Nov., 1912.] ANNUAL REPORTS. 27 



furnishes more milk than the ordinary two-nippled owe and the mode of trans- 

 mission of the nipples determined a great step will have been taken towards the 

 goal of advancement in the sheep industry. 



Inheritance of Twins. 



During the past two years the Animal Husbandman spent some little time 

 in studying the inheritance of twins in sheep. Circular letters were sent to 

 many of the noted sheep breeders, asking them to cooperate in this work. The 

 following form was used: 



Breed: 



NEW HAMPSHIRE EXPERIMENT STATION. 

 Record of Offspring. 



A number of the breeders responded generously but it was finally decided 

 that the data was not absolutely reliable as in numerous instances the breeders 

 had not kept records of the parent stock and consequently did not know whether 

 or not they were twin or single stock. On that account it was decided to drop 

 that particular phase of the investigation. However, a record of twins and 

 their ancestry is kept of the Station flock and as thorough a study as possible 

 shall be made. 



Inheritance of Wool Color. 



The department is now in possession of two black sheep, one pure bred 

 Hampshire ram, of a dark grayish color, and a black Oxford ewe. These two 

 were mated last fall (1911), but no lamb was dropped. The ram was also 

 mated with several white fleeced ewes, but in all the cases the black behaved 

 as a recessive in the Fi generation. 



This investigation will be continued and as thorough a study as possible 

 will be made on the color inheritance of the wool fibre as this is a problem of 

 economic significance, owing to the fact that black wool brings from two to 

 five cents, less per pound, on the market than the ordinary white. Black 

 wool is much more deceptive to the buyer than the lighter colored wools owing 

 to the difficulty experienced estimating the amount of yolk and dirt present 

 in the fleece. 



Sheep Feeding. 



The sheep feeding experiments comparing: 



a. Clover Hay with New Hampshire Hay, and 



b. Turnips vs. a Dry Ration, were completed nearly two years ago and a 

 bulletin was published in January, 1911, entitled "Feeding Sheep and Lambs"; 

 "Clover Hay vs. Native Hay"; "Turnips vs. Dry Ration." 



The results of this experiment proved the utter superiority of clover hay over 

 the native hay as a feed for sheep. In this treatise the author advocates the 



