SHEEP BREEDING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1776, 14 June 1913, Page 20

SHEEP BREEDING.

. A VAST INDUSTRY. STILL ROOM FOR GREAT; :-.\ EXPANSION. ■■; SMALL FARMERS & BREEDING. One of the most, valuable contributions to live-stock literature th.it has been made during lute .years is an nrticlo on sheep-breeding by Mr. J. L. Bruce, As-sistant-Director of the Livo Stock Division, which appears in the current issue of the. Department's "Journal." Mr. Bruce introduces the subject by pointing. out the importance of stock-breeding in the farming "practice of the Dominion, and'refers to the fact that the business has to be learned in. the school of actual experience. The writer then goes on to qnoto figures indicative of the great importance of the sheep-breeding industry, and the dominant part it plays in our natioual prosperity:— Magnitude of the Business. The total number of sheep in the Dominion at April 30, 1812, was 23,750.153. The exports for twelve months ending March 31, 1912, were as follow :— Mutton'and lamb exported and locally consumed, 6,123,176 carcasses, value 4,447,04. Sheep (live) -exported, 7855, value :•..'. ,■••■■ *°' uuo Wool exported, 176,963,6071b.; locally utilised, 206,2501b., ' .value 6,785,23-4 Skins,' pelts, '.fat, and by-pro-ducts, value 943,183 12,215,459 From the above figures it will be ob-' served that the amount received from wool, mutton, and by-products is eaual to about 10s. 3d. per head on the flocks of tho Dominion. To further demonstrate the stability of this industry and the marvellous recuperative capabilities of.our flocks.the following figures may be.of interest-.— ' - ' ' . _ .■: . " ■ .' dumber '■• Number of breedTear. ' of sheep. ing ewes. 1307 20.953.772 10,736,916 1903 22,449,053 11,244,041 1909 ■ 23,480,707 12,370,346 1910 24,269,620 12,515,350 ]9H 23,996,120' 12,324i463 1912 23,750,153 12,277,029 PcrPercentage Exported centage | of and withdrawn breeding locally from Tear. ewes. consumed, flocks. 1907 .... 51.12 6,156,471 29,33 1908 .... 50.08 ■ 0,001,587 26.33 1909 .... 52.68 5,913,515 25.18 1910 .... 51.07 6,544,171 26.90 1911 51.35 7,447,704 31.03 , 1912 .... 51.69 6,307,398 2G.55 It will thus be seen that the nverago number of sheep withdrawn from our flocks annually for export and local consumption is about 274 per cent., aud, after making a reasonable allowance for • deaths from all causes, it will be seen that the total number of sheep in the Dominion is absorbed and replenished every three years'. Limit Not Reached Yet. It may be argued that Ihe above figures reveal stagnation. As a matter of .fact (continues Mr. Bruce), some pessimistic critics in the Home Country, evidently without full knowledge of the conditions or capacity, of the Dominion, and even some within-'its borders with possibly less knowledge of the subject, have recently been ventilating erroneous statements, concluding that the sheep industry of. New" Zealand had reached its maximum'. To those who/are conversant with the subject such assertions scarcely require refutation, but to those interested, and who may be less familiar with the pos-

sibilities of the country for the expansion of the industry, a brief review of the prospects and conditions favourable to its further development may be of interest. The rapid progress of the dairy industry during the last few years has to somo extent retarded the increase of the flocks. In a young country, notwithstanding the ' wonderful facility of its inhabitants to meet altered conditions, some little time is required for readjustment, and no doubt this is to some extent accountable for the seeming present lack of buoyancy in the exports of sheep products or tile number of sheep. Nevertheless, when it is remembered that .out of the 40,233,000 acres shown by statistics as being under occupation (a large liortion of which is only now commencing to recover from the ravages of the rabbit pest) only about 16,266,01)0 acres are nominally under cultivation (but.a small portion, "however, being under close cultivation), of which area about 14.000,000 acres are in grass, and, further, that, of j tho whole area linder cultivation less tiian 1,000,000 acres <ito in green crops and a much smaller portion still under anything approaching regular intensive cultivation, the marvel is that tho carrying capacity is what it has been. It should be apparent to any one who has studied the subject that tho area (so called) under cultivation is easily capable, under more intensive and. thorough cultivation, of carrying at least 50 per cent more sheep. Again, tako the millions of acres of unoccupied lands in the North Island awaiting development, much of which will become ideal sheep country, it is no optimistic prediction to assert that this country is easily capable of carrying not 24,000,000, but 50,000,000 sheep, and still provide excellent scopo for the expansion of the dairy industry oi the ricn low lands less suitable for sheep but eminently adapted for dairying. Much has been written concerning our great primary industries, nil of which add more or les-s to the aggregate of the Dominion's wealth, but when the magnitude of the above figures is considered the sheep industry is seen to still command the leading position. Tho importance of this particular industry being manifest, it may bo nsked why so littlo literature of a practical nature is available for,..tho guidance of those itlroady engaged in it or those who contemplate taking it up. Tho answer is that tho management of sheep is a business demanding experience combined with keen powers of observation and a natural intuition for it, [Without tho possession

of these, nny literature, 110 mutter however practical, would possibly bo nioro detrimental than advantageous. Further, tha conditions appertaining to the management of sheep nt'o so varied that, unless in answer to a specific question, nothing beyond ceneralities on tho broadest lines can be given with safety. Tho remarkable success of tho ehecp industry 'in this country is due to several leading factors: tho soil and climate aro eminently suitable for sheep-breed-ing;. the then' who founded tlio industry, aim - have since controlled its destinies have thoroughly understood it; and the discovery of artificial refrigeration made possible the exportation of meat, and thereby provided the final requirement to a successful enterprise.

