INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF SHEEPBREEDERS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9598, 18 September 1909, Page 7

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF SHEEPBREEDERS.

ADDRESS BY MK JAMES

STUCKEY.

ON SHORTCOMINGS IN SHEEP BREEDING.

The report of the proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of Sheep Breeders, which *.onk place at the Guildhall, Gloucester, in June last, is just to hand. The paper read at the Conference was by iV|t George McKerrow (U.S.A.), the subject being, "How can we improve the sheep industry." In the discussion on the paper some very interesting remarks were made by Mr J. Stuckey. an erstwhile settler of Masterton, of which the following is an extract:— Mr J. Stuckey said that as a grazier and breeder from New Zealand he should like to thank Mr McKerrow for his paper. He was quite sure that the people in New Z.aland who read it would be very thankful to him for it. But although the paper was a very good one, he would like to say a word or two about it. Mr McKerrow talked about constitution, and though there was a good deal about constitution in the paper, he did not think that he had said enough about it, or that he had pushed constitution far enough.

He believed that all the ills, or nearly ' all the ills, in sheep breeding were ' due to lack of contstiution. He knew that in New Zealand, in the early days, when thousands and thousands of sheep were lost by parasites and such like things, it was for want of constitution, and a good deal for a want of change. As he went about to different parts of the world, he saw a good many sheep with weak constitutions. There was only one thing he thjueht that could get over that, and that was by the use of rams with constitutions Let them have good, big robust frames and massive heads, and let their necks be the same, and, not least, but last, strong wool, and then they would not hear so much about delicate sheep. With respect to breeders selling their inferior sheep, he thought that every sheep breeder would agree with wha 4 ". Mr McKerrow had said. In New Zealand a few years ago there was a great demand for long • woolled rams for use in Australia. Dealers mostly came to Isew Zealand and got anything that was ' called a long-woolled ram, and these animals were sent to Australia, but the Australians were thoroughly disgusted with the result of these sheep, and this virtually ruined the demand for long-woolled sheep in Australia for a long time. Mr McKerrow referred to para sites. They had all mora or less suffered from this cause. He agreed that prevention was better than cure. He had found it desirable that sheep should have plenty of salt. By saying "plenty" he did not mean a lot to-day, and none to-mor-row. They should always have it so that they could go to the salt trough and get it whenever .they liked. He thought that if this was the case, and they took care not to over do their pastures, they would not have much trouble with parasites.

A subject which Mr McKerrow had not touched upon in his paper and was a delicate one to be spoken of in this discussion, and that was the question of scab. This, however, was a little way from Mr McKerrow's paper. He would ask English breeders to do everything that they possibly could to get rid of scab. They might possibly say that tnat did not make any difference to them, but he wouJd tell them th<*t it made a great difference, because every sheep that was brought to New Zealand cost something like £lO more on account of the existence of scab in England, and that was a very great experiment to the importing of sheep from England. The expenses on the animals were quite enough without the expense of quarantine and veterinary examinations time after time, an one or two guineas for each examination.