THE EWES.

Colonist, Volume LIV, Issue 13382, 3 April 1912, Page 8

THE EWES.

On some farms where grass is plentif.tl and good, a ewe may be.kept for a fifth or'even a sixth lamb, while on cither places less favoured as to foed and climate ewer, may have to be discarded after their third or fourth lamb. Sound mouth ewes will always (says the "Timaru Herald") bring fair prices because they are thei sort that are required by the small farmer for breeding early lambs for fattening. They give him a better percentage than a younger lot of sheep,, and the lambs count for a good dea". more than the wool. In a. larger flock pome pvstematic method of culling should be adopted, whereby a certain number of old sheep are taken out each year, and a corresponding number of young sheep are put in. The tendency is in some cases to hang on to the older sheep too long, and the average oi the flock is thereby often unduly lowered, and a, day of reckoning .comes at some- time. If | a time of scarceness comes in regard to feed, and a seell of ' --+v-> r comes in the winter or at lambing time it is-the.-old sheep that sUiU'Oi im.;...t. it must be remembered that it costs no more to keep .a good,sheep than it does to carry an inferior one. A 'too heav^y culling* every year may not cay if it means discarding ewes that will easily bear a couple of lambs, in favour of a two-tooth that will probably be foolish enough to lose her lamb .should she have one. But it is not wise to go to the other extreme and keep very aged and inferiors ewes on the chance that things will come out all right as regards feed and weather. Arid if the succeeding summer autumn should be a dryone, they will not fatten and will probably end up in the boiling down works. This season all o'.d ewes should fatten easily, and the price obtained for them as fats'should go a long way towards paving for the younger ewes. In a flock little or big, some uniformity in the breed and appearance should be aimed at. Ewes should be well bodied sheep, not cull lambs that had failed to fatten for the freezing works. There isnot much gained by throwing out serviceable owes at one end, and putting in maidceis at the other end, that are not robust. The wool counts for a good deal in a young flock, and a dense .staple must be aimed at, together with evenness, brightness, soundness, and softness. Od age, of course*, will cause a ewe's fleece to become thin. The weight will shrink and the density will be less, but if the ewe is a good healthy ono the quality should still be there. Culling should-be undertaken with a definite end in view, and should bo done much mom carefully than is sometimes tlie case. As a rule those, who '■nil with the most care are repaid by having the largest percentages at lambing time.