Imports of Agricultural Produce in 1897. 439 



preserved, figures in the accounts to the extent of 

 1,034,000 cwts., as compared with 981,000 cvvts. in 1896. 



The United States continues to be our principal purveyor 

 of beef, the consignments from that country, which included 

 416,299 live cattle and 2,242,000 cwts. of fresh beef, having 

 constituted nearly 71 per cent, of our imports of this class ot 

 meat in the past year. Among other countries engaged in 

 this trade, Canada contributed 126,495 head of cattle, and 

 Argentina sent 73,867 head. The last-named country again 

 held, as she did in 1896, the premier position as an exporter 

 of live sheep and lambs to the United Kingdom, the number 

 of Argentine sheep landed having been 345,217, out of a 

 total importation of 61 1,504 head, the remainder being made 

 up of 63,761 head from Canada; 186,755 from the United 

 States; and 12,797 from Iceland. Argentina also furnished 

 908,623 cwts. of refrigerated mutton ; but the bulk ot the 

 supply of this article was as usual of colonial origin, the 

 Australasian cargoes having formed almost exactly two- 

 thirds of the entire receipts, which were 3,193,276 cwts. 

 The entry of 6,731,000 cwts. of bacon and hams included 

 5,196,000 cwts. from the United States, 1,026,000 cwts. from 

 Denmark, and 409,000 from Canada. 



The total value of the imports of corn, including wheat- 

 meal and flour, amounted in 1897 to ^50,872,000, or ^606,777 

 more than in 1896. A noteworthy feature of the import 

 trade in cereals of the past year was, as has been already 

 stated above, a considerable diminution in the consignments 

 of foreign wheat, of which the total importation, including 

 flour converted into its equivalent weight of grain, amounted 

 to 88,688,653 cwts. This supply is smaller than that of any 

 year since 1890, when 82,381,591 cwts. were imported. The 

 quantities discharged annually at our ports in recent years 

 have been as follows : — 



Year. Cwts. 



1890 ... 82,381,591 



1891 §9,539,355 



1892 ... 95,604,589 



1893 ... 93,806,666 



Year. Cwts. 



1894 ... 96,702,072 



1895 ... 107,261,636 



1896 ... 99,637,369 



1897 ... 88,688,653 



Thus, between 1895 and 1897, the pressure of the competi- 



