66 BREEDING OF SHEEf. 



ly, for the purpose of having lambs in October or No- 

 vember : nothing is to be apprehended from the win- 

 ter ; good food is to be found at this season, and they 

 become strong enough to resist the extreme heat of 

 the summer : they have much more wool at the time 

 of shearing, and are much larger at the end of the 

 year, than if they had come in the beginning of 

 spring. 



Q. Can rams and ewes be coupled when desired, 

 so as to have lambs sooner or later in different 

 countries ? 



A. The access of the ram disposes the ewes to re- 

 ceive him. They are much sooner inclined to him 

 in warm, than in cold climates. Although the rams 

 rr3%" be always with the flock, lambs are seldom seen 

 in the northern departments, until the month of Jan- 

 uary ; for the most part, the lambs come in February. 

 In the southern departments, some of them come in 

 October, and they are almost all born before Feb- 

 ruary . 



Q. Which of these customs (the one being bene- 

 ficial in warm, and the other in cold climates,) is it 

 proper to follow, in countries where the winter is in 

 some years mild, and in others very cold ? 



A. It would be most certain to wait, till the month 

 of October before the ram be put to the ewes, be- 

 cause there would be a risk of losing many lambs, if 

 the winter should prove severe, and the lambs should 

 come in the month of December or January. 



Q. Are the rams, which have no horns, as good as 

 those which have ? 



