MEAT AND WOOL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3035, 23 March 1917, Page 7

MEAT AND WOOL

V x . INTERESTING FIGURES IMPERIAL PAYMENTS TO DOMINION SorJio interesting information relative to the meat and wool industries of the Dominion was given to a Christchnrch reporter by the JHon. W. D. S. MacDonald. The total- Imperial payments made to March 6 for New 'Zealand meat amount to £15,366,498. Of this sum £9,255,968 is for North Island and £5,649,955 for South Island meat. Details are as follow: — North Island. £ , Auckland 1,334,068 Poverty Bay 1,556,827 Hawke's Bay 1,500,869 , Taranaki 68,703 Wellington 4,274,498 South Island. £ Canterbury 3,230,834 Otago 1,119,119 Southland 1,122,096 Marlborough 1 106,962 Nekon 70,942 Meat Export Works. , At tlie present time there are fortythree registered meat slaughterhouses in the Dominion, engaged principally in the slaughter of stock for export. There are also thirty-one registered abattoirs, which. are almost wholly engaged in the slaughter of stock for local consumption in New Zealand. - Stock slaughtered in the Dominion for the years ended June 30, 1915, and June 30, 1916, respectively - (both for export and local consumption) were as follows 1914-1915. 1915-1916. Sheep .... 4,083,209 3i805,334 Lambs . ... 3,987,025 3,9(3,987 Cattle ... 343,370 • 415,138 Calves ... ' 30,692 32,964 Wool. The total payments made to dato on wool amount to £8,266,806. General details are as follows : — Number of calves valued 384;901 Number of calves shipped ...... 178,849 Number arrived at destination 35,861 Number en route 132,608 Bales available fot shipment 206,052 Bales for which space allotted 115,963 Bales for which no space allotted 90,089 Total number of bales paid for 350,831 Flocks and Herds. The total number of-sheep ill New .Zealand ..on April 30, 1916, was 24,788,150, a decrease of ,113,271 as compared with the previous year. The 1 accompanying table shows the number of sheep in each island arid the totals for the Dominion for the years ended" April'3o,' 1913, to April 30, 1916:— ; North Island.. 1913 ...13,145,455 . 1914 .:. 13,155,958 increase 10,513 1915 ... 13,315,916 increase 159,958 1916 ... 13,880,799. increase 564,883 . . .South Island. •'■■■■ 1913 ... 11,046,365' 1914 ... 24,798,763- increase 606,951 1915 ... 11,585,505 decrease 57,300 1916 ... 10,907,351 decrease 678,154 Total for Both Islands. 1913 ... 24,191,812 1914 ... 24,798,763 increase 606,951 1915 ... 24,901,421 inorease 102,658 1916 24,788,150 decrease 113,271,

While the last returns show a decrease of 113,271 oil the total as com. pared with that'of the previous year, there is "an increase in the number of breeding ewes of 277,426. The figures in. regard to. breeding ewes -for tho period 1913-1916 (April 30) are as follow: — - North Island.: 1913 ... 6,505,491 1914 ... 6,619,378 increase 113,887 1915 ... 6,643,567 inorease 24,189 1916 ... 7,230,450 increase 585,883 . South Island. 1913 ... 6,015,545 1914 ... 6,300,798 increase 285,253 1915 ... 5,971,814 decrease. 328,984 1916 ... 5,662,317 decrease 309,497 Total for Both Islands. 1913 ... 12,521,036" 1914 ... 12,920,176 (increase 399,140 : 1915 ... 12,615,341 decrease 304,835 . 1916 ... 12,892,767 increase 27,7,426 I . Cattle. . The number 1 of cattle in New Zealand, in January; 1916, wa5'2,329,292, which is an increase of 309,121 on tho figures shown when last collected in 1911. ,