SYSTEMS OF STUD BREEDING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 775, 26 March 1910, Page 8

SYSTEMS OF STUD BREEDING.

. MATING OF. FAMILIES. In response to an inquiry from South Africa as.;,to. what system the Australian loading breeders adopt in regard to'mating the various families in their studs, a prominent sheep man writes to the "Pastoralist's Review":— "With regard to tho systems adopted by breeders, thoy are various. Isupposo there,arc hardly two alike. Some tako great trouble in pedigreeing all their sheep, i.e., they tmg-tag and register everything; others simply havo an .■earmark for tho progeny of each ram, and, of course, cannot often (except in tho case of a special sheep) go back more than one generation on tlie ewes' side. However, provided the breeder knows his business, thisdocs not appear to be essential, as.many of tho most successful men do not, go in* for eai-labelling: Of course, it must bo admitted'that the pedigreeing has many advantages, but, after all, a stud breeder, is borii, not. made, and no elaborate. . system.. of pedigreeing will enable even soma practical, men to breed high-class rams. There are generations of heredity,to fight against, and one's pec'theories are veryoften upset. Like does not always produce like. This year you willjniato your best ram'and" ewe; the issuo will bo all you could de- ! sire. ,Do tho &ame tho following year under apparently, the' same conditions; the result will be .quite the reverse, •so much ' so' that .breeders often do. not mato'tho'samc sheop twoyears running:.:"Breeders try:to keep near .relations apart as much'.as. possible, but this after a time (especially in'a smallstud) : becomes a difScalt matter when ono is breeding' entirely 'within his own stud.. That' it is quito possible to closoly inbrecd, and that very successfully,' has been proved',at ■many leading studs. Everything: hinges, after all, on selection.' 1 ■■ "One might say-now that the two great families in Tasmania are the President and Royal Hero. These -tw> strains nicked wonderfully well. Take, for instance, the Winton ram Primus on'.'the'Royal. Hero .ewes, and it would be interesting to. learn the exact way they now' treat these strains at AVinton. .. :.' : "Some'breeders'carofully class the owes for .their rams,-i.e., they pick the ewes, they think will .suit tho ram-by the -."'fleece-.-thoy' carry, ■ irrespective of what.lines.ofblood they como from; : others. again/iselect a ram to suit'the ewes {and this.'appears to' be $16 most successful way), J?or : instance,"'. they would'take ewes.by.a pertain siro and his progeny, irrespective of .the fleeces they carried,'.and, pick a ram they ' thought would nick with them, or.with . that line;of;blood. .Most'breeders in a . jstud 'of anysize 'try; 1 think, 'to.keep twobr'more'dominant strains jrbingj'so' ■ that; they can-; breed one against the other.'. Thc-sb strains' may .be, and often, are,' ; most closoly related. -.'-.■• .."How far - climatic conditions, feeding, etc;,'affect .breeding, is; of course,: an open question,'but there is no doubt truth in the saying that 'a lot of breeding,, goes 'down-the throat.' i. A stu.- 1 never '.. staiida :.' still, ' • it';.;. eithe: goes forward-or back, and of ~.course ■ the tendency- to run out : has always tc be-fought'against." .:'.