SHEEP RETURNS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXI, Issue 220, 20 September 1895, Page 2

SHEEP RETURNS.

♦ Slowly, but surely, the North Is* land is overtaking the South m the pastoral industry. No longer ago than 1889, out of a total of 15,428,828 sheep m the colony, 9,438,084 were m the South Island, leaving the North with 5,990,244. On the 80th April this year the total was 19,767,308, of which 10,769,296 were m the South Island, and 8,998,012 m the North. This total was less than m the previous year, when the returns showed 20,230,829 sheep, There was a reduction m both Islands, but while the loss m the South was 292,181, that m the North was but 171,840. At present, the flocks are probably nearly equal, for while it is estimated that not far short of 1 ,000,000 sheep have perished m the South Island through the bad winter, m the North the season has been exceptionally healthy, and though on some very fully stocked stations there has been a fairly heavy mortality from shortness of feed, on those which were prepared for a hard winter the loss has been exceptionally small. In every district except Marlborough-Nelson there was a decrease, and there the increase was only 9027. The heaviest reduction was m Canterbury-Kaikoura, 185,688, and the next m Otago, 115,575. Napier and Wellington shared much alike, their losses being 77,048 and 78,849 respectively. Auckland making up the balance was 15,448. The decrease m the South Island is partly ascribed to the failure of the turnip crop, which caused a largely increased number of sheep to be sent to the boiling- down works. The total number boiled down and preserved was 433,000.