208 THE STUDY OF BREEDS. 



IX. Distribution in the United States an< 

 Canada. 



(1) Southdowns have been recorded from forty-thre 

 different states and from six provinces of Canada. 



(2) They are most numerously kept in the province o 

 Ontario and in the states of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania 

 Illinois, Wisconsin, Vermont and Kentucky, and in the orde 

 named. 



X. Registration in the United States. 



(1) In all, 12,350 animals have been recorded. 



(2) Of these, 3,650 are rams, 8,587 are ewes and 113 ar 

 wethers. 



LEADING CHARACTERISTICS. 



I. Relative size. 



(1) The Southdowns are the smallest of the medium 

 wooled breeds that have been imported into America, but 



(2) Owing to their compact form, they weigh remarkabl; 

 well in proportion to their size. 



II. Adaptability. 



(1) Southdowns are best adapted to undulating, rollinj 

 or broken and hilly lands with a dry soil and a short, fin 

 herbage, but 



(2) They can also be grown in good form in arable sec 

 tions where the land is fairly productive. 



III. Early maturing- qualities. 



(1) In early maturing qualities Southdowns stand in thi 

 very first rank. 



(2) When well fed, the lambs are in condition for marke 

 at almost any age. 



IV. Grazing qualities. 



(1) Their small size and active habits pre-eminently adap 

 them to grazing on hilly and broken land, and 



(2) Their tidy, thick fleece of short wool enables them t< 

 endure well, exposure to storms. 



V. Feeding qualities. 



(i) These also have placed them in the front rank. 



