191 2.] Notes on Agriculture Abroad. 



957 



wool on the Continent almost constant, but this will soon cease to be 

 the case, since the yield per sheep cannot increase much in the future. 

 The North American flocks should increase in size, at any rate for 

 some years to come. The Australian flocks, temporarily lessened by 

 drought, have again begun to increase. The number of sheep in Aus- 

 tralia and New Zealand increased from 110,480,000 in 1909 to 

 115,450,000 in 1910. The yield of wool per sheep has also increased 

 considerably, thanks to judicious crossing, selection, and the infusion 

 of merino blood. In the Argentine the flocks moved into colder regions 

 bore the change of climate very well. The drought of 1909 destroyed 

 many lambs and greatly reduced the output of wool in 19 10, but there 

 is stated to be an improvement this year (191 1). 



The world's production of wool in 19 10 is estimated at 26,369,000 

 cwt. Making allowance for the quantities consumed by local indus- 

 tries in the countries of exportation, the supplies available for the 

 manufacturers of Europe and North America were as follows : — 



Production of — cwt. 



Continent of Europe ... ... ... ... ... 3,744,000 



United Kingdom ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,275,000 



North America ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,968,000 



Exports from — 



Australasia ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7,622,000 



Argentine and Uruguay ... ... ... ... ... 3,860,000 



South Africa ... .. ... ... ... ... ... 1,114,000 



Other countries outside Europe ... ... ... ... 2,113,000 



Total ... ... 22,696,000 



The quantity available in 1909 amounted to 23,106,000 cwt. The 

 supply for the manufacturing countries was thus about the same in 

 1910 as in the preceding year; the supply from Australasia increased 

 by 7 per cent., and that from other exporting countries decreased. 



The consumption of wool has grown very slowly in the last decade, 

 increasing during the ten years 1901-10 by only 13 per cent. In 19 10 

 there was an increase, as compared with 1909, in the consumption 

 in Europe, and especially in- the United Kingdom, and a considerable 

 decline in that in North America. The consumption of raw wool 

 during the year 1910 is estimated to be as follows (Board of Trade 

 Journal, November 16th, 191 1) : — 



Continent of Europe .,. ... ... ... ... ... 12,684,000 



United Kingdom ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,463,000 



North America ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4,546,000 



Cattle Breeding in Paraguay. — The following information with 



regard to cattle breeding in Paraguay is given in F.O. Report No. 4815 



(Annual Series) on the trade of that ,countrv 

 Notes on in lgio ._ 



Agriculture Cattle breeding is the principal industry 



Abroad. - m p ara g uav . Both the country and the 



climate are exceedingly favourable and the rate of reproduc- 

 tion is remarkably high. There is abundance of water, and 

 the animals are not subject to serious diseases. A mild form of foot- 

 and-mouth disease appears, however, to be common, and was preva- 

 lent throughout the country during 19 10. Land suitable for cattle 

 fetches from ^600 to ^2,000 per league (4,860 acres). The latter price 

 would be for the best land well situated as regards communications by 



