ROMNEY MARSH SHEEP.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 581, 9 August 1909, Page 8

ROMNEY MARSH SHEEP.

AND HOW TO BREED THEM. MR. ERNEST SHORT'S PLAN. ■ To an outsider (writes our travelling correspondent) it may seem curious that When the names of sheepbreedors come up for discussion, the one that usually comes uppermost is, that of Mr. Ernest Short, of Parorangi, , Feilding. The general public, howovor, who visit the agricultural and pastoral shows would soon''enlighten a stranger as to the reason why the Paroraiigi breeder has such a reputation. At theso exhibitions ; Mr. Short's Romney Marsh Bheep are features; tlioy are animals which -carry-tho hall mark of distinction, and their rich 'brown fleeces and massive, bodies make them things apart from their rivals Tho foregoing. is usually - tho' public., verdict, and sheep judges, liko doctors, are allowed to differ; and sometimes' it happens that tho arbitrator turns tho Parorangi man down,: . usually because the sheep look too well. It says a greatdeal for 'Mr. Short that . lio takes lu's little' setbacks—just as ho 'does his triumphs—with : equanimity,, and- that'/ ho conies up smiling all tho time. As a matter of fact, Ernest Short has made ' tho breeding of Romney Marsh sheep a science, ■ and that is the reason of his success. At the, present time ho is evolving a t3"po of Romney which, in the course of the next few years, will probably be known as "the Shqrt type." and which, from the prer sent ; indications, , should bo superior to any ; other Romney Marsh sheep in tho world. - The sheepfa'rmer naturally asks'.; how ibis change is being brought about. Mr. Short; is inclined to the opinion'that it was first commenced by ai freak-r-the breeding of a Romney- Marsh sheep with serrated wool from end to end. Bo that as it may, Mr. Short -is how breeding sheep with this great characteristic. His present champion ,is Record Breeder, a ,sheep for which ho refused' 200 guineas as a ■ hoggjet, -and for which he would not take. 500 guineas now. Our representative paid a visit the' other day to Parorangi, where Mr. Short discussed sheep, Romney Marsh in particular, with tho same ease and fluency iritV which Sir Joseph Ward talks figures." .'.'My. idea of - .breeding'. jßomnoya," said Mr. Short, : "is' / that' . you must have good'heads. Tins is where character is most pronounced, whether in man or beast.- Breeders can get constitution, and fleece. more easily -than they can 'obtain a good-headed animal, and if they work along to good Iliads the. rest is easy. To the averago man, ojio sheep's head is much tho same as ; another,'- and none bring moro' than' fourpence on the block.' Any number <5f Romney sheep, have . Leicester ,or -; somo other breed of 'heads, land this can; easily bo proved by framiug-the 1 frontal pieces in 'cardboard, and then trying to select, the type without! reference fo the .bodies. '/'A sheep may Jiavey a' fine carcass and good wool, but. if . he lacks character in the head he should not be-used: for breeding; purposes./ If lie: is" used you may bo certain that tho.progeny will deteriorate. A, Romney head should be wide and short, with r a broad • muzzle, black nostrils; cars, fairly large, thick and not too pointed, ind covered/witn fine hair or down. 1 Tho eyes should be big and bold; tocrth wide in an even mouth. ■ As .to tho other qualities, well,-;I' liko h. sheep with'',, a lengthy Jevfcl hack, broad, levol shoulders; scrag, thick but not too short ;, deep .full/flank, arid well sprung ribs; tno runip should be well-turned;-!\nd -tfie brisket deep,; like, that, of a-Short-, honi; the girth must be level and full bo-' Kind the arms: ' . Logs must be'.-.short, and thick (I doh't like the long-English legs);and, the sheep must stand well on his pasterns, • nnd his hoofs should be.) black. : The wool' should bo.' even andi serrated J throughout, medium -in /length, 'dense ' especially on the ■back, to keep out the weather,: blunt on; tho points,, with well-eovefed-'head arid - a neat forelock. Sheep with 'wool/of- an even fineness should.not-bo.'mated,' as this would reault in : tho wool of -thfe next 'generation' becoming finer. '. . r ; In'/-.breeding, owners 'should always ti-y arid remedy the, defects, which may bo noticeable in any ,;progeny. Now; bj; my 'system' of: tracing back the' genealogical/ characteristics of my. stud sheep, I can ialwaysCsupplyj a breeder with, a slitKp; which will Remedy ■ aiiy:defect possessed-by his'flock." 'In proof' of this- statement/ Mr. Short showed-our representative a stud-book in which had been 'entered up for years the; characteristics of every ;stud sheep, taken at tho age of six .months:' This, work must 1 havo.beeii in a fsense : laborious, but it,, merely serves to illus-. Irate - tho method, thoroughness," and. appli-' cation, by which' the, Parorangi breeder 'has attained his 'reputation.// In. {lie same ro'an- ; ner in which''he dan meet tho wishes of-any -' breeder for : selection; • purposes; he .can':, inr- ' prove, his own flock:' , The ..'system in • a. v.;ay"resembles that; of.'.the careful.,dairyman who tests hi 3 cows regularly, thus knowing almost ,to a 'fraction, their marketable valuo ■ to him. •" ' ;

Mr. Short's stud 'sheep, are kept'.on a nice compact farm about two- and a half miles away from the houiestea'd, a'rid at air altitude, of 900 ft. .They doinot appear to. receive any special. kind of attention, except that they. are housed at night, and in" blustering heavy rain, in. roomy sheds, tie floors of which'are covered with.straw; aro'j riot/rugged. Their feed comprises.'pastures 'which, 1 haVc been sown with iainfoini: from six to ten. pounds to ■' he acre; cabbages,, beans, peas, crushed maizo, and af times a little qil-cako. Mi , .. Short does'riot believe in running,the sheep in. blinding rain, ashb has found that by .so doing tlie, water is' apt to bleach the wool. Ho finds that sainfoin is a better feed than rape or kale, although his pret sent supply cost his £3^7s;-per bushel. Cabbages, he says, aro. better than .oats, because they are better for. the blood, in addition to the; fact that feeding sheep too much on green oats, weakens the, bone, and: conduces, towards crooked legs. '',', Two acres, of cabbages will keep sixty sheep for five months. It may be explained that Mr. Short's cabbages are each bigger than "an Association football. A boy, .said Sir. Short, can plant 600 cabbages;a.day, and;the peas and beans are , also grown on the farm. ". ,