Rural Topics

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2191, 21 September 1907, Page 4 (Supplement)

Rural Topics

At the Addington yards on Wednesday week .a line of ewes was ontorod for which the owner said he would be satisfied with 17s. At auction they .realised 265"3d. Maize demands heat, moisture, and soil fertility in higher degree than .most other f arm crops.

Symptoms that rnako one feel ho must have moro land aro a suro sign that tho laud one has should bo worked bettor.

Steam ploughing in the Ashburton district is yearly coming into greater prominence. Thoro are eight stoarn plants engaged on the Rangitata Plains in ploughing up stiff, virgin soil. Each plant has three three-fur-row ploughs, and a good day’s work is between 15 and 20 acres.

To got tho most out of the horse it is necessary for the breeder to know how to fit him for tho market, and also to know hew to sell him. Remember that tho fowls wash themselves in dust, and so that they can do this wdtli ease and sucoees a properly-constructed scratching shed is needed. The cost of constructing one is a mere trifle. . ' Use .a trap-nest and so find out the fowls that are not paying for their up-keep. It may so happen tha t you have 15 good payable layers, and 15 who are doing nothing except eating up .the profit. The trap-nest will cull these out for you.

A cable message received by tho New Plymouth agents of a well-known London produce firm states that prices for dairy produce have now touched their lowest. The prospects for tho coming season for butter and cheese are very good. A dairy farmer in the Hawera district who has a high-grade Jersey herd (says the Feilding Star) is said to have received for butter-fat- during tho past season £l4 8s per cow. ‘His factory, a cheese concern, paid Is lid. ' A 'Wellington .writer, referring to tho butter market, says : —The butter position is very interesting. There is a larger number of buyers than ever after outputs, but the experience of last year —when many amid extreme prices and thereby lost heavily on their transactions —is making them very timid. They are working only on a safe basis, with the result that the great majority of factories will consign. It is stated that a few factories have sold at IOJd, and that a number of others have named 10Id as the lowest rate at which they will sell.

In the beginning of year, tho noted Romney breeder, Mr. E. Short, of Parorangi, Feilding, received a communication from a South American wool king, asking for quotations for a large line of Romney blood. As Mr. Short intended at the time to visit the Old World, ho made an appointment by letter to meet liis foreign client, Sonor Winenndler, at Monte Video. Tho appointment was kept, and Mr. Short experienced, as some other Now Zealandors have experienced, the delight of being entertained by a South American magnate. The Estanciero met tho Short party in an oil launch, drove them through tho city in a wonderful motor car, and received them iu a royal manner in a palatial residence in the vicinity of the Governor’s residences. The outcome of tho meeting of Mr. Short and Seiior Winemuller was that thirty stud Parorangi rams were sold as a first consignment at a high figure to go to one of the seuor’s stations, of which lie has six. Tho sheep aro to be shipped next January. The llomneys of Mr. Short should rnako a name for themselves in South America, and there is every probability that the introduction to South America of the New Zealand Romney, bred under natural conditions, and carrying a great fleece of fine quality, will mark tlio initiation of a liighlyprofitable trade between this country find the Argentine. The successful establishment of the trade rests with the New Zoaland breeder. If nothing but the liigest type of sheep is supplied a profitable return will be assured. In coming into touch with the big South American squatter Air. Short has advanced his own business and’ made a good opening for other Romney breeders in this country

LICE IN SHEEP. H.VJVKE’S BAY PROSECUTIONS. Throughout the past winter one could not fail to be struck by the extraordinarily large number of sheepfarmers brought before the Cou.i for having lousy sheep 'in their possession, and this is all .the more remarkable because there is .not the slightest reason why this state of things should exist, and it could not exist if proper preventive measures were taken at the right time. The prevention of lice in sheep is entirely a question of dipping, using the proper dip, and taking ordinary care to prove,n-t the clean flock from coming in contact with filthy sheep. All bought sheep should be thoroughly dipped before being allowed to run with the ordinary flock, whether the seller alleges that they have been already dipped or not.

, No case has ever come beforo the Courts whore the party fined for having lousy sheep in his possession was a user of Quibell’s Patent “Improved” Powder Dip, and Messrs. Da.lgety and Co. Ltd., report that throughout New Zealand not a single case of this kind has come under their notice, although as .agents for Messrs. Quibell Bros., Limited, they have made the most searching inquiries in every direction.

In ‘ view of 'the- severity of the sheep lice epidemic just gone through, and the style in which Quibell Powder dipped sheep have come out of the ordeal, flock-owners cannot do better than follow the example of the world’s most famous sheep-breeders, and like them they will get undoubted satisfaction by -using Quihell’s Dip.— Advt.

