SHEEP AND CATTLE FOR FREEZING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4735, 1 June 1894, Page 3

SHEEP AND CATTLE FOR FREEZING.

An Important Discussion ( Tho following important discussion on tho best breeds of shcop and caltje for freezing is takon from the N,Z. Times report of Wednesday's sitting of tho Agricultural Con-1 f oronco:—

Mr J. Giigg opened tho subject by reading tho following paper:—ln introducing this subject for tho consideration, of this Conference I propose to treat it under three distinct headings.—l, What class of mutton and beef brings tho highest price in the English market, and is such meat (he most profitable that can be produced by the New Zealand farmer ? It is beyond dispnte that comparatively small breeds both of cattle and sheep make the highest prico per pound, and therefore wo may conclude that it must bo the small breeds that will host fulfil this condition, 2. What are tho breeds as regards cattle? I submit that there can be but little doubt that tho Devons best supply our want. Granting that carcases weighing from _ 600lbo to 75011) do not sell at the highest price per pound, and that when over 8001b there is a progressive relative depreciation, with the increased weight; there is also another strong reason in favour of the Devon, they are more easily kept in high condition until they are lit for killing than any other breed. In this country where stall feeding cannot be adopted the main qualities of tho_ Hereford and .Shorthorn for which the/ are preferred in England disappear by comparison. The above remarks if udmittedascorrectclearly point to the Devon also as a most valuable breed for crossing with other breeds. Indcicwniniiig which are the best sheep to breed m New Zealand, we may well go for some assistance to the farmers of Great Britain, and we shall find that the comparatively smaller breeds are leading, especially tho Shropshire Downs and Southdowiis. With reference to (he Shropshire a recent writer uses these words " Tenantfarmers in England have not been slow lo discern the rent-paying attributes of the breed," and "'it is an undisputed fact that in the show yard as well as in the sale ring they have both in numbers and price distanced all others," and ho goes on to say "Jly opinion is that when the true merits of the Shropshire aro better known here by the right stamp of farmers we shali hear les.: complaints of the frozen mutton and better prices will be obtained. Consumers do not like your coarse over fat mutton." 3. What system of breeding is practicable to tho New Zealand farmer, that will bring him nearest and most quickly to the desired cud, tho production of tho largest quantity and best quality of mutton for freezing purposes ? Tho object of tho di°cusskm on such ut subject as this is to enable each farmer to weigh tho pros and cons placed before him, and to be the better able to judge for himself, I will now state briefly the conclusions that I have come to as to the lifst modes of breeding. In the South Island I would on the merino ewe use robust strong-woollod English Leicester rams, and after that on the cross use nothing but Shrop- ■ shires. " Actions speak louder than words." I have used nothing but Shropshire rams sinco freezing mutton has been exported, It is a- very singular fact that there should be such a great variety of opinions amongst practical fanners as to which is the most profitable sheep, and I respectfully submit that I believe it to bo caused to a great extent by tho mode of thought adopted in thinking on the question. New Zealand farmers appear to me to reason too much from the point "Which sheep will give the most wool ?" The English farmer reasons on the basis, ''How much money will be the yield per acre in wool and mutton ?"—in other words, which is tho best paying breed ? Mr Grigg went on to say that he did not imagine that any resolution could be passed by the Conference that would decide the question, but they wanted if possible to airangc for such an exhaustive enquiry and for tho application of experimental tests as would give them some guidance in the matter. He moved, " That information regarding the best breeds of cattle and sheep for freezing, all points considered, be collected and dissemiualed throughout the colony, such information to be obtained if possible by careful experimental tests." ' .

The motion was seconded by Mr } Buchanan who said that with regard ; to Devon cattle, mentioned by Mr '' Grigs, he remarked that, seeing the [ position, the dairy industry was ' destined 1 to occupy in New Zealand, J he questioned whether they would be wise in putting many of their dollars into that class o! cattle, As to sheep, , Mr Grigg should not have recommended Shropshire, but South. ' downs, which lie did not think Mr \ Grigg would say brought less per lb in tlio English market than Shrop- ' shires. From a report of the Lon-I 1 don market taken from the Times lie ! | found that lOst Downs (of course in ; the wool, oifal qiven in) brought 5s ■ 2d, whilst 12st Lincolns brought 4s \ Bd, so that they need.not wonder ' when they could not get a greater , difference than Jd per lb between halfbrcd Down frozen and the ordi- ; nary Lincoln, or Leicester, or Romney Marsh sheep. If they crossed their ordinary wool-producing Hocks, : tlion they would get upon a very different footing altogether. They in (he North Island had imfortu, nately no supply of merino ewes to fall back upon to renew, as it were, to some extent the position of their Hocks, so that they had to look upon the question from rather a different point of view. He thought also it was obvious that if thoy were to proceed further than the first cross they would certainly loso considerably in weight and wool. Ho admitted they would gain something in price as regarded Lincolns, but ho was nfrnid that would not make up for tho loss in weight and wool, In conclusion, he would point out that a very large proportion of the income of settlors was derived from wool-somethiug like £4,000,000 per annum, and the income derived from mutton was only about £1,250,000, to which had to bo added the large quantity of mutton sold in the country. While agreeing with Mr Grigg that as far as practicable they i should secure the valuable meat qualities of tho Down sheep, they should be careful not to throw away the wool, which had been hitherto one of the mainstays of New Zealand. (Hear, hear). Mr Henry Hoynolds said the taste at Homo now was for black-faced 1 Bheep, averaging about 601b with 1 the lean and fat nicely mixed, J . Mr Roberts said ho thought the Bmee between the ileeces of a crqßS.and a crossfvomalloui,

