POINTERS IN SHEEP FARMING.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12900, 10 February 1906, Page 6

POINTERS IN SHEEP FARMING.

C Canterbury A., and'.P. Association's

Ooumal.")

Although good prices are now ruling for sheep and wool, Tire cannot reasonably expect them.-to be % permanency, seeing that is rapidly- increasing from Australia and: Argentina. It " behoves all keepers of;.sheep on farms, therefore, to be oaf he alert, and endeavour to keepxtp lie- good: reputation of New Zealand mutton »cd lamb by every possible means. Sheep, are indispensable farmer ias weed-fcroj>pers and' as msrnure-makers r'but, desirable as the flock- intiy" be on- that account}--' the- chief" object is. ; to' : obtain' ; u direct profit from the wooland the'flesh. It is- a true saying of * the breeding goes in ; "at'' the - mouth, which means,-' of- course, 1 tbat goocl feeding : -is •of as mtich-importance" as g063 : lJreeding; i:r -'Tt is scafKiy'te^Wary-ilo 'say tfiit best results frill be 'obtained in"b6tb', r and''thdt good sheei> and good--feed' cannot fajl-fo give as good returns as are possible according to ;the conditibns'lbf-the 5 market. !r -' 0 '

The three main "types ofsbfrep are' merinos, lorigrcools, tffe; Dp\ras • of Mch of these'"there are" a number of different breeds, all of" which may be made the foundation of a good flock, .according to circumstances l and imdei'proper management. The most' tiseful class of'steep* for' farm purposes, generally' speaking, is' a cross obtained'' bj- combining, in'the 'fiist place,' the' inerini?'. and either -the lontrwcols devote their chief attention to the keeping of purebreds, but it is., obvious that we cannot all follow that liire," and, therefore, must .choose? ■whichever jflfcst suitable'for 4#pe<* "gspiesf s, and do them |s well t as our power. Mention |ay^^naffimportance of good "feeding, afid by that is meant, not the erpensjtetijjfigcial feeding with purchased foods'; cakes, etc., that is largelt adopted in the Old Country, but good and feed of our own growing. - For fattening we choice of a variety ox lucerne; our ; flSSli? sheep, that is, the which it is necessary to keep in a thriving store condition, good pastures- ate indispensable, with turnips,, hay, straw, etc., for winter. Tlie •writer San well remember' {he : time when a turnip crop was rarely seen, and it was either a feast or Jf 'famine with farm sheep, which revelled in, an over-plus of grass in the_ summer. and -Balf-statv-ed - on" the tiare paddocks through Though tha't soft" of'thing dbesiio longer prevail, provision is made., for., winteikeep, thfSre are' JarinerS. who are : guilt.y ; of " .the : P e *®yrF®?. < o™? 4 * pound-foolish pfa'ctlct-J of and find; that thfeir -sy.mter Siye. -btit long;;tiefore the-, ! begin.; to spring; tueYe' is -a. period of semi-starVation at-'the' riiost-.. critical time of- the year, ..when, the ewes'are time and '.most re» qiiire means of _ keeping up. their strengtli and 'vitality,in order.to properly mature the unbdrh laipbi,, undergo .the straiii,,pf of niillf; for. then:'offspring,' , . . ' It' is' a,"great" ..fees.- ; a»d o expect Jsh'eep/' to 'do. wai^'updn in 'c^ing the spring grassland. .d^yer/Jlonger'Tthan eitjier reheiV.-tiie grass: or rehoVaifg jt., by p means ; ' ."Th^ SI; nor f 8 -J»?t; certain interv i^? (4or^grtOi^. : 6l]ort!eii.%accor<3 k -j Ms-.*? i m*? 1 :.?§ed.._. of .a pf I tarts "£he^pritf^ -Wmor^gra^V much kfi&k- jlajfi^ptjpjjy, iji' every .repeck weaned; . upon. eld. grass fpftftai usnijlly ijegTa.ss 'Ha§ giveh''place.; ' greaf pleasure, to. inieiupr grasses of various kinds, which contain little. nourishment, are. to cause a black scour, in the "weanere.

... Then,. with ; regard to the- feed to be provided for fattening; we most of tis aware that the best lambs are • tlioee which we call " milfe-fat^i;-that is, those which not- only have rich feed, biifc also the benefit of the abundance of milk given by the ewes while on such feed. In tliat caee the lambs are fattened without being weaned, but more feed is necessary in that case than when the lambs ape put alone as weaners upon the green crops - provided for that purpose. Each farmer must be guided by circumstances and do the best he can, but the more of his surplus lambs he can fatten the better, as he thereby makes the profit that otherwise goes to the man Mio buys his stores for fattening. Beskfes good feed, careful selection ~is of i much importance. The breeding flocks of the farms have deteriorated somewhat of. late years the indiscriminate picking of fat lambs. The high prices have been too tempting, and too many growers have sold or frozen all their " tops," irrespective of sex, with the result that- only inferior ewe lam^s. have remained ;vrith which,.to replenish'the 'ewe "-flock in due cotivke.'' This shsrt^ghtedpractice is. now happily decrg&ijiffg; "aimPiSrnier's' J are by

