Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 777 On the Bank of the Wujiang River ([-])

"Bighorn sheep have been bred to this day, and we already have many families and series." Jin Kela, vice president of the Southern Railway Company, former central executive member, and founder of the Ministry of Agriculture, said slowly looking at a group of gray sheep : "If this new breed of sheep is carefully classified, it should be a semi-fine wool sheep that can be used for both wool and meat. Because it was bred by the Xiangshan Township Breeding Station in Zhenhai County, I think it is called Fragrant Goat. It is named after the place of origin. The previous ones This naming method has to be changed, and the bred sheep are also called bighorn sheep, and the goats are also called bighorn sheep, which is too unscientific."

The fragrant goat that Jinkola talks about is probably one of the most widely distributed sheep breeds in China. In addition to mass breeding in state-run pastures, many people have taken them back to raise them.The weight of adult rams of this kind of sheep is between 50-90 kg, and the amount of shearing is 5-12 kg; the adult ewe is about 40 kg, and the amount of shearing is 3-6 kg.The wool produced is semi-fine wool, generally white, with a wool length of about 12 cm, and an average net wool rate of 55%. It can be used to make high-quality woolen wool. The lambing rate is 110%, and the survival rate is generally around 75%.It can be seen that this kind of sheep is a relatively successful breeding product, and its genetics are stable, so it is worth digging deeper into it as the male parent and female parent.

In addition to the so-called fragrant goats, the famous sheep bred in the East Bank in recent years include Heihe sheep and Wujiang sheep.These two kinds of sheep were bred by the Dongfang County Ranch Township Breeding Station. They were bred on the eve of the east bank's decision to develop the Northwest Inland (the area where the Heihe River flows through) and the Wujiang River Basin respectively, so they got their names.

Let's talk about Heihe sheep first.This kind of sheep is first crossed with a bighorn sheep and a local sheep in La Plata, and the first generation of ewes is backcrossed with bighorn sheep, and the offspring are ideally crossed and fixed.The body weight and wool yield are slightly lower than those of bighorn sheep, but the net wool rate is higher, and the wool also has the characteristics of large and medium curvature, which is suitable for knitting.The lambing rate is 120%, and the survival rate is about 80%.

Finally, there is a new kind of Wujiang sheep that has not been out for a long time.As the name suggests, this kind of sheep is a new breed bred for the development of the Wujiang River Basin. It has been stocked in the Milin Lake Basin for a long time, and it looks pretty good.This kind of sheep is very suitable for low-lying and humid areas, and has strong disease resistance. The weight of adult rams is 55-75 kg, and the amount of shearing is 5.5-9.5 kg; the weight of ewes is 40-55 kg, and the amount of shearing is 3-5 kg.The wool produced by this kind of sheep is generally light yellow, curvy, and has the oily and sweaty nature of wool in this era. The net wool rate is 65%-70%. It is mainly used for spinning wool and making coats. The lambing rate is About 130%.

In addition to these three kinds of sheep, the East Bank has also painstakingly introduced some mutton sheep and goats from various places, but the number is still very small, far from being a climate.However, with the gradual improvement of living standards on the east coast and the gradual increase of the consumption power of ordinary people, the demand in the mutton market will definitely increase.At that time, the spring of the mutton sheep will also come.

"Didn't the Ministry of Agriculture determine that Wujiang sheep are more suitable for the environment in the Wujiang River Basin? I think it's the same." Liao Xiaoyao, the police commander of Wujiang District, got off a horse and pulled a bleating lamb, smiling. He said: "Although the wool of Wujiang sheep is a bit rough, it is good for making duffel coats. If it is not possible, it can also be used to weave military blankets. We people on the east coast are not those poor and fastidious old mainland aristocrats. If we can keep warm, we can use it to weave military blankets." It’s okay, I won’t pay too much attention to other things.”

What Liao Xiaoyao said was the truth.In view of the fact that the current war is over and the army's military expenditures are backlogged by the navy, the plan formulated by the Ministry of the Army to provide all soldiers (including militiamen) with a woolen overcoat is facing huge budgetary pressure.If these coats, and some other woolen goods, such as army blankets, could be made from cheap dungarees, it would no doubt be warmly welcomed by the War Office.

However, developing the wool textile industry is also a very dangerous thing, because it involves the interests of many countries, such as the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.Among these three countries, Spain is a pure exporter of raw materials, that is, they only export wool raw materials, and there is basically no formed wool textile industry. As for the woolen cloth they need, part of it was provided by the Italian region and part by the Dutch.If Spain is the bottom of the pure industrial chain, then the Netherlands is the pure upstream of the industrial chain. They produce very little wool themselves, so they import a large amount of foreign wool (from Spain) and semi-finished woolen fabrics (from England). Use your own powerful supply and marketing network to sell and make money.

The Dutch have used this model to make money for more than 100 years, but since the British realized that they need to develop their own woolen industry and stopped exporting their own wool and semi-finished woolen fabrics, the business of the Dutch has been greatly affected , and this is actually one of the many factors that have led to the deteriorating relationship between them and the United Kingdom.

