454 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



breeds. The Southdown pure-bred sire has been found 

 to produce lambs highly adapted to present market con- 

 ditions, which give the preference to lambs that reach 

 the market in the autumn, that weigh less than 100 

 pounds alive. Lambs of good finish that weigh not more 

 than 80 or 90 pounds are preferred to those that are 

 heavier. 



The season at which the lambs are to reach the mar- 

 ket should also be carefully considered. Winter lambs 

 come most readily through the use of Dorset sires. Early 

 spring lambs are, as a rule, most easily obtained from 

 ewes, in which Merino blood is well represented. Rea- 

 sonably early lambs, possessed of much size, may be most 

 surely obtained by the use of Hampshire sires. 



Should the flock be high grade, the aim should be 

 to use sires of the breed which have furnished the domi- 

 nant blood elements to the females. The results from 

 such breeding are more certain than they would be should 

 sires be used from some other breed. For instance, should 

 the Shropshire blood be dominant in a flock of Shropshire 

 grades, the results from the use of Shropshire sires on 

 these will be more certain than those that would follow 

 the use of Lincoln sires. 



But in some instances the demands of the market 

 may call for the use of a sire possessed of blood elements 

 differing from those that dominate in the ewes. 



The mistake of using pure-bred rams of inferior in- 

 dividuality, even on grade flocks, should be sedulously 

 avoided, lest the character of the transmission should be 

 similar. While the breeders of grade flocks would not be 

 justified in paying such prices for rams as are sometimes 

 paid by the breeders of high-class pure-breds, the aim 

 should be to use those only that are possessed of good 

 individuality. 



The requisites as to form and covering in a good sire 

 for even a flock of grades may be summarized as follows : 

 He should possess compactness of form, a suitable cover- 



