THE ROMNEY IN N.Z.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 19, 15 October 1937, Page 19 (Supplement)

THE ROMNEY IN N.Z.

Principal Source of Wealth for Sheep-farmers OUTSTANDING BREED Sheepfarming has played an important part in the development of New Zealand. From aljnost the earli.est. dayS1 o£colonisation sheej) have been encouraged, and the industry quickly assumed a paramount impor.tance, especially with the advent of freezing facilities, which gave rise to the meat export business which now provides so much of the wealth of the country. The Dominion 's sheep population is fairly evenly distributed between the North and South Jslands^ although there is some diversity in the types of farming.

; |^IGNS of Tecovery from the stringent economic conditions of the past few years were shown in the sheep returns for the year ended April. 30, 1936. These revealed an increase of considerably more than 1,000,000 in the sheep population when compared with the figures at the end of the previous 12-monthly period. At that -time - there ,were 16,371,844sheep in the North Island, representing; an increase of 622,828, arid 13,741^60 in the South Isjan^ .which is an increase of 414,122. The total number of sheep-owners in tho Dominion was shown to have increased by 352 to 30,590, and the total number of sheep they owned was 3.0, '113,704/. an' increase of 1,036,950. ------ ^ * By far the largest proportion of the North Island 's sheepfarming is carried on within ' the territory in- the southern portion of the" .-island'.. For purposes of illustration of this fact the returns for the year ended April 30, 1935, may well be tfscd as a fair average. In that year there were 14,077 owners and 15,749,016 sheep in the North Islandi of which 8796 owners and 12,643,441sheep were located in the Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu, • Hawke's Bay, Poverty Bay, Wairarapa -and Wellington districts. The distribution was M

Superiority oi the Ronmey. The most popular breed by far of ali the distinctive breeds is the Romney Marshj which .can be relied upon to produce good wool and a splendid quality mutton carcase? as well as rearing up to 130 per cent. of lambs, The fact that the Romney -and ©ross-bred Romney to-day outnumbers all other broeds seems sufficient to emphasise the breed 's superiority frOm the standpoint of faTm management considerations to all others over the greater part of the sheep-grazing lands of the Dominion. The fine type of Romneys to be fonnd in New Zealand to-day are very different from the original importations into the country from Great Britain, where tho breed enjoyed the name of the pnrest in that land. The first Romneys to eome to New 'Zealand were ideally suited to a wide variety of conditions, especially in regions of high rainfall. As a result of strenuous efforts on the part of the Romney breederg of this Dominion over many years, a type has been evolved which is: almost pecu-

liar to this country, having different eharacteristics from those possessed by the English Romney. The breed in this Dominion has been changed to snit tho conditions, and improveme'nts brought about stand as a memorial to the value of scientific and selective breeding. The New Zealand type'is now acknowledged to.be equal to, if not superior to, tlie English breed. There is one thing that is dcfinite, and that is that the New Zealand sheep are far advanced jn weight of meat and quality of wool, while constitutionaWy they are every bit as sound as tho Home breed.. Strong Breed Numericallly. As an indication of the strength of the Romney in this country numerically, figures are rather illuminating. Sheep entered in tho -Flock Book are distributed as follows:— Romney 178,499 Southdown 118,074 Corriedale ....... ...... 49,755 Merino 25}304 English Leicester ....... 17,466 Border Leicester 16,601 Ryeland 5,137 Lincoln- .,,•*•••••»••»» 3,204 Other breeds 3,4IS Sheep of a distinctive breed, but not (Concluded in Previous ColumxuX

follows: — ' Owners. Sheep. Taranaki .... 889 498,919 Wanganui ... 1,599 2,519,027 Manawatu ... .,1,283 1,137,6921 Hawke's Bay * 2,743 • 4,403,465 Poverty Bay . . 1,001 2,228,325 Wairarapa . . 1,044 1,651,664 Wellington .. 237 195,348