268 THE FARMERS HANDBOOK. 



With regard to the first of these three, the mixed farmer is at a disadvantage 

 compared with the larger grazier. The latter has cleaner pastures and is 

 able to produce a class of wool that commands more attention in the wool 

 sale-room, for on the farm the dust from the cultivation paddocks and fallows 

 penetrates the wool and opens it on the bade, depreciating the value of the 

 fleece The farmer is, therefore, rather pressed into the second and third 

 ways of earning profits from his sheep. The type of sheep that under most 

 circumstances has proved profitable to the mixed farmer is the crossbred, 

 which principally means the progeny of some longwool English ram with a 

 Merino ewe. 



A lot of attention has been devoted by the Department to this phase of 

 the industry, and extensive experiments have been conducted to determine 

 the best breed of ram and the best type of ewe for the purpose. Many English 

 breeds have been tried, but certain ones have gradually been eliminated, 

 until it has narrowed itself down to a contest between the Lincoln and the 

 Border Leicester. Of the two, the latter shows slightly to advantage, 

 although for certain districts the Lincoln is undoubtedly the better. Some 

 of the Down breeds were also tried in this connection, but they failed to 

 " nick " well with the Merino in the first cross. The class of ewe most 

 suitable for mating with these British rams has been found to be a 

 large-framed, plain-bodied, robust and roomy type of Merino ewe. The 

 crossbred thus obtained gives a heavy weight of fleece and is always in 

 ready demand as a mutton animal, whether for local consumption or for 

 export as frozen mutton. 



The third line of profit open to the mixed farmer is that of raising fat 

 lambs. This is an industry that commends itself to farmers owing to the 

 quick returns it furnishes, for it involves the marketing of the lambs 

 straight off the mothers at the age of 16 to 20 weeks. The requirements 

 of the trade are an animal that, as a dressed carcase, will run from 35 to 40 

 lb. and at the same time have the sappy, luscious flesh that belongs to lambs. 



For fat lamb production certain things are essential, viz., the farm must 

 be within easy distance of the railway, a supply of feed must be ensured 

 for the ewes, and a combination of breeds must be used in order to ensure 

 that the lambs grow quickly. Extensive experiments have been carried 

 out by the Department in this direction, with the object of finding the best 

 combination of breeds to produce early lambs, and it is here that the 

 Down breeds showed their usefulness. Representatives of practically every 

 Down breed (Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire, Oxford, &c, and the 

 Dorset Horn) were tried, being mated with first-cross ewes from the long- 

 wool crosses already referred to. At the conclusion of the experiments, 

 the three breeds which showed out ahead of the others were the Dorset Horn, 

 Southdown, and Shropshire, in the order named. The Dorset Horn proved 

 itself pre-eminently suited for the production of early lambs. AVorking on 

 these lines, the farmer gets approximately 25s. per head for the lambs, and 

 in the vicinity of 10s. each for the ewes' fleeces. 



The class of farming thus outlined commends itself to the wheat farmer — 

 firstly, by reason of the quick returns ; and secondly, because the sheep can 

 be utilised for cleaning up the fallows and cultivation, and for feeding down 

 crops when necessary. The farmer must ensure a supply of green feed for 

 the ewes during and after lambing, in order that there may be a constant 

 flow of milk for the lambs, which must not suffer any check or set-back 

 from birth to marketing. 



