SHEEP RETURNS 26 YEARS AGO.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 293, 10 September 1910, Page 8

SHEEP RETURNS 26 YEARS AGO.

The following interesting return of sheep in Waikato and other districts a quarter of a century ago, will be read with interest. There are a good many more sheep in the Taupo subdivision to-day than then. The figures are t3ken from the Waikato "Times" of 1884: From the returns laid before Parliament, it appears that in the Waikato sub-division (area 1,731,000 acres), there are 70,199 sheep, owned by 185 persons. In the Waikato county there are 52 persons owning under 500 sheep, three under 1000, and one under 20,000. In Waipa there are OS people, owning under 500, four under 1000, two under 2000, and one under 5000. In Piako there are 16 owning under 500, one under 1000, four under 2000, one under 5000, and one under 10,000. In the Raglan county there are 29 persons owning under 500, and none above that number. The Taupo sub-division is exceedingly poor in proportion to its acreage, which in eludes 2,188,000 acres. This includes East and West Taupo and Kawhia. There are in all three persons owning 2250 sheep. Of the three one has under 500, and another under 2000. In the Napier sheep district of 1,775,000 acres, there are 109 persons owning 307,973 sheep; and on the Napier sub-division of 3,913,000 acres, there are 458 persons owning 2,432,664 sheep. In the Waikato sub-division, the principal owners are the Auckland Agricultural Company which tops the list with 11,641; J. C. Firth, who comes next with 9273; E. B. Walker, Monavale, 3494; S. Ticklepenny (Morrin and Co.), Morrinsvillc, 2816; W. A. Murray, Piako, 1100; Larkworthy, Piako, 1463; New Zealand Stud and Pedigree Stock Compnay, Cranston, 1430; H. and J. Goodfellow, Te Awamutu, 1350: and Grice and Parker, Rotorangi, 1320. Several of the Waikato sheep farmers have given up the business since 1883. In that year F. Hicks, Cambridge, had 2500; John Runciman, Broadmeadows, had 3598, now reduced to 290; and J. J. Barugh, Wartle Farm, Hamilton, 1220, now reduced to 176. There are 154 persons in the colony owning over 23,000 sheep each. R. Campbell junr., in Otago, has no fewer than 123,000 wool growers on his two stations. Not a bad number for one man to own in this limited territory. The total number of sheep in the colony on the 31st March, 1884, was 13,978,520; or an increase of 672,191 on the returns of the previous year. In the Auckland district alone the increase of the year was 10,263; during the year 491,627 sheep were utilised for meat preserving purposes, of this number Auckland supplied only 1635.