NOTES FROM TIIE NORTH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2318, 4 August 1898, Page 7

NOTES FROM TIIE NORTH.

By FoTiEn" Burn, F.H.A.S.

It ip about 30 years since the foundation of a shorthorn herd was laid .it JHonni Herbert Mounf. .Herbert station, Shorthorns. Haw lie's Bay. by the proprietor, the late Mr H. H. Kus•selL Cuttle imported by Colonel Whitmoro formed lh<? nucleus, and strains of the be&t blood procurable in the colonies have been pdded from, time to time. Hardiness of constitution and the adaptability of the ani jnals to thrive hi the open without, pampering have been the lines ou which tin's herd has been built, up. The hillsides of Mount Herbert have been their feeding: ground, and the uholler of ihe pine plonliuj-rf (heir housing. Although there are nearly 1600 head of cattle on the station— all shorthorn blood— a fire was the menus of destroying the books containing the pedigrees and records, and owing to this unfortunate circumstance there fire only about 70 head whose authentic breeding can be traced. No difficulty in experienced in finding purchasers locally for young bulls. The castrating knife is' judiciously seed, thus ensuring a continuance of a vvoli

e.4ablirihed leputaiion. The management of ihe estate is at present in the hands of Mr JDonalJ .Pott?, who is an enthusiast amongst shorthorns, and to whom I am indebted ior having a to:'r of inspection through this oldestubli&hcd herd. The two best bulls at present doiug stud dutica- are Lord Hastings (995) and Count Stephen (1064). Lord Hastings is a lengthy, dark ro.ui, with good masculine head and neck, by J'olinda Duke of Pcvrimut, and wi>3 bred by Mr M 'Hardy. Count .Stephen was bred by the Yen. Archdeacon Williams, of Te Aule, and was pired by ihe imported bull Prince Stephen. Count iSlephen is a beautiful bull, whose chief fault is a tendoncy to an effeminancy in the head and alveuglh of horn. Four beputiful co\\r> — ihe matrons of the herd — are Lady Marjorio (?305), by Earl of Brunswick If (435), Lady Oxford (22G8), by Royal Oxford (KH), Lady Mabio, by E;>rl of Brunswick II (2301), and Lady Mary 11, by O.vtord's Roan Duke (460)— a1l of whom arc worthy of the foremost position in the most select company, These cows ore all expected to be in calf to Lord Hastings. A few yearling bulls I saw near tho homestead, the pick of which are intended for exhibition at the spring shows. Out on the run, mir&ed. by their foster mothers, are heifer caives that any ir.p,n might be proud to ovm — full of quality and breeding, rich in colour, and whose " mossy " coats are ample protection against the piercing sou 1 -westers that have boon so prevalent of late in Hawke's Bay. Space will not allow me to particularise iurther on the merits of the herds, but I was foicibly brought to recognise the fact that the Mount Herbert cows am! heifeifj shine wheie the gieal majoiity of our New Zealand pure and grade shot thorns fail — £>ud that is in their strength of neck. The cheeks, neck veins, and shoulder blades are well covered with beef. Strong necks mean strong constitutions, and vice versa.

I had also fin opportunity of inspecting the flock of purebred Lincolns Mount Herbert that have been for many Liucalns. years established on this eta-

tion. At one time representatives of this flock were the recipients of high honours in the showyards, but of late years nothing hai been dona in the way of getting up sheep for exhibition, and ihe breeding of rams for salo to locrd flockmustcis has been the only object in view. The ewe flock numbers over 300. Of those 52 constitute the "first ptuds," and a better lot of typical Lincolns it would be difficult to find. »Strong family likeness, good neck, backs .veil covered, carrying fleecer of great denmy and weight, are the chief characteristics ox these select ewes. Arrangements have boon made, however, by the management to again jom in the competition of the 3howyard, and the Mount Herbert Lincolns may at no distant date try conclusions with other noted flocks.

I Pc'.w an even line of 160 English Leicester rams on a station in liawke's I'n trliKli Bay, and on making inquiries Leicehters as to what sort of ewes these for eheop were put, I received a Crossing. very satisfactory explanation from the manager. The ewes on the run were Ijiucola grades, ralho:* weak in constitution, and the country none too goocl. Lincoln rams had up to two Bea&ovis ago been put to these ewes, and the deathrate amongst the hoggets had been -\ory heaiy. English Leicester ranis had tai.cn the place of the Lincolns, and the death rate nmongrst the hoggets was, as a consequence, brought down to an extremely low rate. The manager's argument was that although the Leicester cross might clip less wool, yet he .could carry at leapt one sheep per acre more as against ihe Lincoln. The death rate amongst the hoggets had dimininhed at. a imio of about ton to one. As the shorn sheep were sold as stores, ho found that he had always a much larger percentage of his sheep in marketable condition at any time than in former years-. These facts carry a genuine business ring with them.

Nowhere in the Australian colonies have I

? seen more carelessness disBad!y played in laying down perLaid Dovni manent pastures than m Pastures. Hawke's Bay. Tillage operations as understood by enlightened sgiiculturi&ls in other districts aio for the most part an unknown qxiantity here It if- quite a common 'sight to see paddocks tnat have been down in grass for years in which the furrow? can be traced from one end to the other, never having been ymheiJbcd with the harrows. I allow that in many instances it would require many strokes of any sort of implement to tear to pieces the matted heaps of couch or twitch and cHsor flesh-rooted grasses and weeds t/.at have takon entire possession of the land. Kvcn in cises where the land is conipaiaiively clean, the surface hap been left f-o lumpy a;id rough that any artificial grasses that' have cerminated pcii»h as soon as dry wcathei set? in. Farming may be looked upon in squatting communities as infra dig., but surely the laying down of grass hmd in a proper manner should be the aim of all pafctoralisls.

What an immense lot of aducc has been

given to the iarmers and graCla^iofMwp Biers of New Zealand as to for the proper sort of sheep to Freezing, breed and feed for the

frozen mutton trade. From nil sources, over since the industry started, all manner of arguments have been brought forward to prove that only the nicely-shaped, early-maturing &heep would be acceptable to the Home consumers and profitable to the grower. With all creditable zeal the great majority of pheapowners set about the task. But what has been their reward in the

'north? Higher piio-"s for prime small or T j medium weights'. — certainly not! The ] | buyers for the freezing woiks up here, when they have the opportunity, take the biggest, and heaviest weight" they can put their hands ; I on, irrespective ot breed, shape, or anything else. J have repeatedly heard the iemark made in the Manawatu district by farmers ■ | that if they wanted to freeze on their own ', account all sorts of restrictions, etc., were named as Io limit of weight : but when the freezing companies sent their pgents io buy ' right out they took the largest and heaviest sheep they could get for the money. This has been one of the driest winters experienced in Hawke's Bay ! Spring and the Manawatu districts j FroMicts, Ac for many years. Grass has . been .short, but sheep t-lock ' have clone fairly well, and the death rate has been very low. Heavy winds have been experienced for months past, and on Saturday, 16th insfc.. it blew a perfect hurricane nil over Hawke's Bay. Ham is badly f wanted— not only for grass land, but also J for ihe winter-sown grain crops. Potatoes arc bringing high prices, and are scarce. Preparations are, I understand, being largely made by farmers in the Napier and Hastings districts to plant extensive areas of this crop another season. I know of some farmers iv the Manawatu who have done well this peason with their turnip crops, the weather hay- j ing been favourable for winter folding.