Valuable Sheep.

Feilding Star, Volume XIX, Issue 101, 26 October 1897, Page 3

Valuable Sheep.

Among the exhibits of the Agricultural ana Pastoral Society's late buow were three sheep which looked something like a cross between a Lincoln and some dark faced breed. These were a Dartmoor ram and two ewes with lambs at foot, recently imported from England by Mr Douglas M'Lean. There were many questions asked as to the reason for this importation. We believe Mr M'Lean's main object is to pat constitution into his Lincoln flock, without interfering materially with either the weight of fleece or the quality of the wool The Dartmoor is a very hardy and thrifty animal, carrying a good fleece of a type similar to strong Lincoln, while as a mutton sheep it is far superior to the Lincoln, the carcase being just the shape a batcher wants, while the fat is well distributed through the lean. But the Dartmoor has other qualities which seem to point specially to it as the ideal sheep for the small farmer. The ewes will drop their lambs at any lime desired, and the lambs are very quick in maturing, while their fleece is not to be despised. Most of those who saw the lambs at the show no doubt put them down as something rather old to be called lambs, for they were not only of large size bat they carried remarkably good fleeces, As a matter of fact they were both just eight months old, and the ewes were in lamb again. We were somewhat curious to know what they would clip, and a request for the weights was courteously complied with by the manager of Maraekakaho. The ram clipped 20£lb, the ewes 171b, one lamb 101b, and the other 9±lb. The value of the wool is about the same as strong Lincoln. This should prove a valuable sheep for crossing purposes, and more especially to those farmers who go in for breeding early lambs. — H.B. Herald.