HEAT EXPORT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1830, 10 August 1906, Page 3

HEAT EXPORT.

I’ItESS ASSOCIATION Wellington, last night. At the annual meeting of tho Willington Meat Export Company, Mr W. 0. Buobaoan presiding, si i 1 that an examination of the cunaber of sbeop and iambs exported from the North anl South Islands respeotiv. ly in their relation to the sheep at.ck of eaoh island discloses some vary interesting and suggestive (acts. Tee total nomb3rs to the Sou h Island do not exceed those in th 9 North Island by more than If per oen(., and ytt the former

exported more (ban 30 per cent, in weight of mutton and lamb together for the yotr portant feature disclosed by tho export returns for the same poriod is that for every lOOlbs of mutton oxportod from each island the Bouth Island has marketed 1281bs of lamb, as against only 45lba for Ibe North Island, and a fair estimate of the figure value of lamb bsmg certainly not less than Id per lb, it follows that the Bouth Island gained a gross advent igo of over LI4Q.QOO as compared to the North Island. From this, however, has to be deducted the additional expense of growmg artificial food for a oortain proportion of lambs ; but after makiQg all reasonab'e allowance on this bead there can bo no doubt that very substantial advantage remains to ths oredit of our southern friends I; is well also to pat on record that the facts I have mentionod relating to the year just past are in no way exceptional, the South Islaud having exported an average of 941 b of lamb for every 100. b of mutton for the last ten years as against only 20£lb from the North Island, while the total weight of mutton and lamb exported in proporportion to sheep stock was only 26 p:r cent, in favor of tho South Island for the same period. The question will, of course, be aeksd why should the South Island be able to get so much better results both as to quality and quantity thau the North Islaud ? In the first place, a good many ewes a few wtthera were shipped soma time ago from the North to the South Island ; but to an-wer in the ma'n undoubtedly ia that they have a much la'gw proport on of cultivable land, especially in Uunt<rtucy, of quality woll suitod to produce turnip, rape, and other artificial food to fallen their sheep at an early age. It is nevertheless a fact scare ly open to question that in many looalites of the North Island pcsiessing advant ages in regard to cultivable land the settlors have been very tardy of scaling themselves of their obvious advantages. Frczsnmeat: New Zealand has until quite recently borne a reputation For quality higher than that of any other oountry, bat the unpleasant fact has been stroDgly emphasised of late by Deques-

.tionablo reporls from London that Argenmutton and Australian lamb have, in i mapy instances, realised prices equal to New Zealand produce. Argentine stock owners havp for many years striven hard to improve the quality of their flock and herds by purchase of pedigree stock from England in largo numbers, almost regard? Ibbs of price, and Australia has boen pursu* ing a similar course by importation from England and tbis country. On the other hand, if tbis question is what New Zealand Btock owners are doing to improve the quality of thoirmeat? the answer is to be found in repeated complaints from London that a great many of the oaroases eont are eo large and overfat as to be quite unsuitable to the market. New Zsalaud cannot afford to follow suoh a ooorae, because quantities of meat sup plied to Great B.iiqip by other countries 1 , not only of muston and iamb, but also of beef, have been on euoh an increasing scale that prioes have been forced diwn to a comparatively low levrl. It follows, therefore, that tlo high price of wool is the eolo factor by which the fas mar is enabled at the present time to pocket such satisfactory prices for his sheep,