OUR JFAT *>HE£F SDPPLT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2427, 19 September 1900, Page 14

OUR FAT SHEEP SUPPLY.

CANTERBURY'S CROSSBRED FLOCKS

THE REPORTED SCARCITY.

Various efforts have been made lately to . account for the talling-off in Canterbury this f winter in the supplier ot fat cheep, both for i export purposes and for local consumption. It is difficult to arrive at a very dennite conclusion as to why there should be a scarcity this season, but there is no doubt that the heavy shipments during the first half of the year were tho principal cause, there being 266,888 more carcases of mutton and lamb exported up to June 30 than was the case during the corresponding period of last year, mutton shoeing an inciease of 79,338 carcases and lamb 187,549 carcases. The next important cause of tlie shortage was the comparative failure of the turnip crop in .Canterbury this year, owing to the prolonged dry spell _of weather at the end ot summer and beginning of autumn. MERINO AND CROSSBRED FLOCKS. In order to enable our readers to work out : the present position of Canterbury in regard to our main workable sheep stocks, that is, the- crossbred flocks from which the chiei supplies of fat sheep and lambs are drawn for the frozen meat trade and for local consumption, we have obtained through the courtesy of Mr Holderness, chief of the local Stock department, the returns of crossbred and longwool sheep (other than the purebred flocks), ond the figures should prove interesting. The returns aie made for the province of Canterbury and for that portion of the Marlborough province as far north as Keksrangiv ijusl beyond Kaikoura. It may be mentioned that during the past four years merinos in Canterbury have decreased from 1,522,773 in 1897 to 1,457,656 in 1900, but this year lambs show an increase over any of the previous three years, there being 223,780 as against 212,599 in 1897, the next highest year. The following is a return of the crossbred and longwool sheep (other than purebreds) in Canterbury on April 30, for each of the years mentioned : — 1897. IS9S. 1599. 1900. Breeding ifiwes... 1,759,111 1,595,409 1,640,349 1,825,145 Dry Ewes 212,b32 240,833 257,569 103,671 Wethers 559,001 49(5,896 055,167 383,559 Lambs 1,031,b7S ],032.0<:-9 737,139 818,337 Trtals 3,5f4.5?5 3,368,257 3,200/24 3.130,712 This shows a shortage of 158,512 crossbred sheep on last year's returns. We had on April 30, 1900, 487,230 dry store sheep in Canterbury from which to draw supplies for the factories, or, if lambs are included, 1,305,567; as against 912,736 dry store sheep, or 1,649,875 sheep and lambs on April 30, 1899. This shows a shortage of 425,506 wethers and dry 1 ewes, or a total shortage of wether?, dry ewes,- and lambs on April 30 last of 344,308, as compared with the same date of the previous year. It will be noticed, however, that .this year an addition of 184,796 has been made to the stock of breeding ewes, and this accounts to that extent for a lesser number of ewes returned on April 30 as dry. FREEZING WORKS RETURNS. In order to arrive at the position in which Canterbury now stands as regards its crossbred sheep stocks/ it will be neces&ary to deduct from the store sheep returned those killed at the four freezing works during the four months that followed April 30.

