GREATER PRODUCTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20882, 26 May 1931, Page 14

GREATER PRODUCTION.

OBJECT OF SHEEPFARMER. SELECTION AND BREEDING. ~ TYPE AND UNIFORMITY.

BY H.B.T.

Having achieved sound constitution in his breeding flock or herd, the farmer« next effort toward greater production should be directed toward selecting and fixing the typo which is producing the greatest return from his land. It must be remembered that the sheep or cow which is the most profitable in one district is not necessarily so in an-

other locality, even though they may only be separated by a, few miles. Ihe quality of the soil and pasture, the altitude, the aspect and many other details, affect the type or breed of sheep which will be productive on a given area. 1 his is very noticeable in the older stock countries such as Great Britain where, through many generations of selection, differing types and breeds have been evolved for almost every district. Some of these find favour in other parts of the Enipiro, but few are as well adaptable to or as profitable in their new home as they are in the district where they were evolved.

Assuming that a sheep farmer has wool production as his main object, wi.th lamb fattening, either off the mothers or from rape, as the second string to his bow. Study of the Wool. From a careful study of the ewes he has selected for sound constitution, as indicated by their conformation, he will pick out those which are growing the, heaviest clip of sound and bright wool. These may be coarse, fine or medium, but he will easily sec from a close examination of the weight, length of staple, brightness and strength, which wool-type his country is producing to greatest perfection. Once he has selected this type he should never lose sight of it, striving always to bring the whole flock into line by selecting his rams with constitution combined with tho desired typo of wool. Naturally, more rapid improvement still will be "achieved if the young ewes are culled every year with the quality of wool only second in consideration to sound constitution. The object of every shecpfarmer should bo to secure uniformity of type, and if ho lias selected the right type to thrive on his country, nature will aid him in establishing uniformity. Given sound constitution and uniformity throughout "his flock, the farmer can confidently expect top prices for his surplus stock and his wool; with lack of uniformity his returns will always bo lower by at least ton or fifteen per cent., and that makes all the difference between loss and profit these days. Value of Constitution. Given a type of sheep which suits his country and sound constitution, tho farmer need not worry very much as to whether or not his lambs will fatten readily. The difficulty with strong-con-stitutioned sheep, on suitable country • is to keep them down in condition for breeding, and this propensity to fatten readily is inherited by tho lambs, and is evident from the day they are dropped. I saw a flock recently which had been divided simply for, constitution as distinct from conformation. On the same day, the lambs from both flocks, which had received identically the same treatment, were gone through by tho fat picker. From the sound-cqnstitutioned flock lie took 70 per cent, at tho first pick. From the second flock ten per cent, only were fit for the works. The owner told me that the lambing percentage was higher and the mortality rate much lower in ttie flock whero the ewes were of picked constitution. If one can add to this predisposition to early maturity and general welldoing uniformity, not only will he get his stock awav fat at the earliest possible date, but also be will get a higher price a head than wnere the draft is mixed in size and type. Quality of the Soil.

Even when the farmer has achieved strength of constitution and uniformity of desirable type throughout his flock and herd, tho business of breeding for greater production is by no means finished. As a man's flock improves so docs his ideal of the perfect sheep for his country. Thus there are always fresh fields to conquer, and steady improvement is possible as the quality of the soil as pasture is improved by g n °d farming. Until recently, throughout the bulk of New Zealand, the quality of tlie soil, and hence the quality of the stock grazed on it, has been slowly hut steadily going back. Except on the choicest rich land, efforts to increase the size and productiveness of our stock through breeding have been largely unsuccessful because, until recent years, soil improvement through top-dressing had been neglected. the aid of manures and modern scientific methods of soil and pasture improvement however, steady improvement in the productivity of our animals is now possible. Even on our poorest land the possibilities of increasing returns are enormous, but here, more than anywhere, should the farmer remember that ihe stock must be selected to suit the land, and be built up through breeding as the land is improved in quality.