THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MERINO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2391, 28 December 1899, Page 6

THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MERINO.

(By Bruni in the Australasian.) J A DISTINCT TYPE. That tho merino is king in Australia cannot bo denied, but it by no means follows, because the. greater portion of our sheep are merinos, that they are all of the one type. There are many branches in the Royal family, each of which possesses its own peculiar characteristics. The conditions of life in different districts and the efforts of tho breeder* have produced such pronounced variations of type that tho veriest tyro in sheep-husbanciry ran at onco distinguish between them. The most pronounced of these types are those of Tasmania and South Australia. The latter, in its way, possesses as profitable qualities as the more attractive island merinos. The distinct character of the South Australian merino is due mainly to the environment, but the skill of the flockmasters has had a considerable , effect in fashioning the type. They have wisely followed the lead of natur.i instead of opposing it, and their efforts have been directed to de veloping the type to its highest standard ci cxcnilenre. The South Australian merino is admirably adapted to the somewhat trying climate of the sister colony. It ha 3 proved its excellence not only on the home pastures, but throughout tho great thirst land of Central Australia, in West Australia, and in New Zealand. In the last-named colony these sheep have, been in considerable request for many ( years, not only in the leading studs, but for • raising rams for breeding crossbreds. For thi.s purposa their fine frames, heavy fleeces of longstalled wool, and grand constitutions make thorn specially valuable. At the Royal Agri- j cultural Show hold in Adelaide the visitor can , get a good idea of the general run of the merino.-; of the country. The sheep are mainly ; of one type, and the judges ha.ye a fair op- ' portunity of making awards that will be satisfactory to the exhibitors, to the public, and to themselves. Such is not the ease at other leading shows of merino sheep in Australia, ' whero there are often three distinct types of. sheep competing, the Taamanian, the Ver- ! mont, and the local. The result is that the ; placed sheep often present a very mixed ap- ' pearance. The development of the profitable j qualities of our merino sheep was never moro keenly prosecuted than at the present day. i This is seen not only in 4 our studs, but in our general flocks also. The sheep farmers in each district are endeavouring to produce that type of sheep which will give the best combination of frame and fleece to suit the locality, and > tlui3 develop the industry to the utmost. One j cannot hay for certain that the best combina- ' tion has been attained in any district, but I think I am safe in saying that some of the South Australian shoop farmers arc very near i to it. In this matter of adapting the sheep to their environment I do not take tho Ta.s- , manirm sheep into consideration, as tho breeder.:, there raise stud sheep for other land?. Tho i-land colony is a stud farm for the main- j land of Australia. In South Australia tho , type al merino is well defined, and there ha 3 J been le-,3 breeding to outside type? than in tho other colonie-!. . A PROFITABLE RACE. Tho South Australian merinos have lons beo;i noted for their splendidly-drvplopcd fiame-i and their ability to ru-tle for theii living in a country where green grass is nonexistent often for a considerable portion of tiio year. Judged by the standard of the llol-

j bourne and Sydney sheep shows the SoutK> ' Australian sheep are deficient in some points', , and a judge irom the eastern colonies is at j first likely to under-rate their good qualities. The staple of their wool is muoh longer than is usual with us, and this gives one at first the impression that they are open in the woo). The fleece is generally light in yolk, and anyone used to the denser feel of the_ Vermont' type of the merino is apt to be misled as tcj their weight of wool. Invariably the expert makes' this mistake when he first handles South! Australian merinos. , The extreme breadth of j thigh, which has been" developed mainly by. the use of Vermont merino 3, is not in favour, with South Australian sheep' breeders. Thejf breed for a fairly' broad tliigh'; but too great a development of this \ point is regarded as a defect, and for this reason, that it is too much in the way of the lamb at v a critical period of its existence. 'In the' United States the Vermont merino 'is an over-domestieatetl animal, and often' the ewes haye lost the. faculty of caring for their young, so that' j foster-mothers have to be employed. In South | Australia the sheep are raised naturally ; there is no such thing as pampering the studs, they have to rustle for their living, and they are able to do it. Of old the South Australian [ merinos had frequently smooth necks, and > whero a heavy neck was found it generally ; took the shape of a dewlap. This form of neck ; 13 still frequently seen, though many of the i young sheep I noticed have good cross-folds. They stand pretty high, but there iB little daylight underneath. They.have very deep aides, on which the wool is paoked.^and it is to this point, 1 fancy, they owe their heavy yield of j wool. Ono often finds that large sheep with long-stapled wool are apt to run light on tho j belly, but the South Australian 1 sheen breeders ■ ', have proved that they oah put on the cover- , ing underneath admirably. Tho sheep cut remarkably heavy fleeces, the averages in some of the flocks being extremely high. I lately mentioned the Nalpa stud, in which, at tho I shearing of 1893, an average of 91b 12oz was ! yielded by 9916 sheep, including 2594 lambs. Last j-ear, 1600 ewe 3in the Moorna stud, that had reared 94 per cent, of lambs, yielded an rverago of 131b of unwashed wool. Both theae nocks are mainly descended from the Murray merinos ; indeed, the Murray jnorinos may be taken as the typical merino of South Australia. The lar^e frames of the South Australian merinos render them admirably adapted for raising lambs for export, and for this purpose t Shropshire- rams are generally preferred for crossing. J INHERITANCE AND PREPOTENCY. • I have referred to the fine forms, heavy fleeces, and hardihood of tho South Australian merinos, but they have yet another attribute, the value of which, to tho general run of sheep farmers, cannot bo over-estimated. This , characteristic is their strong prepotent power. i Mo3t of the studs have been long established, and nearly all the most experienced sheep breeders appear to be satisfied with the type of sheep tljpy have got, and which they are seeking to develop to its highest standard of excellence by the slow but sure process of careful and judicious selection of tho breeders within the type. This system of breeding has this great advantage, that every step onward is permanently secured. Some stud owners have tried infusions of outside blood, but the result has not proved advantageous. In one instance an experiment of this sort was made, which, to me, appeared to be a complete failure. This was not surprising, seeing that the animali rhosen to experiment with were inferior in frame, fleece, and constitution to the sheep they were expected to improve. The wool of , the South Australian merino has not tho ■ quality of that grown by Tasmanian studs, or the hidtre of the Victorian Western district wool, but it is a description of wool for which there is always a good dci land. It is a strong, robust, long-atapled wool that will always be needed, no matter how the fashions change. Tho South Australians have an excellent type • of merino, and I think they will do well to keep to it. I noticed at the last show in Adelaide that those sheep in whose pedigree there had been much infusion of foreign blood did not compare well for useful qualities with those of unmixed pedigree. At Adelaide one does not see horsed and fed' sheep j indeed, most of the exhibits were taken direct from tho paddock to the show. The prize sheep at Adelaide are the best breeders' sheep, a thing that does not always follow. What is known as the show sheep is conspicuous by its absenpp. Our Western neighbours have a highly profitable type of merino, admirably adapted to the environment. It is difficult to see what they would gain by an infusion of foreign blood, and they would incur a great risk by . making any change at all.