A GOOD START.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 19, 17 October 1907, Page 2

A GOOD START.

BLENHEIM SHEPHERD'S TIP. •'■lf. I wore just going to start as a'sheep fhrnior .horo, said a successful Marlborough lead shepherd, and had plenty of level country on liiy . laud'for growing feed, I would begin by buying up'all I could of Honiney[iincoln owes. . And then I would certainly iiso Leicester rams 'on-them. On tho flat land I - should grow Capo barley to fotch thorn' thrbugh tho. winter—soo acres for 20,000 sheep. I am a great believer in un-lor-stocking. My-motto is, "Keop : tho owes in fair good- condition through tho winter." Tlioy will then bo able to givo a proper supply of milk to tho lambs instead' of using inosfc'"of .''thoir food, in recovering thoir condition. The Capo barley is generally sown in the autumn, and will last through May, Juno and' July: For tho months of' August and Sopteinber, when caroful feeding is required; I; would arrange to havo a good supply ' of lucorne hay. I should then expect, after marking tho lambs and dropping them straight into green stuff, to ho able to got n gqod pehiontago away fat at 31 months without tho aid of rape; instead of keoping them for four or.five months, as you would otherwise havo to do. Lincoln-mcriiioes have givon the best clips I ever know, Tlioy averaged; 11 pounds in a 5000 flock in Marlborough. Tlioy do not tend to havo blind faoes,' but they arc rathor too big and bony for tho freezers. Their weight is, however, for tho local trndo. Tho lighterhoned Leicest'cr-nierino is the;., favourite for export'--r'v'V; - i i'lio Xoicester-merino will,; of courso, run moro td";tlic';iftcrc than tho Lincoln-merino— porhapg^in-the.proportion'of.l2s as against •lOp.. _ llecce is . 21bs. lighter. . Tho limbing-'PBrcpiitage is equal,"and tho lambs aro per head.■' I am"sorry to seo tho iiicroas'o of tho flaps or wrinkles on merino Sheep, and I consider breeders aro going too fur in this direction. My ideal merino is one with a good frame and'a'liico^top-knot—olio that will not run to bliiicLnoss^—instead-'of- a-ligbt-framed sheep with -.heavy.Svool. .: Wool-blind sheep havo to bo brought in twico a year to havo tho wool cut away. In Nelson 'tlioy aro developing a valuable now breed out of tho Itomney-Lin-coln cross'," Using tho crossbred'rams on tho flock,::and tho results aro pxcellont. Tho progojiy is -hardy,, weighty, heavily-woollcd, and capable'of standing the'-pinch of dry weather aiid-'sliortago .of feed,, Tho lambs aro heavier than •when'a puro ,Romncy ram is used. It is considered 'the-best sheep for that country. But damago is dono by neglect to cull. Tho best lambs go first to the butcher, and tho culls • remain to becomo owes. Anothor popular crossbred strain is tho Lincolnmerino or a Lcicestor-morino, or vico versa. This is preferred for, tho hilly coiwtrjj.