578 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the back and hind quarter make the highest priced cuts of mutton. Don't 

 think that the buyers on the market will not pay more for the good ones 

 than they will for the common sort. It is true that a few years ago sheep 

 were sold in quite mixed bunches, but the sheep industry is on a different 

 footing now and market receipts are sold exactly for what they are. 

 Some lambs may go at $5 and others at $7.25 per cut the same day. This 

 desirable mutton form can be bred in sheep of good size, but rarely in the 

 monsters of each breed. 



UTILITY OF STRONG BONE. 



Although bone is not eaten, it seems desirable in the breeder's flock. 

 For the real mutton sheep to dress out the highest per cent of meat, it is 

 desirable to have the bone as light as possible. But the breeder must 

 maintain bone of good size in the flock or sometime he will have a few 

 sheep which would not be able to carry their weight when fattened. Of 

 course, we must bar against the extremely heavy bone, because that 

 would mean carelessness throughout. To have the wool dense and of 

 good length is a prime requisite. Although the breeders in the corn belt 

 must pay close attention to the mutton qualities in their flocks, a good 

 fleece can also be added. The Merino need not be introduced for this 

 purpose. By careful selection rams of the English mutton breeds can 

 be obtained which have extremely heavy fleeces and very dense. There 

 is a great variation in fleeces, and when making selection of your flock- 

 header it is well not to be too easily satisfied. The fleece should be of 

 good length and the fibre dense. Density means the number of fibres to 

 the square inch. Of course, they cannot be counted, but you can easily 

 ascertain the density by the hand with fingers close together. Take the 

 hand full of wool on the side of the different sheep and you will find that 

 there is lots more wool in your hand on some sheep than on others. 

 Notice carefully the wool covering the belly. We must guard against 

 bareness there for several reasons: Proper wool will increase the weight 

 of fleece and also serve as protection from cold when the sheep is lying 

 on wet ground, etc. A good, heavy fleece can be produced on mutton 

 sheep of the highest type and we must still strive to have that sort. Not 

 only does it increase your profits at home, but it increases the price of 

 the lambs you send to market. In our large market centers sheep pelts 

 are considered quite an item, and the lambs with heavy, dense fleeces will 

 outsell the others. 



BUGGED CONSTITUTION REQUIRED. 



There is one very important thing which has not been mentioned and 

 which is ofttimes never thought of or taken into consideration by the 

 breeder or buyer. That is constitution. You cannot make an engine do 

 its work without steam, and to produce the steam there must be a big 

 boiler. A good sheep cannot be produced without the proper assimilation 

 of large quantities of food and the correct action of the blood throughout 

 the body. This cannot be done unless the sheep has a large, deep chest, 

 giving plenty of room for the proper action of the heart and digestive 

 organs. The sheep must have a strong constitution in order that it may 

 give the best results either in the breeding pen or in the feed lot. 



