OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2399, 22 February 1900, Page 7

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

(From Our. Own Cokrkspoxdext.) BRADFORD, December 22. WARP AND WEFT. Wool is ''on top," and likely to remain &o. When King Drought and Mr Good Trade shake hands and become the best of friends, it means that somebody if going to have to "sit up." Don't die yet, merino! During 1899 fine wool has alme.st doubled in price, and amongst manufacturers theie is much squeaking. 'lhe next turn in the tide will have to be in favour of mutton. Perhaps men's appetites are not as good as they used to be ! Slieepowiiers everywhere are appreciating the importance ot starting young lambs' aright by giving them good sii-es. It is through this method that the iioeks must be improved, and pmebred rams are yearly coming more into demand. The -aoaanaster must be as particular m getting the ram he needs as is the duiiyumu who aims at raking calveo -which are to be the pride of his dairy. Sheep always vest on the highest point?, drop their manure more evenly tnan do cattle and horses, and tread it better into the soil Weight lor weight, the solid dioppiv.gs ol sheep have been found by analysis to contain double the amount of fertility caUle droppings do, and it is not hard to sea why they are such valuable renovators. Much has been done in the way of improving- our common sheep, and much remains to be done. It is folly to talk about "feeding for fat" and "feeding for lean." Sheepmen want to feed, and that is all about it. When sheep are stained customers grumble both about mutton and wool. Many an otherwise excellent fleece of wool tells in spring as plainly as words can the t'le of irregular attention through the winter. It is well to remember that the sheep will not be the only sufferers through this, as theii loss will also be the owner's. An expert wool-handler can tell very nearly how a tiock has been handled between grass and gra=s, or between spring and spring. It is possible that when a farm is devoted to some profitable specialty, sheep may have no proper place in the farm economy, but in the majority of cases a flock of sheep can be maintained with no material outlay of time, attention, or forage, and will yield an increase of young stock of at least its own value each year foi net profit, leaving the wool, mutton, ami by-products as remuneration for feed and attendance. Money that is saved by not providing food and such care for sheep as will keep them thrifty and growing costs the flockmaster a great deal more than it is worth, diminishes the clip, and renders it inferior in quality generally, causing the wool to look "starey" and starved ; cuts down the weight of mut ton, lessens the lamb crop in number and value. The flock will be in a continual state of .degeneration, and, to use an expressive phrase, will sooner or later "peter out." Sheep can endure roughing it, and can go long without water and little feed, but the owner who is willing to test their powers of enduiance ought to first provide some other source of income, for he will need it. Th selection of a sire that will blend or nick well with the ewes is a problem that is not easily solved, and while the same difficulty arises in herds of purebred cattle, yet the life of the ewe flock being so short adds materially to the trouble, as a couple of bad crosses will almost occasion the ruin of the whole flock. This shows the necessity of a careful selection. It is here the benefit of purchasing a ram from the ram breeder who has a high-class flock comes in. In this case not only is a high class of sheep produced, but they are so uniform in type that a certain quality is insured. As it has been the aim of such a breeder for many years to keen certain object* in view, a ram bred in a flock of tins character is almost certain to reprodvoa himself in his offspring. "Whatever lhe age or condition of the ram, he must be generously fed if he is to give good results, for a sheep run down in condition is w»ak, and not the vigorous sire that he should be.