SHEEP BREEDING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 159, 25 March 1918, Page 8

SHEEP BREEDING

i - RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS ' The following Is from the New South Wales "Agricultural Gazette":— A consignment of 200 lambs from the Wagga Experiment Farm was sold nt the Homebush yards on November 15, 1917. They formed; a representative lot, resulting from'the cross-breeding ex'periments oondncted -under the supervision of Mr. J. W. Mathews, sheep end wool expert. All were second crosses, the matings being designed to test the respective value of rams of the short-wool bTeeds with ewes _of longwool-Herino crosses. ' The matins; saason extended from about the end of December to the middle of February, and the lambs, being of June and July drop, were about 4J- months old on the average. The sheep were weighed on the farm before .trucking, ami asavn ou arrival at Homebush vsrd, ■with the object of showing the loss oi weight in transit. "This consideration was nullified, however, in the case of the Dorset Horn crosses, as they were wetted by rain before the second weighing. . ~ It is to be noted that the consignment comprised the whole of the season's drop of each cross, bo that they were not picked animals. Ihe, weights and values again illustrated conclusively the outstanding merits or the Dorset Horn for the production or very early lambs, as in every instance it leads over the other breeds in this fc group. The Border Leicester Mood acrain shows to conspicuous advantage among the. longvools. The trials this --year also include for the first, tuna lambs with a cross of the Devon Longwool, this being a comparatively flew breed to Australia . •: ■ ,'",.,-' , The selling agents' reported that the consignment met with good competition, although'the market, for suckers was not so good as a" month before. The lambs were variable, according to ' cross. The "Southdowns showed the best quality mutton, while the Dorset , Horns gave the greatest weight. The letter were naturally, the coarw.st. but the extra weight compensated for this in the prices realised. The. following are details of the sales :—• Weight : Weight at at «alef arm. y'ds. Price. Oroea. ■•,■;■■ i b - lb - >• d - BouthdownxLincoln-Merino-71 67 23,8] , Southdown x English "■ Leicester-Merino ■.■■.-■■ 72 i w* M ° Southdown x Border, i. . . ' - ■ ' Leicester-Merino ......,..:. 701 67 23 6 Shropshire x Lincoln-Merino 664- 61 Z-s « Shropshire x English „ • Leicester-Merino &J «J 22 3 Shropshire x Border Leicoster-Menno 72 67} e> u Dorset Horn x LincolnMerino 'is ' H i» Doreot Horn x English „ . Leicester-Merino 75J 73* 24 7 Dorset Horn x Border Leicester-Merino '.. Hi 80 f A J Dorset Horn x Devon-Merino 7o • 74 24 0 A further draft of crossbred lambs was sold at Homebush on December 20 on account of the Department. These were second crosses from the Bathurst Experiment Farm, and represented the commercial stage o£-the departmental series of tests of various crosses in the breeding of.early-maturing lambs. The • ages ranged from four to five months, : and as each lot comprised the whole of the season's drop of that particular cross there was a variation of up to fl : month in the ages of the individual '■' lambs in each group! 'The test, how- .; ever, was of all the creator value from '■" the -fact that the lambs were an aver- -: agetarid-not a picked lot. The cpnsighmeht'made"a: pnrae'lot, nevertheless,' and th^'selling'SigenC , pronounced ' the lambs of good quality and breeding. : They especially remarked upon the "chubbiness" of the Southdown crosses. The following wore the Sydney weights • and prices. realised lax the various . groups:— ■. Weight. Price. Cross. l b - •• d : ! eouthdown j Lincoln-Merino ... 65 20 * ' Southdown I English LeicesterMerino ~•■: • «* Z2 - 1 Southdown x Border LeicesterMerino 71 2J 6 Shropshire x Lincoln-Jlorino... 674 21. 0 Shropshire x English- Leicester- ■ .'Merino .' »'t "lu Shropshirp.x Border Loicester- • ;. ' Dorset Horn' i~Li'ncoin-Merino 71 .25 5 JDoreet Horn x English Leicester-•_ :.•' 'Merino'- 25 3 ■Dorset Horn x Border Leicester.'Merino,.. ...•:••.•«; 781 , ; ./*..? . " -It will be seen that weight was the '-' mnin governing factor in the values realised. The superior raiitton quality of the Southdown crosses, for instance, did not counterbalance the extra weight «f thecoarser lambs. Tliis only bears out previous experience of the Home- ■ Jbush market. The Dorset Horn crosses : again demonstrated tbeir greater com- '.. iucrcia.l.valtte compared:, With those ot. '■ the Downs, breeds, Jhejry rccommeu'Jatibns being early maturity and heavy heights. It h notable, too, that tpe Border Iveiceater blood in the ewes has . 5b each instance showa to advantage in comparison with the other classes ot j ewes, and commanded the highest | ■ rpricea in each group. Thus the. Dorset; : Horn on the Border Leicester cross-: bred ewe produced the greatest weight and made the highest price. These results are not only consistent with those obtained in connection with the sale ■ o| the Wagga Experiment Farm, lambs already referred to, but they are in conformity with the records of these trials over the number of years that they have been carried out in connection .ivith the series of cross-breeding expen-

, Ments. . ■■ , -The consistency of the results points ' to definite conclusions.- The Dorset Horn has won a distinct place in cross- ' breeding for the profitable early lamb, i and, consequently, it ib not a matter of surprise that this breed has been taken Up by several stud breeders, and , is on the iuerease in New South Wales. The latest acquisition is the recent : hi«h-class importation by Mr. H. S. Henley, of Bassett Downs, Cowra, whose sheep have just completed their period of quarantine. As has been repeatedly stated, the Dorset Horn should only be used as the sire in the second cross on tho lougwcol-Menno ewes. It is a hardy sheep, a vigorous : worker, and can always be relied upon ; to give a good account of itself, be the ■■■ seasou dry or good. It has been noted during the progress of these trials that the Dorset Horn crosses sumve a check ' better than most sheep in a dry season. ' ffhese experiments provide a good • pointer to the man who goes m for mixi eel fanning—wheat and early lambs— ■which is now, and promises to continue, ' the safest and most profitable combination in agriculture.