SHEEP BREEDING IN NEW ZEALAND.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10132, 3 September 1898, Page 3

SHEEP BREEDING IN NEW ZEALAND.

. ' V.—HAWKE'S BAY. • Br Douglas McLean, Mabaekaho. The original t breed of sheep most in use in Hawke's Bay,-in the earlier days of settlement, was the Merino. Importations of stud sheep from Learmonth and Currie flocks were in vogue prior to 1869. As time went on large purchases of stud Merinos were made from the Gibsons, of Tasmania, which, for quality of fibre and density of wool, were unsurpassed, but not so large in frame as some other breeds of Merino in Australia. Subsequently it was found that where the English grasses took the place of the native grasses the footrot increased to a great extent. That was about 1870 or 1874, and footrot spread rapidly throughout the district, causing the sheep-owners to more direct their attention to other breeds of sheep. The favourite cross was the Lincoln ram on the Merino ewe, the first cross from winch produced an active, hardy, well-con-stitutioned sheep, and less subject to lungworm than the purebred Lincoln, or to footrot than the Merino. As regards the quality of the wool, it was of good staple, bright and sound, and brought in the market a higher price per lb tnan the coarser grades of Lincoln; a wool for which there was a great demand, notably in the United States of America. All round, for mutton and wool, the cross was a more profitable sheep than the Merino. The difficulty then arose of maintaining a breed of similar quality to the first cross and something approaching the Boonooke flock of Australia. .endless experiments were tried, but owing to the uneven character of the wool had to be abandoned. As for. example, crossbred Lincoln Merino rams on Merino ewes, or on half or crossbred Lincoln ewes, were tried, but the results have not been permanently satisfactory, although to all' appearance as cuppers, and in point of frame and carcase, the rams had many things to recommend them. I do not know of anyone now who uses.this class of .sheep to any extent.' Most woolgrowers, therefore, continued to breed up to the Lincoln type, and thus the trouble began with lung-worm and weak constitution, especially in the.poorer or wet p CDu**r^^-*wM«_ > thought '4«n-*Utkv-tional with the. Lincoln. Then the attention of breeders was directed with a view of improving constitution, and producing a sheep that would combine the hardiness of the Merino with the wool-growing capacity of "the Lincoln. Some of the breeders tried the Rpmney, Marsh rams, others English or Border Leicesters. As far as the Romneys were concerned,' the result of that cross ,-was a hardy, large-framed sheep, lighter in wool, arid as to the freezers, the mutton was inferior and yellow ik colour as compared with Lincoln cross, Merino and other breeds, and, moreover, not carrying the vrool so well with age.' The wool, however, soils wellper lb. l ■' Another cross largely in use has been that of the English Lelcostr:- ram on the Lincoln cross ewe. The result of this cross has been the production of a short-legged, heavywoolled, hardy sheep, and taking it for all in all .-as a-.mutton and i wool sheep combined, the most" suitable breed' all round for H.awke's Bay. '.'Such appears to be the general consensus of opinion, ■ though the Leicester is not such a heavy clipper as the Lincoln; but having regard to constitution, aud in view of mutton as well as wool, the cross with the Lincoln is likely to be much in vogue. ■■ It must be borne in mind that Hawke's Bay differs from Canterbury, arid for years wool-growing and not. mutton production has, therefore, been a primary consideration in Hawke's Bay. Comparatively few sheep have been bred for mutton alone, and comparatively few have used the Shropshire or Southdown cross, as it would be detri- , mental to wool production, as experience ' has proved. As regards sheep for the bulk of the fat sheep are grass fed. Where root | and fodder crops have been in use, it has "been not so much used for fattening freezers as for feeding lambs and hoggets, which has been found necessary. The older sheep, as a rule, do well on grass alone, but to successfully winter the lambs and noggets some artificial feed is necessary, which was not .tihe case in the days of the Merino, whose • ancient lineage, hardy constitution, and silk---e wool has done so much to lay the, foundation of good constitution and wool production in so many of the flocks- in Hawke's Bay" to-day, though now far removed from the Merino strain. Now for the' results. I quote the average clip of two' flocks in Hawke's Bay, one at the southern end of the district, the breed being principally Merino, then Lincoln cross, then English Leicester cross, aver-, age clip 10 lb on 50,000 sheep; average weight of wethers sent to the freezing works, over 70lb, grass fed only, frozen between November and January. In another flock, originally Merino - and afterwards Lincoln cross, but where the Lincoln has not been so long in use, the clip has averaged per head 91b soz on over 50,000 sheep.

VL—AMURI.

BY WAIiTRB MaCFABLANE, KArWARA. In reply to your request for a paper on sheep-breeding in this district, I may say i that my experience dates back to the year 1872, when almost the whole of the flocks in Amuri were Merinos, and, with a few exceptions, not very good specimens of the breed. Five pounds per head was considered a good average clip, By degrees these sheep were improved by the aid of importations of rams from noted Australian nocks, until, in 1890,, seven' and a half to eight pounds was looked upon as a fair average in good seasons on medium country. This average remains about the same to the present day. Up to 1890 only a few of the flockowners on the pick of the country carried crossbred- The usual method was to put their annual draft of cull Merino ewes to English or Border Leicester rams, clearing the progeny off either-as stores or fat at two. or four-tooth; the same thing being repeated each year, only a- very few going in for fattening lambs or three-quarter-breds. '< Since 1890, however, half and cross-breeding has advanced rapidly, owing to the decline in the value of Merino, and the improvement in relative value of crossbred wool; also to the feeling of confidence in the frozen, meat trade, which had been ao uncertain in ita early years.

