SHEEP 395 



fall into that class because of certain influences under which they 

 have been placed. It may be that they have had an unequal chance 

 with those in highest condition in the band on account of not being 

 so well nourished by their dams; they may have been born too late 

 to reach that degree of condition, finish, and weight demanded by 

 the packer; or, they may have been held too long at the shipping 

 place on the range or on the road by poor train service without the 

 necessary amount of feed, so that the deterioration in condition 

 placed what would have been mutton lambs in the feeder class. The 

 grades recognized on the market are : Fancy Selected, Choice, Good, 

 Medium, Common or Inferior. 



BREEDING SHEEP. 



This class includes both native and western ewes in about equal 

 proportions. Breeding bucks are exclusively natives. 



The ewes most sought after are two, three and four-year-old, 

 dark faced natives in ordinary field condition. Dark faced ewes 

 sell better than those that are otherwise their equals, because their 

 lambs, being dark faced sell better than light faced lambs on the 

 eastern markets. Western ewes are very popular for breeding pur- 

 poses in certain localities, as Ohio, Michigan, and western New York, 

 and many engaged in the trade think they should be preferred over 

 natives because they are more hardy and comparatively free from 

 internal parasites. Many of the ewes offered for breeding purposes 

 are yearlings, but they are not as desirable as two or three-year-old 

 ewes because they are immature and likely to be unsatisfactory as 

 mothers at their first lambing. The native yearling is heavier and 

 more nearly mature than the western yearling and she meets with 

 a correspondingly better sale. The offerings on the market come 

 under the following grades : Fancy Selected, Choice, Good, Common. 



Fancy Selected Breeding Ewes. Only a few of the breeding 

 ewes sold out of the market can be regarded as Fancy Selected. Oc- 

 casionally an order is placed for a small number of fancy ewes. 

 These are secured by making individual selections from different 

 shipments of native ewes coming to the market, and it may take sev- 

 eral days to get together a shipment. Such ewes are high grade of 

 some of the Down breeds, usually Shropshire, and in addition to 

 being thrifty and sound, they are uniform in quality, conformation, 

 fleece and style. Ewes of this grade are, as a rule, in higher condi- 

 tion than any other offerings of breeding ewes because consideration 

 for the requirements demanded makes it necessary to disregard high 

 condition which most purchasers would rather secure through cheap 

 feeding. 



Choice Breeding Ewes. Since the greater number of the more 

 desirable breeding ewes are in this grade a detailed description is 

 undertaken. The selection of choice ewes is based upon form, con- 

 stitution, age, soundness, breeding, quality, and condition. 



As stated above, the most desirable ages are two, three and four 

 years, and more particularly two and three years. When breeding 

 ewes go to the country it is the thought of the purchaser that they 

 are to produce, on the average, three crops of lambs before they aro 



