MR COX ON SHEEP AND SHEEP-BREEDING.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 276, 17 February 1874, Page 2

MR COX ON SHEEP AND SHE EP-BREEDING.

We extract the followlns: romarks f lOra the Australasian of tt u t 1 7th ultimo. :— The Agricultural Society of New South Wales has again had the pleasure of hearing a lecture from thoroughly competent hpi. Mr Gk H. Cox has re-opened the Toxed question of ' cheep and sheep-breediDg,' in a carefully Uigusted papor. He did not occupy tlie tune ot his hearers with a repetition of the paper read by him two years previously, in which, .f we remoaiber ari^iu, the history of sheep-breeding in New South Wales formed a leading feature, but has addressed himself chieflj to th 6 disputed question of 1 in-and-in breeding,' and the effects of crossing, especially between merino and io-g woollei breeds. The influence of climate upon wool, the characteristics of the various breeds oi merinoi, including tho ' true Aintrslinn,' th« importance of studying the capabilities of the country when selecting a breed of sheep, and, finally, aho, the importance of getting up wool io as to preserve all »t» best qualities, were* eacli briefly treated in turn. We hope to pre^nt the paper entiro; but there arotwoor three pomU *meh appear to be specially de*emn>: of remark. Wo ne^d ha-dlv -tdd tha* thyy arise out of tho disputed qu*vinn of ' in-breeding' and ' cro 'tiing.' Hailing from a locality and belonging to a lamily which togeth-r hare done so much to rr.iee the character of the m«»rino in Australia, merinos were necenanly the theme of Mr Cox's discourse. He was treeodingly severe upon those who are seeking to establish cresses between the 00.-ine-woollod breeds and merinos. Indiicruuinale crossing w th sheep of the same class wua to be Jcpiuct&ted, out he was nt a. losd for Rurds to denounce the insane folly of tnoso who wore endeavouring to establish a cross between the merino and the English coarse-woollcd br<>ecta. If p«i3isteil in, tlif> reotlM wn*t be disnitrou-* to th<» owners, ond detrimental to the interests of the colony. The most astonishing thing was that people would not learn from the experience of ©there. The crossing of the merino with the English breeds, ostensibly to obtain a heavier fleece with larger carcase, was ; tried SO years t«o and reiultsd in a most miserable failure. I In this •tram spoLo Mr Cox, of New Jk uth Wales experience | of the use of long-woolled alieop, and it must be acknowIfldgod riiat Victorian experience was of a precisely similar character. From 15 to 20 years ago crow-bred nheep were "xe^atcd ti worthless stock ; th«y wort ' wretched, long- ! legged, missiiapen animals, vmu worth loss fleeces, and had lo^t »11 aptitufle r» fnU«n.' Certainly suoh was the charaoter oi the bulk of tli* cross- breeds, but the causa was patent enough. No attempt was made exoept by one or two breuuers, to provide pure sires for future use, or to teparate tho several grades of females ; the oroa»-brsjd males were used to the who'e flock indiscriminately, and English stockowners well know what sveh a system of out-and-out breeding will produce. It was not by suoh a course that the new Lpicciter-* op the Oxford Downs acquired permanent charaoItonstios; it wot not thus that the Rimbouillets, or other distinct 'V.nul't>g of namnos, were originated. A new breed cannot be <j»t!.blinh( d bv a single cross, and by subsequently permitting the offspring to breed amongst themselvt* without i'>t or hindrance. Thero are but two t-ife ways of crowing for stock-owners generally, aud those are simple enough. If uniformity of wool ba desired year after year, a direct oross between the long-woolled sheep and the merino is the only possible Dlan, and this involves also the maintenance of pure stock ot both description*. If, on the other hand, the object be to rear a flock of long-wools from merino females the couise is equally plum. Pure lone-woolied males muat be pia to tho successive generations ad infinitum. This is the system which has boen carried out by dime of our Western breeder*, wifh such marked success as to have obliterate! all outward indications ot the unpure derivation ot the breed. At many of the shows end sales of the past season, crossbred Leicester* were presented winch could not be distinguished from tho rure imported stock beside them, so completely had rhe p>erino Hood been crossed out. It will be interesting to note tho enect of using these airei ; no harm may probably ensue \( sires possewiuf? at luash r« moot* of tlie loru-woolleu blood are always employed, but tLeoreu* cally pure sires only sliould be U'-ed. The question whether a new trie }< ••! br'^n fi> "1 can b^ determined solely bv experience- oy b.eeaVJi; iron, such stock tor se»ur«l generations It is sheer piefrurnption for the most eTp«ri*»rced breeder to assumo ta»t ho has established a new breet or race untii no has bred them for se\eral (jcnera f ion«, during which they ha\o not at'viated from tho trp<» VV« conteiis to have viewed the retentlvbigun indifcrnmnat* use ot iong-wooliod rams with not a few mingiYing* as to the effects upon our wool trade. JNotmthsianding the excellence of our climate, breeders cannot atlord to ignore altoeether tb« teachings of ex >erience m this matter of cross-breeding. Wool is our greut staple proilnot, und it vill b«» to m« interest of all flookowners to maintain the rt'puc«.t\on ot Australia in the wool marUt of thewoiid.