NEW ZEALAND WOOL

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 192, 9 May 1924, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND WOOL

THE ROMNEY CROSS CRITICISM BY BRADFORD AUTHORITY REPLY BY ROMNEY MARSH BREEDERS Something which will cause more than usual discussion has bson thrown amongst New Zealand pastoralists by a recent pronouncement by Mr. F. A. Akroyd, a leading member cf tho wool trade and president of the Bradford Chamber of Commeroo, to tho effect that tho use of the Romney ram in New Zealand is doing great harm to the wool clip of the Dominion. To this statement, Mr. Alfred Matthews, nresident of the N.Z. Romney Marsh Sheepbreedors’ Association, makos a spirited reply, which he has just posted Home. Mr. Akroyd has lately touched publicly in England on two questions of much interest to . the wood trade namely, sheopbreeding and tho high cost of wool. He contends that while the use of the Romney ram may help the New Zealand wool-grower to maintain tho weight of tho fleece, it produces a wool that is most undesirable from the user’s standpoint—a wool in which you may find four or five qualities of fibre in one staple, or in which you may find staples made up of fibres, coarse and wiry, at the base and diminishing gradually by several qualities. In the yarn, Mr. Akroyd says, these coars'cr fibres stand out, and will not “bed in” with tho rest. He also declares that the Romney cross is prolific in what is known as dead fibres, and these, lacking the absorptive power of the rest, will not take the dve. On the occasion of tho visit to Bradford of the colonial Premiers, Mr. Massev paid a brief visit to Mr. Akroyd at his home at Birstwith Hall, and that gentleman (states the “Wool Record”) by means of. specimen fleeces demonstrated his point to the New Zealand Premier. Mr. Akroyd, in an interview with a representative of the “Wool Record,” amplified his views on the subject of New Zealand sheep-breeding.

The interviewer ventured tho suggestion that the Romney Marsh sire had been used in New Zealand more than any other for tho past twenty years, and that more Hocks had been built up on a Romney foundation than on all tho other types put together. “I was not aware of that,” replied Mr. Akroyd, . “ but I am aware that it is doing a tremendous amount of harm. “But is .it not strange,” observed the interviewer, “that Now Zealand pastoralists have been breeding on wrong lines all these years, and that no complaints have ever been heard?” “I do not accent the suggestion,’ replied Mr. Akroyd, “that the Romney has been the foundation of the New Zealand flock for twenty years. It may have been used for that period, but the Lincolns and the Leicesters were tho basis of the breeding of nearly all Now Zealand flocks. In any case, it takes time for the blood really to show itself. You have no better instance of that than tho cross between the Border Leicesters and tho Oxford Downs, a very common cross in England. For the .first year no material harm shows itself, but later it becomes ruinous.

“I assure you it is not the fact that there have been no complaints. . . I guarantee there is not a single wool merchant in the city who _ will not support me in the contention that there has been a falling-off in tho quality of Now Zealand wool during tho last five years or so. “If you suggest that we have not hitherto been very vocal on the subject, I might point out that we have never before had the same opportunity of bringing the matter to the notice of the colonial Premiers. Moreover, the effect of the breeding has not before shown itself with such prominence as it has done, latterly. Tho breeding defects of which we complain are now getting so intermixed with the various flocks that you can hardly get away from them,, and it is that circumstance which is causing tho alarm.”

“Of course,” said the interviewer, “New Zealand pastoralists have all the time been out to produce a dual purpose sheep, their objects being a good carcase for the freezing establishments and a good, useful all-round commercial fleece as well.”

Mr. Akroyd agreed, and said that hi« advocacy of the Wensleydale sire was on two grounds. In the first place, it had an excellent fleece; in the second, you could not fatten it to too great a depth, and so the delicacy of the mutton was retained. Lincolns and Leicesters would carry an enormous amount of fat, which was wasteful and tended to grossness, whereas Wensleydales could only nut on a limited amount of fat, and that tended to refinement.

Mr. Akroyd’s attention was drawn to tho fact that the sale room verdict in Loudon last series seemed to approve of the general action of pastoralists, seeing that leading clips from the Hawke’s Bay and Poverty Bay wool-growing districts, where Romney blood had been ’extensively used, sold at from 24d. to 30d. per lb. in the grease. "My contention is,” replied Mr. Akroyd, “that tho Hawke’s Bay is being ruined by tho Romney. As a rule the Romney tends to lightness, and high yield of fleece with a minimum amount of grease, and this fact always helps prices. But the Hawke’s Bay district wools are not a patch on what they were 25 years ago. They are not anything like so good.” Tho interviewer said ho understood that Wensleydale rams had been tried for crossing purposes by the Now Zealand farmers, but had made no headway because the Romney cross had proved the hotter both in th« weight of wool produced and the earlier maturing of tho lambs and fullgrown sheep. Mr. Akroyd was not. prepared to agree. There was, he said, nothing in the point about the ’earlier maturing of lambs. A Wensleydale lamb would be fit to kill in two months from birth. Asked what other breeds ho would suggest in place of tho Romney, Mr. Akrovd said h’e had already suggested tho Wennlevdale. Ho suzgested nlso the Corricdale. a breed evolved in Now' Zealand, which had a beautiful fleece. There was also a sheen in Nottinghamshire which produced tho Nottingham wethers. It was altogether superior to tho Romney. Ho did not agree with the suggestion that in some districts of Now Zealand the Romney was bettor suited to tho climatic conditions th,an anv other British breed of sheep. Tho districts in which th«'v wore using the Romney would rjirrv nnv c’ssu <f sheep Tho Now Z'aland climate w as one of the finest climates in tho world. As to tho pent that coarse crossbred wool had faied tlx- wo-st in the days of the slump. and that v.oarse croMbrod uwi never did bring thu

