TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 193 



cattle for beef. The Delaine Merino and Rambouillet have 

 better mutton qualities, though not equaling the mutton breeds 

 in this respect, and this largely explains their greater popularity 

 as compared to the American Merino. 



The American farmer, and likewise the rangeman, has 

 declared that the most profitable sheep to grow in this country 

 is, as a rule, a combined wool-and-mutton type. Among the 

 mutton breeds, and also among the fine-wool breeds, those 

 which yield the most and best of both mutton and wool rank 

 highest in popularity, while those breeds which are more highly 

 specialized so as to be superior in one line of production and 

 very inferior in the other are not so popular. The popularity 

 of a breed depends also upon other factors such as constitutional 

 vigor, prolificacy, quietness of disposition, feeding qualities, 

 grazing qualities, ease of shearing, and early maturity, but first 

 and fundamentally the breed must produce both a good carcass 

 and a good fleece if it is to be popular with the farmer. Every 

 breed has its place, however, and to eliminate all except two or 

 three breeds from American farms and ranches would be poor 

 policy. Some of the less popular breeds are highly valued for 

 producing rams to use in cross-breeding or grading-up to produce 

 the desired type. Other less popular breeds have special fea- 

 tures which give them the preference under certain special con- 

 ditions of climate, food supply, or method of management. 



Definition of Sheep Terms. 



Ram or buck. Breeding male, any age. 



Ewe. The female, any age. 



Lamb. Any sheep under twelve months of age. 



Wether. Unsexed male, castrated when a young lamb. 

 The best age to castrate lambs is from 7 to 10 days old at the 

 same time they are docked. 



Stag. Unsexed male, castrated when mature or so far 

 advanced toward maturity that masculinity is plainly evident 

 in head, neck, and forequarters. This constitutes coarseness 

 in a market animal. 



Shearling. A yearling. 



Two-shear. A two-year-old. 



Two-tooth. A yearling. 



Four-tooth. A two-year-old. 



