Farm and Garden.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 409, 10 March 1904, Page 2

Farm and Garden.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES. THE MERINO RIM. ;»U£ECAUSE of excellent wool projlHk dueing qualities the Merino •PltM breed is a great favourite in most sections ot Australia, and produces the finest wool grown and alto the heaviest fie ce in proportion to the live weight of the animal. Probably the Merino sheep m these colonies always will be the moat important type, from a sheep-grower's standpoint, for crossing with any of the coarse woolled breeds; for then in such cases they are extremely useful as a wool, mutton and lamb-producer. Robust Merino sheep having a strong fleece of good length and character are always in request by breeders of fat lambs for export. Ewes of the robust wool, with good lengthy staple, stand their years better than the more deli cite woolled classes with only a short staple. The Merino is'the sheep which is alone suitable for many of the vast dry and arid tracts in the different colonies. For wool growing, pure and simple, it easily carries the palm, because it can adapt itself to the varions conditions more easily than any other type. Because of the many different tjpes of Merinos, it is most important to know what particular one is best adapted for the locality on which, they are pastured. In very dry parts experience has proved that it is impos-I Bible to keep fine wool sheep. The hair follicles, or bulbs on the surface of the skin, are very susceptible to the withering effects of the climatic conditions met with in the hotter districts, and the delicate fibre cannot endure the hardships which are common usder Bach conditions. Wool has a tendency to become finer, and in the hotter and drier parts, should it be fine to start witb, it generally goes off and becomes loose and open, particularly On the back, with the result that the sand so prevalent finds its way to the ekin and causes more or less injury to the wool fibre. The claes of sheep that is sought in the northern and hot districts is the American strains. Those animals are said to stand the climate splendidly, and the heat does not have the same effect on the wool as on the finer type of sheep. That is due to their possessing such a heavy tip, caused by the quantity of yolk, which helps the fibres to adhere together.