9 March, 1908.] Types of Eiccs for Lamb-raising. , 163 



(unless it is a Southdown and a good fleeced one is not easily obtained). 

 This cross brings the fleece to a grade that is used largely in the manufac- 

 ture of goods for the middle and lower classes and consequently there is 

 always a certain market at fair prices. It is the true farmer's cross; a 

 hne comeback under his conditions of feeding on fodder crops and stubbles 

 IS too delicate a fibre to stand the dust and rubbing that a farmer's flock 

 undergoes — a stronger fibre stands punishment better. Fine comebacks 

 and Merinoes want cleaner conditions to get the price per pound that is 

 necessary to get to make up the difference for weight per head that good 

 crossbreds will give. Some of our leading Merino flocks of course, cut 

 equal to crossbreds, but these are out of the question with the average 

 farmer. 



Generally speaking fine crossbreds and Merinoes should be mated with 

 longwool rams. It improves the colour of the mutton for export and 

 gives a bulky payable fleece. It does not matter a great deal which of 

 the longwool breeds are used, whichever are the best girthed and level 

 shouldered, combined with good style and covering of fleece, will be found 

 in the end to give the best results regardless of whether thev are Lincolns or 

 Leicesters. Still, Lincolns are wool-growers' sheep to a greater extent 

 than the Leicesters. 



At best, Shropshires are only a fair fleeced breed, but it is when thev 

 are mated with crossbred ewes with a long and bulkv staple such as the 

 Lincoln-Merino cross, that the half Shropshire inherits most of the bulk 

 and length of staple from the ewes. If the ewes are bv Leicester r.^.ms 

 from a plain clean pointed line of Merinoes then the Shropshire ram should 

 be a well covered one, as well as good girthed, in order to correct some- 

 what the thinness of undercovering and bareness of points which is always 

 a result of careless Leicester crossing. 



Now that many of our Merino breeders are going to the extreme in 

 plain bodied Merinoes, many of the cull ewes, which the farmer generally 

 buys, will be bare legged and bare faced. The demand for longwool 

 rams has brought out lots of bare sheep that when mated to the cull ewes 

 wuU only increase the evil. It is wonderful where all the longwool rams 

 come from in such a short space of time ; three years ago they were very 

 scarce, and now thev are about in hundreds, for second class breeders kept 

 anv white faced ram lambs from their crossbred ewes when the demand 

 came about. 



Some farmers on well improved freehold properties are now nj-oving 

 that with half Shropshire ewes from good first cross Lincoln-Merinoes, it 

 works well to keep to pure Shropshire ram.s every season, using only good 

 fleeced and shapelv ones. Sheep bred this way cut valuable fleeces of 

 medium grade, and each generation they are crossed by pure Shropshire 

 brings them nearer to the ideal farmer's sheep. Each year those farmers 

 fatten and sell the wether lambs, worst ewe lambs, and cast ewes. 



Shropshire-Merino is not a good cross, but there has been a lot of this 

 crossing done. It is best to cross again with longwools ; otherwise there 

 IS not sufficient width of frame nor bulk of fleece to be profitable to the 

 farmer. In fact, if the sheep are from narrow forequartered, woolly 

 headed, short stapled Merinoes, they are far from a good class of sheep ; 

 and if by woolly headed, weak necked Shropshires, inferior in wool, as 

 the majority of so-called Shropshires have been, then they are about as un- 

 profitable a sheep as it is possible to find. Descendants from the latter 

 can be only third qualitv freezers and it takes a long time to get them to 



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