SHEEP FOR WOOL, MUTTON AND BOTH USES 39 



this general tendency must not be pressed too far, as the 

 fineness of the wool in the Merino breeds has been main- 

 tained alike on the short herbage of the mountains of 

 Spain and the more abundant herbage of the low lands of 

 Holland. The influence thus exerted is so slow as to be 

 imperceptible, hence it may be counteracted by other in- 

 fluences, such as breeding and selection. The influence is 

 indirect, as directly food does not increase the diameter 

 of the wool fiber, nor does it increase the number of fibers. 

 The influence of suitability in food on increase in the 

 length of wool is shown in the great increase in the length 

 of staple in the American Merino compared with its an- 

 cestor, the Spanish Merino. The limit of such increase 

 is the limit of capacity in the breed. That the strength of 

 the fiber is influenced by the succulence in the food fol- 

 lows from the favorable influence which succulence ex- 

 erts on digestion. The more vigorous the digestion, the 

 more abundant are the materials from the assimilated 

 nutrients fed, and, therefore, the more abundant will be 

 the nutrient used in wool production. The peculiar luster 

 imparted to the wool of Lincoln sheep on their native 

 soils is the outcome of the succulence, and, it may be, of 

 some other characteristics of the grazing. The great ex- 

 cellence of the wool of Merino sheep grown in parts of 

 Ohio and Pennsylvania is doubtless due in part to the 

 succulent and nutritious character of the herbage. Yet 

 this thought must not be pushed too far, as good wool is 

 furnished by the dry herbage of the hot plains of Aus- 

 tralia. The influence of food on the strength of the fiber 

 is so marked that deprivation in the food supplies tends 

 at once to decrease in the size of the wool fiber and de- 

 tracts from the lubrication which tends so much to main- 

 tain strength and good condition in the wool. 



That care should influence growth in wool is self- 

 evident. Neglect in any form will soon be evidenced in 

 the wool. Lack of food will weaken the fiber. Lack of 

 succulence in the food will lessen its luster. Lack of 



