ROMNEYS FOR ARGENTINA.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 544, 26 June 1909, Page 8

ROMNEYS FOR ARGENTINA.

' AN AMBITIOUS SCHEME. MENTIONED AT THE SHOW, A scbemo outlined' at the Ronmey Sheep Breeders' meeting at the National Dairy Show to make a joint shipment of guaranteed selected Romneys to Argentina' has aroused interest among Romney men. The committee formed at. that meeting consists of Messrs. E. Short, G. C. Wheeler, Mungavin, and a South Islander. Their duty is to inspect such flocks as are submitted, and select any sheep that they deem to bo of sufficiently good quality for export. The selectors will no doubt bo very careful in their soleetion, as the intention is-to send a consignment of sheep of such high quality as will encourage in' Argentina a regular demand for New' Zealand Romneys. It will probably be, essential that the sheep tobo sent shall be shorn in December and shipped away at a date sufficiently early to reach Buenos Ayros and have ample time to recover condition'before the show in July of next year. To establish a market in Argentina for New Zealand ■'Romneys is regarded as an excellent idea, but there aro difficulties to overcome . Perhaps tho chief of these is the cost of'transit; This will amount, to about £10 per sheep, in addition to tho inevitable bonus'to the ship's captain and.to the man in charge of the sheep, besides the. costs of guaranteeing—altogether sometimes as'much as £7 extra. If tho' sheep for Argentina are intended :to be exhibited at the shop after arrival, it will be necessary to' begin' at onco to prepare them for that' purpose. Most' New Zoalandflock owners'treat their sheep .naturally, feeding them! almost entirely on green feed, such as grass, turnips, rape, etc., and; if those sheep aro put spddenily aboard ship for'a voyage Ho Argentina ,on a dry ration, they will never ;get through satisfactorily. It is necessary that they should bo'gradually accustomed to dry footling, and that work would need to bo be-' gun withont much delay. Tho work, however, demands special ability on the part of tho shepherd, and in many cases tho employment of a man specially skilled for the pur-' pose would be necessary!-. This, of course, woiild.be expensive.-. Pooling tho 'selected sheep, and having thorn all prepared under one skilled shepherd, would perhaps-be practicable,' but in any- case there would'bo expense to bo met.- In the matter-of prepar-' rug the sheep, New Zealand breeders are on a. different footing.from those' in England, where lambs, as soon as they are a few -weeks old, begin ,to receive dry. food. - Consequently sheep from the Old Country! are usually .quite fit for a long voyage ; at short notice, because' -they are-already! seasoned to dry ..systems-of feeding,-..-. "If;. New -'Zealand. sheep'.';. .Vero' put - foods by men unskilled-in 1 thoiwork they would bo in danger.of suffering severely:: Among other results, they sometimes shed their wool and get utterly, out of health.' It is-understood that .Mr.. Sho/t has offered to let his man (who is an expert) accompany tho^ sheep to Argentina, and if this is tho case their caro on the voyage would bo assured. The olass.in ivhich tho sheep are intended to be exhibited at the Argentine show is one for three rams of-any: ago, so that hoggets, ,f6urrtootlis,;oraged "shcepMvill, ,bo 'eligible, though competition' between sheep of'diffof.ent ages.is. scarcely satisfactory.',.,of after tho show the'sheep ;will' ; bo offered for sale, and,, to justify, the expense, good prices would bo.necessary, , The'keenness of the promoters,;however, 'who are, vth'o'best•authorities wo'-have .on the Argentine market, seems to indicate; that those good prices will be forthcoming., ... . .. \. .. . Details-of tho scheme, however, were not very, fully gone into at the meeting, because tho question was raised, without much previous notice, 1 but at the second meeting to bo held at tho Soring Show full details will bo discussed, and definite decisions arrived at. It has been suggested that,a fund mieht bo started among'those financially, interested for thopuroose.of defraying the oxo'ense. ■ Tho 'association -.(which a credit.-Oor.'about S : t00)/cquia. not pledge its funds.in.the -matter, but p r ,vate enterprise may smooth the', way.' English sheep are not '-serif speculatively to Argentina, but are usually bought in England bybreeders who como over from Araentina ; for the purpose'.' ,'. _ The chief object of inspection and seleet-ion is to prevent a repetition of what happened a few. years ago. when Sheep from New Zealand of all sorts of inferior grades found their way to Australia, to the lasting damage of New' Zealand's reputation.' -Tho number of sheep to bo sclcctod ; .wiH r*4 with the disere,tipn of the committee. This committee has power to add to its number. .>,:',