Numbers of Live Stock in Great Britain in 1906. 317 
Numbers of Live Stock in Great Britain in 1906. 
Horses . — The number of horses included in these Returns reached in 1905 
a total larger than ever previously recorded, but a decrease of 3,752 is shown 
in the present year’s Returns. It will be noted that the reduction occurs in 
the agricultural horses (which include mares kept for breeding) and in the 
unbroken horses under one year, and that taking these classes alone there is a 
decline of 8,654. The increase of 4,902 in the unbroken horses of one year and 
above is in some degree a Consequence of the previous year’s increase, and is 
not therefore quite so satisfactory a set-off as the figures might suggest. The 
number of unbroken horses under one year may be regarded as some index to 
horse-breeding in this country, and it is of interest to note that during the 
seven years prior to 1906 there appears to have been a slow but steady increase. 
Cattle . — The steady increase in the number of cattle which has taken 
place in Great Britain since 1902 was again continued this year, and with 
the addition of 23,836 to their number the herds of the country for the 
first time exceeded seven million head. It must be noted, however, that 
the increase only occurred in England and Wales ; the Scottish counties, 
with three exceptions (Aberdeen, Wigtown and Clackmannan), exhibiting 
more or less considerable reductions. Foremost in this respect were the 
eastern counties of Haddington, Forfar, Berwick and Roxburgh. Even in 
England thirteen counties showed decreases in the number of their cattle, but 
it is of some interest to note that this backward movement is only significant in 
the four northern counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, and the 
North Riding, and in Stafford. These losses were far outweighed by substantial 
gains in other counties, prominent amongst which stand Devon 5,773, Suffolk 
5,168, Essex 4,773, and Hampshire 4,214. With the exception of Merioneth 
and Radnor all the Welsh counties showed an increase. The increase in the 
total number of cattle in Great Britain masks a somewhat serious decline of 
42,345, or 3 per cent., in the number under one year old. The heaviest losses 
in this category occurred in Somerset 2,950, Gloucester 2,755, Salop 2,255, 
Chester 2,253, Norfolk 2,088, and Stafford 2,036. Only nine counties in 
England and Wales, and Clackmannan alone in Scotland, furnish exceptions to 
the general decrease in cattle under one year, which is perhaps the least satis- 
factory feature of the present year’s live-stock statistics. As regards older 
cattle, cows and heifers showed a slight falling off in Scotland, and a considerable 
advance in England and Wales. The net increase of 31,019 (IT per cent.) in 
Great Britain brought the total to 2,738,411, the highest figure yet attained. 
The counties where the largest increases were recorded are Hampshire 3,419, 
Lancaster 3,138, Essex, and Devon. In the two remaining classes of cattle, 
comprising those over one year, exclusive of cows and heifers in-milk or in-calf, 
the general movement was upward in England and Wales — the northernmost 
counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham furnishing conspicuous 
exceptions — and downward in Scotland, where Aberdeen and Wigtown alone 
showed any marked growth in numbers. The net result was an increase of 
35,162 in Great Britain as a whole. 
Sheej ). — There is an increase of 163,164 (O’ 6 per cent.) in the number of 
sheep enumerated this year. Except in Wales, however, the local changes 
exhibit a lack of uniformity. Thus, in England, while the West Riding, Kent, 
and Salop showed large increases, the East Riding, Suffolk, and Norfolk 
recorded smaller, but, nevertheless, considerable decreases. The net gain in 
England was 141,909, and in Wales 51,128. In half the Scotch counties there 
were increases, amounting in one case (Aberdeen) to over 10,000 head. Heavy 
losses, however, in the remaining counties, particularly Perth 10,019, Shetland 
8,863, Argyll 8,475, and Lanark 6,715, reduced the number of sheep in Scotland 
nearly 30,000 below the total of 1905. Turning to the detailed figures for the 
three classes of sheep enumerated, it is to be observed that the number of ewes 
kept for breeding increased in nearly every part of Great Britain, the only 
noteworthy exceptions being Suffolk, Norfolk, and Dorset in England, Cardigan 
in Wales, and Shetland, Perth, and Argyll in Scotland. As regards sheep of 
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