Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 215 



8. The returns come quickly. Lambs may be marketed eight 

 months after the ewes are bred. 1 0-lf * 



9. The ewe's fleece usually pays for her keep. This puts the fat 

 lamb on the market at low cost of production. 



10. With good management, the increase in the flock may be 

 safely counted at one hundred per cent. 



Fine, medium, and long-wool classes of sheep. — Sheep breeders 

 in the various countries have developed two distinct kinds of sheep — 

 mutton sheep and wool sheep, the latter being commonly called fine- 

 wool sheep. Mutton sheep naturally divide into two classes known 

 as (1) long- or coarse- wool sheep, and (2) medium- or middle- wool 

 sheep. 



Fine- wool sheep bear wool that is IJ/^ to 4 inches long after twelve 

 months' growth, medium-wool fleeces vary in length of fiber from 2 to 

 5 inches, and the long-wool fiber measures 5 to 12 inches. The fiber 

 of the fine- wool fleece is very fine in diameter and has a large number 

 of waves or crimps to the inch, usually from 16 to 22. The long-wool 

 fiber is coarse and lashy, being rather straight and hairy in appearance. 

 The fiber of the medium-wool fleece occupies a position between the 

 fine- and long-wool fibers, but with fewer crimps per inch than the 

 fiber of fine- wool sheep. 



The three classes are separated by other marked differences besides 

 length and fineness of wool. Fine- wool sheep are usually of small or 

 medium size, and have a rather narrow form, long neck, uneven top 

 line, white face, more or less wrinkled skin, a compact fleece often dark 

 on the exterior, poor mutton qualities, and active dispositions. Med- 

 ium-wool sheep are medium to large in size, have a wide, compact, 

 blocky, meat-producing form, straight top line, usually have brown 

 faces, a smooth skin, a compact fleece that is light colored on the 

 exterior, thick flesh, excellent mutton qualities, and active dispositions. 

 Long-wool sheep are large, with blocky bodies, straight lines, rather 

 upstanding, white face, smooth skin, shaggy light-colored fleeces hang- 

 ing in long locks or curls, thick but somewhat coarse flesh, lay on much 

 fat, and are more sluggish and indolent in their habits. 



Types, classes, and breeds of sheep. — Although variations in 

 fleece, size, form, and other points permit the division of all sheep into 

 three groups, there are at basis only two types of sheep — mutton type, 

 and fine-wool type. The former includes both the long- and medium- 

 wool groups. Following is the classification of the breeds according 

 to type, together with the number of registered purebreds of each breed 

 in the United States on January 1, 1920, as reported by the 1920 census: 



