1 907.] 



Ri »\i \ i.\ Marsh Siii:ki*. 



79 



5. Wool. — The wool is of heavy weight, long and full staple 

 and demi-lustre. Great attention has been paid in recent years 

 to the wool and a decided improvement lias resulted, there being 

 more first class and less breech and coarser wool in the fleece. 

 The sheep an; shorn in June, tin- general practice being to shear 

 the lambs also. The practice of shearing the lambs is due to the 

 general consensus of opinion thai the heavy coat of wool hinders 

 the rapid putting on of flesh, and unshorn lambs are therefore 

 less " kindly " ; the lambs are also not so liable to be " struck " 

 by the fly and they are also freed from " ticks." 



The wool as a rule sells at a trifle lower price than Down wool 

 (though it has been known to sell at a higher price). The 

 average clip from ewes, washed before clipping, is 8 to 10 Lb. ; 

 tegs, 7 to 9 lb. ; lambs, i£ lb. A ram lamb aged four months 

 has been known to clip 7 J lb., and rams up to over 20 Lb., 

 showing the possibilities of the breed. 



For crossing purposes the Romney is an excellent subject, 

 the South Down, Shropshire, Hampshire, and Suffolk rams being 

 used, and the quality of the mutton is improved by the use of the 

 Down breeds. For early maturity the Hampshire cross is by 

 some considered the most serviceable ; others, however, prefer the 

 Shropshire cross as they fatten more quickly, whilst for quality 

 the South Down cross makes a first class butchers' sheep. The 

 Romneys, being good mothers, feed their lambs well, and a good 

 many are crossed for fat lambs. 



The system of management in the Marsh is to turn in the tups 

 in November so as to lamb in April, as by that month the 

 severest of the weather is over and the grass is sufficiently forward 

 for a fair bite. Lambing, as has been already mentioned, takes 

 place in the open ; the lambs are weaned in July, and then or in 

 the months of August and September they are sent to winter in 

 the uplands of Kent or Surrey and Sussex, most of them being 

 wintered entirely on grass and no artificial food given. This 

 system is not a satisfactory one and has a detrimental effect on 

 early maturity. The lambs ,nv in good condition when they go 

 up, but, being out to keep, they do not get the same consideration 

 in many e.iM^ as if under their owner's eye, and they return in 

 diminished numbers in the following spring in poor condition 

 and their development checked, and such flesh is as every stock- 

 owner knows, difficult and expensive to replace. The lambs 



