INDIAN WOOL PRODUCTION

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 12

INDIAN WOOL PRODUCTION

POSSIBLE ADOPTION OF N.Z. METHODS "STUDY BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL If New Zealand’s methods of sheep and wool production were adopted in India, that country’s output would be increased, but a great deal would depend on how many of these practices could be carried out. there, said Mr H. K. Lail, the Indian Deputy-Direc-tor of Animal Husbandry, in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Lail, who holds a B.Sc. degree from the University of the Punjab, and is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Science, London, has been visiting Australia and New Zealand to study sheep and wool growing, and to find ways of improving production in his own country.

The use of any of the Australian or New Zealand methods would depend on the amount of land that could be spared in sheep raising, he said. Experiments would have to be carried out on the use of fertilisers on the hills, and on the growing of legumes to see whether they were practicable on a largei scale. The work being done in New Zealand indicated the need for the management trials in India to compare the economics of sheep raising as practised in New Zealand with those of agricultural cropping in India, said Mr Lail.

Sheep breeds in the north of India were different from New Zealand breeds, and the system of management differed also, he said. Flocks migrated to the hills—sometimes to mountains 9000 ft high—for grazing in the summer, and were brought down to the foothills jn winter. These sheep produced medium types of wool, mainly used for internal consumption, such as for making tweeds, overcoating and blankets. The finer lambs’ wool was used for “lohis,” light blankets which the Indians used as cloaks?

“The aim of the industry in India is to increase the quantity of wool from each sheep, so that sufficient can be produced to meet the local demand,” said Mr Lail.

While in New Zealand for the last three weeks, Mr Lail has visited the Ruakura Animal Research Station at Hamilton, Massey Agricultural College, Palmerston North, and the rr search station at Wallaceville, and has spent much time with officers of the Department of Agriculture in Wellington. Yesterday he visited Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, and he will spend more time at this college before he leaves New Zealand. Mr Lail also intends to see as many farms and sheep stations in Canterbury as possible.