The Men to be Honoured. In any reforenco to our great sheep industry the splendid foundation laid by our pioneers must not bo overlooked. Of the work of establishing agriculture in New Zealand but few records have been handed down to us; but it is with pride we recall, tho fact that tho founders of the agriculture of the Dominion were of the best blood of the Old Land. They brought with them not only a knowledge of how to till '.the soil, bat that inherited love for live stock, and skill in breeding it, which is ono of the traditions of the British race. They possessed the characters which havo made British farmers tli9 stud-masters of the world, lien of . all branches of the British race have contributed to the building-up of NewZealand agriculture, but if thero is one type which deserves more than passing reference it is tho Scottish shepherd. Somo of tho finest flocks and herds developed in this country owo their preeminence to the fact that the owners were;or had the assistance of, men who had herded sheep on tho hills and in tho glens I of Scotland, and to this day these Scottish breeders hold a dominant position in the live-stock world of tho Dominion.

What Decadence or Improvement Means. As an illustration of tho importance and extent of tho industry, and what its progress or decadenco means not only to those directly interested, but to the community generally, it might bo pointed out that in. wool alone an increase of production of lib. of wool per sheep, at 9d. per pound, represents a sum of .£862,500, to which may be added as. a sequence, of, the improved productive power.a corresponding improvement in quality, representing, say, lj'el.- per lb, which, based oh an! average clip of Tib. of wool, would give a further increase of £1,00G,250, making a total of nearly .£2,000,000 sterling to'the credit of the producers. On the other hand, a decadence means a corresponding deficit. While admitting that a united and fairly stronuous effort may bo necessary to accomplish tho former, it would require no great mismanagement or length of time to accomplish tho latter. Briefly, it is possible through wool alone, without increasing our present numbers of sfieep, to affect the financial position of the country by nearly .£4,000,000 sterling per annum, by either attaining a reasonable maximum production on tho one hand, or an easily attainable decadenco on the other. Flocks a Credit to the Dominion. At no previous time have the leading stud flocks of the Dominion attained u higher standard of excellenco than obtains at the' present time. A visit to a few- of tho principal agricultural and pastoral shows will satisfy the most critical jiulgo that in no industry id this, or perhaps any other, country do those concerned know their business better than a ■ very large proportion of New Zealand stud-sheep breeders; and to further realiso the energy of stud-sheep breeders in maintaining tho high standard of their. 6tock one has only to observo tho continuous importations into the Dominion of the very best blood from Great Britain; and to further safeguard this branch of the industry the New Zealand sheep-breeders' associations are doing excellent work. It is held by some that the good work done by the associations is capable of wider expansion, but whether this is so or not need not bo hero discussed. Suffice; it to say it is abundantly evident that our stud sheep, which are tho foundation of tho flocks, are of the highest"standard quality; therefore with' ordinary card there is no reason to expect other than, u steady improvement in tho quality of our flocks.

Flock Sheep. With regard to ordinary, flock sheep the case is ruthor different, duo in. great measure to tho necessary evolution taking place in the business of sheep-farming, as a result in tho first place of tho development of the mutton and lamb trade following on the establishment of: the freezing industry, and, later, on, of the rapid expansion- of, closer settlement, which has created a largo community of farmers who. are forced, by reason of the value of their laud, and the limited area of it, to specialise in the fattening .of sheep and lambs, and must therefore leave to oihers the breeding of their ewes and .-rains. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that, as a natural sequence, under these circumstances some deterioration ■may take place, the points of weakness to be detected and" rectified niay be considered. What niay be expected n» tho outstanding' symptoms? Hereditary traces ■of many breeds,, absence of uniformity "both iii-size, character, ami type, shrinkage in wool-production, and much of this showing 'almost, every conceivable grade from-line combing to coarse hair of various 1 colours. It would be evident, there-' fore,- where such conditions have prevailed,, that degeneration, must have extended back over several generations; and if 'the 'ewes were the progeny of those bred on the sam'e holding for several generations it would-be reasonable, seeing that the rams in a sense represent half the flock, to inquire what ranis had.been used.. In'the large majority of cases' whrre di'terioraticn in a flock had taken place, it would he found'the. tho indiscriminate selection of rams had been the .crux of the whole matter, ond there is little doubt that the principal factor had 'been Ihe extensive use Of inferior or unsuitable rams. It is noticeable that some -fU>c!;-mi n;rs will not pay a reasonable price, even from,-say,'i'3, for a decent rani, preferring to'buy on inferior animal of almost, tiny, breed or breeds for ■1.i.-. or JEI. In such cases,'if deterioration is to be: avoided, owners would do well to change their methods and to carei'ullv watch their flocks. The concluding page-) of the article contain some sound advice, showing how to "commence "and continue," ond touch on many useful points regarding the feeding, mating, and management of flocks..