AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1136, 8 December 1893, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

The question of “ What sheep are best suited for crossbreeding purposes'?” will never be satisfactorily answered, says ah Australian writer, unless systematic experiments are made on one place with the various crosses. Let us for argument’s sake a flock of, say, 2000 large-framed merino ewes of one breed, and divide these in eight flocks, putting to each flock Lincoln, English Liecester, Border Leicester, Shropshire, Southdown, Romney Marsh, Cotswokl, and Hampshire Down rams, taking care that the pasture in each paddock is alike. , Wean the lambs at the same period, and at the age of two years send-the progeny to be frozen and sold in the English market. The climate should neither be too cold nor too hot. The net result will be a truer guidance to the answers than all the various tales of breeders we have lately read in the stock journals. What will suit New Zealand may not suit New South Wales, .but we have plenty of districts where such a practical experiment can be made, The rams should all be of kge, say, four or six-tooth ; the pastures should also be well-greased, but not tod rich. Is there any private individual or association that would take up this question? If not, we will for along time be working in ihe dark, and, probably, lose thousands of pounds sterling before we can see a profitable return.

Our system of shows, says Rusticus in The Rastoralists’ Review, is a great < dealtp/blame for the spurious animals that anre often shown as high-class studs for prize fakin, in directing attention ;»nore to outward and unimportant appearance and show than to the intrinsic value of an animal for the purpose fpr'which the breed is cultivated. So rfnoh is this the case that, on one occasion, when an intelligent exhibitor Was jsked why he. had clipped the haj^'of a bull’s head and thus given Jljim an ‘ unnatural gawky appearance, he replied that one with a clipped head and heck, trimmed horns, &c., got the prize last year, and as he did not get a prize this year he was very indignant, Hud considered himself unfairly treated. Stewards should be empowered to allow judges to disqualify animals that have been tampered with in any unnecessary way, and not shown in their natural state. Certainly all such .as . qre so bloated up by unnatural feeding that they. are unfitted for the purpose for which they are bred, that is, producing healthy vigorous offspring, ought to .be disqualified from competing-

■ Two Ayrshire bulls and one cow, im- ■ ported some time since to the order of the late Mr Olsen, who was fatally gored by a hull at Hawera at the beginning of last month, were released from quarantine, last Monday, and were despatched by train to New Plymouth on Tuesday morning. The Eangatira, which arrived on Sunday, brought a number of Romney Marsh and Hampshire Downs sheep from England for Mr O’Brien, of Paraparaumu; also a Durham bull for Mr Moore-Hunter, of Htwera,. v., V•*ss*c£' ..ifeaw.'lia' awa oukkuu -&tti j aifi-ss uai

, The Hon John Mclntyre, Minister of Lands for Victoria, who has come to New Zealand to collect information on the subject of our land laws and. land administration, was met on his arrival at The Bluff by Mr J. C. March, superintendent of settlements, who handed him a letter from the Hon John McKenzie, welcoming him to New Zealand, and stating that Mr March would accompany him on his tonr through the Colony and furnish him with all the information possible on matters connected with the'object of his visit. '

The New Zealand Land Association landed last week from the Aorangi two fine Romney Marsh rams to the order of Mr J. O. Batchelor, Palmerston North. They are fine samples of their breed, and have arrived in the pink of condition. They were transferred to the Quarantine Station (Soames’ Island). r

Last week we mentioned that the Government had adopted the suggestion of the Agent-General to appoint an expert in London to watch the arrival of dairy produce from this Colony, and had authorised him to make the appointment. A cable message was received on the 30th from the Agent-General to say that the expert had been appointed, and that the shipment of butter just arrived by one of the direct steamers has been landed in splendid condition.

At a special meeting of the Longburn Freezing Company, the articles of association were altered so as to give power to write off the losses which had been incurred since the initiation of the company, to reduce the number of directors from seven to five, and the quorum from fofir' to three, and to give the directors the "liberty, of selling stock to the company. In answer to a shareholder, the chairman said there were only about 13 shareholders qualified for the directorate, the qualification being 25 shares. It was the general opinion that the qualification was too high, and notice was given of a motion reducing it to 10 shares. In answer to a question, the chairman said the total charges on frozen meat from Longburn to London amounted to a very small fraction over 2d per pound. , •- * A telegram from Masterton states that light rain has fallen for the past two days, and that shearing has been stopped in consequence.