42 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



of high quality in Great Britain. Sheep reared under 

 austere conditions are more rugged, as a rule, than sheep 

 reared under conditions the opposite. But the influences 

 thus exerted by an invigorating climate may, of course, 

 be counteracted by unwise protection. 



It would seem correct to say that no influence is so 

 marked on mutton production as that of food. Food 

 affects the development of carcass in many ways. Chiefly 

 among these are the influences that it exerts on size, on 

 bone development and on the fiber of the flesh. The in- 

 fluence exerted by food on size is shown in the evolution 

 of the various breeds of sheep produced in Great Britain. 

 The small breeds, like the Southdown, are the product of 

 the short and fine grasses of the southern downs. The 

 large breeds, like the Lincoln, were produced by luxuri- 

 ant and somewhat coarse herbage. The influence of food 

 on development is further illustrated in the increase in 

 the average size of the American Merino over its ances- 

 tor, the Spanish Merino. It is also shown in the rela- 

 tively large size of sheep of any breed that are main- 

 tained on a diet in which alfalfa is a leading food factor. 

 The influence of food on bone development is seen in the 

 greater size and strength of bone possessed by sheep that 

 are fed freely on foods that contain relatively a high per- 

 centage of phosphoric acid and potash as compared with 

 the same in sheep to which foods low in these ingredients 

 are freely fed. Where field roots form a considerable por- 

 tion of the diet of the animal during the period of growth, 

 the development of bone will be much more than when 

 such food as corn is fed in the place of roots. 



The influence of food on fiber that is, on the grain 

 of the flesh is seen in the coarser fiber of the flesh of 

 the large breeds as compared with those of the small 

 breeds. The former have been evolved on pastures which 

 furnish herbage rich and relatively coarse. The latter 

 have been evolved on pastures that furnish a short and 

 relatively fine herbage. When Southdown sheep are 



