SHEEP BREEDING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1498, 22 July 1912, Page 8

SHEEP BREEDING.

CONCERNING .THE EOMNEY MARSH. years.,'- a ~ considovable number of people/have gone upon tho land with., very -little, pr, io -experience, to speak of in; the manageliieht of sheep, or indeed of'farming of any, description nncj it;;niay. .J)3...0f some •importance to. beginners •?to - havo a lit'tlo guidancu to help theniLv,to choose . .thesheep' .likelyto suit them best > and thus secure tho ■ best results from the land they occupy. It is a great mistake to tassmne that a. man requires no brains or experience to bo a successful farmer or flockowner. - He requires'both.' If ho has a fair 'amount, of ability ho may acquire - experience, but tho possession of.,it will cost him a . good deal of money. A farmer is a producer directly \from tho soil, and success in tho year's, operations depends to 'a great extent.on..many.,,things,.beyond, hi?; control.'...He.cannot-bo successful if the epring-rand, -early • summer saasqri. is unsuitable for cultivating, tho..land and rowing his. seed, nor can he. succeed if harvestiMvcafchev. is .unsuitable, for pathering in his crops.' A merchant may get xid of an unsnitablo bale of goods, and ascertain his' loss ■ without delay, .but. such is not:the case with tho farmer. A mistako iiKwls jn spring cannot I>e rectified during a. wiolo'year, and to avoid mistakes -lie requires both ability awl experience. If the points which follow in • reference"'to' tli'e. poniney M»{sh. breed of sheep should .prove 3to anny flockownet in thi§"c6uiitrj\ I sliall consider inyself more than, repaid for the trouble which has been taken to recordmy personal experience. v . The above words aro the preliminary remarks' of Mr. Watson Shennan, of Pll- - station, in tile first of a series of articles he is contributing to the Otago "Witness" on sheep-breeding. In his first article Air. Shemian dO.l Is as follows witli tho Roinney! "" ; •> "The Eomney Mar.sh -breed has taken a' great hold'-in-New 'Ze'aliind,' and is'coming Tapidly into favour in Australia .<ind South America.' Tho rapidity with which this breed has increased. in _numbers is a sura proof of its good qualities. I can remember the time when there were_only,. a few flocks in New Zealand— tlian half, ai-dozen altogether—ailfl: tomany years they did not increase to'any, extent. The iiomney steep imported into this country had nothing 0110 could see to recommend them. They were ungainty animals.'"'l'visitedKent; in England, the homo of the Eomney 'Marsh sheep, 21 years ago.-looking'.for some sheep." of this breed, biit could. nSt get any to; please mef-What I-raw- were rather-rough' sheep, having' no'..Tixiti''.'ofv : ,type,The fiockma-sfors"had 'not '■ been- successful- in cstablisliing '.typisl tp any extent. TMr'*'«ihiefJ"«hject'. , -waß; i to;-'brcea" a sheep suitable for tkc low-lying marshyland of Kent. Four years ago I paid,another visit to the ,saino locality; and found the Kent sheep wonderfully improved .appearance; jind; generally ;of a more fixed type of .character., The Eomney. in England was chiefly ;a-mut-ton sheep,-'slaughtered,.ra's'a rule.\whenabout -nino or . 10 months old' to what is-known, as teg militant-Wool was. a secondary consideration.' ■ .' v''The 4ime came when - tlio »Romney found its way to the Argentine,. New, 'lea.land, and other countries, andvgot. into favour; but the demand was for a. sheep' with a more regular-fleece and a- finer quality-of -wool. 'For ..such ; slie6p /Rood, prices, were given/- and the,' Kent-flock;, masters began, to cater • for. foreign markets. .Some of'.them Ira.vo .been -very iSiic- • cessfulv ■Thus' it will -be- seen: that tile Itomnay. Marsh sheep .has leht., itseltY'to great strides in . development./'..Thirty vcars agp it was . a - most; Wd-eirirhblo icoking sheep. N'oYadays a well-bred and well-fed. modern Eomney is. an'nninral of Ereat beauty. carrying, a, valuablo: fleece and laying claim to tW 7 'characteristics of early maturity; and great hardiness: ".The ewes make, excellent mothers, -. and - are prolific-;--the -lauds/ure easilyi" fattened* and 'thole is. no. ,inor«- profitable sheep where the land is good enough to do them, justice. Tho llomivsy resembles the mo sheep in many ways!. It'-is of nrany points, and should be judged by points. I will now attempt to give a few of tho principal points to be. considered.:

