Prices of Live Stock. 



537 



collected under the Act of 1891. The following table shows, 

 for cattle, sheep, and pigs respectively, the numbers entering, 

 weighed, and priced at all the places scheduled. It has to 

 be remembered that the addition in 1898 of Carlisle and 

 Falkirk to some extent disturbs the comparison by adding 

 73y833 cattle, 345,409 sheep, and 15,885 pigs to the num- 

 bers entering the markets, and 11,385 cattle to the number 

 weighed and priced. After making allowance for this, 

 however, it appears that the number of cattle exposed at the 

 scheduled markets in i8q8 was larger than in the three pre- 

 ceding years, but slightly less than in 1893 and 1894. In 

 1893, however, the total number of cattle in Great Britain 

 was larger than it has since been, and it is to be noted that 

 the returns under the Weighing of Cattle Act in the next 

 few years reflect to some extent the diminution which 

 occurred in the cattle of Great Britain generally. 



Animals. 



1898. 



1897. 



1896. 



1895. 



1894. 



1893. 



Cattle : 



Entering markets - 

 Weighed - - . . 

 Prices returned 

 Prices returned with quality 

 distinguished 



No. 



1,263,991 

 138,652 

 124,197 

 102,299 



No, 

 1,115,133 

 111,767 

 100,371 

 78,329 



No. 



1,100,01 J. 

 09,184 

 91 537 

 75,014 



No. 



1, 135,149 

 i:=,033 

 33.403 

 ,072 



No. 



1-203,533 

 9^3,344 

 84 593 

 58,559 



No. 



1,219,208 

 92,492 

 84,403 

 57,323 



Sheep : 



Entering markets - 

 Weighed .... 

 Prices returned with quality 

 distinguished 



4,691,619 

 49,953 

 40,460 



4,194,310 

 41,969 

 365692 



4,309,943 

 41,685 

 35,048 



4,330,256 

 34,886 

 23,577 



4,649,277 

 39,210 

 26,072 



4,854,732 

 38,177 

 28,180 



SwiKE : 



Entering markets - 

 Weighed .... 

 Prices returned 

 Prices returned with quality 

 distinguished 



363,370 

 1,614 

 1,437 

 1,437 



211,613 

 2,333 

 1,368 

 1,368 



232,344 

 4,585 

 1,686 

 1,686 



233,189 

 , 03 

 1,226 

 17 



139,187 

 2,498 

 523 

 56 



i9"c,376 

 1,450 



40 T 



■ 6 



Note : — The figures for 1898 include the returns from Carlisle and Falkirk. 



So also in the case of sheep, after making the necessary 

 deduction for Carlisle and Falkirk, the numbers returned as 

 entering the scheduled markets in 1898, while exceeding the 

 numbers in the three preceding years, fell below those of 

 1893 and 1894. The reduction by nearly 1,500,000 of the 

 number of sheep in the country between June, 1893, and 

 June, 1894, accounts for the fact that the numbers offered 

 for sale in the succeeding years w^ere reduced, until last year 

 the recovery shown by the Agricultural Returns had its 

 natural effect on the returns from the live stock markets. 



