The Daily News. SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 1902. THE SHEEP RETURNS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIV, Issue 59, 1 March 1902, Page 2

The Daily News. SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 1902. THE SHEEP RETURNS.

The low prices of wool for the last few | years has never yet been satisfactorily explained. The loss to New Zealand is very serious. ■ By some it is }B estimated that the loss last year is between a million and a million and a balf of money. When the enormously increased consumption caused by the constantly springing up of new markets is considered, the steady fall in the price of wool is really extraordinary, and leads to the supposition that there is a good deal of truth in the state nent that the wool market is in thelitmds of a, ring, or trust, who are coining money at the expense of the producer. The only feasible remedy would appear "to establish a woolen factory, and send out the manufactured article, instead of the raw material, and keep the cost of manufacture in tbe shape of labour in the district. We are it,duc«d to make these remarks by a study of the sheep returns which have just come to hand, and show that in spite of the success of the dairy industry, that there is the enormous number of considerably over half a million sheep in Taranaki, and they are increasing at a fairly rapid rate. We say enormous number because Taranaki is not considered a-sheep country. The following return showing the number of s'ueep in the several counties for tbe years ending 30bh April 1900, and 1901, will no doubt prove int 'eating, and the satisfactory increase of 55,444 during the last twelve months shows that our country settlers are making substantial progress.

County 1900 1901 Increase. Olifton 23,758 26,102 2,344 Taranaki 26,341 30,806 4,465 Stratford 86,430 97,513 11,083 Fawera 146,800 168,714 21,913 P. tea 225,619 241,257 15,638 Totals 508,948 564,392 55,544 The number of owners returned for last year ara : —Olifton, 65 ; Taranaki, 87; Stratford, 89; Hawew, 107; Patea, 216. Only two owners have over 7500 sheep, i.e., one in Patea and ane in Stratford. Six have over 5000 etch, being two in each of the Countes of Patea, Stratford and Hawera, while 182 owners have und«r 201. The tital number ol sheep in the colony is 20,233,099 as against 19,355,195 the previous year, the number of owners being 18,360, an increase of three on the previous period. In the North Island there are 8343 owners with 10,218,945 sheep, and in the South Island 10,017 owners with 10,014,154 sheep. A broadsheet also accompanies the return giving full details as to breeds, sex, age, and other details of great interest to the fhe- p farmer. In the five counties of the 1 rsnaki Provincial District all the s ndard breeds are represented, but it is a curious fact that there are ooly two Merino sheep, one in Stratford County and one in the Hawera County. Tht* principal strains are Lincoln and Romney with a fair sprinkling of Leicester.