STOCK AT PALERMO.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 January 1925, Page 12

STOCK AT PALERMO.

THE INTERNATIONAL SHOW. SHEEP, HORSES AND PIGS. Below we pulish the third of four articles contributed by iVIr C. E. Robertson, who was honorary commissioner to the Dominion Breeders’ Societies at the great International Show, held at Palermo, Argentine, in September last. At this show New Zealand stock, in competition with all the world, secured 31 ordinary and championship awards.

Judging of the sheep sections com menced on the third day with the Merinos, Senor Jose Elorza, of Uruguay, being the judge. Under the heading of Merinos there were two sections, the first section being for Bambouillets or, as they were listed, Argentine Merinos; while the second was termed Australian Merinos, and it was in this section that the New Zealand sheep competed. As we had’ sheep in our consignment up to four'and five years of .age, owing to the difficulty of getting sizable hoggets in July for shipment, there was some doubt as to whether these sheep were to be permitted to compete, as the Society are very strict in regard to-age. In the cattle section three of our bulls, which were under 12 months of age, were declared ineligible. There was rather surprising competition in the Merino section, which came next to the Romney in importance, with a total of 143 entries.! Rambouillets were judged first. There were some good sheep in this section, but a good proportion were to us absolute freaks, as these sheep had not only wrinkly necks, but had corded wrinkles right along the back and ribs,, over the rump and down the thighs. Their faces were completely covered with wool, and the fact that practically all of the sheep were wool-blind did not seem to be taken into account. One could safely say that every competing ram had been developed under cover, which is the accepted practice. The result was that these Rambouillets were up to 3601 b in weight, and are huge sheep covered with big wrinkles. They are remarkably high off the ground, and many of the breeders seemed to be convinced buyers wanted size before anything. The judge, however, gave the championship to a sheep carrying a good fleece with only a few wrinkles on the ribs. On the majority of the sheep only a- small area of the back was free from the wrinkles, and on this area the wool, although heavy in grease, was of good quality, reading about 70 counts. The wrinkles were in many cases of quite coarse hair, and naturally this hair was found all through the fleece. The mature rams would cut about 301 b of wool on account of their size. It would take some classing, and we got a wonderful lot of fun overhauling the different specimens. Perhaps though the Argentine breeders would be amused at some of our beef cattle, as, of course, we have very few Shorthorns of the real Seotch type so universal with them. On The other hand, a pen of the more wrinkly sheep would make a great draw as a side show. We christened these “Acltroyds,” a piece of sarcasm Romney breeders will appreciate. I wonder if Mr Aekroyd ever devoted a part of his time to inspect some flocks of English Romneys? Nearly' every imported English Romney' at Palermo carried a fleece of common looking striglit growing wool, and, as every' wool grower knows, this ty r pe of covering is very' wastv. Even when a ram had a crimpy shoulder wool it lacked boldness, and this quality was confined to a small area. Five distinct counts of wool or each ram was the rule, while the covering along the back was almost a pure waste.

To revert to the Merinos. At first it struck us that few Argentine breeders appreciated wool quality, but we afterwards found that this was not so, and the way our Romneys and Lincolns sold at auction illustrated fully their appreciation for a good woolled slieejJ. The Rambouillet in,its Argentine form is a sheep of the past, and if tlieir breeders could be persuaded to use the evenly wooled New Zealand Merinos they would unquestionably produce a much more profitable animal. There were a few animals that were covered sufficiently even as to be usable, particularly a ram that was awarded, the championship at Rosario Show, but the proportion was too small to offer a prospect of any early general improvement. “AUSTRALIAN” MERINOS. The Australian Merino section was much more educative, as in this section our sheexi had to meet Australian Merinos bred by the Rio Negro Land Company, which operates on a large scale in the southern district, and apparently has country quite suitable for the breed. These sheep were ofßoonoke blood, importations of both rams and ewes from Australia having been made by the company. In the class for aged rams they had five good sheep of tlieir own breeding. These were fine big sheep of stud quality, and with good wool. We had not expected to meet as good. Their fault was their poor belly covering, a point few Argentine breeders yet appreciate. The Rio Negro Company won first in this class', and took the Grand Championship with the best of their rams. This rani wa6 most beautifully woolled, and we expected him to win, although Mr G. F. Watts’s New Zealand ram was thicker, closer to the ground, and had a better head, the champion being too narrow in the face.