smmr nriiia as medium crossbred, Mr Akwiyn s»nd' Ilia reply was. that it was entireLY a. mutter' of fashion. NEW ZEALAND’S REJOINDER ROMNEY BREEDERS’ REPLY. Sir. Alfred Matthews, president of the New Zealand .Romney Marsh Sheep Breeders’ Association, has forwarded tho following reply to Mr. Ackroyd, to the “Wool Record” : — Some time ago when tho Right Hon. W. F. Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand, was in England, he paid a visit to Bradford, and incidentally camo in contact with Mr. F. A. Akroyd, a gentleman with largo interests in the woollen trade, as well as being a breeder of Wensleydale sheep. Mr. Akroyd has been reported as having madp a sweeping statement with regard to tho bad effects on tho New Zealand wool clip caused by the use of tho Romney Marsh ram. Ho has made a further reference to this matter in tho “Wool Record” of March 6, a paper which is published in Bradford. We will admit that Mr. Akroyd is an expert Cn wool and the manufacturing trade, but lie has proved by his statements that he knows very • little, if anything, about the growing end, more especially in New Zealand. His statements about the New Zealand Romneys are not founded on fact, and are not only misleading, but are damaging. The foremost breeders of Romney Marsh sheep in New Zealand are well aware of the value to the manufacturer of a good quality, soft handling wool, with crimp, lustre and length of staple, containing no kemps or dead fibres, and the. whole fleece even in length and quality. We claim, witnout fear of contradiction, that they have succeeded in producing flocks of purebred Romney Marsh sheep growing wool of tho above character, and this nas been done bv selection, and not by any crossing with another breed. There are many large. flocks of sheep bred from rams carrying wool of the above type, on which brokers’ reports and tho prices realised are everything ono could wish for. Tho wools of this class are terniel “American wools” by the New Zealand brokers, because the Americans purchase them largely and usually outbid English buyers. Air. O. M. Perry spent a month in Mr. Akroyd’s factory learning wool classing, and he states that, “the Romney breed does not get credit there for producing high-class wools, but they are classed as Leicester-Merino, or probablv Romney-Merino, the pure Romney not getting credit for growing such wools.”

The following statement made by Profeisos- Cossar Ewart. the noted authority on sheep breeding, when recently in New Zealand, may be quoted: —“The only other breed I went specially to see was the Romneys, and it seems to .me that partly by changed surroundings and partly by very carofu. breeding, the coat of the Romney has been immensely improved, and the wool is much finer than is tho case with English Romney sheep. . The wool I examined was purer, that is as a wool fibre, but was comparatively coarse. Again, the fibres of . wool I have seen this time are distinctly finer than tho fibres of the wool taken from sheep four or five years ago; that indicates that by selection—apart altogether from other considerations—tho Romney is being improved. . I think the improvement has consisted of getting rid of any trace of the- Lincoln, which undoubtedly it had some few years ago. Tho Romney wool is better than it was some years ago—a result that has been arrived at not by crossing but by selection.” Had Mr, Akroyd taken up the attitude that there was a greater proportion of second-class wool coming from New Zealand than previously, and not tried to give the reasons why, and how to remedy it, he would have been on much sounder lines. It has been recognised by wool men in New Zealand that, there is more secondclass wool being produced than should be. One of the causes of this, no doubt, was tho valuation system under the commandeer, when there was such a small margin between high and low grade wools that breeders became careless about quality, and bred sole ly for weight and quantity. Romneys were first imported into New Zealand over seventy years ago, and on account of their hardihood and suitability for general purposes, have now liecomo tho most popular breed, as the enormous increase in numbers, ns compared with all other breeds, proves. New Zealand is a young country, and tho sheep farmers are continuously on the increase, and this fact docs not tend towards improvement in the wool clip, as many of the now breeders have no knowledge of what constitutes good wool. Mr. Akroyd has strongly recommended the use of Wensleydale sheep, and here again he proves his ignorance of New Zealand conditions, ns they are too thin and open in the wool to stand tho rainfall of this country, in which tho Romney thrives, and further, they are too leggy for the New Zealand frozen mutton trade. ' Tho Lincoln sheen, which were largely, used at ono time litre, a somwhat similar breed to tho Wensleydale, has been superseded by tho Romney, chiefly owing to climatic conditions and because of tho latter’s suitability for nearly all classes of country.