DOMINION FLOCKS

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1934, Page 14

DOMINION FLOCKS

NEED FOR HIGH QUALITY.

SCOTTISH EXPERT’S VIEWS.

“New Zealand was formerly known for producing wool with excellent characteristics; it will be very unfortunate if that good name should be lost by the careless action of a few operators,” said Dr. T. Oliver, former principal of the Scottish Woollen Technical College, Galashiels, at Auckland. Dr. Oliver has been travelling through the Dominion studying wool problems during the. past two months. In recent years, he said, it had been claimed that the Romney, which had displaced other breeds in the North Island, had deteriorated in regard to general length and strength of wool. Moreover, there were too many wools with staple interspersed with strong hairs. These could be eliminated by careful breeding and culling sheep which showed such a tendency.

Another fault was imperfect classing, and this semed inevitable where clips were small. The solution would be for growers to have their clips classed in co-operation. Vegetation also was troublesome, as the process used in removing it was deleterious to the wool. In view of new developments and the advisability of improving the wool, Dr. Oliver advocated paying more attention to Merinos than had been the practice in recent years. Not more than 3 per cent, of the sheep in the Dominion were of this breed.

In the South Island, where the halfbred was displacing the Merino from many mountains, the practice had led to ineffective use of the pasture in many cases. In the summer the halfbred would not ascend to the higher pastures, and so the lower pasture was consumed and less was left for winter feed. “The greatest difficulty of the pastoralist is the high price of land, and many sheep-breeders are being strangled by excessive mortgages,” he said. “Dear land often induces stock-keepers to attempt to carry more sheep than the land is adapted to, but over-stocking increases the danger of disease, and the lambs grow more slowly. The wool tends to be impoverished and the percentage yield of lambs falls, as the nourishing qualities of the grass are reduced and foul pastures are caused. In England the lamb yield is 20 to 25 per cent, higher .than in New Zesfland. There is a great lack of consideration for the lives of sheep and lambs in the Dominion, while the high price of labour has led to the reduction of staffs.”

The more uniform distribution of wool was a matter which called for urgent attention. It was not sufficiently realised that a 5 per cent, shortage of supply raised the price unduly, while a 5 per cent, surplus depressed the price similarly.