THE SHEEP FLOCKS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 452, 10 March 1909, Page 5

THE SHEEP FLOCKS.

CHANCINC THE BREED. CROSSES COMPARED. 'A Canterbury-writer, in an article on sheep breeding in the "N.Z. Farmer," says:—"l am not at all in favour of changing tho breed, or of introducing a fresh Tireed of ram frequently, espc-cially if the ewe lambs aro eventually going to bo kept on the farm for breeding-purposes. It is advisable to decide what breed'suits one's country best, and then to keep to' it, changing only to counteract some undesirablo tendency which may appear as time passes. A change should only be made after due deliberation. A frequent alteration leads, in tho long run, to a nondescript kind of animal. "The foundation of our flocks in the Dominion is the merino, and as long 'as we could keep moderately near to that breed in our crossbreeds wo did not fear the supplanting ■ of our primo Canterbury mutton on the London market. • It is only when the half-bred becomes scarce, and consequently, hard to obtain, that we find our (locks deteriorating in several respects. The best first cross was undoubtedly tho Lincoln, and flocks founded on that strain are maintaining their p'.acfe exceedingly-well, both in regard'to mutton and lamb. The English Leicester-merino cro3s, has' given a smaller sheep, of good Quality meat and wool, but as titno goes 011 the sheep are inclined to get small, and the H'ool to get light, that is, if the English Lei;ester is kept 011 welts. . The Border Leices-ter-merino gives a very good first cross, both for carcass and wool. . The English Leicester used on' that cross gives a very good thre'e-quartcr bred,' of big frame, ano good staple and lustre in the wool. , Tlx; question which -is very , hard to' decido :s: what breed shall I continue with? The. English Leicester , gets light in the body,-and although the wool is good it does not, ffeigh particularly well.. The Border, on the/other ; hand, gives a splendid early maturing carcass, of' good'weight, but as the sheep gets . older it sets a very lijdit fleece.,, A strain of- the Rjmney is sometimes introduced to ■ counteract the tendency of the flocce to get . light - and' coarse, but Canterbury ; farmers do -not ■ generally favour the'/Etomney be- . cause it .does .not mature .tjuiokiy as a lamb. ,• It has a big.frame, but it not_ fill up quickly! The chief use of tho'Eomney in.Canterbury is to place it on/ tje' mountainous' country, because of its hardiness. It certainly is a very hardy' sheep, and does well on the high lands, when Snow storms and -cold rains have to be co/tendcd with. 'But _ the'farmers on the lowqr agricultural lands who go in 'for lamb '.{aliening will-have none of the 'Romnev. . , "There can be no .doubt that when farmers are . finding that' tljcir flocks , are deteriorating their quickest, and- safest ■ way of remedying matters is to get right back to the half-bred again, and make a fresh start. But year by year 'half-breds are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Station-holders, except tlioSo very.; far.'back, are going out of merinos, and aiany of/them are filling tho merino's pliiee with 'the in-bred -halfbrcd sheep. I cty'tdjname several 'stations which were once' renowned for their merinos and their halfbreds, where now-the in-bred halfbred has'/ome to stay. It grows a splendidly- dense fleece, .but it "does not mature quickly) and although it makes good -mutton later on' in life, it is .not yet suitable for small farmers. We seoj some very excellent specimens of them- in the show pens, but farmers find that their wool is irregular in spinning quality.; Some, I know', believe it is the coining ' sheep, but they • are" at. present feiv. and far between. Buf, as I h>ve said, the front country stations. find • that the Corriedale suits' them splendidly, : and the merino, is going out. ' "The dilemma then remains:' What sheep shall I go in for?"As far as I am personally i .concerned, 1 can thoroughly recommend farmers to. get back |o the halfbred when .tlioy can, and .while they can. ( The half bred 'may. be either of the, Lincoln-merino or the Border Leicester-merino cross., The 'latter is, not so generally, known., as .the former, -but it is to bo 'recommended for all that. It 'gives a good percentage of lambs, and I have frequently known two-tooth to have gone well , up towards 100 ■ per cent., while the older 6neep have gone as'high as 130 per cent.--For continuing onward from the halfbred, with the'view of Keeping the ewe lambs for breeding purposes, the English Leicester is the best animal. The result of this union is : a nicely-bodied,- fully-clothed sheep.' It will fatten fairly and will always command a good price in the store market. Where, however, it is intended that all the lambs shall go to the works as fats, the Border; Leicester is undoubtedly the best. It gets' up to top weights very quickly,' and ■ with care' big percentages in lambing may always be obtained. We arc constantly be- • ing told that what the English market re- — quires is small carcasses, but W9- fifid that when the buyers como to pick our lambs for the works tho heavy weights are preferred and picked every' time. Moreover, we got just the same price per pound for a big ,as for a little sheep, and while that lasts we are not going to be so foolish as to breed the small sheep. The Down crosses have been used by some, and very good sheep they are for lamb fattening purposes. They are no good, however, 'for holding over,' and sometimes when a drought i 3 dealt out to us in the stiirmorj, it is' impossible to get our lambs off fat. ; Aye have'to; keep them till we can fatten them as two-tooths, and the Down cross is not the best strain then to have, on one's hands when that happens." FOREIGN MEAT AS BRITISH. ' In the British House of Commons recentlyj Mr. Hunt asked the-'hon. member for South Somerset, as representing the president of the Board of Agriculture, whether, in view of the fact that foreign meat is fraudulently eold as home-grown, and that the price of all beef bought and sold in this country is ruled nnd fixed by the American Beef . Trust, he could see his .way to introduce legislation to prevent this injury to our farmers and wo.'Kmg people. Sir E. Strachey: Tho provisions of tho Merchandise Marks Acts, 1887 and 1891, and the Merchandise Marks (Prosecution) Act, 1894, already empower the board to deal with cases m which false trade descriptions' of meat are given. It is not proposed to initiate further legislation in the direction suggested. Mr. Hunt: Docs the lion, member deny that foreign beef is continually sold as British beef? , Sir E. Strachey: My answer certainly did not deny -that. Mr. Hunt: If that is the case, docs tho hon. gentleman intend to allow the American Beef Trust to go on robbing the people of this country? Tho Speaker: That is -not contained in the questiou of the hon. member. £20 PER ACRE FROM LUCERNE. There is a boom in lucerne growing (says an Australian writer). The dry seasons are responsible for this, as settlers find that the king of fodders stands the droughts well and is as much at homo under irrigation as if tho moisture were naturally applied. During the rocent harvest spell one could travel scores of miles through the wheat districts and never see a green thing in the .way of a crop but lucerne. At the irrigation farms no ■ failures are discoverable. It is calculated that tho crop would, yield equal to £20 pen acre per year when irrigated. This means money, and plenty cf it. TIIO dairy farmers who have lost so many head of valuable cattle during the past few years aro wondering why t-hey were insane enough not to raiso • fodder as an insurance against the weather extremity. For years past every journal in tho country 11..3 been warning and talking about the benefits of ensilage and lucerne, but the farmers who heeded not aro now responding to the lessons so dearly learned. Over vast areas of country in Australia lucerne will grow like a weed once it is properly planted. . And, during flush seasons, tens of thousands of acres of grass, fence high, go to waste because there aro not sufficient stock to keep it down, and 110 settlers with senso enougn to conserve it, though ensilage in the dry districts so mado does not cost moro than ss: per ton. The satisfactory point is that the beginning of a more sensible era is with Ufi, and must spread and grow. '•