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plants handling the buttermilk from several large factories, this decline in food available in certain localities was offset mainly by the exceptionally good dairying season, particularly in the early part, providing increased quantities of by-products generally, and partly by better supplies of home-grown barley and other feed. There does not appear to be any marked accretion of interest in pig-production. The breeding-sow population at 31st January, 1949, had shown a slight decline from the figure a year earlier, and the increased number of pigs killed therefore indicates that more efficient use has been made of the sows available. That the sow population is still too low for efficient use of the dairy by-products available, particularly during the flush months, is indicated by the figures for the quantity of dairy by-products available per pound of pig-meat produced. Pig-meat per 100 lb. butterfat declined from 30 lb. in 1944 to only 25 lb. for the year ended 30th September, 1949. For the same year it required 7-1 dairy by-product food units to produce 1 Jb. of pig-meat as against 5-7 food units in 1942 and 5-9 in 1944. The most important step in improvement of efficiency in these respects is the increase of breeding-sows to a point where sufficient pigs are being bred to cope with the peak supply of dairy by-products without waste, either direct or through overfeeding. This demands a rapid increase of sows to about 90,000 on our present level of dairy production. Many farmers have given up breeding their own requirements over the past few years and this trend should be reversed as soon as possible. The number of pigs of the various classes killed in the year ended 31st March, 1950, compared with the previous year is as follows :

Pigs Slaughtered, Twelve Months Ended 31st March (Including Estimated Farm and Rural Slaughterhouse Killings)

The heavier killings to March, particularly the proportionately heavier porker kill, are largely a reflection of the less favourable autumn this year than last. As figures for the twelve months ended March are subject to considerable fluctuation due to seasonal conditions and not connected with the real trends in the industry, it is desirable to review the production figures for years ended 30th September. These are as follows for the past eight years :

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Year. Porkers. Baconers. Choppers. Total. 1949 189,000 437,332 22,276 648,608 1950 238,341 462,677 24,110 725,128

Year. Breedingsows (as at 31st. January). Total Pigs Slaughtered, Year Ended 30th September. Pigs per Sow. SI Porkers. 40-120 lb. aughtered asBaconers, 121-200 lb. Choppers, over 200 lb. Total Weight of Pig-meat in Carcass Form. (Tons). 1942 91,338 925,982 10-1 494,126 397,717 | 34,139 47,987 1943 81,882 772,744 9-4 321,049 418,943 32,752 44,320 1944 77,300 740,913 9-6 254,126 464,558 22,229 43,251 1945 77,200 681,280 8-8 170,852 489,220 21,208 42,378 1946 72,000 664,275 9-3 256,821 385,782 21,672 38,437 1947 67,938 645,728 9-3 198,631 423,368 23,729 39,491 1948 68,354 650,464 9-5 195,903 432,299 22,262 40,384 1949 68,305 686,237 10-0 204,247 458,978 23,012 42,618