24 BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



that, in course of time, the true stock would be lost. Breed societies 

 should very jealously guard this point, even though there may 

 be some features in which from appearances a sheep reared on 

 other land may be superior ; the danger is never one that is likely 

 to be brought about very rapidly, yet it may creep in. 



But there is another aspect in which to regard a breed. It is 

 the boast of some that no other race was ever put on the sheep 

 which were the indigenous foundation of the breed ; that is, since 

 Bakewell set going sheep improvement, no other blood reached 

 the original stock. This is very hard to prove, and in view of the 

 great amount of crossing that took place before sheep were handled 

 on definite breed lines, very hard to believe. Moreover, for the 

 general usefulness of a breed, that is, for its suitability to go to 

 improve stock under a greater variety of conditions, increase 

 in the number of breeds which went to compose it provided 

 they are properly fixed give it a wider field of usefulness. Narrow 

 breeding, like narrow views, can only fit in in narrow places. A 

 composite breed possesses the indigenous characteristics of more 

 than one type ; some breeders could not receive a greater insult 

 through their flock than by being told that there had been an 

 importation of blood at some time ; they do not seem to recognise 

 that this would imply a narrow set of features that adapt it to 

 a small area ; whereas, the more breeds well incorporated and 

 fixed, that go into the composition of the breed, the better are 

 the chances that it will mate well with others, and accommodate 

 itself to changed surroundings. But the breed must have fixity 

 of type, or mongrelism will arise ; therefore a pedigree, that is, a 

 record of breeding, to show that the race has existed without 

 the admixture of strange blood over a considerable number of 

 generations, has value in giving this assurance. When a pedigree 

 records a long period of careful breeding and selection on skilled 

 lines, it is of great value ; but mere pedigree may have little value 

 if the principles of breeding have been ill carried out ; it is then 

 merely a record of the perpetuation of features that ought to 

 have been eliminated. 



There is no doubt that, apart from good management, the soil 

 of a particular district or farm will produce better sheep than 

 will other farms even near by, no matter how skilled the breeder, 

 and it is on these specially favoured farms that the breed type 

 is established ; if there has been good and enlightened breeding 

 on one of these farms, the characteristics of the breed are established 

 from it, and pedigrees from such farms certainly have value. But 

 breeders must produce the class of sheep for which there is a call. 

 Very often the call is for a sheep better suited for countries over 

 the seas, and then the home breeder has to decide what will best suit 

 him. Several breeds are undoubtedly suffering in their home 



