THE SMALL SHEEP FARMER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 791, 14 April 1910, Page 8

THE SMALL SHEEP FARMER.

..;;..i ;FLOCKS.DETERIORATING. '■'■' Is closer settlement to, mean a coniinuous deterioration in tho sheep flocks of the Dominion? Since 1685 the average \6hoep flock ; in New- 'Zealand has steadily declined in size from over 1600 head ■ to;'just"', on.; a bare thousand. There-are those who assert that the decline in;the quality of the average flock .has been, quite ; as great-as in- its The Department'of Agriculture has re-peatedly-caUed 'attention, to the growing . irregularity', of ; the smaller- ewe flocks. Th.o: small' farmers still purchase : the number, of ewes' they vreqmre' from year to year in. haphazard manner,-and without considering whether they are similar in quality to those which they already possess. As most of them have no settled policy even- as to the breed of rams they use, th'o.results oi.inoa> methods of doing business soon make themselves manifest, .r;,;...

;.-.' This aspect of sheep-breeding was made '. the subject of an interesting paper delivered at the Timiru Technical School : by Jlr.'F. H. Harte!'a few days 'ago." .': Mr., Ha'rto began by pointing out what the; largo estate owners had dono for sheep-breeding -in JN'ew Zealand. They had opened up the wilderness-and imported: and bred excellent'.sheep..'- It was they who were,-keeping up the quality of New Zealand woof and mutton to-day. But as the demand for land increased the.day .of the big holdings was drawing '. .' to a. close,' and.one estate after another was beiug subdivided. The people who we're being,put, oii,: these .cut-up, lands ,were perhaps thirty or'forty town people and a few ex-farm labourers who had had experience in grain growing and general, -farming matters, but did they know anything about sheep? Could they replace those, who had had thirty or forty years' experience in shcep-breeuing? Going on to . the small stations or largo farms he 'would show what,was dono. , there. - The man who kept-a'flock of ewes'often bought ..from the saleyards. He would ' keep his stock' for four years jr so, - and one sheep would yield, three pounds of. wool and another ten and nine pounds. That would show'the differences :in .the classes of breeding. .Were they going,'year after year, to let. this, wool deteriorate, and .send"such wool to the 'London-'market?' The wool from our stations was not;' deteriorating, but • that. from our farms was deteriorating, disgracefully. ,'Mr. Harte referred at length, to the ge.icral ignorance- of farmers .regarding: wool. Tne farmers did not sceni to want to kno>y-anything, about sheep. , They were not the kind of men that, '.were-to be found at the Technical School and such classes. .The young countrymen ■ were-not the v men anxious to learn anything about wool' either., Mr. Harto's criticisms will strike many is being unduly' severe, but he 'is doing Bood service in calling attention to a -state of things that badly needs remedying.' Considerable attention. is now- being -paid in. .the Dominion to..' wq'ol-classihg, and invaluable as, this,is, there can-be no rdoubt that'education in breedingsis'eveii more urgently. required., The:- loss' from iba'd 1 ' breeding is far greater than from, 'bad classing; Some of the. 6tuff that has changed hands'at"the- ram.fairs this season ' has' bom oMhe; most inferior quality, and even well-to-d0..-farmers were to be seen buying up downright rubbish in order to save the price.of a decent'iram. It is ' high -.time, that something was done to rouse, the small,farmers, up to. the-re-, suits that arc bound'to follow on the present short-sighted methods. In a little while the country will be looking to them' for. the breeding;.of;. the greater, part .of ■ its sheep. Unless, a change is.'made the country will'be in danger of losing the . - fine place it how holds. on.;.the London markets." ... : •'',.,'■','' ''■ '