THE EFFECT OF CARELESS BREEDING

Otago Witness, Issue 3018, 17 January 1912, Page 17

THE EFFECT OF CARELESS BREEDING

i AND THE USE OF DOWN SHEEP. The. Bradford Chamber of Commerce, which sun e little time ago put forth a | mighty effort to revolutionise the system ! of packing wool in Calcutta packs, or tares I as they are more generally formed in the : manufacturing centres, has latey taken i stops to bring under the notice of sheepI breeders and wiol-growers in -ill parts of tile world the injurious effects of black hairs i in wool. It is said that thw trouble is ' becoming mors prevalent than ever before, i and that block and grey hairs are found in I increasing quantities in both English and colonial wool. The presence of coloured i hair.-; in while wool renders the latter ! unsuitable for use in ono of the most im- ' nortant branchee of bhe trade, and these j little fine hairs, which sometimes run right through the fleece, but mainly corn© from I the legs and faces of the sheep, cannot , l>o sorted out. It is found that the exten- ! sion of the practice of breeding from I Down ty|>es of sheep and with 1 the object of improving the carca<so has been the means of introducing ths defect I into many colonial flocks, and depreciating ; the value of the wool to some extent. I The chamber, therefore, suggests—(a) that 1 farmers pJiould not breed from black or I girey sheep; (b) that the greatest care I should be" taken in selecting ramfi from j flocks as frc-e from black hairs as possible; : fc) that black and grey lambs be- slaugh--1 tsrod. Whether t.i:e widespread publication 1 of the wishc« of Yorkshire manufacturers in • t.'iis connection wil have the desired effect, Ls doubtful. Wool-growing is one thing, and mutton-raising is another, and by many of engaged, more particularly in the latter industry, great value is attached to the black-faced and black-legged varieties of English sheep for crossbreeding purposes. The flockowner in Australia is ever

ready to study the wishes of those who buy his wool, but with the development of the frozen meat trade and oloeer settlement, mutton-raising- is becoming- a more important business than wool-growhrg over vast areas in the Oommonweaith. From tho manufacturers' point of view it is sad indeed to think that many of our famous merino flocks have- been broken up, and are gone for ever. Tho land which carried them is, however, being put to more profitable uses, and one of bbeso uses is tho production of fat crossbred lambs for export. In these days it is very -difficult to get any work, especially contract work, carried out really carefully, but where the shearing can be done with due regard to such matters as the prevention of the admixture of bLack wool with white it would be well to leave the trimming of tho heads and lege of bbick-faoed sheep until the fleece has been removed. As a rule this is not done, and black and grey hairs become mixed through tho white fleece wool on the floor during the shearing process. —Sydney Mail.