Polynesian., 1854-07-22
Gbe 1polpnesian.
Report on Sheep.
To the Royal Ha,eatian .aerisultursl Society.

TO The Royal Ha,caiian .4erieultursl Society:
Mr.. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN I'm layinc
before you my report as Chairman of the Commit
tee on sheep, must begin by Stating I ave mo-
any personal knowledge Of either the capabilities o
the other Islands for sheep farming, nor of the
met1ocs OF management adopted on them and
tnat lhe following observations are the resul,
OF my own experience and that of few other
sheep owners on this Island only
L nnd That Mernos are very well adapted to this
cIlnate and that besides the great increase in the
value OF the wool produced by their introduction.
the cross between the unimproyed native sheen
and the ine-wool rams imported from Australia.
gives better carcass, caller maturity and great
er amount of mutton than we had before, have
not unfrequently seen haf.bred yearlings as large
as their mothers. [ have not seen the South
Downs imported from the States since the last
meeting OF the Society, but have heard that they
are hne sheep, and have no doubt Of their being a
most valuable addition to our stock of sheep here.
am OF opinion. however, that it is well to try
10 produce as tne wool as possible without deter-
oratlng the carcase, as fine wool is always money,
ana 1t costs as little to shear fine wool as to shea
halr. With regard to the increase of sheep here it
seems almost incredible. | have seen several
ewes produce three and four at birth, and have
one which produced five healthy lambs last month.
100 much cannot be said IN condemnation of the
lazy, slovenly practice of allowing the rams to run
with the flock all through the year. and of allow
ing all ages and sexes 10 run together. Great
numbers of lambs are lost by so doing. By leav-
ing the rams with them all the year the ewes are
cropping their lambs In mud and misery all throuy
the rainy season, and by allowing the whole flock
to run together, the wethPrs and the strong young
dry sheep keep ahead all day, depriving the nurs-
ing mothers and heavy ewes of the best of the
heroage' Many ewes desert their lambs by trying
TO keep up with the flock, and by returning with
the flock I'D the yard in the evening by different
route from that by which they went out in TN,
morning. Hitherto have removed the rams from
my breeders during the months of June, July, Au-
gust, September and October, so that no lambs
are dropped during the months of November, De-
cember, January, February and March. | find
however, that it will be better to reduce the time
nt allowing them to run with the ewes to three
months OF the year, or at most four so that all the
lamblng may take place within corresponding
period, and the crop of lambs may be weaned from
the mothers before allowing the latter to COM
mence breeding again. | have seen repeated in
stances OF ewes producing twins twice within six
months, and such frequent parturiton must exhaust
the animals. Another serious evil resulting IN al
lowing the whole flock TO together, is that the
young ewes commence breeding much too earIy
They should not be put to the ram under eighteen
months old at the very earliest, which will make
them about two years old when they commence
dropping.
The only disease which know of among the
sheep here is cutaneous one, arising from cold
and wet combined with low condition. 1t appears
to be caused by obstructed perspiration and def
cheney of the yok or oil peculiar to sheep. II
hrst shows itself by extreme dryness and absence
Of grease in the wool, then scurfy appearance of
the skin, and finally the wool comes off in places,
generally on the top of the shoulders. | have
seen horses here affected in Il similar manner by
heavy rain. Sheep and horses seem to recover en-
tlreiy merely from being transferred to good pas
ture, enjoying warm weather and improving in
condition. | have not heard Of any authenticated
case of scab, catarrh foot-rot here. ! have
seen sheep poisoned now and then by eating
some herb, but cannot confidently state what the
poisonous plant is. | am under the impression
hat it is Auhuhu, plant or small shrub used by
the natives for poisoning fish. This is, however,
eaten freely by the cattle without producing any
injurious results.
/ find that the Chinese Coolies make good shep-
herds. 1t requires, of course, little trouble in
the beginning, increased by the want of a ready
mode of communication, to teach them what Is
necessary To be done, but they can be induced to
remain all day with the sheep, and 10 take of
them, which no native can be induced to do for
any amount of remuneration. 1t is absolutely IN
ispensable to have a shepherd constantly with the
sDePp, 10 lneSe OelpleSS OF al uC-
nestic animals from dogs, mules, donkeys and the
thousand natural ills that sheep are heir to.
use MT pens for folding my sheep at night and
them strongly to sheep owners. Spun
yarn marline-stuf made into a net of meshes
about two inches square, the width of the net be-
ing about three feet six inches, ratin-stuff reeved
through top and bottom, and attached to the iron
posts imported here for the wire fencing. / find It
very convenient and easily shifted when any ac-
of dr"pping takes place. A yard built
of sticks is also necessary to work in as the net
pens are not well adapted for catching or draught-
ing sheep in. A wooden yard subdivded is the
best. Stone pens must be Of great height to keep
in the sheep or TO keep out dogs, and the wind
cannot act SO well to dry up the yar1after the
night.
word on dogs to conclude. Every man who
tries 10 keep sheep here, must depend on his own
exertions to keep down the dogs and must expect
violent opposition. Ill will, and even being prayed
to death from his neIghbors. Nay, if he is very
in staying dogs, he may rven expect to
see himself petitioned against by name as an oP-
pressor, some of our Solons presenting petition
TO the House OF Representatives to that eff ct sign
ed by SIX old women, FIVE school children and tour
bereaved masters of hounds. There is a nominal
tax of one dollar year the filthy, NANCY, mis-
chevous ours so dear to the native Hawailans, not
ten per cent. Of which is collected, and we see that
every year petit rs are presented by members OF
the House of Representatives praying that this tax
may be abolished; but when We see constituencies
praying that all tGzes may be repealed, and Rep
resentatves gravely presenting such petitions, we
cannot be surprised at their applications in favor
of their cherished lap-dogs. Let every sheep
owner lay out the price of fat wether or two ev-
erv year on strychnine and wage incessant war by
every means in his power against all tbe dogs with
in FIVE miles of him, and he will find such line Of
conduct much better protection to his lambs than
the united wisdom of both of ou- Houses of Leg
islature and the Privy Council to boot.
ROBERT MOFFITT,
Chairman of Committee.