THE PENROSE ROMNEYS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 101, 22 January 1918, Page 8

THE PENROSE ROMNEYS

. AN EXPERT'S VERDICT. MAGNIFICENT TYPE OF SHEEP. Mr. T. A. Baraber. of Wauganui, is one of the best judges of Ronmey Marsh sheep in the Dominion—in fact, by many lie ■is considered to hare no equal in New Zealand as a judg° of. Romneys (says the "Wurarapa Daily Times"). T Last week Mr. Bamber inspected Mr. Perry's Romney flock at Penrose, and gave his impressions to a ''Daily Times" reporter.,'. "What struck me at once on. inspect-, ing Mr. Perry's. Romney rams was their trueness to type," said Mr. Bamber. "What typicaj specimens of the lireed were before me—bold, even;- and symmetrical. Afte'r type the first thing an expert looks for. is constitution. What is the 'use of;'an:animal without constitution? Without _ constitution, no matter low well'lie.'is clad, he is worthless.

"It was here these sheep excelled— wide in the nostril, broad, DetiVeen the eyes, the head set' on boldly, well shouldered, broad-chested, plenty of

heart/and lung room, deep barrelled, good'along the top and well sprung gu tho ribs, _ the whole neatly and compactly kuit together, with line big bone and good, woll-mndo feet, standing firmly and squarely—sheep that walk freely and with good carriage. To see thenj coming to mo reminded me of a remark made to nie long years ago by an old Scotch shepherd when looking over his Border Leicesters: 'They meet ye weel.' Another point; that I noticed was how good these sheep were behind the shoulder —where one often finds the llomney very weak.

"As :to the wool —the golden .fleeeo — it is very evenly spread over tlie sheep —of good, long staple, not- too long, strong, a woo] that- will not tear out on the logs of our back country, nor f-iill in our dirty country. Tlie neck wool and round the jowl—ivhero so many Romneys aro deficient—is particularly good and even, retaining the character of the fleece. The same mav be said of the breech, and the joining of the belly wool with the fleece portion is far above the average. Another characteristic "is that the wool is very thickly set on the skin. Mr. Perry has done remarkably in keeping the wool so strong'! regular, and even.

"The rams are in good working order—just nice, not burdened with fat, and fit for their work. I consider .the rams an ideal lot, and the stud breeder can obtain from them rams that may be mated with any flock, while a unique opportunity is offered to the flock farmer to select rams that must eventually leave their mark."