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SHEEP 



quarters, with a very high percentage of wool and yolk to car- 

 cass. At a public shearing at Middlebury, Vermont, in 1882 

 a bunch of 54 ewes and rams of this class averaged 23.3 per cent 

 unwashed fleece to live weight, and cases are on record where 

 36 per cent of the original weight of sheep was fleece. 



Class B Merino carries the Spanish or American blood lines 

 also, but has a smoother body, with less folds and less yolk in 

 the staple. Sheep in this class usually have some folds about 



FIG. 148. A fine example of a "Vermont Merino," well illustrating the 

 Class A type. Photograph from the National Stockman and Farmer 



the neck and breast, and perhaps in a slight way at the thighs. 

 They usually have somewhat more scale and carry more natural 

 flesh and some less wool and yolk though with a longer staple 

 than those belonging to Class A. 



In order to more sharply draw the line between Merino sheep 

 of different types, many breeders, notably in Ohio, have a third 

 class, known as Class C Merino. 



Class C Merino has a very smooth body, with no folds at 

 all, unless to a very slight extent in the neck or breast. The 



