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Southland Times, Issue 22333, 26 May 1934, Page 12

our lamb is accordingly lowered overseas. The careless producer should take some of the blame. “In the ‘forth Island the lambs are practically standardized by the general adoption of two breeds of sheep—the Southdown ram and the Romney Marsh ewe. Most of the Romney ewes are ideal in conformation —a nice square type, well turned, low set, with better quarters than our average crossbred or comeback ewes. Of course, the average Australian would prefer a better woolled sheep, but I fail to see why many of our crossbred ewes could not be improved in type by more careful breeding on similar lines to the Romney ewe in New Zealand. I would say that the average quality of the lambs produced in the North Island is better than the average quality of Victorian lambs. “After a full week in the far-famed Canterbury province, where they appear to have every cross or breed of sheep from the Merino to the Lincoln, I think, like ourselves, they have too many breeds to produce uniformity in their lambs. The rise in the price of wool has atendency to increase the demand for finer-woolled sheep. “There seems to be no reason why we cannot produce lambs of as good quality as the South Island of New Zealand, and probably the North also. It will be said that we have not the continuity of rain, but we have the sunshine and you cannot produce qualify and bloom as we like it without that.”