THE WOOL SALE IN AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 8, Issue 712, 26 December 1865, Page 2

THE WOOL SALE IN AUCKLAND.

The Southern Cross, the account given by which of the wool sale of Wednesday, at the Haymarket, we give in our last, thus comments upon it :— In many parcels the improvement is readily seen. Still in many of these there is room for amendments. In the style of gettingup, aspmneconditum, New Zealanders are generally defective. Whether the fault is in the water, in the master, or in the men, deponent j-ayetli not. Some samples show too much of goatVhuir or kemp, and as loug as these rough hairs are found in the fleece so long will the parcel sell at diminished values. If we have 200,000 sheep in the province, what will be the average quality and average clip 1 Who'can tell ? But our numbers increase—a partial satisfaction. The numbers of sheep have decreased in Ireland by half a million, and in France no less than 20 per cent, chiefly in ewes and lambs, fco that the French flocks have fallen off by not less than 6_ oiilli.us, The inferences are obvious. Is not the subject worth notice by the Chamber of Commerce 1 A few premiums bestowed on the best parcel of prime got up wool, and the beft quality of middling und of long woolt*, might have beneficial effects in arousing wholesome competition. A leading influence is greatly wanted in this province. Tiie Otahuhu Fanners' Society have been feebly supported. The Royal Agricultural Societies of England and Ireland, and the powerful Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, watoh over the best interests of British agriculture. Who will step forward to form a nucleus for promoting Auckland enterprise? A correspondent thus criticises the remarks of the editor :— To the Editor of the Daily Southern Cross. Sir,—You have taken great care in drawing up your report of the wool sale yesterday, in thia morning's paper ; but I am led to question one of your remarks as calculated togive a false impression where your readers have not had the opportunity of testing it by experience, the more so as tho remark is in accordance with the general laws of nature. You remark that ** the analogy is exact between sheep and pigs in the quantum of feeding." From what follows I am led to sup-„ pose that, if a person wishes to keep heavy Leicester or Lincoln sheep instead of merino, he must reduce the quantity per acre according to the difference of weight. Now, this view does not accord with facts ; and I am prepared to challenge the writer to keep as many of my heavy Lincolns pur acre as he can merinos, and produce twice the amount of wool aud mutton in the same time. Those who have watched thehabitsof the two classes will find that all tho light breeds of Bheep travel more than the heavy-wooled sheep;

hence, in our. small paddocks, I have seen merino pheep, after feeding to, the full, instead of lying down fo rest (as the heavy- wooled sheep will do), commence runninground the field for half an hour, destroying with their feet more than they eat, and with the exercise digest more feed than a longwool. In a largo field. the merino flock, regardless of the travelling entailed, will feed in mobs trotting before each other after every few bites of grass ; they thus travel several miles a day, while the heavy • Lincolns or Leicesters are sleeping. The effect of this travelling may be gathered from the effeot it has upon ourselves; our letter-car-riers at home eat as much food as most men, but tbey are not often very stout. The merino, and other light sheep, are well adapted for warm countries abounding with bills snd limited feed ; but upon all our flat open runs, although feed may be comparatively scarce, I am led to believe that heavy sbeep will produce far more wool and mutton than, light ones. On a large run, instead of heavy-wooled sheep running after each other in a mob to feed, they will separate in small lots and thus avoid travelling.— Yours, &0., Joseph Newman. Remuera, December 7, 1865.