310 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



ON THE INCREASED PRODUCTION OF WOOL. 



We liavc from time to time drawn attention to our 

 deficient supplies of wool, and the importance of in- 

 creasing tlic production of this valuable staple in every 

 quarter. The subject is again pressed upon our notice 

 by a glance at the general imports of last year, and by 

 a'paper recently read by Mr. Wray before the Society 

 of Arts, " On the Means of Increasing the Production of 

 Sheep's Wool and of Angora Goats' Hair," Those who 

 have given any attention to the woollen manufactures 

 are aware that this, the second great industry of the 

 nation, is mainly dependent upon a large and regular 

 supply of cheap foreign wool. Our home produce is 

 very considerable, but it is by no means sufBcient to 

 meet the growing wants of the trade, even for the goods 

 consumed at home, much less for the large quantity of 

 woollen manufactures exported. Mr. Wray tells us 

 that " the United Kingdom itself produces a larger 

 amount of wool than any other country in the 

 world, its estimated yield being about 275 millions of 

 lbs., obtained from 30 millions of sheep; and yet it 

 may truly be said that sheep are kept in this country 

 not so much for their wool as for the meat their car- 

 casses furnish, and for the great benefit they confer on 

 agriculture. They Jiave indeed been aptly designated 

 * the sheet-anchor of British agriculture,' so indis- 

 pensable are they to the scientific farmer of the present 

 day. But in improving the carcass of these valuable 

 animals, great care has also been bestowed upon their 

 wool-producing capabilities, in order to preserve and 

 increase as much as possible the quantity and quality 

 of that important article. The wools of this country 

 are, therefore, abundant in quantity, and of good, 

 strong, and very useful qualities ; although not of 

 such fine description as the Saxony, Spanish, and other 

 merinos." 



We will not stop to argue the point here, as to the 

 quantity of sheep and production of wool in the king- 

 dom, which are both, we consider, set too high— 50 mil- 

 lions being too large a number, and 5^1bs. much too high 

 an average clip. But we will proceed to examine our 

 sources of supply from our colonies and foreign coun- 

 tries, a question in which great interests are involved, 

 and upon which the steady progress of the woollen 

 and worsted manufactures mainly depend. Wool is 

 now at a higher price than it has stood for some years 

 — middle wethers being quoted at 19d., and brokes 

 and noils at Is., while foreign and colonial are high in 

 proportion. Of about 124 million lbs. imported in 1858, 

 86 millions, or more than two-thirds, came from our 

 own colonies, Australia and New Zealand in the last two 

 years have supplied us annually with nearly 53 million 

 lbs., and of 130 millions in 1859, 82 millions were from 

 British possessions. Victoria and New South Wales send 

 each about 17 millions lbs.. South Australia 11 millions, 

 Tasmania 5 millions, and New Zealand 2 millions. The 

 average increase in Australia appears to be 75 per cent.; 

 but disease, drought, wild-dogs, and the natives, be- 

 sides the demand for the butcher, make heavy inroads 

 upon this increase ; and the progression is nothing like 

 in the same ratio to what it was formerly. There may 

 be exceptions to this decline in New Zealand, the new 

 colony of Queen's Land, and in South Australia, but 

 in the other colonics adverse influences are at work. 



The decline from the former rapid increase in live 

 stock in Australia is evident to everyone who has 

 watched the official statistics of the several colonies. 

 Thus the number of sheep in New South Wales has 



fallen from 8,602,000 in 1855 to 7,582,000 in 1858, 

 and in Victoria from 6,000,00J or 7,000,000 a few years 

 ago, to 4,706,022 in 1858. The principal cause assigned 

 for this diminution is the growing demand to supply 

 the Melbourne meat markets, 1,000,000 a year being 

 required for slaughter. There is also much less atten- 

 tion paid to pastoral operations, and a deficiency of 

 shepherds and shearers. The Governor-General of 

 New South Wales suggests that it is desirable to change 

 the kind of sheep, substituting, as in England, an ani- 

 mal with a coarser fleece and a heavier carcass for the 

 fine-wooUed varieties. 



In 1854 the Cape colony produced but 85 million lbs. 

 of wool, whilst in 1859 she exported upwards of 18 

 million lbs., or more than either Victoria or South 

 Australia. Still, its sheep-farmers have to contend with 

 numerous difficulties — wild animals, drought, and de- 

 predations by Kaffirs and bushmen, besides long and 

 expensive transport to the shipping ports. Boundless 

 tracts in the Cape colony, in the Orange River sove- 

 reignty, and in Natal, still remain unoccupied, although 

 admirably adapted to their purposes. With peace on 

 the borders, and more farm-servants, the progression 

 in wool production in South Africa will be immense, 

 and soon far exceed the advance already made, in a few 

 years. The quality of the Cape wool is also yearly 

 improving, and the sheep-breeders, as we have on 

 former occasions pointed out, have taken great pains 

 to improve their flocks. Last year there was a decline, 

 however, of 3 million lbs. in our receipts of South 

 African wool as compared with 1858. 



The supply of Indian wool has been greatly increas- 

 ing within the last few years, to the surprise of many. 

 We now receive about 16 million pounds out of 19 

 shipped from Bombay, chiefly brought down from 

 Central Asia. These low coarse wools are suited to 

 many manufactures, and being obtained cheap find a 

 ready market. Mr. Wray talks very largely of the 

 wool-producing capabilities of British India generally, 

 but we cannot agree wii'i him in his sanguine ideas 

 of what may be anticipated from thence; and a very 

 long period (if indeed that time ever arrives) must 

 elapse before anything like either the quantity or qua- 

 lity he speaks of is attained. "The exports of really 

 good wool," he says, "from British India should be 

 200 millions of pounds per annum, instead of 18 to 20 

 millions, and if they do not attain that amount within 

 a few years, then 1 assert, that the fault will be due to 

 the supineness of this country, rather than to the capa- 

 bilities of India itself." It would seem that our sup- 

 plies of Indian and African wools are being directed to 

 France or other markets. 



From China we have lately been receiving several 

 million pounds of coarse wool, and there is no reason 

 why the shipments thence, as trade with the interior 

 is opened up, should not increase. 



In the United States there are about 30,000,000 

 sheep, but the clip of wool is small, scarcely averaging 

 more than 2 to 3 lbs, per head. As the whole of the 

 native production is used at home, we have nothing to 

 look for from thence in the raw material, although 

 now and then small shipments have been made to this 

 country when the price ruled high. Mr. Wray gives a 

 humorous picture of the ravages of dogs in the flockfl, 

 and believes that some years hence America will 

 produce much more wool than will be required for her 

 own consumption. 



