COLOURING SHEEP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 6

COLOURING SHEEP.

I This is an ""English practice which it is to be hoped will never be tolerated' in New Zealand shows. There have been fiom time to time a few attempts made io j introduce it, but to the colonial eye the 1 effect was the reverse of attractive, and 1 the colouring was discontinued. So lately; as the present month, at FeiWing, a few, sheep had been coloured for show, a dirty j brown powder having been thickly applied to the wool, but the result was toi spoil the appearance of the 6heep, and! though critics were assured that thp stylo was "quite English,"' it met with noadmiration, but the reverse. It was said* i that the colouring would be continued! by certain sheep men who had experience of sho-« ing in England, and that others would have to follow the example, until the practice became general. It is pleasing to see (hat in England there is a, growing opinion adverse to colouring, and I at the annual meeting of the HampshireDown Sheep-breeders' Association a resolution was carried, though by a small majority, "That the present practice of coloming Hampshire Down sheep for exhibition' pui-pcwes is highly detrimental to I the best inteiests of the breed," and: I calling upon the council to "take im- ! mediate measures to put an end to the i practice." One of the speakers stated , that sheep were put into the show-ring sn coloured that it was literally impossible for a j\u!«_'o to tell the colour of the skin or the texlure of the wool, or even the "handle" of the sheep ; even ran* breedeis had bought ram? so coloured! and had to discard them as useless. Ai biner complained that dark wool about a. ram was concealed by the colouiing. Two leiding breeders defended colouring, on the ground that a man had a right to show his stock to the best advantage ; but they would not countenance a man's ! putting on powder to hide dark wool.. Another bieeder contended that colouring was a hindrance to the judges in deciding! which were the best heep. and for that! reason he would welcome the day when colouring would be done away "with. New Zealand sheep breeders and show committees profess to desire that sheep shall be shown so that they can be judged on their merits, without such adventitious aids to appearance or disguise of defects as are conferred by colouring or the no less objectionable, unfair shearing ; and iti would be well, though neither evil has as yet attained very great dimensions, fop societies to enact a prohibition again&ti the colouring such as already is in most societies in force against undue trimming.