CANTERBURY FLOCKS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2257, 18 October 1889, Page 2

CANTERBURY FLOCKS.

• M m? n Matßon m *""> last report eaya : — The continued export of maiden ewes and ewe lambs to a subject of general conversation m buoolio ciro/es, and for tho sake of general information, and especially m the interests of our sheep fwmera, we take plo.iaure 1q giving the following figures, m the compilation of which we have had the. valuable assistance of the Chief Inspector of Sheep for Canterbury. Mr Reginald Foator. Fpeaking only of Canterbury, mcludiag the Waiau, we n»ve a stock on hand of 4,800,000 sheep of all classei, viz., 1,278 528 merino wetbers and 1,604,331 merino ewes, and 761,125 crossbred wathera and 1,256,067 oroasbred ewes ; 800,000 of the merinos "° n i ok oowby «heep, of which 300,000 are ewf-e. We may theretore reokon the following as being a reliable and fair approximate of our breeding stock, after making due allowance for pure back-country sheep, of which 390,000 we ewes, 30,000 of which we allow to come m bb bordering tho plains, and, therefore, m a measure contributing annually to the standard ■took on hand— for the back-countiy inorease barely holds the pendulum balanoe h nn" n'PV* oo 6W6B > ftom whi °Q dednct dbo.ooo baolr-«<»untry ewes, and say 25 per cent o* &* total of maiden or unooaring sheep, nnd we have a breedinc stook of 1,800,000 females, compriee i as follows :-858,000 merino ewea whloh Bhould produce at the least 60 per oant of lambs, or say 614,800, and 942,000 cross-bred ewe* at tbe lowest estimate 7o per oent of lambs, or Bay 706,500 making a total inoreaee of 1,221 300' lSot bo bad fcr our portion of Ihe colony. Of course, some may ridicule the lowness of the atandwd quoted for increaee, but, knowing as we 4 do of many Instances of even up to 150 per cent we have, In our uaual moder*tlon, quoted an even 9 und.rd covering a period 0 V ?\ J Q , lhe y«w !887 and 1888 our nZi % t f°t BDfferea • depSoSba ?; ■«teJtof JKL^i^ 8 wavered to the %\\\LJ 6j0(?0 ' Thß ""on of 1889-90 and UrnK 0B r P Pr° r t lDg OV9t 500 » 000 Bhee P !nrt i ? b "J cola and Tlmarn, fM'l 7 the neilr fatata our Eatopean f«n i■' *a c P re t^ ed * 3 teat aa with tea-*onab-e agurea for oar mutton, and request vi i to double our export we are quite prepared to baok one prpYinoe to come up to tlnio.