STUD SHEEP FOR THE STATE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 223, 13 June 1908, Page 3

STUD SHEEP FOR THE STATE.

A HANDSOME CIFT. MR. SHORT PRESENTS HIS SOUTHDOWN FLOCK. Mr. E. Short, ••tho well-known Romney breedor, has decided .to confine his attention in tho breeding of - stud ; sheep to Romney Marsh shocp, with which: ho has. met such great success. .In pursuance of this decision Mr.. Short decided yesterday to present to the. Government for the experiment farm at Waverley his flock of eighty stud Southdown sheep, some : of which scored unmistakable successes at the recent Masterton show. The handsome offer of the Southdown flock to the Government, wliich means a value of nearly four fignios, independently of the fact that a carefully selected flock is almost' in.valuable, was decided upon/after Mr. Short had received notice from the Government that bis land would not be purchased, so that tho public will bo all the more able to appreciate ■the disinterested nature of the offer. \ Tho " Feilding Star" states that one of the best men in the Old Country concerned in .the breeding of Romney stud shebp—a man who has for years ,boen in the employoosf s Mr. File, the celebrated Romney breeder—will arrive' here early nest month under 'engagement to Mr. 'Short, and.he will devote all his attention to the Parorangi stud flock'. The presentation, of Mr. -Short's Southdowns is an. oxtension of the scheme (now being, fast realised) outlined by the Hon. R. M'Nab at the last Manawatu winter show, when the Minister asked for gifts of pedigree dairy herds for the State farms.. The'aim of the Minister in regard to the dairy studs is to sell .'to the dairy farmers young bulls that' will improve the, milting qualities of the Dominion's, dairy' C9ws. Mr. Short's sheep will no doubt bs iurned to equally useful acoount. c. v

The stud gifta to,-the State, so far an l nounced, comprise the following '• — One thousand pounds : for imported dairy animals (breed . not yet decided), from an anonymous donor. .Twenty Shorthorn heifers, from Mr. 6 P Donnelly,. of Taradale. Ten' Shorthorn j pedigree heifers, from Mr. Douglas M Lean, of Hawke's Bay. Eighty stud Southdown, from Mr. E. Short, of raroran^i. ' .Two other offers are pending, but hare not yet been made public. , A SYNDICATE NEGOTIATING. ' _-.OurFeilding correspondent telegraphs that Mr. : Ernest. Short yesterday received word from. £he_ Minister for Lands, the Hon. R. M Nab. Cabinet has.decided not to ac* quire bis Parorangi Estate OVaituna) for closer settlement. .-This is disappointing news :% district, as the land is admirably suited for ; closer settlement, and is .'subdivided so conveniently that the estate could have been put upon tho market at'once and settlers enabled to net on to the land straight away. It is understood that Mr, Short has received nn offer for the whole estato from ft.syndicate.