MR MAX FRIEDLANDER'S FARM AT SANDHURST.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7171, 5 October 1888, Page 3

MR MAX FRIEDLANDER'S FARM AT SANDHURST.

(BY OUB AGRICULTURAL REPORTER.] The fact of a line of fifty half-bred hog. gets, offered on account of Mr Max Fried, lander, realising 17s Gd a-head at the Ashburton yards a week or two ago, together with a line of six weeks* old lambs, fetching lisa-head at Addington the following day, made mc feel curious to see the general flocks from which these animals had been taken. The owner suggested that I should take a seat on his buckboard one fine morning, and accompany him on a visit to his farm at Lyndhurst. The invitation was cheerfully accepted, and leaving Ashburton about eight o'clock, we drove byway of Winchinore, thence along the Lauriston road to Lauriston, and parallel with the railway line to Lyndhurst. There had been a heavy downpour ef rain the day previous, and after leaving the Winchmore road the going was hard against the collars the whole way. Not only was the road soft and sloppy, but in places it was so rough and uneven that travelling after dark would be extremely risky, i' not positively dangerous. The going from the Winchmore road to Lauriston was bad, but from Lauriston to Lyndhurst it was superlatively bad, the late floodhaving scoured the road to such an extent as to leave it in a highly dangerous state» and it is now about one of the most ill" conditioned main roads in the country. The above-mentioned roads intersect a large area of good agricultural land, the bulk of which is now under crop. Ia many of the paddocks the wheat was well above the ground and promising a nicely even and vigorous growth. A paddock of wheat on Mr Dent's farm was particularly noticeable for its healthy appearance and forward condition. It has stooled out splendidly and is now standing about six inches high all over the paddock. A couple of hours' drive from Ashburton landed us at the homestead on Mr Friedlander's farm. The horses were put up in a comfortable and substantially built eighteen stall stable, after which the proprietor and myself started on a tout through the home and lambing-down paddocks. In the first I saw, feeding at well filled hay-racks and over the grass-covered paddock, as nice a lot of half-bred ewes and lambs as any sheep-breeder could wish to own. The lambs were by Hampshire Down rams out of first cross ewes, and though their ages varied from five to seven week 3 only, many of them were fit for the market and would turn the scale at 2Slbs, when dressed. In an adjoining paddock were a number of pure-bred Hampshire Down ewes with lambs at foot, all looking remarkably well-conditioned and healthy. Further afield again were a number of other sheep feeding on the last of the turnips, while in the yards at the homestead there was a nice mob of about 490 half-bred fat ewes and wether hoggets, 120 of which were that morning draughted out for the Addington market. I assisted Mr Cox (the manager) and Mr Friedlander to mark and draught this little lot, and when the operation was finished had the pleasure of seeing together as nice a line of fat sheep as were ever sent up for sale. These,* together with a dozen head of fat cattle, were to be trucked at Lauriston and sent to market the following day. After lunch we went to look at the Lincoln and Hampshire T)own stud flocks. I was present at the Tinwald yards a couple of years ago when the pick of the Riversdale Hampshire Down flock was bouKht by Mr Friedlander. The unanimous opinion then expressed was that the sheep had fallen into good hands and that they would have a chance of increasing and multiplying on, pleasant pastures, though how they would do so close up under the Southern Alps was a matter of opinion. Any doubt on this point, however, was set at rest when fifty of their half-bred progeny put life into the local sheep market by drawing a spirited bid of 17s 6d per head. Those who, like myself, saw these sheep while they were owned by Messrs Dudley and Mortley, would be pleased to see them on their new pastures at Lyndhurst. They are the very picture of health, and would be a credit to any flockmaster. There are in all forty purebred Hampshire Down ewes, a number of which have two Jambs at foot, and twenty-two ewe hoggets of the same breed. In another paddock were a very valuable lot of pure bred Hampshire Down rams, and also some pure bred Lincolns. Mr Cox caught several, but expert though he is at handling sheep, it took him all his time to turn up the heavy weight Hampshires. They are a splendidly grown lot of rams, and bear testimony to the care which has been bestowed upon them. Amongst the Lincolns was one of the first prize rams at the Metropolitan Show last year. He was a good fifty guinea sheep then, but he is many guineas better in every way now. In company with him was another that both Mr Friedlander and Mr Cox think very highly of. This one took second prize at Timaru last year, and was first at Ashburton a few days after. He has wonderfully improved since then and should win honours at the forthcoming shows. They are certainly beautifully level and symmetrical sheep, and are now carrying rare fleeces of long wool of a very fine silky texture. Besides these two there were eight or ten others that will take a lot of beating wherever shown. On another part of the farm were running .valuable lot of Lincoln ewes, some |

