A ROMNEY BREEDER'S VIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1205, 14 August 1911, Page 10

A ROMNEY BREEDER'S VIEWS.

One of the oldest Romney breeders in New Zealand, Mr. A. Matthews, of Feathierston, in a recent address, stated that Eomneys were continuing to make surprising headway in New Zealand, particularly in the North Island, as tho increaso, in stud flocks e.ntei-ed in the Flock Book proved. In the N.Z.R.M. Flock Book of '1905, Vol.-1., 7S flocks were entered, but in Vol. VI. of 1910 the- number has increasod to 200. Returns for last' year show there wero 706,743 '. stud sheen and flock rams in New Zealand, and of that number 237,120 were Eomneys, representing 33.57 per cent, of tho whole number. There was also now a very noticeable improvement in our flocks generally! and the Romneys of to-day were much better grown, carried more even fleeces with less temp, and showed more character than they did a few years back. In some Romney flocks,, according to Mr. Matthews, it was possible to fiud about six varieties of wool. That was tho greatest fault of tho breed. Tho breed at Home had very much more bone than tho colonial sheep. It was important that the jaws should bo even and the head of the ram as' masculine as possible. The eyes should be, prominent a,nd bright, indicating constitution. Tho ears should bo soft and downy, with a good depth between. Between the ears should be. perfectly level—it was a bad fault to have a conical shape between the ears. The neck should bo set well into the shoulders, giving a gocd carriage. The shoulders should be flat and level with the back. If they were' above the level of the top line, they were certain to be bad travellers. Romney? should have a well-rounded barrel-shaped body, with a flat, broad loin. The late Mr. J. E. Gear always emphasised the puint. that the New Zealand Romney was too short and had a plain leg. This was being overcome. A good space between the !forelegs was necessary for constitution. Kemp usually appeared under the throat, on hind legs and forearm, and if it was not there it was not to be feared. He liked a fair length of staple, with a crimp right through, but he placed evenness of fleece before everything.-