SHEEP BREEDING IN HAWKE'S BAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4090, 16 April 1892, Page 2

SHEEP BREEDING IN HAWKE'S BAY.

(By Walter Milleb.)

The following article contains tbe substance of a few impressions I have formed during a temporary visit to this fine district, of the methods of farming carried on here, Having had large and varied experience of agricultural and pastoral pursuits in the old country and in the colonies, I may faiily lay claim to speak with some authority on these subjects; and I am anxious to give my fellow colonists in both islands the benefit of su h experience by pointing out some existing errors in practice—errors which cause not only great loss o settlers themselves, but also', in a degree, to the country at large. And while I see much to commend, I may be pardoned should I indulge in a little adverse though very friendly criticism. In the first place, 1 think very highly of Hawke's Bay district for its growing capabilities, The hills are ooverod from top to bottom with rich green grass; the country is well watered with clear running streams everywhere; you have a light, Bbarp soil on a limestone formation, with open and porous bottom; and a fine climate—all suoh conditions being highly favourable to the healthy growth of sheep and wool. It is said that cot pi»ny yeais ago nearly the whole country was covered with fern and scrub, and therefore unsuitable for sbeep.-kpeping. \yell, the ppeseqt state of things gpes to show that great energy, industry, and intelligence have been called into action to bring about suqh a favourable state of things as now exists, On all hands are to be seen good oomfprtable homesteads, with suitablo woolsheds, sheepyards, convenient paddooks, and subdivision fences; plantations for ornament, sliSuSjshelter, consist" ing of belts, clumps, and Bpj°ta en treeß—tbe beautiful shadowy weeping willow being quite a feature of the district. The woo|rSCo|)ir|ng and meatfreezing establishments are first' Class; j and a'together there is mu'oh to sbowj ibatij) certain degree,! master minds have garbed Qn sljeep farming.in this part of the cpiony.! Aud yet there is much that is wrong. I shall therefore endeavour shortly to point out noticeable defeats in the system oi aheep-breeding pursued here; but it will bo difficult to fully and clearly point out complete remedies for sueh defeots within the necessarily prescribed limits of this paper. jjincolns and Lincoln crosses seem to be exie.ujjiyely bred in Hawke's Bay. Now it is a fact jthat no particular breed of slie.ep, Ljncoln not excepted, suits epiljy yell e'ypry locality in any country. And let uie here say that the primary question to be settled by everyone commencing sheep farming is: What particular bfjed,Q/jhe§j)ffi|| best suit my pasture, gi)d tj)9 tfpnjan,{} of th,e market to be supplied? Having correctly ascertain M lllm Stick to tbe breed fixed upon, and be vt and cautious as to adopting any change. Nothing oan be said against the Lincoln for orosslng pqrppses when one prefers that breed, but to persist j|} keeping the puro brjsed, or hieh crosses',' tn localities unsuited for theji, is flying in the face of nature. Nature in effect says, " Very well, my' mati, you may disregard my mandates, bit by natural laws I will stock youf country with a breed of sheep according to my dictates and at your expenje" it is a well knowft fsQ.t tjiaf almost every district of England possesses its own particular type of. sheep, produced not so much by man's selection as in accordance with the inexorable lay that lib produces like. What would be thought of the English farmer who would'resolve nj stock a farm on th? Cumberland hills or 'tta

Welsh and Cheviot Mountains' with any of the heavyc ircased, longffoolled breeds of the lowlands ? The attempt would simply result in utter failure, Yet to a certain extent suoli an error has been committed in various parts of New Zealand. Having fixed upon the particular breed of sheep to be kept, the next important consideration for every sheep-farmer is to assist tlie powers of na'ure in keeping his sheep up to good quality by the art of (election; oarefully culling out all inferior sheep at least twice a year—once in summer, spridg before' shearing. No good sheep-farmer will rest satisfied until all his sheep are drafted evenly in quality, and to my mind this is where many of the sheep-farmers here are most seriously at fault. With them there appears to be an entire absence of effective classing and culling, and one evil result is a great diversity in the quality of the wool at shearing time. In the product of one and the same Sock is to he found a portion of first-class, superior combing wool, graded down to inferior sorts in altogether undue proportion to what a well-bred flock ought to produce, A. flock in such a state mustincur a loss to the owner. It is indisputable that a good sheep is as easily kept as'a had one, Having seen not a few .flooks and many fine sheep in different parts of the district, I yet feel bound to say that never before in my experience have T seen such a disparity in sheep of the same flock and on Buch good pasture as is to be found on some stations here. There is only one remedy for such a state of things, and that is- coupled with generally carefulmanagement—intelligent selection of the breeding sheep, both male and female, and rigorous, regular culling out of all inferior and 'weedy sheep. Such a course, if followed, must in time produce very profitable results in this highly favoured district.

Regarding the breed of sheep to be grown, as already mentioned, everyone must settle that question for himself; but I would like 10 throw out a few suggestions that may be useful to some. In the merino we have the most valuable, fine>woolled sheep in the world, possessing an elastic constitution that oan become acclimatised almost Anywhere, On him we can grow a fine short wool while poorly kept, and with generous feeding he will produce a very fine, dense,.long, combing wool second to none; and he is well adapted for crossing with nearly .ull the English long-wool breeds. The colonial sheep in demand at present is an animal with a medium fine; long, strong-stapled fleece fit for combing, and a carcase for freezing. None of the pure English breeds exactly suit these requirements; therefore a cross with the merino is requisite, and he suits exactly, The Romney nm and merino ewe produce a hardy, useful sbenp for rough country; while the Leicester ram and merino owe throw a fine*woolled handsome sheep that does exceedingly well on good keep, But I think the best all-round sheep is a half-bred from the very best purebred Lincoln ewe by a pure-bred, large-framed merino ram, and continue so breeding halkbreds with half-breds straight on. I believe this crosa oan be established into a valuable typo of sheep. It has already been well proved in the Middle Island, Of the various Down sheep I say nothing, believing they cannot be crossed with the merino to advantage. It 18 worth while to note the very satisfactory results of long-continued, persistent, and intelligent selection of sheep in the high state of perfection to which Australian squatters have brought the merino. In conclusion I hope the foregoing remarks will be received by those concerned in the same spirit in whicli they are given—yiz„ with a sincere desire to stimulate good sheepfarming in our adopted country, . I should have liked to make a few observations upon the agricultural prospects of the North Island, os well as upon its stock of horses and cattle, and other matters; but this article has already stretched out to considerable length, therefore I must forbear to trespass further at present. Napier, January 12. P.S.-The above was writtsn, as shown by the date, during a visit to Hawke's Bay some months since; but unfortunately the M,S. went a3tray until a few days ago;—W. M. Dunedin, April 7.