The favourite cross at present is the Engi Ush Leicester ram on the Merino ewe, the wether lambs being kept till two or fonr» tooth, according t<? locality. . On the best country they are fattened at these ages; on poorer country sold off aa stores. Th© ewes of this cross on the best parte of the in strict are kept for breeding purposes, mostly to breed fat lambs, being put either to the English or Border Leicester or to the Shropshire Down ram. On the poorer country the halfbred ewes, as well aa wethers, are sold as stores, and find their way to the farmers further south, or to thei Cheviot settlers, whose mainstay at the pre-* sent time appears to be breeding and fatten-? ing lambs. My own experience in breeding from the halfbred ewe is that- the English Leicester ram is the most suitable to use in such an uncertain climate as this for growing fattening crops, for should the progeny not go away fat* as lambs they cut more wool than mc Border or Down crosses, and are as good or better sheep when two-tooths for selling, either as stores or fat; as store lambs they bring a better price than Downs. Some experiments have been made in crossing the halfbred Lincoln-Merino ram with the halfbred English Leicester-Merino ewe. The result is a very profitable sheep, though I doubt if it is as good as the first -■oss from either the Lincoln or Leicester ram. The question is often asked: What are we to do when the Merino disappears to keep our freezing sheep up in quality? My opinion is that the Merino will die hard. At the present time we have nothing to take its place as a foundation for the breeding of profitable halt and crossbred sheep, suck as in the past have given Canterbury the premier place in meat production for the London market. We find that though the Merino is a slow* fattener when put on grass or roots, it takes from about a quarter to a tkird less feed to keep than a halfbred, and less still than a three-quarterbred, when running at large on native pasture. - The Lincoln and Border Leicester crosses are used to a small extent in this district, the former being found a profitable sheep, especially for keeping as breeding ewes; they cut more wool than the English Leicester cross, but the wethers are slower in maturing and fattening. The Border Leicester'is not a favourite through lack of woofbearing qualities. Regarding weights of halfbred wool, these will vary according to locality and treatment, It is very muck a question of feed, as well as breed, with them. My two-year English Leicester halfbred wethers last year cut nine and a half pounds of wool running on medium bill country. On better pasture they would cut more. My halfbred hoggets of the same breed averaged seven pounds on the same country. The average for this district for similar.sheep would range higher by several pounds on the best pasture, and lower on the poorer descriptions, such as the back runs. Given good feed and a suitable locality, balfbreds will easily beat Merinos in wool average. Give each the same feed on high country, and Merinos will hold their own or more than do so. lam inclined to think that the same rule will hold with three*quarlerbreds; give them good feed and » good locality, and they may beat the halfbred -in wool-bearing and mutton production, but on poor high country with equal feed will be below both Merino and halfbred, and be apt to degenerate into scrubbers. I cannot give you any reliable information on' the. subject of .'quality of' meat,' aa I generally sell my fata in the local market, but~eanl_*Y thai! between English Leicester and- Down cranes when purchasing, fat lambs from mc. ( We also know that in' the early days «f the frozen meat industry, when* Canterbury mutton first mode its reputation for. first quaUty meat,'a much larger proportion of the sheep shipped to London were halfbred'than is the case how, while at thepre- :- sent time we hear more complaints, about deterioration in the quality 1 of our meat. It is only right, then, to conclude that the halfbred sheep is the best quality-when properly fattened. Our fat balfbreds from . this district ore all bought for freezing,, and go as first quality. 7 .'' ', In comparing the .English LeicesterMerino cross' with the Lincoln'-Merino/ v I , would not -like to say that under all-circum-stances the English Leicester is the most suitable, .but. at the present time, it is generally preferred in. this district, where we have Merino ewes to fallback upon. For . those farmers who have to buy. their Merino ewes, it may perhaps suit better to use the Lincoln ram for a start, aa by,that means they get a ewe which will carry her wool bearing qualities to a greater age. ' •: ' In the case of the English Leicester and Shropshire Down cross for fat lajthbs, I don't doubt that on good land, where there is almost always a certainty,of having fattening feed, the Shropshire may be the most profitable, especially jwben' three-quarter or seven-eighths bred ewes are used, as is generally- the case on the-best class of land in Canterbury. a- - '}'*•■ A few Cheviot rams have been- used on some of our back country runs, but were given up, I understand', as' unsuitable on •accountHof'-the'lighthess of their wool. From my remarks you will see what advance has been mode in the" improvement of our flocks in this district within the last twenty-five years; from the poor Merino, often bare-bellied, which was grown chiefly' for the value of its fleece-when prices .were high and the price of meat only moderate, to-"the improved Merino of late years, cutting two or three pounds -more.- "wool., per head. Then came the halfbred, •fyhich still holds the first place on the majority-of our. runs, and is, perhaps, the best we are likely to hove for this locality. ' After these, came the breeding and fattening of three-quarter-bred fat lambs, one breed working into the other. I think this method is likely to continue for many years to come,, or until those wbb are attempting it have established on intermediate breed superior to anything we have 'at''present, and which shall have stood the test of years sufficiently long to prove its permanence. In contributing these notes to your valuable paper I don't pose as an authority on sheep-breeding, but simply state, what is being done as a general rule in-this district, and give my opinions for what they are worth. By the time this series of papers is concluded, probably the farmers here may have come to the conclusion that they have much to learn yet from those in other districts who have been longer engaged in producing profitable sheep for both wool and mutton.