8 Sheep in relation to their Surroundings. 



wliich goes to show how much its surroundings influ- 

 ence the sheep. Three different flocks were grazing at 

 freedom on the same property, with access to three dis- 

 tinct types of land. The flock whose parents were 

 accustomed to rich, flat grazing took possession of same, 

 while those whose parents were used to good hill grazing 

 confined themselves entirely to the hills where the 

 pasture was good. The third flock, whose parents were 

 accustomed to poor hill pasture, sedulously grazed the 

 worst part of the hills. There was no attempt of one 

 flock or any member of it to straggle into another, and 

 it was observed finally that the condition of the poor hill 

 grazing lot was as good as any of the others. Know- 

 ledge of the climate and soil and the characteristics of 

 the breed, it may therefore be seen, are great aids in 

 choosing a breed for any particular land. The alterna- 

 tive is elusive chance with shrunken profits. 



Dealing with the influence of soil alone on the wel- 

 fare of sheep, it is a.n acknowledged fact that the wool 

 and flesh of a sheep are but a counterpart or result of 

 the particular plants or pasture of a soil, and the pasture 

 or plants are likewise the result of the soil's particular 

 constituents. The sheep is, therefore, largely what the 

 soil, by the medium of the pasture, has made it. We 

 know how man's condition, energy and happiness are 

 influenced by his food. If a plant, on transfer to a 

 strange soil and climate, will undergo, as it is well 

 known to do, great changes, it is natural to expect that 

 the artificially-domesticated sheep will do so even more. 

 There is an outward change in the quality and quantity 

 of the wool and an inward change in the flesh, great or 

 small, according to the extent of the changed conditions. 

 A radical change in the sheep's surroundings is against 

 the animal's welfare and serviceableness, and is con 

 trary to the recognised scheme of sheep-breeding. Breeds 

 adapted to any particular sheep conditions are in exist- 

 ence, and it is necessary, from the point of view of profit, 



