INFERIOR FLOCK RAMS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 156, 26 March 1908, Page 2

INFERIOR FLOCK RAMS.

NEED FOR, INSPECTION. A visitor to thq .Christchurch ram fair v which Was 'held last week, states' that ' the sheep penned furnished .abundant evidence of, the necessity for drastic, action .in. l the purging of the registered flocks from sheep winch aro not representative of their treea. A largo proportion of the flock rams, ho says, showed neither purity of breeding nOr good rearing. " . ;. ; The South Island - Sheep-Breeders'. Association; has rGsolved to proceed with ■ the inspection of all registered flocks, bi;t' has so far only made a beginning with the Border Leicester breed, promising to deal: with tho others Mil succeeding, years. As thfcro are 13 breeds in the Flock Book it is to be hoped,that-the Association'will rouse itself to _ greater energy, so that the reproach .which- how attaches to New Zealand registered flocks will be out as soon as possible. , As different inspectors will necessarily be appointed for the different breeds, , there is no reason why- the whole inspection should not bo carried out at one time, instead of being spread over 10 or 12 years, as seems likely to be tKe case. Even. among the... stud rams at the fair there' were many examples-of the necessity for inspection. . The business of breeding rams' for solo lias, attained far ...to<) large dimensions in New Zealand.. At sales of stud flocks, pens of inferior ewes have .been purchased by farmers and, with the assists ance of a cheap ram from some other.'wellknown flock, a registered, flock has been founded on the produce and sold for flqdkbreeding purposes,- with very Unsatisfactory results as regards the offspring. . It is surely, tho dutv of the Sheep Breeders' Association. to. take such steps as will' ensure the, product-ion ,of .. a class-of rams of at least a fair; quality. Failing this, there would 'apobar to' be sunpo't for the contention: of Some she n p breeders that. "Government grading '' should, be.!applied to,"the rams sold for breeding, purposes. ,