THE PASTORAL INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 484, 17 April 1909, Page 3

THE PASTORAL INDUSTRY.

REMARKS BY AN AUTHORITY.

ON DETERIORATION IN BREEDING,

;r? .^ e "P'moa expressed through.this column b] eighteen months ago by Mr. Lowrie, of LinId, ?T a .College, and repeated since by others, that the flocks of ewes in this country were fly in danger of deteriorating, received some in 'fippbasis in the presidential address of Mr. n»- Murphy, to the Canterbury A. and ise , IV Association. He said: "Whiie breeders of n(J purebred stock are pressing' forward on the lat cou "? of improvement, I fear it may be ir- Questioned with • some.' justification whoiher ve the'quality of the breeding ewes on our ey farms is-maintained at. tho higli level" it trs reached some years ago. The best flocks of ca half bred and {crossbred ewes are as good-as ho they ever'were, probably better; but the ayat 6r ?ge quality of farmers' flocks,seems to be ny going.down; .and unless the retrogression' be is stopped, its:effcct is bound to be felt, affectJv we the reputation' of !prinie Canterbury.' ttc l Various causes have contributed,'l think, to this trend. The high values-of Id breeding ewes tempted many to fall back on a h rougher mixed and badly-bred lots, and "led in them to. buy their owes in driblets here and 10 there,,.thus collecting a, heterogeneous lot at on their farms. Some were led to hold back es their'ewe lambs, although bred from uhu. even .flocks,, and sired some by long-woolled I ■_ arid_ some by,'short-woolled rams.' ;Arid'the r j foolishness of it all. was made oven more - manifest by these ewe lambs retained being , r _ the hard-doers, .or . culls, of .the'lambs so qJ bred, £he : best ewe-lambs having been drafted De for,freezing. The subdivision of large es- -, tates; has been; of- course, an' important fac- £ tor in' making" breeding ewes more scarce, id ? or ." the; annual drafts from these . estates, a which -used to be' snbdividedtamong: farmers [' in-lots to' suit their requirements, of 8 course, to a large extent ceased,. while the 9 £ ;demand by the smallholders has been ine creasing. Again, the increased attention being given by.farmers generaUyto root- andforin, ago cropshasalso largely contributed to inle. crease, the'demand :for.ewes. : But Ithink jt there is another■'■ factor' at work,/which deig serves to -be-noted—namely, .that under -the jj practice obtaining of • allowing men with,ab|e solutely, no agricultural experience to ballot >r for land and enter on it if successful, with ig the StateVassistaribeor without: it,; the: percentage of: incompetent fanners .is increas)r .?e-'.v--.;■,■■-• ■< ■■ = ,-.■..- :.■■.;,.,,- it.v' ; > : . -•-'•-, "•...-.■ -...=.■- ■''■■ re :■■■-:.