of them carrying fleeces that reached to within an inch of the ground. Several of the ewes were perfect models of this profitable class of long-woolled sheep, and were fit to be sent straight away to any show yard. Mr Friedlander, I understand, will be a pretty large exhibitor of sheep this season. He certainly has a rare lot to pick from, and it is pretty safe to predict they will attract favourable attention. Mr C. T. Dudley worked zealously to wear down the prejudice against the Hampshire Downs, always maintaining that they were very valuable for crossing purposes particularly where early maturity was desired. In support of this view he from time to time sent some rare big halfbred hoggets into the show yards. Mr Friedlander has imbibed the views held by Mr Dudley, and is sanguine his Hampshira Down flock will return him handsome pro. fits, indeed they are already doing soOriginally raised on the chalky hills of Hampshire, this type of the Down breed has been greatly improved of late years, both in form and in their eaxly maturing qualities, and their value for crossing pur. poses is becoming more and more recognised. The forward condition of the lambs now risking about the paddocks at Lyndhurst affords ample proof of thei r precocity, I handled several on the day of my visit, and was surprised at their solid weight. I also saw on e skinned and dressed in the morning, and when it was put on the scale in the evening it just turned 281bs. There were a number in the paddock that would have gone over this weight, though none of them were more than between five and six weeks old. An eleven months old wether was put on the scales a few weeks ago. He was considered a small one but his live weight was just 195 lbs. I have before mc a table giving the live weights attained by some of the principal English breeds brought forward at the Smithfield Fat Stock Show in 18S7, and as the figures may be of interest I quote theui, as follows :— 52* S Average Daily _ , -f-ZS- -f «._ Gain in weight. Breeds. "s.c go a UiOO *»B S ———————— '-'£*";-" •-'SS Wethers. Lambs ________ Leicesters .. 233 182 0.13 0.65. Cotswoid .. 311 181 044 O.W) Lincoln ..338 198 0.49 0.68 Southdown 227 175 0.33 0 52 Shropshire 213 153 0.37 0.53 Hampshire 303 222 0.10 0.04 Oxfordshire 208 192 0.45 0.62 Suffolk 282 193 0.40 0.62 The compiler of these figures, Mr Alexander Macdonald, states that the heaviest pens of the respective ages were selected, the figures representipg the average weight registered by the three animals In each pen. It should also be noted, he adds, " that the daily increase in weight a» given above is largely affected by the number of pens of the various breeds shown, the estimated gain representing in each case the average over the whole of pens shown in the respective classes." It will be noticed that under the heading " lambs from twelve to twenty-four j months" the Lincolns come first with | 3381bs and Hampshires second, with 3031bs while in the hogget class Hampshires score 2221bs against the Lincolns 1981 bs. M* , Friedlander is now devoting great * attention to the breeding of both these types of sheep. He has spared no expense in procuring the best strains of blood, and he has already on his farm two valuable flocks of pure breds, as well as a very nice lot of half-bred ewes. / He does not, however, confine his attention solely to sheep, but goes in for various other branches of farming. The total area of his farm is 1850 acres of good average agricultural land. Oat ot this he has 650 acres in wheat, 400 acres in oats, and 100 acres is being ploughed for turnips. The wheat is just commencing to stool out nicely, and is looking generally healthy and promising. The average crop of wheat runs about thirty bushels, though in favourable seasons some of the pad. docks have given a yield of thirty-eight and forty bushels to the acre, while the oats have gone to forty-five, and in one instance to fifty bushels. The grass pad. docks are affording good feed at present, while the clover iscoming away splendidly. Besides the sheep on the farm there are fifty head of cattle and twenty draught | horses. There are several brood mares of a good stamp in foal to Johnny's Fancy» and ten light marcs in foal to the well, known trotting sire Blackwood Abdallah. Being a bit of sport as well as a farmer, Mr Friedlander has Shepherd Boy, Primrose, and a promising-look-ing black colt in forward condition, and they are expected to give a good account of themselves during the coming season. Mr Friedlander has greatly improved the farm during the eight years it has been in hispossession, and at presentitis one of the nicest properties in the district. All the land is in good heart, the paddocks are well watered, while everything has the appearance of being under the care of a thoroughly practical manager, and reflects the highest credit on Mr Cox. He is the right man in the right place, and to his practical knowledge and ever watchful care is due, in a very great measure, the success which has attended the farming of tbe nice parcel of land he has been in charge of during the past seven or eight years. ..'