CROSS-BREEDING 77 



a better mother, lier lambs stronger, she suckles 

 them better. She feeds better, too, and is a "better 

 rustler." Then her progeny is in large part des- 

 tined to reach the great markets when about six 

 months of age. Therefore the better grown and 

 heavier it is the more money it will bring. Thus 

 there is often sought a class of rams that will make 

 the best lambs regardless of their fitness for long- 

 continued life upon the range they will not natu- 

 rally remain there more than one summer. Thus 

 the complexity of cross-breeding is increased, for 

 from the mother having in her own body an infusion 

 of mutton blood there is secured a lamb having a 

 sire of pure mutton breeding. What sort of cross 

 makes the best ewe, what sort of cross upon her 

 makes the best market lamb? To this question 

 there would naturally be as many answers as there 

 are supporters of breeds of sheep. There is hardly 

 any commingling of bloods that has not use for some 

 special environment. We may clear the matter up 

 somewhat by discussing a few crosses and their 

 results. 



At the outset let it be said that the influence of 

 the sire and dam are theoretically equal. Some hid- 

 den power of the one or the other may seem to cause 

 the offspring to resemble more nearly the one parent 

 than the other, but no man can safely predict whether 

 this influence will reside in the sire or the dam. 

 Naturally, as she nourishes the lamb, the ewe has 

 greater chance to influence her progeny than the sire. 

 Thus if a ewe of a small race is mated with a ram 



