WOOL HISTORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15549, 5 March 1914, Page 11

WOOL HISTORY.

GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRY.

'A&mmx .-.go. Spain was the only country which exported wool to England, for th« Spaniard* had developed a most valuable, white-wonlled breed known as the "travelling sheep"—the .Merino. The primitive ancestral sheep, the black Monttoebn, still exists in Spain and from this Ik famous breed was evolved by selection of white- woolled specimens. The Spanish Merino una and .is very hardy, picking up a living amongst the dry uplands during part of tho year and then travelling along the canadas or stock routes, to better feed elsewhere.

In 1802, of the 8.000,0001b of wool which England imported from abroad, lover 6.000,0001b were obtained from the Spanish Merino sheep. Yet this was the time of the Peninsular War, which must have interfered considerably with this commerce, and moreover Parliament had put a duty mi imported wool. In 1603 a deputat. <n of English wool manufacturers who had been sent up to London, were informed of the existence of a breed of, Spanish sheep in the colony of NewSouth Wales. The proprietor of u.e flock was a young officer 0 the 102 nd regiment, stationed at Sydney, but at that time in London with samples of his wool. In spite of the scepticism of many persons in Australia and elsewhere, he succeeded in convincing the deputation of the future of breeding in the colony. ; ; At the beginning of last century, Spam ttjarted rather over 6,000,000!b a" year to $U«nd; in 1811 Australia sent 314,517,05?1b to England, and New Zealand, which was uucyloniaed in 1803, sent 189,680,8511b, while Spain has long ceased to send any at nil.

■• The duty imposed in 1802 applied to all imported wool, colonial or foreign, but in 1825 the duty was taken off colonial supplies. For 19 years the lattsr enjoyed preference, which resulted in a Urge increase in the colonial imports, but with the establishment of free trade the foreign imports became larger. Colonial wools, however, more than kept their lead, and at present control the wool markets of the world.

According- to statistics, the whole "world contains at the present time about 615,000,000 sheep. Of these nearly 93,000,000 are in Australia, 24,000,000 are in New Zealand and 22,000,000 woolled sheep are in South Africa. Thus these three tu.w British States, which possessed hardly any flocks a hundred years ago, now have nearly 140,000,000 sheep. If to these arc added the flocks of Canada, the Falkland Islands and the. British 'jiles, the total for these countries amounts to nearly 180,000,000 head. This excludes the sheep of British India, some of which arc wuolled, and the unwo. lied breeds of South Africa, yet it amounts to nearlv a third of the world's sheep in DUmiers and very much more than that in value.