OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Otago Witness, Issue 2857, 16 December 1908, Page 8

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

SHEPHERDING SHEEP. (Fboai Our Special Correspondent.) BRADFORD, October 30. One of the pleasantest annual holidays that the writer enjoys is to get away from the hard pavements of Worstedopolis and to leave behind the din and noise of runing machinery, and go to Scotland. The West Highlands possess some of th© grandest scenery there is in the world. The Scotch lochs, mountain passes, fine burns or ghylls, or a round of shooting or fishing is a change whiph I much appreciate, and in my annual visit I always stay with a large sheep-farmer, whose farm is situated on one of the prettiest^lochs there is in the world, rising from the sea level to 3000 ft high. It affords a grand experience wandering along the mountain 6ides in company with the fine sheherds that are there to be found. As I have studied their character and watched their movements, I could not but admire their sterling integrity and ability, and the thought cccur6 that for once I cannot do better than take the reader with me in thought, as I say something about the character and qualifications of a Scotch shepherd. The iew thoughts expressed below may not seem of much importance to the colonial shepherd handling 50,000 to 100,000 sheep, but he will gain an insight into the requirements of a Scotch mountain shepherd, and pick up a few thoughts which can be turned to good account wherever sheep are kept. The same principles that underlie good shepherding at home lie at the foundation of successful shepherding abroad, as the experience of hundreds of Scotch shepherds has proved when emigrating to Australasia, South Africa, and the River Place. Much of the success in sheep-farming depends on the skill and application of shepherds, as well as on the judgment of farmers. As the situation of a shepherd is one of considerable trust, ho ought to be honest, active, careful, and of a calm temper, for if at .any time a shepherd get 3 into a passion witH" his sheep, -it is attended with great disadvantage in herding or in working among them. I have known a hasty, pasionate man with a i - ash dog give I himself double the trouble in managing a 1 hireel of sheep, bc&ides abusing the sheep, that a calm, good-tempered man, with a 1 sagacious, close-mouthed dog, would have had in the same circumstances. The qualifications required in taking care of a hir=el of sheep is not in running, hounding, and training dogs, nor in peiforniing a day's work of any other kind; but to direct them according to the nature cf the soil, climate, and situation of the farm, in such a manner as to obtain the greatest quantity of good at all seasons of the year. Their health and comfort should be carefully looked after by the shepherd; and if his exertions are maJ.o with judgment, they arc of \oiy gioat confeequence to the fanner. It is not ( by walking much and doing a yrcat coal that a shepherd is a good one; but it is in knowing where to walk, co as to disturb the sheep least, and by doing at the time whatever is necessary to be done. There '6 not an experienced shepherd who has been any length of time on one farm who does not, as soon as he rises in the morning, and observes the state of the weather, know, almost to a certainty, where to find every sheep on the hill, and will accordingly take his course to the place he know£ his presence is most wanted. Tho object in looking over a hill every evening and morning is to ascertain if there be any trespassers or diseases among the sheep whioh require looking after. If any have trcspaased, it is very foolish to dog or abuse them ; for the more quietly you can turn, them back the better. If the boundary should be on the top or ridge of a height, to which sheep are apt to dT&w at night, it is better to turn your own a little closer to the boundary in the afternoon tnan to turn back your neighbour's, and it will answer the same purpoee. And if the two flocks are gently divided in the morning, without dogs, they will become so well acquainted with their own side that at the very eight of a ehephexd they will take to it without any trouble to the shepherds. Those shepherds vjio dog, force, and shed much about a march I consider as bad herds for their masters, a* well as bad for the neighbouring farmer. If the boundary be a burn or brook on low ground, wh«<re the sheep graze in the middle of the day, and- if the treepasses are likely to be considerable, the same plan of turning the sheep should be taken as on a height, except that they are to be turned down in the morning, and set out in the afternoon. When a cheep dies on the hill, or any disease appears among them, the dead; or diseased 6heep ought to be removed immediately, but particularly so if the diseaeo appeals to be of *o infectious nature; ~ ,

