392 



Effective Farming 



197. Classes of sheep. Of the thirty breeds of improved 

 sheep, eleven are fairly well established in the United States. 

 These may be grouped into three classes known as middle-wool, 

 long-wool, and fine-wool classes. The points of a sheep from 

 the side, front, and rear views are shown in Figs. 167 and 168. 



FIG. 167. Points of the sheep, side view. 1, muzzle; 2, mouth; 3, nostril; 

 4, lips; 5, nose; 8, eye; 9, ear; 10, neck; 11, neck vien, or shoulder; 

 12, top of shoulder ; 13, shoulder ; 14, arm ; 15, shanks ; 16, brisket, or 

 breast; 17, top line ; 18, crops ; 19, ribs ; 21, fore flank ; 22, back ; 23, loin ; 

 24, hind flank ; 25, underline ; 26, hip ; 27, rump ; 30, thigh, or leg of mutton. 



198. Middle-wool breeds. The breeds of the middle-wool 

 class are Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire, Oxford, Dorset, 

 and Cheviot. The first four are known as the down breeds, 

 a name applied by reason of the hilly, or as it is termed, downs 

 country of England where they originated. The down breeds 

 and the other two of this class are bred primarily for mutton 

 and secondarily for wool-production. The wool, although it 

 is of medium length, brings considerable return to the owners 

 of the flocks and is an important item. 



Southdown. The oldest of the middle-wool breeds is the 

 Southdown. The animals are very uniform in appearance, as 

 may be seen in Fig. 169. They are extremely blocky, low-set, 



