Sheep in relation to their Surroundings. 7 



Sheep, like the human family, are so divided into 

 types, that a climate and food are to one breed what they 

 would not be to another. Grass is the natural food of 

 sheep, but the Shetland breed of Scotland is said to live 

 largely on seaweed. Necessity probably with their fore- 

 fathers ; choice now. The Turkish porter on a diet of 

 some figs will carry enormous loads ; the French peasant 

 will work hard on a piece of bread and an onion, and the 

 Jap. on some rice; but an Anglo-Saxon would not only 

 be unable to work on such diets, but would soon get ill. 

 So with the feed customs and requirements of sheep. 

 The heavy breeds thrive on good, easy country, growing 

 the richer foods, but are profitless on steep or second- 

 rate country, where the lighter mountain breeds are in 

 their element, and turn every blade of grass into money. 

 Although all breeds are responsive to a change to 

 better conditions, such conditions should not, from a 

 serviceable point of view, be of a nature that the breed 

 has been totally unused to. It would no more 

 pay to transfer an active and restless mountain-roaming 

 breed to rich flats than it would to remove a heavy 

 flat-accustomed animal to the hills. It would be possible 

 in the course of time to radically remould the nature of 

 any breed of sheep. It would have to be done gradually, 

 and great loss would be incurred from a financial point 

 of view in so altering the nature, habits and constitution 

 of the animal. For what purpose ? To adapt it to 

 conditions to which already there is a breed more suited. 



The sheep is an unhappy animal, as Virgil says, and 

 it is known that the removal of a breed to an alien clim- 

 ate and soil but a short distance away will often materi- 

 ally affect the animal's serviceableness. The distance 

 does not count in the reason ; it is the conditions 

 locality. Any special interference contrary to the 

 animal's built-up nature may not be expected to conduce 

 to its welfare. Arthur Young, the noted English pas- 

 toral authority, states the following interesting fact, 