sending away their choicest ewe lambs they are practically- parting trrith the geese that lay ' the golden eggs. The better plan is to -pick out .for flock purposes as many of the best ewe lamhs as Trill be required a year hence for replacing the draft of old ewes, which should v be'" culled out each year in order to maintain a useful flock of sound-mouthed ewes. After setting aside the requisite number of choice ewe lambs, we can proceed with a clear conscience to fatten the balance or dispose of them as stores, as the case may be, and we shall rot- then be tempted .to follow a course which me must- know will redound to our disadvantage later on. A crossbred derived from the English Leicester-merino is one of the most common and is a very useful class sheep for all round purposes, but there are such a variety of crossbreds and such diversity of opinion as to the- merits of e.;ch that it is impossible 1o lay down any rule for the guidance of farmers, and. therefore, each must be guided by circumstances. A Border Leicester strain firds favour with many on account of possessing a hardier constitution than the English Leicester. Down cresses come earlier to maturity, and. require less time to fatten than the longwool crosses, but if they cannot- be got away as fat- lambs the ewes -are of no use whatever for breeding. Tlie English Leicester cross'gives good lambs, biit 'as hoggets they are liable to go wrong during their first winter; having safely attained the two-tooth stage they are good and useful stock. , Some years Ago the Shropshires were all the rage for crossing with lohgwools. It' is true thai the blackfaces are very breeders and early fatvteners, and the' cross is' a good one for the fat- lamb trade;-but for-nothing else. Fanners who take a prid-? in* having a ewe?,' and cull -liaj-d ahd'j£arefulljft 'eaclb autumn to' tliat- * et£l; do not require to be told how importantit- is to use none but good rams: but a good many farmers do not xealise the fact that- the ram is half the flock, and begrudge .the. cost of well-bred ramsy-content-ing themselves with old and cull Tams which can be obtained for a. mere trifle. Itis~"true that- " like' produces lite " when a i good iam is mated with a, good , ewe. but when we depart from a and couple inferior ewes \rith 'mongrel rams the progeny {mongrel character »tJiah itill «he%S If the ewes are not up to the mark it is jail the more reason for using the best .rains proCui'able .of .whichever breed -is fancied. Mien 'who think nothing of paying five guineas for the service of a horse ■ yill n ®t S* v e the same stint: for a two-toipth rain, which, will beget- him about 200 giod luijibs while In his prime at. a cost of about sixpence per lamb. j pipping is very essential to profitable sheep-farming, for without that very netessarr operation we cannot keep our flocks in.- a clean and thriving condition. pThe benefit derived from': efficient dipping j is nqw.&o well kno'wrf aind generally recognised tlihfc few farmers - would - neglect - it : <e veil if it jwere not- made compulsory by law. Cases df} occasionally crop up in - which thej inspectors have to bring sheep-owners to book fojr either neglecting to dip or «lse performing the work in such a perfunctorv manner that it is. of. 00 effect. - There: are numerous kinds of dipping materials, I in flpids, paste, and in_powders, poisonous and non-poisonous, but thisjis not the place Mr puffing any particular, kind., , A good dipt is one which Ibest iceomplishte all.'the objects possible—namely, the destructiob of the destruction of all eggs and young vermin as they hatch, protection from further attack, and improvement of the growth and quality of the wooL Science has been brought to bear production of dipping and it mjfy trjarket aC£. Jesuits a careful the. bath must phgvent Every fibre oi and the j a uniform depends u®n time for months after i^long enongh and ®s siich as a 'ipin; T&iiih out the dip juM; affe4/^ii%tog ? dipping will be «stfsatite. The object q£ to . with the law ito" to be nbltij' to our dipped, bttt it' to "be derived fft>m it»ihould !Sp c^ v s IS 1 " jnost careful * 5 IB conclusion, a *or9 of e&tidn "to ¥hose of us xrh 9; too long audi market them' wnen over the firetgrade freezing -srtaghtsr .At- the present W. it Wpqited* Ihaf; j&fe tMs?>verat- iire depressing prices, that 'the'TJouddr. 'markets are glntfed' : «rit'B-^'iSMed v tafeb-a? : the fag end of : the -Jeaw. ;<• avoid thai- state'of-affaire, and s-;nd "awav OUr fak'.fcunbs with a good finish' and nice •-bloom,.and- not _ exceeding, -the .weigh t- limit* of the first-grade freezing weights. oH course, that cannot always be done, and there are inaov lambs that- Income oyerWhen such lambs predominate it is a cer-'-tain proof that ttrere is something wroritr ■with the bjeeding oi-.the feeding.. At iift'i . *% *tt"ng aiid, incr^asing'J 'Kdfl Tobini ng 1 jhead' in [An stralia/ari a mfe reco'gnige the'"'fatt excel: \Hi?" Thertb-we haVe' taken *the lead iff.Quantity quality:, but there are now indications plains o s f'Argena /tma can furnish'grearj of. caic.iseff per annum M niarkeis Aviiti meat,- ®£- a pertain kind, "but" it inists .will:'us to supply the small and juicy lamb.