80 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The 65 Corriedale ewes imported from New Zealand were placed 

 in the range band in May, 1915. Careful observation shows that 

 these sheep stay in the band closely enough for the real needs of 

 modern range management. They are less inclined to roam than are 

 the most first cross-bred ewes ; in fact, so far as herding is concerned 

 there is no distinction between the bureau's Corriedales and the Ram- 

 bouillets that chiefly make up the remainder of the band. This was 

 one of the important questions concerning the breed that could not 

 be answered before importation, and the favorable answer is of con- 

 siderable value to the range-sheep industry. 



There have been no losses among the Corriedales. They remained 

 with the band upon the winter range without any artificial feeding 

 until March. In that month they were brought to sheds for lambing 

 and proved to be thinner than is desirable for that time. As only 

 dry feed was then available, a " break " in the wool resulted that 

 lowered its value when shorn. Of 64 ewes bred, 61 produced lambs, 

 including 18 pairs of twins. Owing to the low condition of the ewes 

 a number of lambs were very weak at birth and only 54 were raised. 



The average weight of fleece of the Corriedales when shorn the 

 last of June was 10 pounds. A shrinkage test of the wool showed 

 a loss in scouring of 57 per cent, which is considerably below the 

 average for the best cross-bred ewes on the range. In length, quality, 

 and character the fleeces were fully equal to those of ewes of the 

 breed grown in New Zealand. 



The 1915 crop of Eambouillet lambs showed a marked advance 

 toward the type that has been held continuously in view since the 

 project of producing a range type of sheep was started. The rec- 

 ords of the flock show that there is a much better prospect of increas- 

 ing the length of wool and obtaining better character when extreme 

 fineness is not insisted on. In many cases this more robust type of 

 wool comes from the better bodied animals. It therefore appears that 

 the flock now contains most of the material needed in the further 

 evolution of the type sought, and that in the future progress may be 

 made at a more rapid rate. 



FARM SHEEP INVESTIGATIONS. 



At the Beltsville, Md., farm the projects of the production of 

 Persian lamb fur and the production of an early lambing type of 

 mutton sheep have been discontinued since the loss of the stock in 

 the fire of last year. 



In the fall of 1915 the Southdown yearling ewes and the ewe lambs 

 from the flock at Middlebury, Vt., were transferred to the Beltsville 

 farm. Thirty acres have been prepared for use exclusively for sheep. 

 The object is to determine the maximum number of ewes that can 

 be maintained under Central Atlantic State conditions with practical 

 methods of management. The flock will also be used in experiments 

 to obtain data upon factors controlling the yield of lambs and the 

 rate of growth and maturity in lambs. 



Fifty Southdown ewes of breeding age have been retained in the 

 flock at the Morgan Horse Farm at Middlebury, Vt. These are 

 being used to show the best methods of practical farm flock manage- 

 ment in New England, paralleling the work at Beltsville. There is a 

 marked revival of interest in sheep raising in New England, and 



