COARSENESS IN WOOL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 40, 10 November 1937, Page 13

COARSENESS IN WOOL

The Influence of Better Pastures VALUABLE -INVESTIGAT10N There is a general belief umongst sheepmen that improved feeding has s tendency to coarsen wool. If an experiment carfied out recently on sqme of the best superfine woolled sheep in Australia is conclusive, that opinion xnust go by the board. The experiment was carried out by the Couucil of Scientific and Industrial Kesearch, on a property at Yass (Now ISouth Wales). The project was mainly to dfecide whether the production of fine and superfine wool is pratiticablo ou improved pastures, because of the general belief that the top-dressing and generally better management of grazlag iande may lead to a gradilal deteicloratiOn in the quality of merino wool. The experiment was ou essentially practical lines. Oue group pf sheep was run on natural pasture at the rate of one sheep to the acre, and another group on improved pasture at the rata of three sheep to the acre. At the ond of the test, body weights, fleece weights, and other fleece charaeteiietics werh observed. No evidenoe was obtained that in sUperfine sheep of the genetio constltution of those used in the trials the nigher pJane of nutrition on improved pastures results in progressive coarsening of the wool fibre, nor in afly deteriorhtion in colour, handle, or value. An« other result of the test was confirmation of previous indications that the inereased risk of paTasitism, owing to hoavier stocking on improved pastures, is compensated for by the greater resistance resulting from the higher plane of nutrition. But the most important. conclusion arrived at was that it is poAsible for superfine merino eheep caintained on improved pastures to make much better average weight gains, and to grow an average Of 21b. gains, and to grow an average of 21b, more wool a head, than similar sheep maintained on natural pasture, the wool production an acre being more than trebled.