IMPROVEMENTS IN SHEEP-BREEDING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 6, Issue 335, 18 November 1862, Page 3

IMPROVEMENTS IN SHEEP-BREEDING.

(From the Melbourne Economist.') The lengthened discussion which we have extracted from, the columns of the Sydney Morning Herald, on the true principles of breeding, has naturally excited much interest in the minds of our pastoral farmers. Now, when the disposal of the lands, public and private, has been settled j by the Land Act and by the Transfer of Lands Act, better known as Torrens' Bill, the improve'mentof our flocks may indeed be considered the most important question of the day in Australia. There are now considerably above twenty millions of sheep shorn annually in these colonies, and an increase in the average weight of their fleeces of one pound, would, at Is. 6d. per lb., consequently increase the annual income of the pastoral interest by more than a million and a half sterling. That the weight of the fleeces of the majority of flocks might be increased at least a pound, by care in the selection of both rams and ewes, will scarcely be disputed. In the course of the discussion we learn that Mr. James Macarthur raised the average weight of his fleeces tfrom 1£ lbs. to 2£ lbs. in three years ; and that from ewes of the same flock, whose wool averaged 2 \ lbs. Mr. James Wright bred ewes in numbers which averaged 4 lbs. 2 ozs. of fine wool. Mr. Macarthur obtained his increase in weight, solely by caref ul weedingaud selection in his own flock ; Mr. Wright by crossing with first-class imported rams. Mr. Wright argues in support of Mr. Bayly's view, that permanent improvement can only be achieved by means of constant renewals of first-class rams, from the celebrated stud flocks of Spain or Germany. Mr. Macarthur, on the other hand, supports Mr. Shaw's opinion, that by putting the best rams only to the best ewes of the flock, it is quite possible to improve the woolbearing capabilities of sheep in Australia, without any influx of new. blood. Mr. M'Dougall, judging from his experience as a breeder of shorthorns, in our last week's issue strongly advocates the view taken by Messrs. Shaw and Macarthur, with the reservation that the flock in question is of the right sort to begin with. He, in fact, goes much farther than these gentlemen ; he says that when a breeder is once in possession of a flock of the desired stamp, he cannot improve, but he may impair, by introducing even the very, best animals from another stud. As confirmatory of this view it is well known that the Messrs. Collings, after they established their herd, never had recourse to any new blood. The same course has been since followed by Messrs. Booth and Bates, the most celebrated successors of the Collings'. It has been stated, and no doubt truly, that Mr. Jonas Webb, after his flock of Southdowns was fairly established, never, on any one occasion, used the services of a sheep not bred by himself. We learn, from the communication of Baron Daurier, which originally appeared in this journal, that the whole of the flocks of merinoes under his charge at Rambouillet, are the descendants of Spanish flocks, imported towards the close of the reign, of Louis XVI., and again dur- ! ing the Consulate, Since the latter importation, j the flocks have been entirely self ; and the improvement that has been established, both in the wool and the carcase, has been the result of extreme care in the continuous selection of rams and ewes possessed of the qualities which it was desired to establish. By . all these breeders, breeding in-and-in has been practised most extensively, for the purpose of rendering the type more fixed and permanent. It has been objected to this practice, that the inevitable result is a de- . terioration of the constitutional vigour of the progeny of animals nearly allied in blood ; and the case of the sovereigns of Europe, among whom the marriages of cousins have been common, has been frequently instanced as a proof of the hurtful effects of in-and-in breeding, when applied to the human race, and by inference to the lower animals. On the other hand, the advocates of in-and-in breeding point to the herds and flocks of the most successful breeders, and ask — where healthier and more robust animals are to be found than those bred by such men as Booth, Bates, Jonas Webb, or Baron Daurier I Indiscriminate in-and-in breeding is admitted by them to be as hurtful as the opponents of the practice intoto assert it to be; and hence, say they, the unfortunate results of the intermarriages among.the families of the sovereigns of Europe. They are arranged for the purpose of insuring- a fixity of type in matters of public policy, without any reference whatever to the physical or mental characteristics of the individuals themselves. "It is admitted that the results of indiscriminate in-and-in breeding would be as disastrous among the lower, as it has proved to be in the human race. It is' asserted, however, and, we believe, with truth, that there is no other means by which we can, with any certainty, rear herds or flocks, all the members of which are of the same character. It must be admitted, however, that it is the gift only of a few, to be able to select with certainty animals fitted to produce the desired qualities without risking the consequences of indiscriminate mixture. As in every other trade, however, the division of labour enables those less qualified to take advantage of the skill of those who are gifted with the requisite judgment and accuracy of observation. It has long given increased productiveness to the labors of the manufacturing and trading classes, and there can be no doubt that the more extensively it is practised by farmers, both arable and pastoral, the more valuable will be the products of their industry.