Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 281 



compared with the mutton type, there is proportionately more length 

 and narrowness of head, more length and thinness of neck, less arch 

 of rib, and less development of thigh and twist. These differences are 

 marked, so that shorn of their fleeces, the two types of sheep present 

 striking differences in form. When viewed in the wool, further varia- 

 tions are manifest. The fleece of the fine- wool sheep is more compact 

 and is often very dark in color, the latter being due to the very heavy 

 secretion of yolk which catches dust and dirt and produces a black gum 

 on the exterior of the fleece. The mutton-type sheep has a smooth 

 skin, but the fine-wool type has a loose skin lying more or less in folds 

 or wrinkles. Sometimes there are only a few folds about the breast 

 and lower border of the neck, while the middle and hindquarters are 

 smooth; but some fine- wool sheep present a very wrinkled appearance 

 over the entire body. 



The head should be rather short, medium wide, and well defined 

 or clean-cut in its features. The muzzle should be broad and the 

 nostrils should be large. Rams should have a Roman nose with more 

 width than ewes. The eyes of both sexes should.be rather wide apart, 

 large, and clear, and have a quiet expression. The forehead should be 

 somewhat prominent and have a fair degree of width. The ears should 

 be fine, short, covered with silky hair, and actively carried. The horns 

 of the ram should be placed rather well apart so as to give width and 

 strength to the top of the head. At maturity the horns attain a strong 

 development. They have a corkscrew shape, turning backward from 

 the base, then downward, around forward, and up, making about one 

 and one-half turns. The ewes are hornless. Wool covers the poll, 

 forehead, upper part of the face, and cheeks, while the ears and lower 

 part of the face are covered with white hair, which should be very soft 

 and fine. The skin about the nose is often wrinkled. The head of 

 the ram should be very masculine as shown by heavy horns, wide poll, 

 Roman profile, and heavy nose, all parts being well developed or mas- 

 sive and the expression resolute. The ewe should have a refined head 

 and a feminine expression. 



The neck should be moderately short and rather muscular. The 

 neck and shoulders do not blend smoothly as in the mutton type, 

 although extreme angularity or roughness is undesirable. Males should 

 show a heavily muscled neck; a pronounced crest or scrag just behind 

 the poll indicates a strongly sexed animal. 



The shoulders should be well laid in, and should be muscular. 

 The depth of fleshing is not great enough to give that smoothness of 

 form which characterizes a good mutton-type animal. The tops of the 

 shoulders are often sharp and high, especially in those individuals 

 showing the more extreme development of the type; but a neat, rather 