THE ROMNEY MARSH. (By “Lana” in the Sydney M ail.) Although in order of importance the Romney Marsh is behind tho Leicester and Shropshire, tho fact that a number of breeders in New South Wales have recently gone in for that typo of shoe]), with the results of tho experiments with tho breed at the Government farm at Woollongbar, makes a description of their characteristics opportune. Tho Romney Marsh or Kent sheep is a native of Kent and part of Sussex, in England, whore on tho wot, marshy lands and cold and bleak downs tho breed has to eko out an existence. Throughout the winter and autumn cold easterly winds sweep across theso lands, and the race of sheep that could stand theso would naturally be a hardy one. Tho feed growing on tho marsh was a rank herbage, yet they managed to thrive on it. It has been said of this sheep that as long as it could get enough water to drink and can fossick for a bit of feed, it will manage in any part of tho world, except iu tropical climates. That they can stand a semi-tropical boat has been proved on moro than one occasion in Australia, as t'liey have successfully summered at Cowra, where tho temperature often rises to over lOOdeg. in the shade, and at Woollongbar Experimental Farm, near Lismore, where the mean annual summer heat is sub-tropical. The Romney is one of the oldest breeds in England. At one time it was one of the most ungainly. Writing of this breed over half a century ago, Professor Wilson, an eminent authority on sheep, said;—“The pure Kent breed has white head and legs, long and broad face, with a tuft of wool on the forehead; no horns; neck long and thin; breast' narrow, with moderate forequarters; the body long, with flatfish sides, and sharp chine; loins wide and strong; the holly large; thighs broad and thick; and legs and feet large, with coarse liono and muscle.” Ho also described it as being very hardy, and as bearing closer stocking than other breeds. This description hardly tallies with the Romney one moots with to-day. It is still white-faced and hornless, but there similarity with the old breed ends. In size, weight, general appearance and length of wool tho new type closely resembles the Lincoln. Like many other British breeds, the Romney was improved by crossing with the Leicester. How many times it was crossed to bring it to the perfection desired has not been chronicled. There is no doubt, however, that tho shape of the carcase and the quality of the wool were benefited to a large extent by the infusion of Leicester blood. The improvement in type must have taken place over 150 years ago, as in the English Register of Romney Marsh flocks there appears tho name of H. Ridgen, a famous breeder, from whom most of the best flocks have descended, and who laid the foundation of his flock in 1746. There are ‘certain! characteristics of the breed which men, unaccustomed to these sheep, should know. The dams are excellent mothers. They lamb later than other English breeds, and do not produce as large a crop of lambs, an average of 100 per cent being out of tho common. The sheep have strong constitutions, and will travel much better than other longwools. The wool is closo-coated, of good quality, and it ranks as about the second highest in price. The sheep being very active will thrive as well on steep as on flat pastures. When fat the back is hard to the touch. They do not, however, fatten as quickly as the Border Leicester. On account of the leanness of the meat and abundance of offal it has always been a great favorite with the butcher. Its power of resisting footrot and withstanding wet is great. It is thus little liable to lungworm.

The best knowledge of the breed Australia can obtain is from New Zealand, for there it has been for over half a century, and in all parts of the islands. Although climate and feed do not always correspond with those existing in this State, yet in some respects the conditions of the two countries are sufficiently similar to guide those who want to .find out the good and bad points of the Romney. The following extract from a New Zealand contemporary of various opinions published on the Romney are of interest. The names in parentheso are those of various districts:— 1. (Otago) “In the south, through careful selection of rams and judicious culling, Romneys are probably the most useful crop for secondary country. By crossing Romney rams with Border Leicester ewes one combines the hardiness of the first with the fattening propensities of the last.” 2. (Canterbury): “The Romney with its fair fleece and noted for its constitution and adaptability to low-lying lands, has beooine popular with many for cross-breeding purposes. On account of its resistance to footrot and wet, it will suit the rank, coarse-grassed localities of the North Island, and the wet, cold districts of Southland. They withstand the Southland climate better than the English Leicester, but their coarse necks and bony frames do not turn out so good a quality of mutton, nor will their lambs turn out fat, plump carcases.” 3. (North Otago): “Owing to their size and bone, they do not cross well with Merinoes, but give splendid results when put' to halfbred ewes. They carry more wool and better quality than either of the Leicester breeds.” 4. (Hawke’s Bay): “As far as the cross of the Romney with the Merino was concerned, the result was a hardy, large-framed sheep, lighter in wool, and as to the freezers, the mutton is inferior, and yellow in color as compared with the Lincoln-Merino cross.” 5. (Taranaki): “The freezing companies do not like them on account of the color of the flesh, and I have never seen a handsome carcase of mutton from this cross (Romney-Merino).” 'file above opinions from men who know what they are writing about should guide those who feel inclined to give the breed a tria]. The manager of the Woollongbar Experimental Farm in his annual report states that although at one period of the year the Romneys made anything but good progress, due, no doubt, to the exceptionally heavy rain, they thrived well afterwards. “Is -is very apparent where the sheep have been, as evidenced by the improvement in the land,, both grass and fallow. They are serving'their purposes in all directions.” The statement of their contributing to the improvement of the soil will, perhaps, come as a surprise to sheepbreeders. The fact remains that the Romney is a suitable sheep on certain classes of country. Romney Marsh sheep were introduced

in Now South Wales in either 1796 or 1798, but .thoy died out soon afterwards. They arrived in Victoria in the early sixties.