84 
Wool Prodtiction. 
raised his total to 136,000,000 lb., while in the decade from 
1873 to 1882 inclusive, the often quoted figures of the journal 
which then bore the name of the Bradford Observer gave a 
fluctuating total ranging from 167,000,000 lb. to 129,000,000 lb. 
In the face of these divergent estimates of authorities it was 
high time we had some closer official inquiry, and the methods 
and resulfte of this are explained in Mr. Rew’s report, dated 
August last, and above referred to. The reason for includ- 
ing the fleeces of slaughtered sheep and of lambs, not only 
slaughtered but in some counties shorn, are here explained, and 
an aggregate of over 133,000,000 lb. is ultimately arrived at, 
made of the following separate items : — 
Lbr 
Sheep shorn in Great Britain (average of 1905-6) ... 87,838,000 
Slieep slaughtered in Great Britain (average of 1905-6)... 30,250,000 
Lambs shorn in Great Britain (average of 1905-6) ... 2,000,000 
Lambs slaughtered in Great Britain (average of 1905-6) 1,000,000 
Total for Great Britain ... 121,088,000 
Add separate estimate supplied for Ireland 12,000,000 
Total for United Kingdom ... ... ... 133,088,000 
This total is of course admitted to be approximate only, but it is 
interesting to note that it but little exceeds the figure hitherto 
quoted on the journalistic authority of the great Yorkshire 
centre of the wool trade. The latest report will, however, 
repay the closest study, for it is based upon a very searching 
local inquiry, carried out not only by the agricultural corres- 
pondents of the Board and its market reporters throughout the 
country, but by direct circulars and requests for information 
supplied in 1905 from over a thousand flockmasters and wool 
growers and representative agriculturists, and from nearly as 
many in the subsequent year — in both instances supplemented 
by information contributed by wool buyers in the typical 
centres of Great Britain. In the space here at command it is 
not feasible to reproduce the county and breed tables of average 
weights of fleeces, widely varying as they might be expected 
to do. The reader who wishes to learn what the clip of the 
great leading breeds is put at locally by the very practical 
observers here employed, should not fail to examine for himself 
the local notes on these points which are so fully reproduced, 
largely in the words of the writers who favoured the Board 
with their views. Although disclaiming to supply an exhaus- 
tive catalogue of the breeds of sheep and of their local dis- 
tribution, the report goes far to furnish materials of the first 
interest to the flockmasters of Great Britain respecting twenty- 
nine separate breeds for which estimates of production have 
been supplied. It is significant in this connection to find the 
