Rural School Leaflet. 



961 



should have as thorough knowledge of these parts as possible, for it is 

 in these parts of the body of the sheep that most of the mishaps and 

 ordinary diseases arise. 



It would seem that these peculiar organs must have been designed 

 especially for these shy animals which seem to have little or no means 

 of defense, and which seem to be legitimate prey of larger and fiercer 

 species. With its large pouch for carr>'ing undigested food, the sheep 

 can graze at night or at short intervals during the day, then retire to 

 its coverts and chew and digest at its leisure. 



Sheep do not seem to have an over-abundance of intelligence and 

 are shy, weak creatures. Therefore they should be handled carefully 

 and easily. The flocking habit is very strong with them and is one of 

 the habits which helps in their management on the large open ranges. 

 With the aid of dogs, large flocks can be easily worked from place to 

 place, the dogs guiding the flocks and keeping the stragglers hemmed in. 



Sheep are excellent grazers, and the grazing habits of their early 

 ancestors are still to be clearly seen in the domestic strains. They 

 still prefer the highlands and open places although in some countries 

 the different breeds have been accustomed to different kinds of country. 

 so that we now have breeds which develop and grow well on lowlands, 

 Sheep are accustomed from their origin to eat herbage of greater variety 

 than are cattle ; hence by taking advantage of this habit we can use them 

 to clean up weedy and run-out farms, and to graze down coarse lands 

 upon which cattle cannot thrive. 



In some further lessons the classification of the sheep as to products 

 will be taken up and something of these products themselves will be 

 told. 



31 



