igo MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



his experiments in in-breeding and cross-breeding that no injurious 

 effects follow from mere mating of near relations, but from the 

 fact that near relatives generally possess a closely similar constitu- 

 tion through having lived under the same conditions as regard care, 

 climate, etc. It appears reasonable that sheep of the same blood 

 and the same breed, kept under the same conditions, would develop 

 the same defects in constitutional vigor, though not necessarily in 

 the same degree. Therefore, where the animals selected show evi- 

 dence of strong constitutions, no serious results should follow in- 

 breeding for a time at least. 



According to those who have experimented with in-breeding to 

 extreme latitudes, in-breeding does not alter the typical form of a 

 breed, but on the other hand, strengthens it, but that it does impair 

 size, constitution and fertility, while again they find that members 

 of the same strain of blood, which have been raised and kept for 

 generations under different conditions, will increase in size and 

 vigor to an extraordinary degree. For instance, suppose a breeder 

 in New York and another in Oregon divided a flock of the same 

 blood and gave them the same treatment as regard food, etc., and 

 then traded rams, it is contended that this would materially 

 strengthen the constitution of both flocks. This is a "climatic out- 

 cross/' 



Notwithstanding what may be said for or against in-breeding, 

 none but great breeders and those of scientific attainments or 

 inclinations should dabble with such a keen-edged problem. Lt 

 is no work for the ordinary farmer to undertake. 



BREEDING EWE LAMBS. 



Should ewe lambs be bred? This is a question not easily 

 answered, as it depends upon the kind of sheep we are handling 

 and whether our farming methods are intensive or just ordinary. 

 The Hampshire breeders of England have proved that ewe lambs 

 can be -profitably bred, but those breeders who run their flocks on 

 the scavenging plan must not think of doing as they do, and on 

 general principles the breeding of ewe lambs can not be recom- 

 mended. 



In an article in the "Wool Eecord of New York" (now defunct), 

 the writer had this to say on the breeding of ewe lambs: "The 

 question of the prudence and profit of breeding from ewe lambs is 

 a somewhat mooted one, and while some who have experimented 

 along such lines, undoubtedly with a flock lacking in the desirable 

 precocious and prolific instincts of some well-known breeds ; or, 

 perhaps, with land minus certain desirable and indispensable chem- 

 ical qualities, or not, unlikely, lacking the necessary abilities to 

 successfully handle such a flock, will tell us that nothing but a 

 disastrous issue confronts us; on the other hand, we are met by 



