The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, July 23, 1912. THE WOOD CLIP.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1073, 23 July 1912, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, July 23, 1912. THE WOOD CLIP.

We have received a copy of Dalgety’s Annual Wool Review lor Australasia for the past season, published by Dalgety and Company, Limited, wnich is now in its fourteenth year of issue, and, as customary, appears to have been carefully written, while the statistics which relate to the whole of the Australasian sales are complete and comprehensive. There are a number of interesting facts given in the publication, the most prominent of which is that the value of the past season’s wool production in Australia and New Zealand, for export, was 29 millions sterling, as compared with 31 >2 millions sterling lor the previous season, the difference in the value of the two clips being accounted for by the average value per bale in 1911-12 having been ,£ii 15s 5d., and in 1910-rx, ,£l2 10s. 4d. As was forecasted in Dalgety’s last year’s Annual Review, the Australasian clip exceeded that of the previous year, which stood at the high water mark and was above the general ayerage of excellence. Actual oversea shipments of wool during the past twelve months have amounted to 2,020,547 bales (or 662,845,907 Ib.j irom the Commonwealth, ami 493,368 bales (or 169,915,939 lb.) from New Zealand, a total of no less than 2 >5 1 3)9 1 5 bales or 832,761,846 lb., valued at ,£29,591,874. > 26 total value of the 1,926,926 bales sold in Australasia has been ,£22.682,090, as against 02 * u 1910-11. The Hocks in Australia and New Zealand now total 1x7,011,654, having increased since last year’s icturus were published by the comparatively small

number of 977,481 head. Sheep numbers have remained practically stationary during the past three years, but the figures are higher than during any period of the past 18 years, the previous record having been in 1891, when the total reached 124,991,920 head. The smallness of the increase in recent years is largely attributable to the very large numbers which have been slaughtered for export and local consumption, and it is significant that the opinion is generally held that sheep numbers were, prior to the drought, quite as high as could with safety be carried iu normal seasons. There has been a general all round improvement iu the larger tlrcks, and a very high standard has been reached, especially iu respect to merinos, a fact which will be appreciated when it is remembered that though there were many more sheep to shear, say 20 years ago, 'the clip shorn during the past season eclipses all previous records, while the weight cut per head is greater than in any country in the world without any, deterioration iu the wool, which comes an easy first, though it may not be so fine in quality as formerly. As regards the future, Dalgety and Company, Limited, say that there are several factors which are likely to have an important bearing on the course of the wool market during the ensuing twelve months, the first ot these being the certainty of diminished Australian wool production owing to the severe, though short, drought recently experienced throughout most of ■ the woolgrowing districts ot the Commonwealth. Another is the 1 great probability of a revision of the American wool tariff in favour oi oversea woolgrowers, some pronouncement in respect to which may be expected after the Presidential election in November next. The third is the fact of favourable trade conditions generally, practi- > cally only affected at the present time by industrial troubles. Summing up the position, as it affects wool producers, they are oi the opinion that the ensuing Australasian clip will come on to a favourable market, and that there will be a strong demand from all sections ot buyers at prices showing an improvement on the rates in lorce in the past season. The clip as a whole cannot be equal, either in quality or condition, to its predecessor, in addition to which it is inevitable that there will be a lighter cut per sheep,so that the enhanced values which it seems very likely will rule should compensate growers to some extent tor the drawbacks which we tear most graziers will experience.