Upon what we saw at Palermo we formed a firm opinion that the Argentine breeders are not placing sufficient weight on the imiiortance of spring of rib. They are probably being misled by the high condition produced in the feeding sheds, for their well-fed sheep have a bulky appearance. But a very great proportion 0 f the rams we inspected running into many hundreds, for we studied the competing sheep of all breeds day after day, before and during' the show, would lie disappointingly narrow when the condition came off them. The Shorthorn breeders are already realising the dangers attendant upon the practice of force-feeding and pampering their bulls, and this applies with equal, if not even more force, to stud rams. Our. sheep, in every section they competed in, looked small, but a& they were all in natural condition we are bound to receive good reports from the purchasers that the sheep have done well with them. We were continually instructing enquirers that our sheep were all in natural condition, and that each and every one was grass fed, practically from birth, on open pastures. However, sheep for export should in' the future be handfed for somd months before shipment, as it is most difficult to land them in anything like good order through a 6000-miles voyage. If they are in good condition when they are put on the ship thev travel much better, for they

are more contented, and have not to he taught to feed. Some of the sheep, the Merinos especially, would not eat until the third day out from Wellington. and consequently the same sheep were the most backward on landing. We worked very hard on the boat with the stock,‘and the breeders who came aboard at Monte Video before the sheen were taken off the boat were greatly surprised at their appearance, as all' were then thriving splendidly. The knocking about they received after put them right back, the sheep and the vounger cattle losing their bloom entirely. The Merinos stood the hardships best of all, and were going ahead well again by the time the show got under way, While they were criticised as being small, they nevertheless attracted a great deal of attention, for in the special points which impart to a ram that real stud appearance — quality; silky ears and noses, good pink skins and good head covering, they certainly excelled. AWARDS TO NEW ZEALAND.

In all, our rams took five out of the seven awards in the class for mature rams. In the hogget class we were not in agreement with the judge, who placed a beautifullv-woolled sheep at the head of the class. This ram was of very poor conformation, being narrow right through and very woolled below. ” All three hoggets from Mr F. H Richmond’s stud scored “placed,’ while Mr H. Y. Munro’s ram split his first pair. These were the only awards, made, none of the Rio Negro hoggets scoring a prize, although I understood the placed ram, exhibited by Senor A. Jencquel, was bred by/ them. Our Merinos therefore annexed nine out .01 the twelve awards niade, and the Rio Negro people two. The difference between the company’s older .sheep and their hoggets was meet marked. Prior to the merino sales starting, we were told that it was not the right market for this breed, whose correct environment is in the south. This was borne out, as competition was very limited, and the maximum limit of buyers seemed to be 650 dollars (£SO), although for a four-year-old ram of Mr Chas. Goulter’s 1000 dollars was paid. The other rams we withdrew on the recommendation of Sir Herbert Gibson, and they are to compete at the Bahia Blanco Show in October. As. this is the urincipal Merino show, being held in the south, we expect more interest and higher prices on the average.

