Breeding

New Guinea

Meat Industry

[?]asture as Important as Breeding

[IROM one end of New Guinea to the other—and especially in the Highlands Districts —I found idence of the intense interest lich Administration, Missions and any private concerns are taking the establishment of sheep and ttle. There now are experimental icks and herds everywhere—both the coastal belts and in the high untry—and sooner or later New linea and Papua are going to ;ablish pastoral industries which 11 be real money-makers in this id-hungry world.

But the chief problem in this despread experiment appears not much the acclimatisation of the •ck —that surely will be achieved selection and cross-breeding—but i establishment of suitable grasses which the stock may live.

The casual visitor, flying over pua and New Guinea, sees larently enormous areas of adow-land; but when he gets vn on the ground he finds that ise are merely vast stretches of lai grass—a tough, non-succulent wth which has practically no der value. Experiments, however, re shown that if this coarse wth is wiped away by mowing fire, the tender young kunai ots which spring up give quite isiderable sustenance to stock. )ne landholder said that stock live on the young kunai shoots a while, but sooner or later the ive paspalum gets in on top of kunai and takes possession, and s worthless as a fodder, andholders are trying to find a ;hod of establishing grasses like Liyu after they clear away the lai, and before native paspalum similar rubbish can get hold; , by observation and experiment, V are having some success, here is, of course, a considerable erence between the cool High is and the hot and humid stal areas, but there certainly is - a rich field for experiment in establishment of suitable fodder »ses. I believe that sooner or r these problems will be solved, that this vast island of New nea will become an important xe of meat production.—RWß