Points^io'Secure and to.' Avoid. ''.-.-, "Malty pcople"nnd-it; much easier .to s?e. the bad points in a man or beast than'the good points, so I intend- to take''the bad points first. In selecting w-stnd .'Eomney ram, avoid a sheep'-with'.'a!'brown skin. This niay.be seen' by opening. the,-fleece. Avoid browhor black-cars and 1/rown legs. Ears..and legs generally \ indicatei "'tho'" quality- of-tho wool on tlis.'b/jdy.. A. sheep, marked as above often.shows a cross\.rootless, and tangled hair, in the fleece. ,:This is a very bad feature. Avoid also a sheep with short white "hair on head, ears, and face, and those- sheep with white or fleshcoloured noses. A sheep with thin, l'ocky wool on tho back, belly, 1 and:arms,, and a ram_wit.li a ewe's/head tiTe'.6bjeotionab:leand .must bo'tiu'iied'do'whi :,Thc above are some .of the .weak points of ji-Eomney. sheop which must not-lw pei-patuafed;. : "Nowj, 1.'..wi11, tiy, .to-■ indicated some, .of. tho good points..-. A good lichd beauty in eyery'animal,' .'arid...a ; :j).dirit.thafc is carefully /qiiltiyated'.,.byJjjfeedeifs.y \ Tho head is generally 'the first pqintto'.be considered by judges.-; Ityis-nritea'sy'Jiiatte'r to tell- whether, ah. nuipial' lirK a good or bad head, but notsb easy"t3 : gi<9>-an accurate description'' of v\i:> '/Tire,- hfeld 'sh'o'nJd'; harmonise -with" | the.bod.v,'-'" i lf.-'.tHe:''body'-i's large, the' head should also' : be'strbhg:'and covered with■ wool -free .frqni; ke'hipy, -loose, white "hair's,'' and .Kaving'.'Jeavs'.'faii'fy- lii-Jge, and w'ell-coveredy/irtth-VwhJtoi.^)ydDl,' ;: 'not' hair. : 'A"good -large" noso are desirable | ';,'cli!tri)jiter,i^tic,s,;■':' aiid the head should bo carried.-well'.up oh.a strong neck, tapering on, good lihes'righi from the.shoulder-aiid:chest. -.'A-strong chest and neck on'a,sheep:indicate, constitution. ;and good-walking"'qualities,- , as they do in a horse.- ■:'.-:*,'.-;■-;'', .

.The Fleece, .; '"•,':,-.■;;:.-•'.-'.'.i'n ; ,.,,•>.--.■; "The body of a sheep'should'be covered ' with wool of a strong cveir character. The;'. Bomney. breed is'llot intended.' to. be';'a" fine-woolled sheep. -A bold-'staple', well serrated arid of a . bright.. 'colour ■. (notyellow), running right iip to' the", head' and partly covering, the ears, is 'essential, and a good topknot'on the"forehead'i's an or*-, nament to . .A.Bdmney, sheep,, should have.V.covering-'or Boiniiey .wool on its wool clfairKcf<h'isti"c of tho truo Boinney. -This..is a.'dense wool, whicliywill, not .easily, phejl,,.o£.rather, a harsh, description, but not. lo'cky. and which.is rain-resisting and a good thatch, and keeps it? owner.l -dry'iwjien -.other long-woollcil sheep would be wet'to the, skin. In its freedom from shedding the true Eoniney-resembles* the merino,' and this foUnto Iparily .accounts.for .the. hardy ' iiatnro-'of-the~sliecp.;-. l There'is one point, I wish to. emphasijSi ,very, strongly—viz.,. that quantity of wool should .'-never 'ho sacrificed*-for.arlight.'fleece of; firov showy' wool..J;havp observed that judg33.at the summer shows"are-' cncmivngiug breeders to breed sheep that are not of true Bomney type by-allotting prizes to sheep that rr-ssmhlo- CJorriedales of ' linlf-bfeds more than the,true Romney.' A .'well-bred Eomney true to type yields' a heavy fleece if marketable wool, and I. know no good reason why the typo of sheep should 1:« altered. Something should , bo dono to jlieck this evil. Tha Bomnoy should have bono on.his legs weighty enough to carry his ca.rca.*a, and ho should have large, black fest or. hoofs. ■ Black- feet are moro plastic, and enduring, stronger and harder than white-fcet.'.and on that account are best suited for grazing on damp, marshy , ground. That is why black feet are preferred to white in Kent. , "hi this article T' have made an effort, to describe the type of Romney sheep 1 admiro most, hut do.not expect all breeders to agn-p with my opinini's." A WIN NEE OV COJIPETITION-*". . Tho Egg-laying Gompetitiohs for 1010-il and 1911-12'Were-botli wort 'by pens reared on "A. and.-P."-Ohick-Raiser. ; The first essential .-for- -profitable poultry" keeping.' Obtainable'from all Storekeepers.*