A great deal of attention, both by the Press and the public, was paid to our stock as the show proceeded. We supplied, also, various articles to the Press, dealing with the New Zealand breeds, and these were much appreciated, and the show proceeded, numerous pictures of our stock were published, and the leading papers published interviews with the writer, and treely commented in favourable terms upon o'ur stock. This all led to a very keen interest being shown —in fact it is safe to sav that the New Zealand representation was the chief feature of the show. One unfortunate occurrence was the outbreak of fobt and mouth disease at the start of the show, and during the succeeding week hundreds of animals were affected. At one time practically the whole of our cattle were affected. We were allowed to visit them dailv. and found that the society s veterinarv corps were very skilful 111 checking the disease. In many cases it was a harrowing sight-, but the local breeders thought little of it. PIG CLASSES. Pig-breeding is an important industry and there were 316 entries 111 the pig classes. Four breeds were iepresented. Berkshires heading the list with 156 entries, then Duroe Jerseys with 100, and there were 30 Poland China, and 21 Middle White Yorks. There were many excellent Berkshires, and the judge, Mr. E. Thomlinson, one of the leading Ehiglish breeders, said quite a number were fit to compete in the best of English shows and could probably’ win '.there. Several North American-bred pigs competed, but these were of a different type longer and higher, and with rather a different character to the English Berkshire. Du roc Jerseys, a. red-coloured pig of North American origin, _ are. making great headway, and it is significant that Mr. J. O. Campion, the. large--J breedr in the Argentine, who annually breeds and fattens 12.000 pigs, has taken up this breed. It is a type of

pig which does not attract at first glance, but an examination shows that it is built 011 the very soundest lilies for utility. There: is little waste. The shouders are light and well covered, the back curved and very strong, and the sides and hams have great depth. It is a bacon pig par excellence, grows very fast, and is very prolific. The Tam worth was undoubtedly used in its foundation. The Poland China —-a very large black and white allotted pig—is another ’ North American production. This is primarily a lard pig. It is a prolific grower, and with age, tlie limbs are very large. The judge was ■attracted particularly by Sthe Du roc Jerseys, which he was seing for the firs.t time. He' expressed the opinion that they were bred on real utility’ lines. HORSES. *

The display of horseflesh was mostcomprehensive. Percherons were the more numerous, but there was good competition., in the Shire and Clydesdale sections, while a. few Suffolk Punches were also exhibited. 111 tlie light horse section, a brilliant show was. made, including a fine show of beautiful Arabs and the. native Criolla breed, in addition to English thoroughbreds, hackneys, .hunters, polo ponies, hackney ponies, etc. The Criollas are of varying • colours—creams, chestnuts' of many' shades, and so on, and are a very active, intelligent, and extremely hardy race. Most of the polo ponies —4l game in which the Argentine is world-famous —are of this breed. The parade of light horses (was' a never-to-be-for-gotten sight. (•The .popularity .of /the 'Penelieron, both in South and North America, is due to hie hardihood, activity; and courage. 111 the collar or on the lead, these horses are magnificent to watch. Their dapple grey colouring, powerful arched necks, symmetrical and well-moulded bodies, and their quick, sure action, are most attractive. Thev are clean-legged, hut ra- . ther round-boned., yet they appear to wear well. The champion stallion of this breed was imported from France: where he was also champion at all the leading shows of that country.

There was no special judge for the Clydesdale section, and this,duty was undertaken by Major Whyte. The champion stallion was the imported five-year-old horse Ardendee, bred by Mr. George Sutherland, and sired by Ardendale. Another imported horse

in the six-year-okl. Dumcross Victory, by Dumcross Radiant, was reserve. First in the three-year-old class was a great horse in the Argentine-bred Anconeus ' Challenger, , by Anconeus. This horse had weight, power, and quality, and looked like a champion. Why ‘he did not take the honours of the day was rather difficult to say. It was a pity, as he was certainly a better draught horse than the champion Shire, Drabble Bros.’ two-year-old, Drabble Charming Harold, which was later awarded the premier prize over the Clydesdale as the best heavy horse on the ground. The. great fault of the Shire was his legginese, while he was lighter in the barrel than the Clydesdale colts of his age. The mares were all of good stamp, hub not of the quality -and substance -of champions. The breeders of, other countries, like those breeders of New Zealand who insist upon patronising every horse that can claim to be bred in Scotland, are suffering as a result. \ horse wants .more than an ancestral history before he can maintain or improve a breed. , Unfortunately, houses sell for low figures in the Argentine, otherwise there would be room ther© for isome of New Zealand's Clydesdales. Percherons sold up to £433, and averaged £167, and. Clydesdale* 3 averaged £134, and sold up to £230.