346 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 



man's care and selection than the sheep. Doubtless 

 the first wild sheep had very little wool, and were much 

 stronger and more active animals than any sheep known 

 to-day. At present the wild, ancestral type has en- 

 tirely disappeared from the earth, and were man to 



SHROPSHIRE RAM. 



withdraw his fostering care, in a few years not a sin- 

 gle survivor would remain of all the flocks now in ex- 

 istence. The earliest books tell of sheep and their 

 shepherds, showing that the dependent nature of the 

 animal was then much as it is now. As was said, the 

 sheep to-day is a much changed animal from his proto- 

 type. It is clothed with a vast amount of wool, far 

 more than is necessary for the purpose of keeping it 

 warm; it is generally almost defenseless, and timid to 

 a greater degree than any other domestic animal; it is 

 gregarious, loving to keep in flocks. This also is a 

 habit induced by long familiarity with the requirements 

 of men. 



Types of Sheep. There are two general types of 

 sheep, namely: the fine wool and the mutton. The 

 mutton type consists of the middle (or medium) wool 

 and long wool breeds. The fine wool type may be 



