NEW ZEALAND SHEEP COUNTRY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7947, 24 January 1906, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND SHEEP COUNTRY.

The importance of developing the sheepbreeding industry in iNew Zeaaad muse be apparent to anyone •who baa given the subject a moment's thought. It is the industry whioh in past years has given a great amount of wealth to the country, and even at the present time surpasses all other industries in its yearly output. Since 1855 the value of wool alone sent from New Zealand has reached the euorrnoua total of £90,422,599, and the yearly output averages about £5.000,000 worth. Besides wool there have been immense exports of frozen mutton and lamb. It is estimated that si"ce 1881 to the end of 1905 close on 40,000,000 carcases of sheep and lambs worth over £30,000,000, have been sent from New Zealand to oversea markets. Add to thiH the value of pelts, tallow, live auimals, bones, offal (turned into manure), and we have the immense total of £120,000,000 as the produce of New Zealand flocks during the last 50 years. It is, however; only during the last 15 years that the frozen meat industry baa reached anything like large dimensions. Mr Gilbert Anderson, -speaking not long ago of the value of this industry, showed what influence 'this trade has had on the progress •of the country. He said—"The frozen meat industry at once ■created the demand for steamships, and to this industry, and to it alone, do we owe the magnificent lines of steamers that are now trading between New Zealand and Great Britain,'and but for this industry it ia doubtful if one-fourth of these could continue to trade. Not 'only have we some 58 steamships ,of •an aggregate tonnage of 376,936 tons, at the disposal of the meat trade, 'bpt the faot of these steamers being here has reduced tne freight on all other produce, as well as imports, besides facilitating the despatch of goods and giving the benefits of a quick return and ready markets. This industry has also been the 'means of producing employment foi albout 3000 hands in our freezing works. It has also made the em pi oy ■ment of farm labourers constant and profitable. It provides a revenue •of £85,947, for our railways." It may be confidently stated that the 'value of sheep and sheep products reported now from , New Zealand averages at least £9,000,000 yearly, 'and there is every reason to believe that we oould double this annual output with comparative ease. 'There are, as we pointed out on several oooaaions lately, many millions of acres of native and Grown lands now lying idle in the North Island. All these lands can be made to carry sheep; and besides these landß whioh are at present unoccupied and unstooked, there can foe little doubt but what the lands at present occupied could be so improved that they would carry nearly double the number of sheep now Tunning on them. Statistics show •ttat when the frozen meat trade was inaugurated in 1881 in New Zealand there were only 12,190,215 sheep in the colony, while at the present time we have. nearly 20,000,000 sheep, in spite of the fact that we have consumed and exported since 1881 nearly 8,0000,000 sheep and lambs. One of the greatest authorities on this subject recently gave it as bis opinion that New Zealand had only commenced the freezing in; dustry, and that we could go on largely increasing our exports of -mutton and lamb and' still further Increase the number of sheep held <in the oolony.