CHAMPIONS AT THE ELLESMERE SHOW

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22850, 25 October 1939, Page 5

CHAMPIONS AT THE ELLESMERE SHOW

THE LAMBING Reference was made the other day to the experience of a district farmer whose ewes had lambed a good percentage, except those that had been flushed on clover. This should not be allowed to create any doubt about the value of flushing ewes at mating time. An Ashburton flockowner mentioned the other day an illustration of this value. ■He ran off a part of his four-todths in the autumn and did, not flush them. Their lambing was 108 per centl He flushed the others,- and they averaged from 128 to 131 per cent, of lambs. This flockowner said that he had got an exceptionally good percentage from the whole of his flock of about 2800 head, the actual figure being 119 per cent., with dry ewes taken in. The two-tooths averaged 110 per cent The flock was not kept short of turnips or other feed throughout the winter. • .

Accounts of the lambing in the south show that generally the average is below normal, although there are cases, as instanced above," where they are better than normal. ,In Southland, on most, of the flat country, the averages are up to normal, but low percentages are being tailed from the higher inland country. Some of the flockdwners have had a decline of 30 to "50 per cent. The disastrous snowstorms of August, according to a runholder from the Central, caused heavy

direct losses there, but many of the ewes that survived that period have since succumbed in the lambing, or are deserting their weak lambs: > WHEAT VARIETIES A return of the varieties of ~ wheat grown on 166,755 acres of'the 1939 harvest, representing 88 per cent, of the total crop, shows that Tuscan accounted for 45.79 of the total area and Cross 7 for 33.14, No fewer than 31 varieties are represented in the remaining 21 per cent. A few of them are rarely heard of. Of those, of Tuscan characteristics, Dreadnought is the most popular, accounting for 7445 acres, compared with the Tuscan arga of 76,354 acres, and Croiss 7 of 55,264 acres. Montana King had 328 acres, Ben Cubbin 307, and Ghurka 13.3. Hunters varieties accounted for 10.11 per cent, of the total area. The average Hunters yield was very g00d—35.92 bushels an acre. Hunters, however, is generally sown on the. strongest land. In the Pearl family, Jumbuck accounted for 5329 acres and Marquis for 3240. Pearl, Velvet. Velvet Chaff. White Velvet, and Pearl Velvet accounted for only 784 acres of the total crop of 166,755 acres. The one-time Pearl variety has practically disappeared from wheatgrowirig practice in the Dominion. The average yield of Marquis was 28.25 bushels an acre. The highest yielding variety in the 33 scheduled was Red Marvel, 41 acres returning 44.15 bushels an acre. Of the important varieties, Dreadnought’s 7445 acres returned a yield of 43.04 bushels. The Cross 7 yield was 30.41 bushels, and Tuscan 26.72. In view of the fact that there was not a marked difference in the acreage of th.e two varieties, the performance of Crds§ 7_is outstanding.