SHEEP BREEDING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4354, 4 March 1875, Page 3

SHEEP BREEDING.

The following interesting'paper, “ On the Principles that should Guide Breeders and Graziers of Sheep for Long-wool and Mutton, : was lately read by Mr. W.- P Gordon 1 ,-before, an influential society in New South Wales ;—; “Gentlemen, —In the following remarksT‘fear you will not find much 1 originality or great depth; I bfier them'with; the .wish to promote the objects of this useful; society, thinking that the subject is one bn which many residents of this colony are 'seckibg’fdr information; ' “ Eirst, I would, take exception to the use of the term coarse wool as meaning inferior; ‘ -We are apt to be influenced (perhaps insensibly) by a term whicb is one of - reproach, or at least anything but one of praise when applied; tb;the merino ;. and though the wool ‘ of the ’ various breeds of English sheep is coarse by comparison, yet much of it has qualities which make up for its stoutness of fibre, and raise it in the manufacturers’ estimation far above . the class _ of mere coarse wool. The various breeds which are esteemed for their fleece have been generally called by writers on these subjects the long-woolled sheep of England, in contradistinction to the smaller breeds of Bowns and hilly or mountain sheep, which give the finest flavored mutton, but very second-rate fleece. I have followed the example of the writers alluded to in preferring the term longwoolied sheep when speaking of the larger English breeds. , . “There are many wool-producers in this colony who imagine that the wool of. the Lincoln, Leicester, and other allied breeds is only used in the production of blankets and the coarsest class of woollen, cloth, and who would be much surprised to see the fine and beautiful fabrics in the making of which these so-called coarse wools largely enter, if indeed they do not furnish the whole material. I allude to alpacas, lustres, serges, And cloth of that class—to which the drapers have given more names than I can enumerate which are and have' been ao much in favor with the ladies, and which seem likely to hold their place in public estimation until fashion returns to the heavy merinoes and kerseymeres bo much used in our fathers* days. To supply

the wants of this class of manufacture, the Chamber of Commerce of Bradford has for many years been trying to encourage the growth of combing wool of various qualities, from merino combing up to Lincoln, of which lengthy lustrous wool the yam spinners have been wanting a larger supply. One of the first among the considerations that present themselves to our minds in discussing the principles that should guide the breeders and graziers of sheep for coarse wool and mutton, is the paramount importance of suiting the stock to the pasture, or providing the necessary pasture for the stock ; or, if I may be allowed to plagiarise a well-known saying, ‘ I mean to put the right sheep in the right place ’ It null be generally admitted that, man himself, the highest in the scale of creation, is very much the creature of circumstances, and with the light of modem science we see the wonderful development attained under favorable circumstances by many of our domestic animals. Especially dbes the sheepshowwhat can be done in a few generations in altering the form, and in fixing those qualities we find valuable and seek to perpetuate. Unlike the horse and ox, that make their master’s home their own in the various climates to which they are taken, the sheep, and especially the .long-woolled sheep, can only be brought to perfection and kept in health in a temperate climate, on food which is suited to their habits ; and this question of suitable food or locality is one on which much remains to be learnt in this colony.

