AMERICAN MERINOS IN AUSTRALIA,

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 30 October 1890, Page 7

AMERICAN MERINOS IN AUSTRALIA,

The following remarks on this subject ftppcM iv a late number of the Queenßlaudor Over the signature " J3erger " :— Notwithstanding that the introduction of the American merjnqa was denounced tby about nineteen-t#er!tiotii9 of, the Australian woolgrowers at the time of Messre Maefnrland'a first importation, and for some time afterwards, it is the oaso to-day that there is a regular 11 boom "in them. How long this will continue oan only be oatimated by those who, like myself, have watsbed the many fickle changes of fashion in woolgrowing* id Australia during tho last 40 years. Sheepbreeders are very much like their own sheep in matters of this kind. Where the bellwsther goes the flock will follow. Mr Macfarlaud is thri bell-wetber at tbe present time, and will remold ftd tliUi! s£me other courageous pioneer takes his place. There are many undoubtedly good judges of wool who dislike tho American merinos, their dislike, bo far as I oan gather from their public ntterances, arising from the fact that the type of tbe American is so different from that of the Australian merino. Some of these have gone bo far as to prediot that their introduction will work mischief in the Australian clip. That the type is very different from that of the acclimatised Australian merino there can be no doubt ; but- there is nothiDg in tbe history of the merino to lead anyone to assume that it will remain bo for long. The American is a purely Spanish merino, the few Saxon and other German merinos that were introduced into .tbe United States having been carefully elimidated. ■ The difference therefore between 'the Australian merino and the Vermont- Australian merino is that the former were Spanish sheep filtered through Saxony, Silesia, Hes'se-Oasßel, and other parts of Germany, and the latter through tbe United States. The Americans olaim that their merinos are of purer descent than the German merinos, and in proof of this they cite the fact that the Elector of Saxony, who in 1765 imported some Spanish sheep, did so for the purpose of improving the breed of the native sheep of that country, and although the Elector kept a small portion of these unmixed on a farm near Dresden, the majority were grafted on the sheep in the country, and thus the general flocks of Saxony Were not pure. Although practically pure now, still, theoretically, it is contended tbat there is an alloy in the Saxon merinos from which the American merino is entirely free. Even admitting this to be perfoctly true, the decimal of alloy remaining in them after tho lapse of 125 years would be bo infinitesimal as to be utterly incapable of disturbing the type in the slightest degree. For all purposes, therefore, the Saxon and American morinoß rr>ay be accepted as absolutely purebred, and the difference in type is solely due to tho difference in climate and the differing conditions in whioh the sheep have been aelected, bred, and kept in the two countries.

We have only to look at the Quiamong and Boonoke flocks to know that in the hands of a skilful owner the merino oan be bred to any desired type. So long as we secure purity of blood, the matter of fineness or strength of wool fibre is one that can be regulated at the will of the breeder, and if so deßired, the wool of the Vermont sheep may, in the course of a faw generations, be fined down to any desired extent,

Those who are apprehensive that tho American merinos may lower the character of our clip may therefore rest assured that time and the effects of tbe Australian climate and pasturage will work such a change in them that in the third or fourth generation they will not be recognised by a Vermont breeder as of American descent.

There seemß to be a Btrong disposition on the part of many at the present time to resort to the fountain head for fresh infusions of blood to counteract many mistakes that have been made in breeding up to fashion, Even iv Tasmania, where the one particular type has all along been adhered to, this desire exists. Whether this change of blood is procured from Germany, America, or Spain will matter very little, so long as the blood is that of tbe pure merino. If the taste of the breeder lies in the direction of the finest wool be will draw bis freab blood from Germany. If he is desirous of breeding a strong dense fleece he will prefer the American merino.