tion and weight at the same time. The breeds that are larger and 

 coarser are likewise later maturing and do not meet average Pennsyl- 

 vania conditions. Neither does the extreme wooled type of sheep 

 meet those conditions. The most desired breeds are those of medium 

 size, combining a balance of mutton and wool characteristics and the 

 ability to produce early-maturing lambs. The more important breeds 



re: 



Wool breeds include Merinos or fine-wool breeds. 



Type A Spanish or American Merino. 

 Type B American Merino. 



Type C Delaine-Merino, Dickinson Delaine-Merino, Black- 

 Top Merino and Rambouillet 



Mutton breeds include medium and coarse-wooled breeds. 

 The medium-wooled breeds are the earlier-maturing mutton 

 ;ds and include the Shropshire, Southdown, Dorset, Hampshire, 

 ithdown Cheviot, Oxford, Suffolk, and Tunis. The coarse-wooled 

 ;ds are later maturing than the medium-wooled breeds, and include 

 Lincoln, Cotswold, Leicester, and Rommey Marsh. 

 The C type Merino might well be considered as of mutton type, 

 :hough the wool characteristics of types A and B are possessed to a 

 iater degree than the mutton qualities of mutton breeds. By type 

 is meant a Merino sheep possessing the heaviest and finest fleeces, 

 indicated by numerous folds that cover the neck and body, and fine- 

 is in quality of the wool. By type B is meant a Merino possessing 

 slightly coarser wool fiber, a deeper flesh covering and folds on the 

 ick and hindquarters. The C type Merino is free from folds, with 

 the exception of an occasional one on the neck, and possesses a smooth 

 body covered with a longer fibered fleece than that of types A and B. 

 In the medium-wooled breeds the mutton characteristics predom- 

 inate. They are adaptable for small flocks and raised where inten- 

 sified farming is practiced. In hardiness they excel the coarse-wooled 

 breeds, but on grazing lands, where exposure is an important factor, 

 the Merinos excel the mutton breeds because of their denser fleeces, 

 which offer greater protection. The coarse-wooled breeds, due to 

 their open fleeces, cannot withstand exposure. Their fleeces are less 

 valuable and their lambs are later maturing. There is, however, one 

 breed of coarse-wooled sheep known as Black-faced Highland, of 

 Scotland, that is adapted to exposed conditions and to rocky and neg- 

 lected areas. 



The selection of a breed should be made on judgment based upon 

 a breed's qualifications, and not upon mere sentiment. Standard refer- 



15 



