World 



The World's Gommodities. — S. Wool 



WOOL, — Sheep have been a source of wealth to mankind for a 

 longer period than history records. Before agriculture was practised 

 nomadic peoples maintained themselves by the rearing of flocks. 

 Sheep, as their present wide distribution testifies, will thrive under 

 many different climatic and other conditions : apparently bearmg 

 great heat or great cold equally well. Nearly half the world's out- 

 put of wool is produced in the thinly populated countries of the 

 Southern Hemisphere. Sources of supply. Australia is the finest 

 wool-prodncing country in the world — a distinction that formerly 

 belonged to Spain, The flocks of the Commonwe^ilth are very 

 largely composed of Merino sheep, of Spanish origin. Since thciV 

 first introduction into New South Wales, their wool, especially in the 

 Mudgee district, has become softer and more elastic, and though less 

 dense than formerly, the fleece has increased considerably both in 

 weight and length. New Zealand. ^ — Cross-brcd sheep predominate, 

 largely owing to the frozen mutt<jn trade, which the colony has 

 developed with great success. South Africa is a principal source of 

 supply both for wool and mohair, and from Turkey in Asia about an 

 equcd (juantity of mohair (Angora) is obtained as from South Africa. 

 Argentina has a rapidly growing wool industry, though millions of 

 acres suitable for sheep gr;izing ;irc still unoccupied. Two-thirds 

 of the Hocks are raised in the province of Buenos Ayres. Here, 

 however, as in the United States, the cross-breeding of sheep for the 

 sake of mutton lias resulted in the production of a coarser wool than 

 that of Australia- In S. Russia and n. Caucasia, where large tracts 

 were used for sheep gr;izing 25 ye:irs ago, the increasing price of land 

 has caused the industry to decline, and given a stimulus to the 



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rearing of sheep in Siberia. Merinos (of the Negretti type) form the 

 most valuable part of the Siberian flocks, and are raised chiefly in 

 the districts round Omsk and Petropavlovsk, 'although anywhere 

 witliin 200 miles of the Siberian railway is regarded as suitable for 

 sheep breeding. The hardier, coarse-woolled native breeds stand 

 the cold of Siberia far better than do the Merinos, Some of this 

 coarser wool is exported to the United States, but all the merino 

 grown is absorbed by Russia. Northern Clnna produces a con- 

 siderable amount of wool, and there is an export trade to the 

 United States through the port of Tientsin. Lama and Alpaca come 

 from Peru and Bolivia, and Cashmere is produced in N.E, India. The 

 British Isles. — From the XIII to XV Century, England was foremost 

 as a wool-growing country, but, except in a few counties, sheep 

 rearing in the British Isles is now an industry of minor importance. 



The United States consume one-fifth of the world's production 

 of raw wool, and form the largest manufacturing country of woollen 

 goods, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and 

 Russia. In exports of woollens, the United Kingdom is far ahead 

 of all competitors. In point of value for manufacturing purposes 

 Australian and Argentine wool rank first ; European and American 

 second ; Chinese, Russian, Turkish, and Indian, third. These last 

 wools are used for carpets. London is the leading wool market. 

 Bremen and Hamburg now import direct, and American buyers 

 purchase Australian wool from the growers. Australian wool is 

 shipped from Sydney and Melbourne ; South African wool from 

 Cape Town and Port Klizabeth ; and Argentine and Uruguayan 

 from Buenos Ayres. 



f 



WORLD^S ANNUAL WOOL PRODUCTION 



(inIbB) 



ALL OTHER COUNTRIES 

 S&^ 000, 000. 



az 



AUSTRALASIA 

 SO &, 00 0.000. 



ARGENTINA 

 420,000,000 



RUSSIAa^D SIBERIA 

 360.000,000. 



UNITED STATES 



29S,000,ODa 



UNITED KINL^DDM 



|3S.O0O,O0Ck 



RAW WOOLIMPORTS TO the: UNITED KINGDOM 



AUSTRALIA 



i-io,?eB.a5o. 



OTHER COUNTRIES 

 46.B29,7&^. 



HEW ZWL>ND CAPt COLONY 

 i &. 542,434 ^2,597,820, 



E^XPORT OF WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES 



UNITED KlhGDOW 

 £25,770,000. 



GEHMAKY 



a. 15, 22a ,000 



FRANCE 

 le,S5L040. 



AUSTRIA-KUNGARY 



WOOUIK MANUfACTURiNG 

 DISTRICTS 



OFTKE 



UNITtD KINGDOM 



NUMBER OF SHEEP PER 100 POPULATION IN PRINCIPAL PRODUCING COUNTRIES 



3- 



NEW ZEALAND 

 2.06 0- 



AUSTRAUA 

 L.550. 



ARGENTJNA 

 l,B&&. 



CAPt COLONY 



U. f^lNGLlOk 

 66- 



LTNITED 

 STATES 



FRANQL 

 4& 



RJ^S^IAIN 



EUI^OPE 



44 



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