136 MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



very few of them are converted into mutton, being rather kept on 

 for breeding." 



THE "MAYO HORNY" SHEEP. 



A breed which makes its home in the mountains of County 

 Mayo, Ireland, is the "Mayo Horny." An Irish authority says of 

 this breed: "These sheep now enjoy great popularity with breed- 

 ers who go in extensively for the production of early fat lambs, as 

 for this particular purpose the Mayo ewes, when judiciously mated 

 with rams of the Shrop and other approved breeds, are found to be 

 especially suited. It is on account of their great hardiness and 

 thriftiness, which they acquire .from their mountainous haunts, that 

 these sheep prove so profitable to breeders. The small quantity of 

 food they can live on is really wonderful, and those who have had 

 long experience with them say that they thrive well without any 

 sort of artificial rations. Another great point in their favor is the 

 fact that they make excellent mothers, producing an abundant flow 

 of good, rich milk." 



THE CRIMEAN SHEEP. 



The Krimmer or Crimean lamb, deriving its name from the 

 Crimea, is gray or slate colored, heavily wooled with a fleece with 

 a more or less tight curl. Its skin is used principally in the manu- 

 facture of muffs and collars. 



FRENCH BREEDS. 



United States Consul- General Gowdy, Paris, in a letter to 

 the State Department, says of the sheep of France: "The three 

 best native breeds of sheep are the Charmoise, the Poitevin and 

 Lauragais. The first named is a long-headed, barefaced sheep, 

 with long, fine white wool. The breed originated in a cross be- 

 tween Barrichon ewes and English (New Kent) rams, and takes its 

 name from the farm where originally bred. The Poitevin (from 

 Deux Sevres) furnishes from 4% to 5 pounds of 'half-fine' wool 

 and makes fairly good mutton, but the sheep are wild, bad tem- 

 pered and very large eaters. They fatten easily and attain weights 

 of from 110 to 130 pounds. The Lauragais, from Haute Garonne, 

 are a strong breed, much appreciated for their long, fine wool and 

 the quality of their meat. The wool is not so fine as that of the 

 Larzac breed (of which the Lauragais is a variety), but the milk is 

 excellent and is used for making the celebrated Roquefort cheese. 

 There is also a famous flock of sheep bred on the government stock 

 farm at Rambouillet." 



The "Moor" sheep of Syria are generally kept for domestic 

 use, especially in Mount Lebanon district, where they are fattened 



