846 



Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 



[Dec. 2, 1920. 



Sheep and Wool for Farmers* 



CROSS-BREEDING EXPERIMENTS. 



[Concluded from page 770.] 



Results of Lamb-raising Trials. 



J. WKENFORD MATHEWS. 



SALEYARDS AND FARM WEIGHTS. 



Throughout the continuance of the trials, the lambs were weighed at the 

 farms just prior to despatch, and again immediately on arrival at the 

 Horaebush yards, receiving neither food nor water in the meantime. 



In the majority of cases the fourth monthly weighing was the final one, 

 but there were instances where fsome time elapsed between the fourth 

 weighing and the despatch of the lambs, and, in these cases, the lambs were 

 passed over the scales again. This accounts for the slight increases in weight 

 shown in the table published last month giving the^'monthly weighings, and 

 the one that now indicates the final weighings, as well as the loss of weight 

 in transit, and the values realised for the different crosses. 



Wagga Experiment Farm Averages — 1913-1918 (inclusive). 



To remove any false impression that the lambs comprised picked lots, it 

 may be stated that the various consignments included practically the whole 

 of each year's drop. The only ones held back were a few that were dropped 

 late and that were obviously too backward in development to enable fair com- 

 parisons to be made. As indicated by the previous tables, the lambing 

 period occupied about six weeks, so that there was a difference of about that 

 length of time between the first and last lamb dropped. 



The lambing was fairly evenly distributed over the period among all strains, 

 so that no cross was placed at either advantage or disadvantage in this 

 respect. The results coincide with the returns furnished in the previous 



