SHEEP 



5341 



SHEEP 



plants, toy and broom factories, machine shops, 

 breweries and furniture factories are included 

 among a great variety of other establishments. 

 The state fish hatchery is at Sheboygan. Note- 

 worthy buildings are the post office, the new 

 city hall, courthouse, Holy Name Church, Saint 

 Clement's Church, which cost $85,000, the 

 county insane asylum, Saint Nicholas Hospital 

 and a home for the friendless. In addition to 

 the public and parochial schools there are a 

 business college and a Carnegie Library. The 

 city has a fine beach and three parks, one of 

 which, Fountain Park, contains a mineral salt 

 well. 



SHEEP. Sheep are among the most useful 

 of domestic animals. Their wool is made into 

 clothing, their flesh and milk are used for food, 



America. The Bighorn of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains is the best known wild species. This 

 sheep has been nearly exterminated by hunters, 

 but it now finds safety in the game preserves 

 of the United States and Canada, and its num- 

 bers are slowly increasing. 



Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South 

 Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Russia, the United 

 Kingdom, France, Spain, India and the United 

 States are the chief wool-growing countries of 

 the world. In the United States, Montana, 

 Wyoming, New Mexico and Ohio are the lead- 

 ing states. There are about 50,000,000 sheep 

 in the United States, and about 9,000,000 are 

 slaughtered annually for their meat. The 

 * yearly production of wool is about 290,000,000 

 pounds. The number of sheep in Canada ex- 



VARIETIES OF SHEEP 

 (a) Lincoln ram; (6) fat-tailed sheep; (c) Shropshire ram; (d) Merino ram. 



and from their skin leather is made. The* 

 sheep is a cud-chewing animal, and is closely 

 related to the goat and the ox. It was one of 

 the first animals to be domesticated. The 

 Bible contains many references to sheep and 

 shepherds; since the days of the Hebrew nation 

 the lamb has been regarded as the emblem of 

 innocence. 



Probably all wild sheep had horns, but these 

 have now disappeared from the ewes of all but 

 the horned Dorset breed, and from rams in 

 most breeds. The horns are hollow like those 

 of the ox, and on the rams they curve in the 

 form of a spiral. Wild sheep are still found in 

 the mountain regions of Asia, Europe and 



ceeds 2,000,000. Those raised in the United 

 States and Canada belong to breeds imported 

 originally from Europe. 



Domestic Breeds. All breeds can be classified 

 under two general types the mutton type and 

 the wool type. Those of the mutton type have 

 large bodies and wool of a coarse or medium 

 grade. The following are the most valuable 

 mutton-type breeds: 



The Southdown, which was named from the 

 South Downs in England, is characterized by a 

 compact body of medium size, wool of a me- 

 dium grade of fineness and brownish-gray face 

 and legs. The Southdown is the best general- 

 purpose sheep raised in America, where it is 



