ON THE LAND.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3155, 27 February 1911, Page 2

ON THE LAND.

Fat Sheep Displays. Several of the displays of .fat sheep at the §«tc summer shows of this season have been remarkable for the duality of (the exhibits in the fat sheep section. It is only to be expected that at Such a timo of the year well fattened sheep and lambs should be forthcoming in good numbers. There lias been the usual “tail,” proving that all farmers are not a judge of when a. beast is in primo marketing condition. The chief drawback lias been the inability of even some of the most successful fatt-eners to be able to choose even pens a really even pen being the exception rather than the rule. The best fatted sheep and lambs of the year' were probabh- those penned at the'little Waitotara show, Messrs Parsons Symes and Wilson exhibiting some very fine pens. Next came the Feilding show, which, for the number penned, was the best, display seen in the Dominion this season. The exhibition at Masterton was not nearly so good. One fact which detracted from the last-named show was that- exhibitors were allowed to 'pen shorn l with unshorn animals, a rule which has nothing whatever to recommend it. .There should obviously, be separate classes for shorn and unshorn shoe]) and lambs. The Raetahi show brought out some lambs which were as good as seen at Masterton. Cost of an Inferior Bull. The average farmer who is raising his own dairy calves little appreciates the net-cost’of a cheap or inferior bull, when in search of an animal to head his herd. This is well illustrated in a herd of dairy cattle of which we have very accurate data as to the flow of milk and the amount of butter-fat produced during the past four generations. In this particular herd '(writes Professor Harpur, of the Cornell University, in the American Agriculturist) the condition . su-ch as the breeding' of the cows, the feeding and the management, were’ as even throughout the four generations as could be obtained in practice, so that any marked increase or decrease iii the production of the off-spring can he credited to the sire used. The first sire under observation got three producing females that averaged 3901 bof fat a year. The second bull even excelled the first, as lie got nine producing females that averaged 3921 b of fat a year. The third bull used was rather inferior, and illustrates the -oint at issue. He got eight producing females that averaged only 2Sslb of fat a year. This is a falling-off of 171 b per cow a year. For the eight females this means a loss, of Ss6!b of hutter-fat a year; which at 20d a lb means an annual loss of £7l 6s Sd so long as these cows are retained. If they are retained five years after they begin to produce, which is, perhaps, the average length of time for animals of this kind to breed, then the loss amounts to over £350. This represents tlie actual loss to the farmer on account of the use of this particular sire.

From this illustration it would seem that the farmer or dairyman in search of an animal to head his herd should be very careful in his choice. He should not trust to chance, but should select an animal whose ancestors have been uniformly noted for their high production.