Sheep Breeders' Association. 361 



Two things may account for this : Climatic and domestic condi- 

 tions. Darwin, in his great work, 'The Origin of Species," says 

 that sheep are more quickly affected by changes of climate and 

 domestic conditions than any other of our domestic animals. If 

 this be true, we must select animals with heavy bone, even though 

 they seem to be a little coarse. 



As stated before, wool is an important factor; therefore, we 

 want as many pounds as possible so long as we can keep the quality. 

 In examining a sheep's fleece, the first thing we want to look for 

 is evenness of length, density and quality all over the body, keep- 

 ing a sharp outlook for hemp or hair and black fiber. For good 

 weight of wool, the sheep should have as long a fiber and as dense 

 as possible, with wool all over the body, legs and face. 



Breed Type — Something that has been the ruin of more than 

 one good stud, flock or herd. Too many people let breed-type and 

 breeding make fools of them. Breed type must be considerd, but 

 do not discard an animal for the simple reason that the type does 

 not exactly suit you, for an animal whose type is right, but noth- 

 ing else, for neither is desirable. Several points go to make up 

 the breed type: General form, shape of the ear and head, fleece, 

 color of the hair, etc., all of which must be taken into considera- 

 tion. You hear people say that a certain sheep "had the breeding 

 behind him." They may have two meanings for this : One that 

 his ancestors were prize-winners or the producers of prize-win- 

 ners ; the other, that the sheep may have come from some noted 

 stud flock whose owner had the rare gift to mate and select suc- 

 cessfully. For instance, at the last International a French Ram- 

 bouillet ram sold to the United States government for $425. In 

 everything but breeding this ram was a miserable joke. At the 

 1906 International, a Shropshire ram lamb sold for $305. This 

 lamb possessed everything that a Shropshire breeder would ask 

 for — breeding, type, mutton form, the fleece and the quality. There 

 were other lambs that went through the sale ring, with just as 

 good breeding, that did not bring $40. The same day that the Ram- 

 bouillet ram sold, there were far better rams sold — except in breed- 

 ing — that didn't bring $100. Breeding is all right — but be sure to 

 buy some sheep with it. We often see breeders leaving everything 

 else out but one, two or three points, but they sooner or later go 

 out of the business. Take everything into consideration. 



Those who have had experience with stud flocks know that it 

 is seldom that we find a ram or a ewe that are producers of both 

 good rams and good ewes, while it is common to find a good ram 



