CROSSING. 277 



not too large, are always good points in any breed, and 

 should never be lost sight of. It should be considered that, 

 after we have shorn the fleece, the drovers have a right to 

 step in to judge of the carcase, and they have a curious way 

 of " coming over us," if our sheep are too small and slab- 

 sided. 



The following observations on the subject in hand are by 

 Blacklock, which the writer believes are worthy of much 

 attention, and which he quotes for the reason that he feels 

 they will have more weight than any he can offer himself, 

 while they also corroborate several points already set forth. 



" The fact is, that, if you wish to have a particular kind 

 of sheep, you must first of all be in possession of a pasture 

 suitable for the new-comers. You must consider the influ- 

 ence of the individval parents on the progeny, the size of 

 the animals, their habits and dispositions, and their peculiar- 

 ities in regard to the time of their maturity, and fattening 

 properties ; and, having anticipated these apparently trifling 

 affairs, you must see that the surface of the farm, its degree 

 of exposure, and the quantity and quality of its productions, 

 are calculated for the profitable maintenance of the breed in 

 view. Far too little attention is bestowed, at the commence- 

 ment of such an undertaking, on these all-swaying matters. 

 Farmers enter upon this, the most arduous of all professions, 

 with the settled conviction, that nothing is so simple as the 

 engrafting of a race of animals on a particular part of a coun- 

 try. They have read, or heard, of others who have gained 

 fame, and a fortune, by successful endeavors of the kind, and 

 they think that nothing is easier than to follow their example ; 

 but they forget the thoughtful hours, and irksome duties, 

 these men had to tolerate, before they could speak of any- 

 thing like success. No animal can be made to forego at once 

 a long-used food, an ancient locality, a peculiarity of clime and 

 season, and the instinctive habits that have been long nurtured 

 by these, without both it and its progeny suffering from the 

 change!^ 



" In crossing there are several important things to be at- 

 tended to. Well-formed parents ought to be selected, and, 

 if enlargement of the carcase be wanted, the issue should 

 be better fed than its originators, which ought to be of a size 

 rather under, than above what the pasture is capable of sup- 

 porting. The size of the parents should not be much dispro- 

 * The truth of this remark will strike the prairie flock-master. 

 24 