ncy sheo'p was somewhoro between' 21b and 2jlb porlleoceV Tlieyikneiv vory well. tho difforonco betweoii Canterburyprimo'mutton ami. oi'd-' inftry mutton in tho Colony' was about jtl in tho lb, .Even assuming thei'O wus }d per lb diiloronco on the better quality mutton he. maintained it was quite niado up 'by brooding the heavier shoop and getting a heavier fleece. They had to consider very carefully whether tho farmer was justified in breeding for freezing only. They must not lose sight of wool, and if they went blindly for producing freezers only they would be losing monoy. It was impossible to grow beef, ns Queensland could produco it so ranch cheaper. They in New Zealand would do far better ifthoy confined tlioinsolves to growing mutton in. stead, and in the long run that would become their most profitable export. They inust (iud front experience what breeds suited their own land best, and lie thought it was impossible to carry out such a resolution as had been proposed, although it was worth while making the attempt.

Mr Overton thought if they were 'going to keep eattloin New Zealand they could only do so with a view of i producing milkers, and for that reason they must fall back upon the Shorthorn. As to the best breed of sheep ho thought a fine wool Lincoln was tho best sheep to cross with, but the dilliculty was to get a ewe that would pay the farmer, for a ewe must grow wool. They must not tamper with the wool, they must keep that in sight, and he was afraid if they went in for light wool sheep, they might not notice it for a few years, but in eight or ten years they would find a tremendous sacrifice had been niado. -

Mr Sluckey pointed out that they had not considered the question of how much money they had 'got per acre from their land. That was a dillicult question to settle, because none of thorn, lie thought, had really worked it out. The first tilings to consider in breeding slice]) were the land mid tlio climate, which had n great deal to do with the stock, both sheep and cattle. As to Mr Griggs remarks re Devon cattle, his experience was that Hovefonls were much better than Devons—(laughter and applause)—but climate and soil bud very much to do in the brecding,and no doubt in their own particularly suitable localities one would beat the other. As to milk, there ngain the land and tlio cliuiato exercised a. great inllnencc, and in tlio rather hilly land in the North Island nnd on second-class land he was quite sure the Hereford would beat the Shorthorn all to pieces. (Laughter.) With respect to the use of rums, ho had had some experience with Shropshire rams and Lincoln ewes. When tlio freezing first started ho got a few Southdown rams, and

although he was very pleased with them, he had heard so much about Shropshire's he thought ho would give them a, trial. He got three from Auckland, and they wore very good. Ho tried them for two years in succession, and instead of fattening from 50 to 70 per cent., as with Southdowns, he only fattened about 5 per cent, The following year he sold not more tlmn 50 per cent of the hoggets, whereas every one of the crossed Southdown hoggets went away as fat sheep. It was his experience that possibly a small sheep did not sell for so much money as n larger one, but it went away much sooner than the other kind.

Mr C. Pharazyn said he knew the advocates of using Down sheep were very fully convinced they would get as much, or nearly* as much, per acre, as by keeping to the Lineolns, or other long-woolled breeds, but they had not yet sufficient data to settle the question. They were here in a new country; a great many of them recognised they knew something about sheep-farming now, although they did not a few years ago, but he never could understand how they were prepared to set their experience against the experience of the Old Country, where they had been sheep farming for hundreds of years. In each district at Home they found different-breeds of sheep to suit those districts, That was what they had to do in New Zealand. Then, again, wool must bo their mainstay, and if they got away from that they would be on dangerous ground. The future of wool was pretty well assured, but with regard to frozoif mutton the tendency was downwards, Ho should always say, " Kcop to our wool whatever we do." The result of his observation in New Zealand was that somo pcoplo were unconsciously sacrificiug their flocks. They were allowing them to get into a mongrel condition, and they did not know where they wftuld be in a short time. A lot of good flocks were being spoilt in that way, and he should strongly advise breeders to bo very careful in that respect, Mr Pashby thought Shorthorn cuttle would be bettor than Devons, They were getting touso very small breeds, and if they were not good for milking he did not know what would be the use of them, He was afraid thoy were I getting into the samo state with regard to their sheep, and that they might go too far in thatdirection, In choosing sheep they must know the locality they were going to put them in.

After some further discussion Mr Grigg in reply maintained that for freezing purposes the Devon cattle would produce greater money value, but he would not recommend them for dairying for ouo moment. For that he believed there was nothing equal to the Holstein, because they were the largest milkers, and their early maturity was surprising. One great omission in the arguments brought forward in that discussion was as to the amount of feed that different animals required to produce a certain nmomit of wool and mutton. Ho maintained that the smallest sheep did not comsiimo the same amount of food relatively for the simple reason that it matured so much earlier. That was one great objection to tho heavy wool sheep, that they could not got them out of the way.. As to the Shropshire Downs, they had gone all over England.Scotlaud and Ireland, and the verdict of tho English farmers was ono they should take into consideration when they considered the question of the best breed of sheep thoy should take on to their land, They would kcop two Southdowns for one Hampshire, The Eoiunoy Marsh was not a sheep to be despised, and thoro were some districts in New Zealand whoro they could keep nothing- else. The resolution-proposed byMr Grigg was then put to the meeting and carried.

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