ARCHIVE FILE
This article was published in 1956
See the original document
INSTITUTE OF INSPECTORS OF STOCK OF N.S.W. YEAR BOOK.
THE SHEEP BIOLOGY LABORATORY, PROSPECT
IAN W. McDONALD, Ph.D., B.V.Sc., B.Sc., H.D.A., Officer-in-Charge, Sheep Biology Laboratory, C.S.I.R.O.
There is good reason to believe that during the last 25 years there has been little or no improvement in the production of wool per head of sheep in Australia and, indeed, the view has been expressed by studmasters that there also has been no general improvement in the stud Merinos. This would indicate that the methods of breeding and management by which the graziers had achieved such remarkable progress during the previous 50 years are no longer adequate to maintain this progress. Within the last 75 years, quite spectacular success has been achieved in research on animal diseases and it is therefore scarcely surprising that there should be developing an increasing interest in the application of science to the problem of animal husbandry. The pattern of attack on a disease problem will be familiar to every Inspector of Stock-recognition of the disease as an entity, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, aetiology, pathogenesis, treatment, prevention, eradication. No such clear-cut pattern can be applied in most problems in animal husbandry, here we find that local factors frequently have profound importance and it is often very difficult to generalise. It is clear that the role of the research worker is to provide knowledge of the basic principles on which the extension worker, and through him the farmer, can base his recommendations on specific problems; these principles will emerge through studies in genetics, physiology, biochemistry, nutrition, ecology,etc. The working hypotheses arising from the laboratory will need to be expanded in studies on the field stations and then tested under practical farming conditions.
The recognition of the need for research in animal husbandry and production has been growing steadily for many years. At the end of the war, the Wool Industry Fund was established by the Wool Industry Fund Act (1946) as a trust account administered by the Federal Treasurer: this fund derived from the non-divisible profits resulting from the operations during the war of the Central Wool Committee. The income from the Fund is supplemented from consolidated revenue by an amount equivalent to 2/- per bale on all wool produced in Australia. When these funds were made available for research, it was agreed that they should be used specifically to increase the programme undertaken in the interests of the sheep and wool industry. One of the major features of this expansion was the establishment of the Sheep Biology Laboratory at Prospect.
The work of the laboratory can be divided into the following sections:
1. The development of the skin in the foetus and young lamb, and the structure of the adult skin. This work has involved extensive histological examination of skin samples from numerous breeds and various strains of Merinos. Tissue culture of foetal skin has proved a valuable technique.
2. The influence of nutrition on the development of wool follicles in the foetus and young lamb and on the growth of wool in adult sheep.
3. The genetic and environmental factors which determine the final structure of the fleece. It is now clear that many factors.e.g. staple length, fibre diameter, density, body weight, skin fold, ratio of secondary to primary fibres, physiological state (e.g. pregnancy, lactation), climate and nutritive level, contribute to the character of the fleece. The unravelling of the interrelations between these factors is proving a complicated task.
4. The role of the endocrine glands in controlling wool growth. It has been demonstrated that the thyroid is essential for development of wool follicles and for wool growth and that the adrenal cortical hormones have an inhibiting effect on wool growth. However, it is probable that the most important gland is the anterior pituitary and much effort is being expended in isolating the hormones which are responsible for maintaining normal wool growth
5. The mechanisms of digestion and utilisation of feed by the sheep. Special attention is being given at present to the function of the rumen in regard to the protein and energy metabolism of the sheep.
6. The reproductive physiology of the sheep. Interest is chiefly focussed at present on the mating behaviour and fertility of ewes; on the growth of the foetal lamb; and on the factors which govern survival of lambs during their first few critical days of life.
7. Climate physiology. Facilities have been constructed for exposing sheep to carefully controlled climatic conditions ranging from very hot to very cold, and from humid to dry. It is expected that research in this field will be commenced during the current year. Studies will be made on heat tolerance, the influence of climate on wool growth and reproductive performance, and on cold stress in ewes, lambs and newly-shorn sheep.
8. Fleece Analysis. This section of the laboratory is responsible for developing methods for measuring fleece characteristics and undertakes large numbers of measurements for field research studies.
9. Merino strains trial. An extensive study of the performance of five strains of Merinos in three different environments (Gilruth Plains, Armidale and Deniliquin) is nearly completed.
Progress reports on our work are published in the Annual Report of the C.S.I.R.O.: our scientific papers have been published chiefly in the "Australian Journal of Biological Sciences", the "Australian Journal of Agricultural Research" and the "Australian Veterinary Journal": occasional digests appear in "Rural Research in C.S.I.R.O." and in the Organisation's pamphlets.