TOP-DRESSING BENEFITS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21802, 6 June 1936, Page 12

TOP-DRESSING BENEFITS

IMPROVING PASTURE QUALITY

EFFECT ON LAMB FATTENING

With the increase in top-dressing practices in Canterbury, more information about the benefits is becoming available. A Kaituna farmer supplies some striking evidence of the effect on his lamb fattening this season. On one of his paddocks, recognised for its fattening capacity, he had a mob of 200 lambs, and, in spite of the fact that feed was abundant, they were making little progress. He decided to move them on to another paddock of 30 acres, which, for a period of seven years, had been limed and “supered” regularly. In three weeks all the lambs, except 25, were away to the works fat. The latter paddock, before fattening the lambs, had carried five sheep to the acre all the year round. This particular paddock was once consideredby the owner to be one of his worst. This season it was a vigorous sward of English rye cocksfoot, and clovers. The best results secured were from the use of not less than two cwt of fertiliser an acre, with lime at regular intervals of every three to four years, in quantities of lOcwt an acre or more. Less than 2cwt of fertiliser was found to be too little. The foregoing result indicates that even in a season such as the present, when feed is plentiful, top-dressing is important to improve the quality of the feed. '

ALMOST EXTINCT

HISTORIC BREED OP SHEEP

The illustration on this page shows a bunch of sheep, which at first glance might be taken for a breed with some national relationship to the Friesian of the dairy world. However, such is not the case. They represent probably the oldest preed of sheep in Europe, possibly in the world. Jacob’s Sheep, it was reported bv a Home paper som§ time ago, were practically extinct, but there are still some small docks in Great Britain, The one illustrated is on the farm of Sir Merrick Burrell, West Grimstead, in Sussex. They originated in the Holy Land, and for the last 500 years at least have been exclusive to England. The sheep are believed to have been brought over by the Romans. They are exactly like the notable bovine breed of Friesians in colour markings, and are horned. Whether they are a wool or a mutton breed there is no evidence to show.