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G-rand totals .. 2i8,319 199,243 THE PRESENT POSITION. The total number of sheep and lambs killed at the foiir freezing works for the periods under review were in 1899 618,548, and in 1900 435,016,- showing a decrease this year of 183,832. From last year's total, however, about 100,000 — (perhaps somewhat less) — must be deducted for s=heep and lambs that came up from Otago and Southland, and from this year's figures about 5000 must be taken off on the same account. This will leave 518,848 Canterbury shoep and lambs Lulled in tho winter months of last year, and 430,01b killed j during the same period of this year. The ! dry sheep and lambs on April 30, 1899, were 1,649,875, and ibis number would be reduced : by the supplies that went to the factories to \ 1,131,027 on September 1, 1899. The dry sheep ; and kmbs of April 30, 1900, were 1,305,567, j and deducting the killings at the laetorics 1 during the next four months, it leaves on Sepi Ipmber 1, 875,551, or an apparent shortage of I 255.476 as compared* with last year. Adding the breeding ewes to the dry sheep and lambs, we find that there were on September 1, 1889, 2,771,376 crossbred sheep and lambs in Canterbury, as compared with 2.700,696 on SopI tember 1 of this year, or a shortage of 70,680. 1 This shortage has. however, been reduced to j the extent probably of 25,000 or 30,000 &tore ' sheep that have come into the province s-ince i April 30 from the south. Marlborough and Nelson, North Island and Chatham Islands. On the other hand, more than this number of store sheep must have come into Canterbury in 1899 alter the returns were made up on April 30. Local consumption has not been taken into account, as it would be practically about the same in each year, probably a little .larger this year, and would not therefore appreciably affect the proportionate totals. THE BREEDING STOCK. The most satisfactory feature of the Canterbury sheep returns is the large addition that has,, been made this year to the number of breeding ewes, and they now stand at a higher total than in . 1897, the year before &uch a large number had to bo sacrificed on account of the very dry season experienced in the summer of 1897-98. This increase must be discounted to some extent, however, by the fact that for three years there has been no boiling down of old. ewes, and the proportion of these must therefore be unusually large. The death rate in the immediate future is therefore likely to be much above the average, though the remarkably fine winter we have just experienced will keep it down this year. The increase in the number of breeding ewes is partly due to the fact that on a number of large front hill stations especially in Amuri, Kaikoura, and Mackenzie Country the owners are reducing their dry sheep with a. view to increasing their breeding flocks, and instead of fattening the lambs or holding them till two-tooths, will sell them as stores, to be finished off for export on rape or turnips en the plains. The number of lambs locurned on April 30 last was larger than the year before, in spite of the heavier killing, :u.d this was due, of course, to the excellent lambing throughout Canterbury last ser.son.—Canterbury Weekly Press.

SHEEP. Bel- Isling- Fair- Smith 1899. fast. ton. field. field. May „ 16,982 23,233 8,263 25,993 June .„ „ 27,327 30,664 19,630 21,397 J\ily .. ... 40,936 16,993 19,915 2G,562 August .. 24,534 25,670 22,157 50,273 Totals .. 109,779 96,560 69,965 124,225 1000. May .., .. -17,533 32,673 8,730 24,100 June .. .. 20,298 24,485 11,048 26,541 July .. .. 12,697 9,051 5,249 16,993 August .„ 11,729 7,045 589 7,013 Totals .. 62,256 73,254 * 25,61G 74,617 The total killings of sheep for* the four months of each year were thus :— ■ 1899. 1900. May „-«„ „.« p. 74,471 83,035 June „, .., .«, .. 99,018 82,372 July .... '-„, ~, .. 104,406 13,990 August ... .., ai, .. 122,634 26,376 Grand totals .. 400,529 235,773

I L-VMBS. I Bel- Jhling- Fdi.-- Smith I 1599. fa^t , ton. lield. tit-Id. \ May .. .. 23,180 23,311 12,918 37,352 June .. .. 12,517 21,305 7,756 21,,3&0 July .. .. 5,663 17.930 4,907 8,230 August .. 953 3,167 1,123 6,462 Totals .. 42,33-1 73,303 26,769 75,413 1900. May .. .. 22,439 31,2.35 23,549 32,640 IJtine.. .. 15.133 13,655 10,253 29,302 j July .. .. 5/203 2,561 3,182 8,394 ; August .. 475 144 713 345 | Totals .. 43,250 47,615 37,697 70,681 The total killings oL lambs for the foixr months of each year were thus : — 1899. 1900. May 101,827 109,883 June 67,977 68,343 July 36,795 19,340 August .. 11,720 -1,677