NEW ZEALAND SHEEP IN AMERICA.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15487, 14 January 1916, Page 11113

NEW ZEALAND SHEEP IN AMERICA.

(ritcni orit ow.v coREEsroxDENT.) SAN FRANCISCO, December 2-1. Tho rank injustice accorded the four prize stud Lincoln rarns sent by Mr William Perry, of Masterton, New Zealand, to tho Panama Exposition, when they were cnlv awarded fourth prize, has. in reality, provided one of the greatest advertisements New Zealand prizo sheep ever obtained in America. The misjudginent of tho unofficial jndgc who performed the work beforo the arranged date, was so patent to all, that his award was ridiculed from New York to San Francisco, in tho livestock journals of tho United States, instead of being a Lincoln judge ho wa-s virtually .1 Shropshire sheep expert, and was unacquainted with the recognised high-clats type, of Lincoln breed. Proof that competent American sheepbreeders observed the admitted superiority of»thc Masterton imported sheep was shown by tho alacrity in which, they wero sold, though the prices were not what could have been desired, for tho average American flockniaster does 1 not appreciate the high-grade New Zeal .and sheep at the figures they secure .elsewhere. Slowly ho is becoming educated to the desirability of securing high-priced rams, as a movement was recently initiated to import stock from New Zealand to improve the American flocks of Wyoming, Oregon, ; California, and other leading sheepbreeding States. " * | With this object, in view, a large company lias just been floated in the I United States, with a capital'of 40.0UD dollars, for the purj>oso of importing . shipments of purebred Corriedale sheep from Now Zealand. This company, intends to import hoggets to reach San Francisco about March next. This time of arrival would admirably suit American flockmasters to enable the hoggets to become acclimatised and sufficiently matured by November mating time. Commissioner Clifton has been consulted on the subject, and lie has been ! assured by the American company's j officials that- "a trade, of great volume ; will be cultivated with New Zealand, • botli for the Corriedale and the ltom- i nev." Mr Clifton has received several | strong letters of protest against tho 1 misjudging of the Perry Lineolns, and one American writer declared - the deplorable occurrence . was nothing less than an insult to the New Zealand Lincoln Sheep Association, as several of the more broad-minded and intelligent sheep-breeders of the Western ' States of America were irritated at the outrageously unjust award. The eame ! writer declared the" Perry Lineolns surpassed tho historic five sheep of the Lincoln type sold by Mr Henry Dud- j ding, the_ well-known English breeder, : to the New Zealand Government for 1100 guineas each some years ago. This comment in the American livestock journals has focussed attention 011 the New Zealand sheep, and it has in one way aroused American farmers j to the desirability of importing the best' | specimens from New Zealand to improve the leading flocks of the' United States.