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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 68

Pastoral Produce

page 10

Pastoral Produce.

The estimate of pastoral produce originally made in this paper was on Mr Hayter's system, but as the results were occasionally objected to, and the process was invariably misunderstood, I substitute calculations which I believe will be more easily comprehended. The total result is much the same as before, but it would have been considerably larger if I had not lowered my estimate of dairy produce to make it agree with some very doubtful returns sent in by farmers of their produce of butter and cheese.

Dairy Produce.

Average consumption, estimated for the United States by Mr Atkinson (Distribution of Products, p.350), ½ pint of milk, 1½oz. to 2oz. of butter, and a scrap of cheese, at a fraction under 5 cents (2½d) per day per adult.

At dairy farmers' prices for 1886-7 this amounts to 2d a day (milk, 3½d a quart; butter, 9d per lb; cheese, 5½d per lb). Reckoning our population as equal to 500,000 adults—2 children under 10 equal to one adult—we arrive at a consumption of £1,520,590 which, adding exports of dairy produce, £151,194, amounts to a total of £1,671,781.

Mr Atkinson's estimate seems to allow too little milk for children, seeing the amount of milk and milk puddings that they consume; but, on the other hand, the official returns of our dairy produce do not give the amount of butter he assumes. These returns are certainly worth very little, being compiled from the statements of settlers many of whom have really no idea of how much they are producing; but as I prefer to follow the statistics in all cases, I shall accept them, and allow 1d a head a day for milk. This makes a large amount for milk, but the work of distributing is very expensive, and much of it is done by the farmers. The total is only £5 a cow, against £8 10s in Victoria The estimate will then be—
Butter £456,411
Cheese 105,297
Milk 879,292
£1,440,000

Produce of Stock.

The number of fat cattle slaughtered annually may be arrived at by taking the Victorian average head, since we have no returns from slaughter-yards page 11 and by the number of hides treated at tanneries. The Victorian average, allowing for private killing, is about one beast to every four persons, which would give us 144,000. The tannery returns show 135,000. Seeing that some of the hides included in tannery returns will be from animals that died, I will assume only 120,000 cattle to be killed. The value of fat cattle, according to official returns, averaged from £5 to £11; so, in order to allow for cows and calves killed, I will take the lowest figure—£5. The annual increase in value of the animals that are not slaughtered, excluding cows, may be reckoned from the average age, which cannot be put at over years, even allowing that very few calves are slaughtered. The annual increase in value will then be more than one-fifth of £5. The total produce will thus be—
120,000 fat cattle killed, at £5 £600,000
Increase in value of remaining stock, excluding cows, at £1 496,000
Cattle exported, &c. 60,000
£1,156,000

The uncertainty of the data obliges me to put this amount at a figure lower than I feel convinced it ought to stand at. 120,000 fat cattle is less than one fifth of the total, excluding breeding cows altogether—we have no accidental deaths to allow for, because we are going on returns of cattle actually alive—and it is more probable that we should have, allowing for calves, over a fourth coming into the butcher's hands every year. It is plain that if one fourth came each year, they would average four years old, and, at £5 each, would be worth £770,000, instead of the £600,000 that stands in the estimate

Produce of Sheep.

The annual consumption of sheep for food, judging from the data already referred to in the case of cattle, will be from two to three sheep for each person. The average price, according to the returns, ranged from 4s 6d for fat lambs and 5s for fat sheep up to 12s. The average value of sheep frozen was 12s, from which we must deduct the cost of freezing, and to which we must add the value of the fleece. The one will fully counterbalance the other; but the average seems to me so high that I will not adopt it, but will put frozen sheep by themselves and allow only 6s, or one-half of that, for the general run of sheep killed. The value page 12 of a fat sheep being taken at this figure, and the average life of sheep excluding ewes being not over four years, the annual increase in value, exclusive of wool, will be put sufficiently low at 1s. It will be much more than that for lambs, but in the case of old sheep it will be nothing at all, or in extreme cases a minus quantity. About one-sixth of the ewes will be killed, and their value for boiling down may be put at 2s.

The produce of sheep will then stand thus—
1,300,000 sheep for local consumption, at 6s 390,000
Sheep frozen, from export returns 288,000
One sixth of ewes at 2s 100,000
Annual increase in value of remainder (excluding ewes and sheep killed) 8,500,000 at 1s 425,000
£1,203,000

As in the case of cattle, this result is certainly lower than it ought to be. It only accounts altogether for 2,800,000 sheep, which is but a sixth of the number in existence.

Pastoral Produce, 1886—New Zealand.
Nature of Produce. Estimates Value.
Milk, butter, and cheese (equal to £5 a cow) £1,440,000
Cattle killed and increase in value of remainder 1,156,009
Sheep killed and increase in value of remainder 1,203,000
Pigs, half of total number, at £1 each 135,000
Increase of horses, 30 per cent, of total 75,000
Wool exported (Customs value) 3,072,971
Wool used in Colony, from returns of manufacturers for 1885 67,679
Total £7,149,000
page 13
Victoria, 1886 (Mr Hayter's Estimate).
Nature of Produce. Estimated Value.
Milk, butter, and cheese from 335,727 milch cows at £8 10s each £2,853,679
Estimated value of stock produced in 1885-
Cattle, 223,818 at £8; calves, 111,909 at £1 10s each 1,958.107
Sheep, 2,675,100 at 7s 6d each 1,003,162
Pigs, 72,290 at £2 10s each 180,725
Horses, 15,430 at £8 each 123,140
Wool exported in excess of imports 2,668,063
Wool used in the Colony 123,860
Total £8,911,336