CHAPTER II. 

 MUTTON BREEDS. 



All of our breeds excepting the Merinos, Tunis 

 and Persians come from England. There the pe- 

 culiar character of the country and the mental traits 

 of the people have united to create a number of 

 breeds, each having its especial excellence for a cer- 

 tain purpose and soil. The Englishman's ideal in 

 animal form runs, as it does in architecture, to the 

 square, the level, the rectangular. His sheep, his 

 beef cattle and his swine all partake of the same 

 characteristics in form To successfully judge Me- 

 rino sheep one must be a student of the breed; to 

 judge the mutton breeds practically well one need 

 only to know what is a good animal, after the model 

 of the Angus cow or the Berkshire hog. Add the 

 wool and certain fancy points, such as the covering 

 of wool over the head, the size and set of ear, the 

 shape of nose and the coloring and all is told. The 

 novice in sheep breeding, if he knows Angus cattle 

 or Berkshire or Poland-China swine, need have no 

 hesitation in attempting to select a flock of breeding 

 ewes if he can see them without their fleeces. In 

 fact, the owner will betray his consternation before 

 the novice has selected half a dozen and remark, 



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