“ Many suppose it is necessary to pamper all English sheep with oil cake, turnips, or some cultivated green crop, to keep them alive. While never forgetting the old saying, ‘Half stock whole rent, overstock no rent,’ it is a mistake to suppose that all our native pastures are so poor that they will nob feed a more valuable animal than the merino.' I feel confident there are many tracts of country which would well keep the English breeds and their crosses with the merino were these sheep better understood than they, are, at .present. ; No doubt those who can supplement the native grasses with some of the many root and green crops which can be grown here, such as lucerne, will top the market with lambs and fat sheep, and find their profit in keeping their sheep as liberally supplied as possible. Having mentioned the subject of crossing, I will endeavor to guard against misapprehension by here stating that I only refer so frequently to the merino sheep as furnishing such a well-known standard of comparison, and I am far from advocating any cross between any English breed and the merino with the view of improving the latter. That experiment was tried years ago by Lord Western, whose object was to put a fine merino fleece on a Leicester carcase. Many of his quasi improved rams were imported, but they certainly did not improve the flocks in which they were used ; indeed, what else oouhLbe expected from such mongrels ? “ Crossing well-bred rams of one of the English breeds with large-framed merino ewes (npt too young), for the purpose of getting a better feeding sheep, with a good paying fleece, is a different question 1 ; and this is a'practice daily gaining ground in the cooler sister colonies, and; I believe I may add, in this one also'. The opponents of the practice say, ‘ What can ■you do with the cross or half-breeds ? Their ■progeny will be rubbish.’ True, if you’put half-bred rams to half-bred ewes ; but not true, if you again put good rams to them. You have then a nearer approach to whichever English breed your object is to acquire, until in the fourth or’’fifth generation or cross you will have an animal whose remote descent from a merino is only shown by a softer, slightly kinder wool than his male ancestors possessed, but whose size, shape, and appearance are scarcely inferior to his pure-bred sire. While the pure breeds are scarce, and consequently high-priced, anyone of only moderate means must be content to lay the foundation of a flock in this way. We have’colonial experience to guide ,us on this point, so that anyone who determines to “go in for” Lincolns, Leicesfcers,, Romney Marsh, Cotswolds, or any English breed, may feel confident of producing sheep as . like’ any of these breeds, and as like each other as the proverbial two peas, provided he uses good rams of one breed, and does not forget that the heavier his sheep become with each successive infusion of pure blood the better will he, have to keep them if he wishes for a long sound fleece on a heavy body. There are breeders , who are as particular .as to length of pedigree as a Spanish noble is proud of his blue_blood, and it is well. that it should be so for. the preservation of a distinct breed ; but speaking only of producing a good paying sheep, saleable to the butcher, and profitable ] for l . wool as well, I may states that; I. have found rams, whose great grandmothers were merino ewes, but- whose male ancestors for three generations were pure-bred Romney Marsh sheep, produce a most excellent cross with ordinary merino ewes. In fact, culls for age their fleece and coarseness. In this case 1 my neighbors who condemned all crosses, the theorists, did exclaim, ‘You will l ruin your flock ; you will have a lot of rubbish, neither one -breed nor the other. " What can you do "with them ?’ The first result was that the cross-bred wethers at two years old brought a better price as stores • than older' irierinoes. • 1 The' ewes ■ were 1 put to Romneys again, and their produce, that is the second cross, out 41bs. 1 of clean wool, worth : 2a. : 4d. per lb. ; The foregoing experiment was tried on a run in the province of Otago, New Zealand,' on native grasses alone, which are by no means succulent—seldom indeed green, but are nutritious although dry.; In that colony the high lands from 3000 to; 7000 feet in elevation (when’ free from snow) are most congenial,to ,the ,restless, rambling merino, who displays the agility .of the goat in scaling the steepest rocky heights. It, was thought.that a cross-bred sheep'would not be. active enough for' such runs; but the first, and | even the'second' cross, has been found quite active ' and' hardy' enottgh 'to thrive "on: the native grasses. . A further - approach to a purebred, long wool is.ltoo" heavyjm.animal for the; mountains, but they, are much sought after by ! the farmers, to fatten on cultivated grasses,- ? ;

“I have ,had; a good many Romney Marsh sheep,-and have a high opinion of them as a hardier breed'.than Leicestera. or Lincolns ; they produce a good fleece. Of glossy wool,* not .so lustrous as Lincolns or so iheavy, but which seems to combine with. the qualities .of the merino in producing a better cross, which gives satisfaction to the grazier and butcher,.as well as the woolgrower. - ' ,

“This breed is 'said, on good authority, toj have existed in the Kentish marshes at the; time the Romans invaded Britain; so as to pedi-; gree I may take that as all right/ As to hardiness, they are described in Morton’s‘Cyclo-; pasdia of Agriculture,’ as kept by the farmers’ of that day,on the coarsest fare while growing, dr storesj and yet giving'from'five'to seven, pounds of what he calls ’ ‘ long' and- fine wool ’ --he means fine in price or in comparison. That weight of fleece is commonly much ex-: ceeded now by sheep which • have : been im-; ported, ftnd' is nboxer ten. ’ Those who hayei this breed, where the locality suits them, find; the 'characteristics for which" they have been; praised are still maintained' here 1 ; there are several pure flocks in aNbw Zealand—some of their owners assure me that the average valued of their wool was 20s. per fleece. There is one point on which these sheep, in common with all the English breeds, can Clain a superiority over the merino—they are better nurses, and are more prolific ; it is not an uncommon thing for English merinoes to rear 120 per cent, of lambs—of course the Care which can bo-given to each lamb in a small lot has something to do with this large increase. Out of sixty Romney ewes X once brought fifteen with' twins into a small paddock for the best grass ; one ewo died a week after lambing, leaving two little orphans,; whose cries so distressed; the other ewes that two of them took one lamb each in addition to her own twins, and reared them well. I sold the lambs when weaned for; £1 each. This was four years ago, when sheep were less than halt their present price.; Who, ever saw a merino ewe take to a strange lamb after it was a week old, and do so of its own accord ? -.-- ;

