OTHER VARIETIES OF SHEEP. 01 



summate skill needed to breed such sheep as this, the shep- 

 herd will never be able to dispense with the services of the 

 professional breeder. Of course the grades are the great 

 source of supply of sheep for market and for wool, and these 

 depend on the infusion of pure blood supplied by the profes- 

 sional breeders through their fine rams. 



THE BORDER LEICESTER. 



We sometimes hear or read of the Border Leicesters, and 

 some are at a loss to know what kind of sheep this may be. 

 It is at the present time so closely related and similar to 

 the Leicester that it is recognized as such, and no distinc- 

 tion is made as to the special points of each of the two. U 

 is now a class of this breed which is larger in size, not so 

 refined in form, has a somewhat longer and not so fine a 

 fleece. It was formed through a Cotswold cross on the im- 

 proved Leicesters of Bakewell. It is regarded by some breed- 

 ers as the finest of this breed, and is preferred for crossing 

 on the common mixed varieties of the common sheep, when 

 size and weight of fleece are desired. Of this cross it is com- 

 mon to rear lambs which make twenty to twenty-five pounds 

 to the quarter at fifteen months old and after good feeding. 



OTHER VARIETIES OF SHEEP. 



Spain has about thirty million sheep of which the most 

 are Merinos. There the ancient fashion of migrating twice a 

 year from the low pastures in the Spring to the mountain 

 ranges in the Fall still exists. This habit is controlled by 

 special laws by which the sheep have a right of way on the 

 public roads in preference to other travelers, and a right of 

 free pasture on the roadsides for two hundred feet on each 

 hand. The herds move under the strict discipline of a leader 

 known as a mayoral, under whose charge there are ten thou- 

 sand sheep in the drove. The drove is divided into sections 

 of one thousand sheep, over which a capitaz takes charge. 

 A requisite number of shepherds and dogs accompany the 

 drove and stay with the sheep until the season closes, when 

 the flocks are returned to their former ranges. The shep- 

 herds are much like those of the French Llandes, wearing 

 jackets of raw sheepskin with the wool outside and raw- 

 hide breeches. The jackets are mere skins without sleeves 

 and wrapped around the body. 



