FAMOUS DOWN SHEEP.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1839, 12 May 1888, Page 3

FAMOUS DOWN SHEEP.

J (Contributed bj? James Lalthead,) £ ( !" Bawke'e Bay Hora'd." HAMPSHIRE DOWNS. Of all breeda of sheep thera are none superior to the Hompahtra Down, for quick vr.'wth, great sfz) and weight, S prime mutton, and rent-p<»yir.y qu'liUea j breeders of tfhropsSJrea, Southdownp, and o>he*s, boast cf the : r otm varieties, bnt (hore are none can b-.:r.t tfm now fanriiß breed, which m England I* becoming more popular every day. In It yi-u bavo the quick growtK fho oarly maturity, and the rapid transformation of feed mo sa)eablo mutton, from sheep, whioh will B'.eadily lay on three poanda weight every four days from birth to death, and are fit for breeding or slaughter at six months old, A Hampshire Down lamb ia oce of the wonders of sheep species, and a ra-oi at six months old, fit for service, ia h natural phenomenon. Ihifl fine breed, with its large bone and lengthy frame, ha° forced its way into the OBtim?»tion of breeders and fecdera by itß uwn particular morita, and m referring to the Sraithfield olub show held In London m December, 1883, one of the most remarkable exhibits was a pen of Hampshire Down wether hogcteta, ten months old, when the Bupetlori'y of th's breed was proved by their lowering the pretensions of full-grown wethera of all classes, and becoming the champion Bheep of the show, the Immense sfze and weight they attained m averaging 2c*t each, li^e weight, being something wonderful. One of them on being killed immediacy afterwards w&ighed 1601 b dead weight, Birch being rarely equalled, and speaks volumes for the early maturity and rapid growth of these famous sheep. Allow me to quote tho following o*pital example of what may be called ollnical agricultural instruction : — "At the Downtdn College of Instruction a Hampshire Down ram lamb, whioh received a prz* at the Salisbury ram show, was Introduoed Into the leoture room, and Its various points were diaonased before tho students, the ram meanwhile standing opon a table m the centre After speaking of the various points of Hampshire Down aheep Professor Wrlghtson instanced the following caseß m order to show the wonderfully early maturity ol the Hampshire breed. Shorn lambs were taken promiscuously from among the ram lamb section of the flock and were washed, with the result that they averaged 142£1 b each. Professor Wrightson painted out that it might fairly be considered that 54 per cent of that live weight wbo marketable meat, or dead weight } and upon that assumption the seven sheep m question would weigh, upon an average, 761 b. Taking the heaviest lamb, he pointed out that its live weight was JLG9Ib?, and applying the same rule as above mentioned, this lamb might be taken as baing 901 b. This lamb had been born about January 15th, and probably then weighed 181 b. Deducting those 18th from the present livo weight of the lamb, . the Increase from January 15'h to July 19, b, or for 185 days, would be seen to have been 1511 b, or at the rate of '8161 b, oonsider* ably over |d per diem. Thla fact indicated the early maturity of Hampshire Down sheep, and as it could scarcely ba expected that the same increase would take place daring the 6 rat weeks of the lamb's life, it must have made an inorease of over lib per day during the later weeks. This early maturity of the breed was farther shown by the fact that: on August Ist the average weight of twenty five ram lambs cent to tho Oirencester ram f&lr was 1501 b." At the principal ram sale*, which are .veil attended by Hampshire Down breeders, to a ■dec'; choioe animals for their own flocka, breeders of Cots wolds are there, to get the benefit of Down mutton iofuaed Into their longwool favorites } breeders of Leicester^ are thnro, la the hope of cbangine; fat and unsaleable meat Into the lean mutton and Belling wool of half-breeda ; breeders of Oxford Downs do not forget to romo and dip onoe more into the old blood that nude them, as well as the Southdown breeders, to get a bit of slza and a dash of color. Some years ago I Introduced to Soothnd from the south of England a Hampshire Down ram lamb and a few select ewes of the same breed, and to the breeders of early Inmba for the fat market J sold the ram produce. In demonstrations of the early and effective generative powers of tho breed tho ram, although only eight months old. being then a magnificent sheep, which I considered wonld have weighed 881 b, and after having served the Hampehlre'ewos, to him I pat fifty half-bred ewes wlfcb the result that from the latter there were forty-Bevon twins and three singles. Noxt year, from the same ram, I weannd 200 lambs, which were fed and sold off the shears early next spring, the wool being of fine quality and beautiful lustre, and made the highest prica In the market. Allow ma aleo to say a few words m favor of the OXFOKD DOWNS. which breed ia closely allied to the Hampshire Downs, and are now ÜBed extensively for crossing purposes In the southern counties of Sootlard. They were originally prodaoedfromacrosßbetweentheOotswoldram and Hampshire down ewe, and have been carefully bred as a distinct breed for more than a quarter of a centnry. As m the case of the Hampshire Downs, the nature of this breed of sheep is of fine quality, and their si'zo and early maturity oora--1 bined with the wool being of fine texture with good length of staple, makoo them a very favorite sheep of the Down breed. A number of years ago Mr Walter Elliott, of Hillybush, Selkirkshire, introduced the Oxford Down for tho purpose of croes'n? with his ha^-bred ewes, from Mr Howard's celebrated Oxford Down flock at Blddenham, near Bedford, whose flock is well known from the number of breeders from all paris, which I biw gather round tha auctioneer m Mr Howard's beautlfal park. On one o?o*alon I hid the pleasure of boing there, ono prominent Oxford Down breeder, Mr Froderlok Street, of Somorsham Park, Hants, who as a^rule carrioa first honors m the show yard, was noticeable as being on the' outlook for any gem brought into the ring. At first Mr Klllott v found feeders and graziers were hard to change from the old groove of the wbi'e faces, ard go m for thcae with a danh of color, when presented at the annual lamb salna held at St Broswell's ; still Mr Elliott, with h's indomitable pluck and' perseverance m anything with regard to improving his extousive flock 3, caw the advantage of a dash of Down blood to make good and saleable mutton, combined with wool of fine quality and lustre ; and now that the prejadico is removed you will find Downs used^ to a very considerable extent over the south of Sootland, and certainly with such sheep as tho Hampshire and Oxford Downs, If crossed with tho lon^woola m New Zealand they would give what is so much wanted —the combination of lean and saleable mutton, suitable for freezing for tho London market, and wool of good quality. Although the ?atter breed h not yet introduced into New Zealand, still the Hampshire Downs of Mr Max Frledlunder, Canterbury, when crossed with the lungwools, seem to come wall to the front m the fat market, as well as m tho late show yard competitions for frerz'ng purposes,