NEGRETTE MERINO SHEEP.

Waikato Times, Volume VI, Issue 327, 18 June 1874, Page 2

NEGRETTE MERINO SHEEP.

If tho merino does not pay for feeding artificially like other breeds, be will produce wool on tbe worst of grass, and when well fed will do little more. Tbe quality ef tbe wool petenorates in proportion as he is overfed, and very little is gained in mutton, the nature of tbe merino being to secrete on the kidneys the surplus fat ; so that, although producing very good and juicy meat, the merino will not yield fat mutton, nature having evidently intended him for a woolproducing animal. The Negrette merino is a native of Spain, and bis fine wool was al one time so great a revenue to tbe Spaniards, that no merino was allowed to be exported from Spain without tbe licence of the king, under tbe eitremest penalties — at one time even that of death. The following account of bow they were introduced into this country may interest many of our readers, as also may some particulars of sales of merinos, taken from old agricultural magazines. King George the Third, as it is well known, was an ardent agriculturist, and, being determined to try tbe celebrated Negrette merinos on bis own farm, he in tbe year 1757 took measures for the collection and importation of a few. It was a kind of smuggling transaction ; and as they could not be shipped from any Spaniih port without a licence from the King of Spain, they were driven through Portugal.embarked at Lubon, and landed at Portimouth ; but, being hastily •elected from various proprietors, tbej were not considered good enough to make any experiment with. It wat accordingly determined in 1791 to apply direct t > the Spanish monarch for permission to select some from the best flocks. Thii was liberally and promptly granted, and » little flock was draughted of the Negrette breed, the moit valuable of all. They were transferred to Kew, and the experiment of the naturalisation of tbe merino and the crossing them with British abeep was commenced. In 1804, thirteen yean after ter the importation, the first sale took place, and what are even now thought fair prices were obtained One of these Negrette rams sold for forty-two guineas, and two ewes for eleven guineas each, the average of the rams being £19 145., of tbe ewes £8 15s 6d. At tbe second sale in August, 1805, •evonteen rams and twenty-one ewes were sold for £1148 14s, being an average of about £30 each. In 1810 thirty-three merino rams sold for £1920 9s, being an average of more than £58 each. One full-mouthed Negrette ram was sold to Colonel Searle for 173 guineas, one for 134 guineas to Sir Holme Popham, one for 116 guineas to Mr Q-ale, one for 105 guineas to Mr Sumner, and one for 101 guineai to Mr Wools ; and of the ewes, a full-mouthed Negrette was sold to the last-named gentleman for 70 guineas, two others for 61 and 65 guineas each, one to Mr Down for 29 guineas, and another to Mr Willis for 60 guiueas ; seventy averaging £37 10s per head. The first advocates of the merino thus saw their predictions most fully realised, and in the following year, cays an old historian, a merino society was formed, with a great number of members of station and influence. Sir Joseph Banks was the president ; fifty-four vice-presidents were appointed, and local committees were established in every county of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. From this very period, however, is to be dated the decay of the merino in Enghuh public opinion. These sheep could not be adopted generally in such a meat-eating country as England, being deficient in tho principle of early maturity and general propensity to* fatten, which in the colonies is Lot so much considered as their valuabio fine wool-producing qualities. Possibly, also, mismanagement may have had something to do with this failure, as English flockmasters did not understand the character of these sheep, and by grazing them on wet and rich pastures caused a delicacy and tendency to disease ; but they have proved themselves hardy whenever properly treated, and have much improved the fleece of all the sheep with which they have been crossed, by giving it increased weight, and adapting it for finer fabrics. In our colonies the merino cannot easily beover-estimated they arc kept there in many thousands, and consequently receive but limited attention, liy nutmc they are undoubtedly intended to live a migratory lilc ; limy produce more horn than any other breed of abeep, and are able to travel much longer distances in search of lood without being foot*ore. Their short strong legs and deep ribs do them good service j they can live in a dry season on a scanty pasture, and thus are enabled to produce good fleeces where other animals wonld »tarvc. In short the grout value of the merino consists in their being able to produce the finest fleeces of wool of good weight on the scantiest pasture. The Negretto wiMi bis very thick fine wool, and covered as he is from tho tip of his nose to the hoofi, suffer* more from *et than heat. The beads of the males are usually ornamented with a pair of handsome spiral horns, tho females mostly polled. Th« remnant of the pure royal flock fell into the bands of the laic Mr T. B. Sturgeon, of South Ockcndon Halt, Essex, sboitly after tho death of King George 111-, and they have

tinee been bred pure by Mr Sturgeon and his sons, who hay* spared neither troublo nor expense to maintain their high character. The effect of food, climate, and fresh blood imported from the best flocks to be found, is seen in the incre.ised aizo of the sheep, their improved form, and fin© heavy even fleeces. Messrs Sturgeon are glad to show these sheep to anyone interested in them ; they are within five minute*' walk of the Grays Station, on the London and Tilbury lino. The management is not very different from that ordinarily pursued. The ewe§ are put to the ram when 20 months old, after having been caiefully examined to see that the wool is even and good, and that each animal is in all respects fit for breeding purposes. Care i« taken to select a. rani with points calculated to correct any defect in the ewes, and only distantly related, so as to avoid too close breeding, which here as elsewhere, tends to reduce size and weaken the constitution. A studbook is kept, in which the number of each lamb is entered, when born, also iti sire and dam. After the ewes are tupped they are all put together, and kept in one flock on grass. About a fortnight before lambing time they are yarded at night, both for protection and to enable tho shepherd to attend to them. As soon as they are recovered from lambing, the ewes and lambs are put on turnips, upon which, with hay and chaff, and a little bran aud cake, they do very well uutil the end of March, when the turnips are usually finished ; thej are then put on rje r rye-grass, and then on to the permanent pastures. About the cud of May, or the beginning of June, the lambs areseparated from the ewes, so as to allow the ewes time to recover from the effects of suckling their lambs before they are shorn, which usually takes place in the latter end of June,, or beginning of July. The ewes then lire on grass till tupping time. The ram lambs, when separated from the ewes, are shut up in sheds, and fed on hay chaff with a few oats or cake, so a» to have them always prepared by dry feeding for shipment to the colonies, they being only bred for exportation. Thevalue of th» wool from the flock at Greys is about 3s per lb_ when clean washed. The general practice, however, i» not to wash the sheep clean, as it is found preferable to sell the wool in grease, rather than subject the sheep to that process. — The Field.