IMPORTED SHEEP.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1384, 9 March 1912, Page 8

IMPORTED SHEEP.

VIEWS OF, A BIiEEDER. There is Some diversity of opinion among breeders of sheep as to the value of the imported animal when mated ivilli stock bred in New Zealand. Some breeders hold that the imported stock is hardly equal to the best the Dominion product's, ■whii.-t others contend that our stock has been built up on imported stock, and that wo are still depr-miont on it if we wish to maintain our high standard. Among the latter is Mr. D. Rowlands, of Tiakitn'.iuua, a breeder of lioinneys. In conversation with a representative of Hie ."Standard," this.breeder is reported to have stated that while our sheep were admittedly as good in wool as those at Homo, they had not the constitution. We had to thank tho Homo breeders of liunincys, he said, for the exceptionally ?,'<iod typo of Kohmcy tliat we had in New Zealand. It was foolish to state that we were independent of the Home-bred Eomnoy bectuifp wo had bred a nood class of sheop in New Zfaland. We still required tho imported sheep, especially on account of its weight and bone, which wo had to a very large oxlent failed to produce in New Zealand. So far as he could sec there was only ono ■way in which this could be remedied if we ceased to import; that was, by paying more attention to tho cultivation of root crops for fodder purposes. Those crops possessed the qualification of bciiisr nblo to ■extract the hone-producing qualities from the soil, which were.thus imparted to the stock. Another way in which this could be done was to turn tho youti? stock out on country that lia<l recently been swept by fire, tho ashes helping very materially iii the production of bone. In conclusion, ho sto.tc-d that without bono wo could not have a good constitution, and without constitution a good type of sheep was not likely to be bred.