HAWKE'S BAY EASTERN SLOPES.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5282, 16 January 1879, Page 2

HAWKE'S BAY EASTERN SLOPES.

[By a Contributor.] ,':ZM Having in your contemporary's issae'of ij| the 23rd ultimo read an article upon*thßS|| sheep husbandry of Hawke's BayY^sJß would deem it not out of place, in taWngjfl up the subject, to offer a few remarfes^ll which may prove of interest, riot only: to^Jm the breeders of sheep, but to thosejew^ll directly concerned. In viewing- ":tli©>:?s|H various topics embodied in "the articleSH alluded to, it cannot be denied thaj;%ey||H I both siugly as well as conjointly form!?^ subjects for discussion, not > only JWOT&y^|Bj of reflection, but I may say of vast^ia^jH portance to the community. When I.^w&dHj fore address you in these lines I~"dojo.vflH with the view of treating these so|j? c M^ more in detail, without commenting on tKe^ffl article alluded to more than to state Jtha't;^j it must be looked upon as suggesting. >Sj thoughts deserving of the most senou£.|«j consideration for the ultimate futdre*w©l-S«| fare of the Provincial District of Hawke'B;;Sj| Baj as a wool-producing one. " : : -Ml In arranging the topics for considera- S| tion they may be placed in the foUoTgjngf ;fi| rotation, namely : — ■" % '<:■ ■ 'm '| 1. Breeding for fashion. : f« 2. The resources of Hawke/a^Bay? fji pastures for the producti<M of j|fl wool on the slopes of the m'o}unr sj|| 3. Advantages of fine wool over long.^S wool. In handling the subject of the breeding IS of sheep for fashion, I may first of JtjU^iH observe that while the whole of the [tic-mM cupied lands in Hawke's Bay not manyv,Jgg years since were reigned over by the^^M merino race, they have been in moat instances done away with in order taßutji^SH stitute them with longwools; the saineaH

was undoubtedly done in order to create a source wherefrom to supply the then great demand upon the trade for longwool, increased so suddenly in consequence of the then prevailing fashion of heavy stuffs for dress goods, etc., but as these fashions ■were as much changed again since then and lighter material taken their place, the longwools do not obtain the same attention. To breed sheep on a basis so as to meet the change of fashion which regulates the demand of the manufacturers for one or other particular. kind of wool, would remain an utterly hopeless attempt for the , breeder, as long as he cannot predict coming events or foresee the caprices of fickle Dame Fashion, and therefore it friust remain unexplained how it was that the majority of graziers who had in hand the merino sheep were so readily induced to abandon that all-important breed and rush heedlessly into crossing with longwools, although at the very time firstclass, well-regulated merino clips averaged as much as 2s per lb. This unscrupulous desire for changing bloods which seemed to act with the same fatality alike upon the Highland settler and breeders upon the eastern slopes and undulating country as on the sheepfarmers on the flats and lowlands, which latter, with some good reasons, were the first to enter upon the erection of a longwool race, have now, after a prolonged struggle in the attempt, rallied and found out their mistake. Their readiness to follow suit was much fostered no doubt by the comparative incompetency and inexperience on the part of the breeders, who, with ease and, so to say, with no practical knowledge could commence crossing, it requiring but little care to breed some kind of a mongrel wherein as a first step one could never fail, while on the other hand to imSrove the character of a fine wool merino ock and propagate the good qualities found therein becomes a science based upon long practice, balanced by good judgment and care j in fact, a work of no little ability. Therefore, to have succeeded in building up a high class merino flock with success would have been a work infinitely far more difficult than the course adopted by the majority, namely, that of crossing and entering upon longwools, not that it can be meant in the original data to hold forward -as the sole reason, but it tended to stimulate the general action of the woolgrower, while for the time being demands were on the increase for longwools. That the woolgrowers on the flat lands and levels of Hawke's Bay should have succeeded so much, better in establishing a longwool race with good paying fleeces as compared to the settlers on the high lands and falls of the country, is not to be wondered at, as in the first instance the longwools — be they either Leicester, Lincoln, or Cotswold — as heavier sheep do not travel with the ease of the merino ; therefore, if they had to wander over much ground in search of food they became naturally fatigued and distressed, and suffered in consequence a waste, which in course of time became constitutional weakness, and acted deterioratingly both as regards mutton and wool producing qualities. But not only in this respect were the longwools at a disadvantage ; they required for supporting their more bulky frame and heavier coarse fleeces, as compared to the merino, a so much larger amount of alkaline salts. If this was but scantily supplied in the growing vegetation, or, more, perhaps, did not exist as one of the principal component parts of the evil, and consequently but sparely furnished to the grasses, the inactive large-boned longwooled sheep would, craving for the substance, hurry and ramble in search thereof. Perceiving that the sheep-breeders of the hillsides and mountains have in most instances failed in raising a payable race of longwools, adorned with a vigorous constitution, good frame, and healthful, heavy fleeces, let me suggest the likelihood of a deficiency of either the quantity of salt-producing grasses, or an existing exhaustion of the soil by the gradual abstraction of alkalis in the bill-bordering country, an indispensable composition of the soil or grasses for the formation of wool, as the cause ; but the deficiency of furnishing these salts to the sheep may originate from either the virgin soil being destitute thereof, or from part exhaustion through overstocking or taxing the capabilities of the pastures too heavily, or through a deficiency of the alkaline salts absorbing grasses, thus leaving broken the link for communicating the nutritious and woolforming substances to the sheep, in either of which case the stock would after a time show unmistakeable signs of unproductiveness. That overpasturing impoverishes the land is an indisputable fact, as it is backed up by the unerring application of chemistry, while science has revealed to us the substances that is taken from the land by growing, and it also tells us that if the same or similar substances are not returned in equal proportions, at the least there are no natural sources by which they can be supplied. All grasses growing naturally are the spontaneous produce of the soil on which they grow, and all the different soils produce their distinctive plants ; and it; has been proved by practice and by science that immediately a rich soil is reduced to a poor one by over-production that the j soil will begin to grow a description of ! grass suited to its new circumstances. The richest soil produces the finest and moßt nutritious grasses, and will continue to do so as long as the rich substances remain in the land that gives birth to them, but remove them either by cropping or grazing and give the poorer substances the ascendancy, and they will produce plants according to its kind. Land in which alkaline salts abound produce the finest grasses, but when these are yearly removed to the extent of I several thousands of tons, in the wool of sheep, and sent to a foreign land and no equivalent returned, as is the case throughout the most of the Hawke's Bay pastures, that land cannot long continue to produce at the same rate of the same kind. In Franco, for instance, chemists, knowing of the rich wools coming from New Zealand or Australia into their neighborhood unwashed, have reaped a harvest by extracting salts from the water in which the wool was washed. So here is a material fact of the fertility of the land going away in the shape of chemical constituents of the wool. If, therefore, the sheep depasturing on the slopes of the mountains are degenerating into a longlegged, racy-looking, unsightly animal, with light and unprofitable fleeces, it must be because the pasture is not suited to them, on account of the heavy work imposed upon them for gathering their food, or the overtaxing of the resources of the land, or the wool and mutton producing elements, for it is admitted extansively the quality of food upon which stock is kept has as much to do with the success of a flock as the choice of sires for the maintenance of health and constitutional strength and desirable fleeces. That this deterioration of both carcase and fleece would be greater in the heavyframed longwool and half-bred than in the merino cannot be doubted for a moment, as the former being more bulky and colossal would require a greater percentage of nutritious supplies to satisfy the requirements in support of constitutional health, the demands of the nutritive organs, and for the composition and natural yokes of- the fleece. But if these hills and the undulating country bordering on the plains, have proved to bo unsuitable to the production and maintenance of the character of a longwool, ii does not follow that the resources of the virgin soil would not supply all the demands and requirements of the Jessabsorbing merino, while by stocking the cot nicy lightly — not overstocking — the consumption and drain upon the nutritious salts pad mucilaginous substances

