March 1896.] IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE. 475 



The large imports of sheep in 1895 carry back the total receipts 

 of this class of stock to the numbers we were receiving in 1886 

 and some earlier years. They are nearly 17 times gretiter 

 than those of 1898, when only 62,682 head were landed. The 

 live sheep trade now, however, consists almost wholly of trans- 

 atlantic shipments. As in the case of cattle, the quota sent 

 from Argentina in 1894 was more than quadrupled last joslt. 

 The arrivals from the United States exceeded those of the 

 previous year by 130 per cent., and Canadian sheep also in- 

 creased by 57 per cent., although the imports from ,the three 

 last-named countries in 1894 were already the heaviest on record. 



The exports of cattle of British and Irish origin during 1895 

 'were less than the exports of 1894, while those of sheep and 

 swine were greater, the figures being as follows : — 



Description. 



Numbers. 



Values. 



1894. 



1895. 



1894. 



1895. 



Bulls, oxen, cows, and calves - 

 Sheep and lambs 

 Swine - 



No. 



8,281 

 4,737 

 1,368 



No. Jl 

 7,534 135,317 

 6,965 i 39,593 

 3,072 7,921 



& 



125,552 

 55,490 

 13,981 



Imports of Dead Meat. 



Larger imports of fresh beef, mutton, and pork than have 

 ever before been recorded were received in 1895, and this 

 occurred although the fresh beef sent from the United States 

 was rather less than in the preceding year, the excess from 

 other countries more than counterbalancing this decline. As 

 usual, by far the largest quantity of fresh mutton comes from 

 Australasia, but there is also a noteworthy augmentation from 

 Argentina. An increase in the relatively insignificant item of 

 fresh pork is more than accounted for by the increased ship- 

 ments from Holland, whence six-sevenths of these imports 

 came : — 



Description. 



Quantities. 



Vahies. 



1894. 



1895. 



1894. j 1895. 



Beef ... - 

 Mutton - - - - 

 Pork - - - - 

 Rabbits - - - - 



Total - 



Cwts. 

 2,104,104 

 2,295,066 

 180,383 

 108,476 



Cwts. 

 2,190,567 

 2,610,375 

 288,557 

 120,279 



4,213,688 4,275,548 

 4,341,227 4,593,066 

 436,546 665,223 

 297,818 ; 315,585 



4,688,029 



5,209,778 



9,289,279 ; 9,849,422 



1 



