SPECIAL PLACE OF CANTERBURY

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30342, 18 January 1964, Page 6

SPECIAL PLACE OF CANTERBURY

CANTERBURY has a special ''J place in the history of the Suffolk breed in New Zealand and the development of the South-Suffolk breed.

In a publication, “The Suffolk and South-Suffolk,” Mr R.. A. Barton, senior lecturer in sheep husbandry at Massey University College, says: “George Gould imported the first Suffolks to this country in December, 1913, and he made the first matings that led to the establishment of the South-Suffolk breed. His contribution to New Zealand farming in these two actions alone marked Mr Gould as a far-sighted individual.” The Suffolk was developed in Britain towards the end of the eighteenth century and in the first half of the last century out of the crossing of Norfolk Horned ewes with the Southdown ram to produce animals having a symmetrical form, compactness of body, and early maturity. These sheep were at first called Southdown Norfolks. The Norfolk Horned were horned sheep with black faces and legs, and the legs were long so that the sheep could walk long distances to graze on poor land and stand the journey to London where most of them were sold. They were also highly thought of for their mutton.

The Suffolk, although bred from the arable farms of East Anglia, is now, according to Mr Barton, found throughout Britain and is used more widely than any other Down breed there because of its success as a crossing ram in lamb production.

The Suffolk was among the last of the breeds of sheep to be introduced into New Zealand. The first sheep, described as Suffolk Down, arrived from England in December, 1913, and comprised one ram and six ewes. They went to Mr George Gould’s property at Coutts Island. It is not definitely known whether sheep imported in 1868 by W. Wilson, of Canterbury, and called Norfolk Downs, were in fact Suffolk sheep. “Although Mr Gould had many commercial, civic and sporting interests, he was greatly involved with the land and livestock,” says Mr Barton. “He was a judge of dairy cattle and he had a purebred Southdown flock. His most notable contribution, however, was in establishing the Suffolk and SouthSuffolk breeds in New Zealand. He held a high opinion of the Suffolk breed for lamb and mutton production because it produced lean meat, and he wrote extensively, extolling the merits of the Suffolk and SouthSuffolk breeds as lamb producers.

“When considering the establishment of the South Suffolk breed in Canterbury he had long correspondence with Dr. (now Sir) John Hammond of the School of Agriculture,’ Cambridge University. Dr. Hammond was enthusiastic about Mr Gould’s ideas of incorporating as a new breed the best features of the Suffolk and Southdown, and, accordingly Mr Gould began about 1929 to cross the parental breeds both ways and interbreed the progeny.

In a letter to Mr Gould, Dr. John Hammond said that “over here the SuffolkSouithdown makes about the best carcase we can produce. It has the short thick hind legs of the Southdown with the thickness of lean meat of the Suffolk. One finds in these crosses few animals that contain too much fat in proportion to lean as sometimes occurs in the Southdown. ' The Suffolk-South-down not only has the good conformation of the Southdown but also has rather more weight for age, which makes it a good commercial proposition.” Of his own objectives, Mr Gould wrote in the 1933-34 “Annual Review” of Pyne, Gould, Guinness Ltd., “In my opinion there is room in Canterbury for a clear-faced Down ram, larger than the

Southdown, to mate with halfbred ewes and to produce a heavier lamb, or a marketable lamb at an earlier date. Such a ram can be bred by crossing the Southdown ram with the Suffolk ewe or vice versa, the result being a low-set, lengthy ram possessing the same qualities as the Southdown, but weighing about 50 per cent more.” A notable feature of Mr Gould’s writings of 20 and more years ago was his appreciation of the need for the production of a lamb carcase full of meat and without wasteful fat. Writing in the 1938-39 “Annual Review,” Mr Gould noted that New Zealand was behind Britain in consideration and regard for flesh quality of our lamb and mutton breeds. . . . “It should not be forgotten that a carcase is merely food, of which the final test is on the plaite. “Our annual fat lamb competitions do not sufficiently regard this aspect of quality and until it is taken up as it is in pork and bacon competitions we shall not make any progress in quality lamb production.”

SOIL MOISTURE The Winchmore Irrigation Research Station reported yesterday that the soil moisture deficit for the week ending January 17 was 442 points, compared with 288 points at the same time last year.