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this will be the case, and although the inferiority of the 

 produce may not be so marked as when bred to grade ewes, 

 the result finally will be the same, and both will terminate 

 in a scrub. A lot of thoroughbred ewes will degenerate 

 into common scrawny scrubs by the constant use of grade 

 rams upon them and their descendants more rapidly than 

 the produce of scrub ewes can be bred up to full bloods by 

 the constant use of thoroughbred rams. Hence we say, 

 that the farmer, tempted by the extra fine appearance of a 

 grade lamb, saves him for a breeder, and uses him on his 

 ewes, does his flock an injury that will require a thorough- 

 bred ram two years to deface. 



For the general farmer the most economical way to begin 

 a flock is to buy the common scrub ewes, and breed them 

 up by using thoroughbred rams, being governed in the 

 selection of a ram entirely by the special qualities desired 

 in the flock. 



In none of our domestic animals have we more complete 

 power to breed at will such qualities as we want, than we 

 have in sheep, and while it would take, as stated above, a 

 long series of years to establish a "typical breed, yet the 

 lambs from grade ewes by thoroughbred rams often show as 

 much quality as the thoroughbred, though they will not and 

 <?annot transmit this quality with any degree of certainty 

 to their offspring, hence the necessity of using thoroughbred 

 rams, it matters not what purpose the flock- master has in 

 view, be it wool or mutton, or both combined. 



If wool is the principal object, and a fine texture mostly 

 desired, a Merino ram should be used ; three or four crosses 

 of Merino will not only give the desired texture, but will 

 more than treble the weight of the fleece of the grades over 

 that of the original scrub, and if the demand should change 

 to a long combing wool, no better or more profitable cross 

 could be made than by breeding these high grade Merino 

 ewes to a Cotswold or Leicester ram, this will produce a 

 most desirable quality of wool that commands a good price 



