'RuuAL School Leaflet. 



i035 



tHE MUTTON BREEDS OF SHEEP 



Elmer S. Savage 



Fig. 82. — Dorset Horn. 



The wool breeds of 

 sheep may be com- 

 pared to the dairy 

 breeds of cattle and 

 the mutton breeds to 

 the beef breeds, yield- 

 ing some wool as a 

 by-product. The 

 form of the one -is 

 entirely different from 

 the form of the other. 

 The wool-bearing 

 sheep are slim in form 

 without much flesh, 

 and it is intended 

 that their lives shall 

 be given up to the 

 production of wool 

 alone. The mutton 



breeds are square and blocky in form, built up entirely for producing 

 the best quality of meat of the highest priced cuts. The wool from 

 them is a by-product, and while we cannot lose sight of the wool-bear- 

 ing qualities, yet when studying the mutton breeds the meat produc- 

 tion is the main thing to keep in mind. The amount of wool that 

 the mutton sheep will produce may perhaps pay for the care and 

 maintenance of the flock, while the profit will all come from the sale of 

 the lamxbs and mutton. 



From the classification of sheep given in our last lesson, we find that 

 the mutton breeds are all in the middle and long wool classes. The 

 breeds of sheep most commonly kept for mutton production in New 

 York State are the Southdown, Shropshire, Dorset Horn and Cheviot. 

 In many places a few of the other breeds are kept but these are the main 

 sources of our native mutton. Comparatively few strictly purebred 

 flocks are kept, and in general among farmers all sorts of grades of the 

 above breeds are found, sometimes with more or less infusion of Merino 

 blood to bring about a heavier production of wool, many farmers pre- 

 ferring to look upon the sheep as a sort of a dual-purpose animal, getting 

 what wool they can and selling a few lambs each season. 



