18053.] History- 65
price; cows and calves ſold very Jow; tiere was a very large ſhew of fat iheep, which were rather cheaper, but(tore ſheep ſold well. dorſes were in great demand, but there were few g00d ones in the fair. 4
Dryſlwyn fair,(Carmarthenſhir«) on Monday lune 24, was plentifully ſtored wirh cattle, heep, and horſes, in the prices of which little or no de= cline was perceptible.
Swanſea fair, in the firſt week of July, was likewiſe well ſupplied wirh cat» tle, but-the ſale was dull, at reduced prices» Hories were numerous, and good ones ſold high. Wool advanced in price.
At Brecon leather fair, on June 24, the ſupply was ſmall and the demand briſk, at the following prices:=-Crop hides 2s- Backs 25. Buflaloes 19d. to z20d- Bends 28. 3d. to 258. 4d.
Lewes Wool Fair.
On Friday, July z6th, the annual fair for the ſale of wool was held at Lewes, in Suſſex, and was well attended by numbers of the most reſpe&able wool-ſtaplers from London and elſewhere, and by the principal iarmers of the eastern diviſion ot the county. An excellent dinner was provided at the Principal inn, at which Lord Shefficld, the worthy founder ot this fair, pre- ſided. Soon after the cloth was withdrawn, Lord Shciheld roſe, ang Stated to the meeting that he had been at conſiderable pams to colle&t the most re- cent and authentic information on the preſent lupply, demand, and prices of wool in different-parts of the kiogdom, and recommended a deputation of twelve of the most conſiderable wool-growers preſent to be named by the company, who ſhould retire to an adjoining room, to inſpe& and confider the informativn above alluded to, and report their opinion of what ought in fairne!s to be the prices that day aſked by the wool-growers for their wool; the deputation being nawed, and ivon after they bad retired, Lord Shcfheld proceeded to make leveral communications to the company relpefting the growth of fine wool in England; he obſerved, that it Was now well known that the fleeces of Spaniſh or Merino Iheep were not debaſed in quality by the Engliih climate, as had been very latisfadorily proved by Dr. Parry and Mr. Tollet; ihat the importation of Spaniſh wool was becotne uncertain, and the price greatly enhanced; that the quantity imported in 1800 was up- wards of 8,300,000lb.: in 1803 it had declined to 4,760,000lb. but had again riſen in 1804 to upwarids 7,000,000l1b.; and in tve courſe of the pre- ſent year the imporration has been comparatively Short of the last in the cor- reſponding months, to a very conſiderable amount. It might, therefore, his Lordſhip obſerved, answer to the wool growers to croſs their Southdown cwcs wifh Spaniſh rams, eſpecially as the hape ot thoſe introduced by his Majesty from Spain was ſo luperior to the Merinos which had been brought by indi- viduals into this country about 20 years ago; that Kis Majesty, tor the ſake of improving the wool of theic ki9gdom, had ordered a certain number of his Spaniſh Sheep of the pure unmixed Merino breed to be ſold off on the z6th oft next momh; and that the ſame practice ſhould be continued in fu- ture years. That Mr. Tollett, who had ſheep from His MazJesty's flocks had fold the wool thereof at 6s. 4d. per pound, when brought to the state of imported Spaniſh wool, andthat he bad ſold his flceces entire at 48. 3d. per pound, His Lordihipadd d, that, in a political point ot view, it was high- 1y deſirable to ſave the large ſums which were paid to foreigners 401 wool; on an average of the three years last past, the value of Spaniſh wool, ratcd at the Custom house price of 3s- bd per pound. amountcd to upwards ot 620,000l, And he concluded by obterving, that the increaſcd price which had taken Place within a tcw years, had greatly promoted the improvements ol the quality of the Engliſh wool, and, addressing himſelt to ihc woolstaplers laid,“ that nothing but a good price could make it worth.ahe while of the BYOWEL tO attend to quality rather than the quantity of the wool,"