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Looking regularly over a hill is of great, consequence also, "in case cf any of the sheep falling into a ditch, or a lamb losing its mother, or when they arc annoyed with flies or maggots,- or by dogs or foxe3 worrying them, or when they fall into such a position that they cannot get up again (or, as it is provinciaJly called, falling, a -wait). All these, an active shepherd, Vrith a good eye, will soon discover, however much a flock may be scattered over a. farm. Directing their course, according to the state of the weather, to such places as they can get food and shelter, and carefully looking through their flocks of sheep, are the- principal duties of a shepherd, yet there are certain seasons of the year at which more attention is required than at others. From Michaelmas to the time that the tups ate let to the ewes particular attention should be paid that no tups get among the- ' sheep. Damage to a considerable amount - may be done by & single tup in one night. ' For the first 14 days after the tups are let to the ewes, great care should be taken that all the tups are there, and the flock must be turned into the middle of the farm, to. prevent their intermixing with your neighbour's sheep, or the tups straying from She farm. In time of storm much care and great exertion are required!. To understand* how , to manage sheep in time of a storm, is of great importance to a shepherd 1 . Safety and "shelter during the night and food during the day time during a storm, are the principal objects to be attended to. In stormy situations, it is the duty of" the farmer to have resources in case of the most calamitous events occurring; but. the shepherd ought to be the best judge, of the necessity which should induce him to avail himself of them. The lambing season is the most anxious one for the shepherd; and too much attention cannot, be paid to the dam and young lambs, especially in bad 1 weather. In good weatherthe shepherd may possibly do all that, can be done among the ewes ; but in bad weather it is to the farmer's interest to afford! every necessary assistance; for want of itthere hare often been very serious losses^ A shepherd who is acquainted with, the, management of sheep at such times, and 1 who exerts himeelf as occasion requires, is of great advantage to a sheep-farmer. PRICES FIRM. Not a great deal of change can be -note* in the Bradford market, everything moreor less marking time. During ..the week & trifle more business has been done in merinos, but crossbreds still drag heavily. Here and there one has met with a little more optimism, probably due to a littleincreased 1 inquiry; but on the whole business drags, and there is no life or activity in the market whatever. Bradford as yefc. is struggling in the Slough of Despond, and the limited inquiry, together with an- - absolute lack of profitable rates, makes a very difficult situation - indeed. # This* market still remains the cheapest in the> world, and it is a sheer impossibility toobtain anything like rates equivalent wirh» the cost of the raw material. Cable re--ports from Australia show" that wool ther»i£ relatively higher than -prices here, Dufc . for all that we have topmakers who are willing to book contracts for super 60s--' and 6^'s at id less than what are current prices to-day. Perhaps th© most satisfactory item in connection -with the focaE. trade is a complete absence of a^l stocks of merino 3, and although the turnover far. so Hmited, yet the quantity of tops held by t - commiesion woolcombers is very light inI deed. This means that if there was any-

tteaDJ,

move at all, prices would soon respond. At •the same- time Bradford spinners aTe still very sceptical at to-day's rates being mainstained when all the weight of the next Australian clip comes to be marketed, and many are waiting before buying in the hope of seeing a. still lower range of values. Spinners could do plenty of business and sell plenty of yarns if they would accept & good penny less for both merinos and crossbreds; in fact, come contracts offered 1 last week at £d under what spinners were quoting were stoutiy refused. There seems to be both on *the part of spinners *nd topmakers cdinplete -indifference over the future, ther latter not daring to take on much risk. Nobody seems to expect any material reduction on to-day'e rates unless trade gets worse, or there are some

political complications, but it seems to me

that values are gradually grounding, and tha + a £air reasonable working basis has

about arrived. Trade is no worse and consumption is no less, but somehow business in these parts fails to materialise into anything like activity. The whole trade seems to be as much befogged 1 as ever, and they are naturally waiting developments. There is no change in any other department, mohair if anything 1 being the turn cheaper.