Producers. Sheepmaot-ers of Australasia are congratulated upon the wonderful result achieved of providing 2,639,280 bales of wool for export and local consumption from 109,692,264 sheep and lamb 6, which give a ,r«turn of 71b. 14oz. per head, including lambs, an infinitely better result than hao evor before been secured either in this or any other country. Although the average value of ■ the 1,968,578 boles, which were disposed of in Australasia, was Bs. 2d. per bale less than tho previous season, calculated on a clean scoured baeis, wool values were Teally higher during the past year than they were in 1912-13, the difference being due to the much heavier condition of the wool grown during the past season. Honotary Returns. As the average per bale, which works out at £13 4s. lid., is nearly 3Cs. por balo greater than was obtained for the record clip of 1911-12.. the post clip has been a record one as regards the all-important point of monetary returns. The total value of all the wool sold in Australia and New Zealand, during the statistical year just closed, viz., 1,968,578 bales, amounts to £26,079,536, an excellent result as compared with ten years ago, when 837,497 bales wore sold for £10,046,656. The second highest amount of money received for the wool clip sold in Australasia was £25,712,774, which was obtained in tho 1909-10 season. Tho increase in the valne of the wopl clip sold in Australasia in ten years amounts to no less than 160 per cent; Character of Clip, Tho past clip was composed of 69 per cent, merino and 31 pel - cent, crossbred. That of 1911-12 was represented by 72 per cent, merino and 28, per cent, crossbred, and the clip of 1910-11 by 74 per cent, merino and 26 per cent, croesbroa. As was forecasted in last year's "Annual Keview," the clip proved to be an exeep-. tionally well grown, bulky, and generally useful one, but owing, principally to tho abundance of feed which' was available to tho (locks, during the time the wool was growing, tho fibre of the. wool was much brooder in quality; and more liberal'y nourished with yolk than the Btarved clip of the previous year. It was only, natural that there would be a substantial increase in wool production, but few can have thought the export would havo been as large- as it has proved, due entirely to tho exceptionally bulky fleeces which the sheep grow. Future Prospects. With regard to - prospects, Dalgety and Co. say:—"Given a fair average of soasons, the outlook for the pastoral industry in Australia and Kew Zealand was never e> good as it is at tho present time.- The. world's demand for the primary products of those countrios has unquestionably overtaken supplios, with tho result that prices now stand at a very remunerative allround level of values, from which over a period of years thcro is not likely to be any recession."