The situation in the woolen market is already so tense. If the people on the east coast plunge into it regardless and use their technical differences in weaving and dyeing to compete with the British and Dutch, what will happen? God only knows—it might be war.Therefore, if the people on the east coast only engage in some small-scale woolen textile industries, and at the same time only sell the various woolen products they produce in the mainland and some parts of the New World, then these two countries can still tolerate it; We must go to the European market to compete with them for food. The two countries that have been cut off from their sources of income may have to take decisive measures against the east coast.The executive committee also has a very clear understanding on this point. At present, the sales market of woolen products on the east coast (mainly produced by Dayuhe Machine Textile Factory) is mainly in China, La Plata and Chile, and basically does not threaten Brits and Dutch interests.

"Let's raise them first." Jin Kela stood up, put down the sheep in his hand, and said, "The Southern Railway Company intends to establish a breeding farm in Southern Patagonia, and at the same time plans to vigorously develop there. Sheep farming for the export of wool and frozen meat. I think the environment there is quite suitable. Heihe sheep have the blood of local sheep, so they should be able to adapt well to the climate in the Xingnan River area. In that place, the sheep will not be raised in captivity. Free-range farming, raising one sheep per hectare is almost enough, and the environmental pressure is very small. As for Tierra del Fuego, which has abundant rainfall and lush vegetation, it should not be a big problem to raise more Wujiang sheep. However, the environment there is also It is very suitable for the growth of North American bison, musk ox, reindeer, and moose. If it were not for the fear that too many alien species would disrupt the balance of the local food chain, the introduction of these animals would have spread on a large scale, and they would not be still on the uninhabited island. Closed breeding."

"I'm afraid of the balance of Mao's food chain." Liao Xiaoyao curled his lips when he heard the words, and said disapprovingly: "Isn't it because there is a lack of large carnivorous beasts in the Southern Cone area, so I am afraid that these animals will become a disaster? In fact, it doesn't matter, we humans can fill in the gaps in it." Blank, those bison, musk ox, moose and so on will definitely not be flooded."

"Hehe, maybe." Jin Kela touched the top of his slightly bald head, smiled, and said, "The sheep breeding work is going well, but we are not working hard enough in dog breeding now. Not only is the project launched late , and the investment is not enough. Seeing that with the rise of animal husbandry, the demand for working dogs such as shepherd dogs is also increasing; The dogs in the indigenous settlements need us to concentrate on nurturing them. This is also an important task, which is related to the development of many years to come.”

Jin Kela returned to the mainland from Xingnan Port this time, mainly to get another batch of agricultural production materials for the South Railway Company, including agricultural machinery, tools, seeds, livestock and other things—of course the South Railway Company is based on Purchase at cost price.The agricultural conditions in the southern Patagonia region are as unique as the native land, so everything must be prepared before development.

But when it comes to the local agricultural conditions, I believe that the Wujiang area is basically the second best place except for the Yazihu ​​Basin.Here is a temperate maritime climate, with abundant precipitation. It is difficult to get below minus 35 degrees in winter, and it is difficult to exceed [-] degrees in summer. It is also fertile plain land, which can almost be regarded as a godsend granary.

At present, there are four settlements in the Wujiang River Basin. In addition to the three around Jingjiang Fort, there is also a stronghold that was taken from the Spaniards at the beginning - Yong'an Port, which is where Liao Xiaoyao and Jin Kela are now.There are currently more than 500 residents in this stronghold, of which more than 400 are Spaniards, that is, the militiamen and their families of the Spanish Esmeralda outpost that surrendered to the East Coast Army as a whole.They "handed over" their outposts to the East Coast Army when the war with Spain broke out on the East Coast, and then "maintained neutrality". During the war, they decided to "join the nationality of the East Coast", so the Executive Committee decided to let them stay where they were , At the same time, a group of nationals migrated from the old settlements and came to live with them.

After the arrival of the new immigrants this time, a considerable number of Livonians will also be relocated here to enrich the population here, develop local productivity as much as possible, and improve the economic level.In the next two to three years, about ten settlements will be built in the Wujiang River Basin, which will be the foundation of three to four counties.If the government still has enough financial resources in the future, it will not be a big problem to build the Northwest Railway from Tieling Fort to the bank of Wujiang River, so that it will run through the entire eastern prairie.

At that time, the various machinery and special steel produced by Tieling Fort will not have to compete with other materials for the limited railway transportation capacity (currently, the Northwest Railway has not yet been double-tracked, and the transportation capacity cannot be fully released), but the materials can be directly Ship to the port on the Wujiang River, and then ship to other regions by sea.Of course, such a beautiful picture may be difficult to see in recent years. After all, the huge investment required for railway construction has not yet been settled, and the development of the Wujiang River Basin is also lagging behind, and these will take time to settle.

(End of this chapter)