“There are so many excellent works which give a good description of the various breeds of sheep that it is not necessary for me ;to, enlarge on this branch of my subject by defining the marked differences between each of the pure breeds of long-woolled sheep; and again between these larger breeds and the butchers’

favorites, the South, Downs and,,then. 1 class, which are not so good for fleece. I may generalise by saying' that the Lincolns and Ebmueys are natives of wet lands, producing rank grass; the Leicester's, are kept on better lands; and the Cotswolds, the arid their various crosses on short, sweet, limy, pasture, the aromatic herbs of which are priu-, ’cipally the cause of the good flavor and high price of their flesh. “ The good sheep-farmer will be guided by the fitness of his land for the breed he selects to keep. If he has some alluvial flat, with a fair run back to sound hilly country, he can keep a larger animal than he would be able to do on hilly country alone, thinly grassed. “Unfortunately, it is not yet a matter of choice for the moderate capitalist here as to the breed he will buy; but still we may be congratulated on having had importations of all the most valuable breeds into some one or other of these colonies, from whence they are sure to spread os their good qualities become generally appreciated ; and just as the shillings of the multitude are found in all popular exhibitions to aggregate to, far more than the half-crowns of the select few, so will these sheep, when a hundred or two are kept on every good farm, outnumber the large merino flocks of the squatters which cover such, an extent of country. “It is said, on .all, sides, sheep will not do here and will not do there, and it is quite true that the merino will no longer keep himself in many localities, as he once did, finding food and medicine provided by nature. But it does not follow as a necessary consequence that no other breed of sheep will thrive on these lands, or that no mutton is to be produced within thirty miles of our seaboard. Those who arrive atsuchaconclusioustartfromveryfalsepremises, —for, first, there is as much difference between the sheep which experience has shown will not thrive, and English long-wools, as between a huge Clydesdale dray home and an Arab or thoroughbred; and, secondly, long-wools will eat what merinoes will not; such grasses as holcus lanatus, sometimes called Yorkshire frog, and anthoxanthum, a sweet vernal, I have’ 1 seen persistently rejected by merinoes, and yet patiently consumed by Romneys in the next paddock, in which I praise them the more, as these are far from being the most nutritious grasses. But, leaving theory, we have the fact of the supply of fat lambs which do come to Sydney market from the coast districts, showing that there are at least some sheep kept near the coast. Most of the breeds of English sheep are so peculiarly fitted, for the farmer rather tliau the squatter, that I have alluded to sheep-farming in reference to them. They are the link which is now wanting in the routine of farm management to enable the land to be cheaply manured and profitably. cropped. When they can be readily obtained either to fatten or to breed, they will be found more profitable than the. ordinary scanty crops of oaten hay which are now cut year after year off the same land ; and when the time arrives, we shall find the difference in flavor; between a juicy joint of paddock-fed mutton brought from the feeding ground by rail and one from a sheep killed while in a state of fever. , - .

“This branch- of my subject comes more properly under the farmer’s notice, as the gain to the land from the keeping, folding, and fattening of sheep is one of the first lessons in farming. By folding Ido not mean penning up and feeding on. cut food in troughs,, but folding on one part and then another of a field to utilise a green crop to the greatest advantage.' For the long-wools ' I must claim not only the attention of, farmers whose lands require renovation, ’ but also the notice of the large class of squatters who are at present undergoing the unpleasant process of conversion from lease into freeholders of more or less extensive estates, even against the Act in that case made and provided. Amongst the large quantities of land now being'eagerly bought up there is, I am convinced, a good deal that could be put to much more profitable use than in feeding merinoes, even though they are good ones. There is a class of runs called good breeding runs, where sheep keep in good store condition, but do not fatten ; surely on such places a more easily fattened breed, would pay better. Then, on very, rich lands, sheep, cutting fleeces worth from 10s. to 205., and producing at least an equal weight of mutton per acre, would surely pay better than fleeces worth ss. to ,7s. each. These two. classes are, I take it, well grassed, but the. first is too succulent, and the second too good. They are both essentially different. from thinly-grassed saltbush country where the feed is dry. With only a few more short observations on the principles that should guide the breeders of longwoolled sheep, I will conclude, hoping we may soon see as many long-wools advertised in the papers of Sydney as are to be seen in those of Victoria and New Zealand. • ;

“ As there are many who are ignorant of the great differences .between these breeds, I would say—“l. Do not cross any Leicester or, Lincoln ewe with another breed ; especially ; avoid a Downs cross if you want good , wool, !. ■ .. ! ! . “ 2. If commencing a flock with merino ewes select large sound : 4yr. old sheep, and keep them healthy .with, salt, t “3. Having obtained a good cross, do not go to another breed to cross again. “ 4. Do hot use a cross-bred ram, because he is to be had cheap from a neighbor, if you want to save lime and money. “ 5. Do not sell your best ewe lambs, because they are the 'first fat ! for the butcher, if you. want to ,continue breeding a good paying flock. 1 “6. Shelter from drenching.winter rains, and long-woolled sheep will repay you ~ 'i for all. the comfort they enjoy as well-or better thap any stock you can keep.”;