THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 563, 19 July 1909, Page 10

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

NEW ZEALAND MUTTON.

WHY IT LEADS. Mr. W. A. Bonn, in an interesting articlo in the "Farmer and Settler," compares the . qualities of New Zealand and New South ■ Wales mutton. He says:— . "New Zealand takes, the premier place with its frozen mutton for soveral- reasons. Speaking generally, mutton consists of young crossbred wethers and maiden ewes. These and the bulk not more than about 20 months old. Ihcy. consist of the lambs dropped in August, .September, and October, which were not , fit . f or export as ]amb and holdover on good feed, shorn in October or November as hoggets, and < then fattened up on artificial grasses, rapo, and turnips,, and TZ l n ™ reez^ s . ln the months f rom Janur ary to May. Being all y oung sheep, the moat does not suffer by freezing to any great erfent. The work of killingdnd fS i s done at numerous centres,,thus avoiding nV, n i. ra lL ageS , an(l d P™«- crossbred sheep, the colour of the carcass is in their mS, a? 4 al3 ?' b T g of more umtqrm sizo and quality than merinos, the f£T g n 1S easler ' and can be done more $£i 7 si'5i' / VCry lM 5° Proportion of the flow Zealand exports are consigned on owners account/ and the consignors exercise duo care, and send nothing but the best to tno freezing, works. ii." 1 ? '.Antfialia-.--' and more especially, I think, m Ne,v South Wales, stockowuers as a .ruie do not consign their meat themselves to outside markots, but are content to.send their stock to the metropolitan yards. As f,* > a H wetliers aro kept, as long as the? provide a maximum return of wool and arc sold when the wool begins to fall off m. weight or quality, to make . room for younger sheep., Practically.' no' regard is paid jo, the. quabty of tho carcass from an export point of view, weight only being desired. Hitherto, it has paid stockowners bettor to devote their attention to the weight and quality of the fleeces, than to cater for the requirements of tho export u ■ .u 11 If tne *> 'conditions alter, then. : - Nsw-:-' South Wales; with its millions of good merino ewes, can export haltbred lambs and mutton second to none in the world. New Zealand has practically nornermo ewes available l for rearing'-balf-bred sheep, and.has been compelled to establish m-bred halfbreds, by long-continued selection, and these sheep, though good, cannot compare. with the old type .of half breds which obtained for. New Zealand its place m tho London-markot. With, the advent ! 'of closer settlement, and on smaller holdings it may terr possibly bo' shown that it. pays better to; devote the care, time, and;attention hitherto ,-given to wool ;only, to breed-' ing for export half bred sheep, and'it must also be remembered that good halfbred wool, not crossbred,; alw.ays realises a high' price. Apparently "the; time has not come yet, and till it does come, the' culls' of New South Wales flocks cannot be expected to realise an equal.price with the pick of the flocks of other countries."' ''~