NEW ZEALANDER’S IMPRESSIONS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 27, 13 November 1935, Page 10

NEW ZEALANDER’S IMPRESSIONS

AUSTRALIAN SHEEP

STRIKING IMPROVEMENT IN BREEDS.

THE .STANDARD MUCH HIGHER

The striking improvement in the standard of several British breeds of sheep, at the Sydney Show, is the outstanding faeture that appealed to Mr W. G. Rennie, of Rushbrook, Doyleston, who returned to the Dominion recently after a five weeks’ trip to Sydney. Mr Rennie has been taking sheep to the Sydney Show and sales regularly for 25 years. Australia is developing its fat lamb industry very rapidly, and fatteners are using much more freely Southdown, Ryeland, and Border Leicester rams on their merino ewes for this purpose. The Down rams are in accordance with New Zealand practice, and the Border is popular on account of its hardiness and foraging qualities. Unlike New Zealand, water is not always close at hand, and the Border, he was told, would travel further to it than any other breed. Efven if the Border cross lambs did not fatten for sending to the works they were useful to carry over for mutton in the following- year. There was no representation of English Leicesters and Lincolns at the show and these breeds were not in favour amongst breeders. He had noticed a marked improvement in the typo of Southdowris and Borders in the last few years.. Odd sheep had been imported .from the Old Country, but the improvement was mainly due to the numerous importations from New Zealand. He considered tho sheep of these breeds at the show quite up to the New Zealand standard. It was interesting to note that the champion border ram at the show was bred by Mr Donald Grant, of Timaru, and sold bv him in Sydney last year. This ram beat a sheep (recently imported from Scotland for champion honours.

The 495 Guinea corriedale. The record priced Corriedale ram at the sales, which made 495gns, was a splendid type of the breed, with an outstanding carcase and wool quality.. Some breeders had gone too much for wool at the expense of the carcase, but this class of sheep was practically absent from the show. The breeder of the record-priced ram—T. B. Macfarlane, whose flock is No. 2of the Australasian Corriedale Society-es-tablished his stud from direct descendants of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company’s No. 1 flock, New Zealand flock book, established in 1874, the oldest Corriedale flock in existence. As Corriedale breeders know it is of pure Lincoln-Merino blood, no other having ever been introduced. Mr Rennie did not hear anything of tho Polwortli breed, practically a Merino comeback, but a blockier type, which caused a good of interest some years ago. ' ... . , , , The Merinos were a magnificent-lot, There were other rams as good as the record-priced one of 800 guineas, hut this animal was wanted by several breeders. The ewes were bigger than the New Zealand type. There was no doubt, according to Mr Rennie, that the advance in tho quality of the lamb and; long woo] breeds would make Australia an increasingly strong competitor of New Zealand in the export trade. The Drought.

Considering the drought, which was in existence in the northern pait o New South Wales and in Queensland, the sales were remarkably good. Feedincr is such a problem in drought periods that big flock owners were afraid in some cases to buy even a single sheep. During the time Mr Rennie was iff Sydney there had been a good train, in some of the districts, approximately Ifin and flock sheep promptly jumped by 4s a head. Flock owners told him that with a similar rain not too far away they would ha “set.” The rapidity of the change ui the countryside was amazing a ei a d °Mr i ßennie was taken through one of the principal wool stores m Ww. and the big bins were -empty. it wm estimated that tho clip this year would be from 250,000 to 300,000 bales less ton season, and wool men -ve- c looking forward to the disposal ol the clip with great confidence.