CROSSING LONGWOOL SHEEP.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3669, 18 April 1883, Page 4

CROSSING LONGWOOL SHEEP.

In a paper dealing with the crossing of longwoals in general and Lricester. in particular. Professor Scott, of the Cirencester Agricultural College, says:—The most valuable of the Leicester crosses are the hall'bred. the three-parts-bred, and the grey faces. The halfbred is a cross between' the Border Leicester ram and the Cheviot ewe : the early maturity, aptitude to fatten, and long wool of the rain, together Avith the hardiness and fine mutton of the caa-c, being very strongly produced in the crossbred lamb. These halfbred iambs are chiefly raised on mixed farms of hill, pasture and arable. The flocks are kept up either by purchasing the second Cheviot caa-c lambs from breeders of that description of stock, or by huviug Cheviot ewes as they are drafted from the hill farms. The hallbred CAve lambs are in much demand, owing to the great number of farms ou Avhu-li halfbred .- . flocks are kept. The halfbred wedder lambs are sold to be fattened as hoggets. The mutton is superior in quality to that of the pure Leicester, and .vill weigh 2511. to 30lb per quarter at a year old. The halfbred hogget, when will clip 81b of avool ; eaves, 51b to Gib. In Scotland, at least, there is no more valuable breed than tho halfbred. It will thrive and go on advancing on pastures not good enough for the pure Leicester, and ou suitable pasture _it yield more profit than the pure Cheviot. The three parts-bred, as it is termed, is a cross bctAveen the half-bred oavo and tho Leicester ram. Both ihc ewes and Avedders of this cross are fattened as hoggeis. They have all the fine fattening qualities of the ram. and can be made prime fat at 10 months old. They fatten a little quicker than the halfbred," and are a little heavier also ; but. the difference in weight is trifling, and the half-bred mutton is AVorth quite as much per pound. The cast eaves are either sold to be fattened direct on turnips, or they go upon more lowland farms, where they are made to bring a fat lamb before thoy theiiisclves go to the butcher. In general this method of fattening both ewe and lamb leaves a handsome return. The greyface is a cross between the Leicester ram and the black-faced caa-c. Alany farmers iv the hill districts, and even on lower ground: . are now Avorkiug upon the cross, the latter buying draff black-faced ewes for the purpo.se, and selling both ewe and land) fat. The lambs are very hardy, and such apt fatteners that they will often go direct to the butcher from the hill. The mutton of this cross is also Avell liked, and altogether tlie grey-faces are coming into favor for fattening purposes. They do not. however, make the same weight of either mutton or avool as the half-breds, but their mutton is finer and they must also be considered more hardy than the half-bred, and adapted to higher grazing.-.