FAT LAMB EXPERIMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1709, 28 March 1913, Page 8

FAT LAMB EXPERIMENTS.

• SEASON'S- EXPERIENCI) AT : ,BUAiau;Av": • , Discussing (lie season's experiments with fat lainbs at -Iluakura .Farm of; Instruc-: .tion, Mr.-Primrose.iJt'Connell writes as uiidpr ,iii; ; tlie. "Journal"'- of -: the, Depart-. ' uieiit,, of-: Agi-icultursfe-Kf -" ■ —•> On February 1, 1912, GOO Lincoln vKomliey . full-inouthed ..ewes were . put to., the rams, half to tho Border Leicesters, and half to .the Southdowns;'at tho rate ,of fitly ewe's 'per- ram. Until within a week of'lambing the ewes had no feed except pasture-grass. After- the rams were removed tho'• ewes were kept' in'oue' mob/ and were constantly removed from paddock to paddock, and. thisj I believe, was the secret of their ,fino condition .when the lambing season commenced; From u week previous to lambing until e there was. a full bite of grass, they received a full ration of mangels, which-were carted to the paddock's daily, and this was the means of keeping up a good flow of milk —the lambs benefiting accordingly.' At the end. of:;Kovember an early, paddock of rape- was • available,! on to which at that date, the earlier of the unsold' lambs, were, drafted, a' sccond paddock being available . when' the first ivas eaten off.' With the : exocptibn' of the last draft of " 125, all -were 'sold to local butchers, the said draft .being the only one of which'the weights of each' cross could be compared. -The.average, -net price per lamb was 145., the highest .price being 17s. 6d..', Five hundred of tha ewes that had,, .-suckled lambs were sold on January 4, 1913, at Gd. per head more than the buy-ing-in price, wMch . would , more than make up for the loss .through deaths.' Judging from the weights of _ the last draft, and from information' received from (butchers who killed previous, drafts,' the Border Leicester cross lambs would average 31b.. per head more than the Southdown cross; and as long as freezers do not take quality into consideration the valuo of weight milst bo recognised, although for quality of carcass the Southdown cross has no superior. The following table gives results: —■ Border Leicester Cross.

Not amount realisetl at the AverDates of Drafts. No.. . age of 14s. • ■ ' £ s.d. October 33 ' . 23 2 0 November ...... 149 . 10i G O December ...... 75 • 52 10 0 January .......J. 51. ; --' 35 14 0 Totals 308 ' 215 12 0 -Realised for ewes' Wool .£ll2 0 0 Gross profit realised from • 300 owes *JE327 12 ''0 " Gross profit per ewe ...... i!l 110 Southdown Cross. Net amount realised at the AverDates of Drafts.. No. age of 14s. 1 ' J! s. d. . October.- 45 31 10 0 . November'...'... 174 1 •'••• '12116 0 December-;..:..' 65' 45 10 0 January 88. , 61 12. 0 Totals 372 200 8 0 Realised for ewes' wool J!112 0 0 Gross profit realised from • • 300 ewes ,£372 8 0 Gross profit per ewe ...... i!l 4 10. * Total gross profit, .£7OO. Although the results .ofthe above table are decidedly in favour of the .Soutlulown cross, ;vet, had all the lambs been sold, by . weight, the two crosses .would Have shown' about similar results. In the matter of quality the Southdown carcass is much superior to that of the Border. Leicester, there being no waste, fat, as in the case of the latter.' - The Down also comes much earlier to maturity," although the experiment' under discussion does not emphasise this so much 'la's repeated excarried out at the Mouniahaki Farm. AVhero it is not possible to fatten oil the lambs I am. of t'ho opinion : that. tho Border Leicester is tlio -better' cross, as it . yields a'good fleece and a heavy carcass later on; but for the purol'y-early fat-lamb trado the Southdowu is unsurpassed. Taking into consideration the fact that this is anything.btilv country, the results;as shown .ab.ov.fi imist' be considered very satisfactory.' 4