MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 191 



men who have delved deep down into the depths of science, and 

 with Darwin tell us of what seem to us almost impossibilities. 



"I contend, and with facts and figures, wish to clearly demon- 

 strate that where breed, feeding and some of the higher laws of 

 nature are carefully considered and adhered to, that breeding from 

 ewe lambs is not only profitable, but in many instances very desir- 

 able; in fact, I have so pinned my faith to such a course of pro- 

 cedure that my. experiments will tend in this direction the coming 

 breeding season. Now, brother shepherds, I am not taking the 

 stand to tell you that taking a bunch of ewe lambs promiscuously 

 and breeding them will put you on the road to wealth; neither 

 am I telling you to take any of our modern improved breeds and 

 expect to strike a Klondike right off. Oh, no ! But I want to tell 

 you that there is a breed of sheep that will, as lambs, produce off- 

 spring that in mutton qualities or heavyweights vie with any that 

 may be produced from ewes at any given age. It is the Hamp- 

 shire. 



"When in the year 1760, Bakewell who was undoubtedly the 

 father of the flockmaster commenced his improvements of live 

 stock, did he think he would be followed by sons of such high intel- 

 lectual order or standing as are our flockmasters of today? To 

 make my subject approach completeness, I must introduce one 

 of the greatest flockmasters of the day De Mornay who has given 

 us the benefit of his experiments, and the most valuable proofs of 

 the reasonableness of breeding from ewe lambs. He it is who 

 tells us that the development of constitution and muscular form 

 does not take so long a time to effect as does the procreative sys- 

 tem. To alter and fix an instinct of precocity requires a long and 

 persistent effort on the part of the breeder in the selection of the^ 

 most precocious of both sexes without interruption for many* 

 years, supplying them at the same time with an appropriate and 

 liberal diet. 



"Read what he tells us about early maturity. He says: 'A 

 ram (Hampshire) lamb was put in with the flock of 170 ewe lambs 

 October 5th. In March and April they gave birth to 153 lambs, 

 several being twins, one of which was saved for a ram. They were 

 all good, well-made lambs, easily reared by their young mothers, 

 and with very little more attention than it was necessary to bestow 

 on the principal flock.' He then goes on to tell us that, 'A ram 

 lamb was turned into only fifty of the ewe lambs on September 

 10, the lambs then being only seven months old, and they gave 

 birth in February and March to fifty-five strong lambs, without the 

 loss of a single lamb. The following year these fifty lambs, being 

 two-tooth sheep, gave birth to sixty fine lambs, some of which 

 weighed 15 Ib. on the day they were born. They lambed easier 

 than the two-tooths, which had not lambed when they were tegs. 

 There were reared in four consecutive years 506 teg lambs/ 