from the earth would not be greater than would be compensated for by the return furnished in decomposed animal, insectarious and vegetable matter as animal re an ares, rendered unto the earth and taken up by it with the rains or dews falling on it from time to time. Taking a superficial view of the prevailing- shortcomings of the country referred to, and presuming that it really is at fault, let me suggest the expediency of, if possible, meeting the evil half way, which may be done by replacing the longwools with the equally, if not more, productive race, the merino ; and by not working the country too perniciously, but resting it whenever possible, and giving the grasses thereby a chance for strengthening, thickening, and spreading at the roots, as well as seeding. There is no reason for doubting but that the efforts and perseverance of the woolgrower would then be crowned with success, the more so as climatically, as well as geologically, these approaches to the fertile plains of Hawke's Bay are the very country where the merino fine wool should be grown, favored by all the agencies nature can and has endowed other localities with, which now stand paramount in renown and fame throughout the world for their excellent wool producing properties ; such, for instance, as the Mudgee and New England districts of New South Wales, the western districts of Victoria, the levels of South Australia, while the slopes of the Hawke's Bay highlands can be pointed to aa equally favored, and capable of earning as high a reputation if the good gifts of Providence were only assisted by science and man's energetic good will. Hawke's Bay would then take a place in the history of posterity as one of the best fine wool growing districts in the world. To aver that the longwool is the better paying race, that the fine-wool sheep is a delusion and a fallacy, that many no doubt are fully impressed with, and they as a rule always fall back upon the ' isolated fact that the fat crossbred will realise a higher price by some four or five shillings over and above the fat merino ; but this is really no criterion, as against these few shillings will figure the extra value of a good merino fleece as compared to a longwool or half-bred covering, say at the least a period of three shearings, and the surplus will stand in favor of the merino. In instancing this as based upon sound practical data, I will take a high class, merino wool as the standard to breed for a good deep combing, of soundness, body and strength of staple, such a wool as in spite of the many fluctuations of the market rarely falls below fair average rate, and maintains a good price in any market. Amongst such wools may be pointed out several clips which now yearly average from 2s 6d per lb, and whereof the fleece wool reaches as high a figure as from 4s to 5s per lb — such as, for instance, E. K. Cox's, 0. Cox's, E. Rouse's, N. P. Bailey's, of the Mudgee districts, Learmonth's, of Victoria, and others. Kindly make your own calculations from this as to what may be done with the merino, and the results will be unquestionably in favor of the merino. I may, in conclusion, ask any of the breeders of the sloping country if they had upon their runs such a flock as one of the above alluded to, would they be likely to desire to change the same for their present longwools, whereto they have for so many years been looking forward with hopeful expectation. It cannot be otherwise than gratifying to anyone wishing well to his country to unite with those who are ready to uphold the general interest of social improvements in respect of the various agencies at work to bring this," our adopted land, to the highest state of perfection it is capable of being brought, under the influence of a difficult and uncertain climate.