120 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



over the character of the progeny, as well as the sex of 

 it. The sex is aii all-important matter to the shepherd whose 

 flocks are, and have always been, valued by the number of 

 them. But there is reason to believe, as the result of experi- 

 ence as well as through special scientific experiments, that 

 the sex of the produce of a flock depends very much on the 

 physical condition of the sheep, both as to age and robust- 

 ness, which is due not only to the natural vigor and hardi- 

 ness of a race, but to the means of subsistence. Of course 

 food is the beginning and end of the condition of a flock, 

 and the abundance of it as well as the nutritive value of it 

 which is naturally synonymous with abundance must have 

 its effect on the natural vigor of the animals, which too must 

 be the prevailing influence of the feeding. 



The natural law, both for wild and domesticated races, 

 is that the fittest must survive. The most robust, the young 

 and ardent, the best conditioned, together with the ample 

 supply of food by which these conditions are secured, then, 

 will be the rule on which is based the ratio of multiplica- 

 tion of a species. The breeder is to take this into account 

 as one of the most important, we may think, of the rules 

 by which he must be guided in the pursuit of profit from the 

 flock. 



Naturally in any -herd the younger animals will be the 

 most active and eager breeders. In the strife for the posses- 

 sion of the ewes, the hardiest ram will always be the victor. 

 The older ones as is the case with our native buffalo, elk, 

 deer, and wild horses are driven from the herds, and roam 

 by themselves in abjective solitude. This is one of the laws 

 of existence among all kinds of animals. Even savage 

 races of mankind follow this rule. The same rule prevails in 

 the human race, by virtue of the selection of the fittest, 

 even in civilized society; for it is the most attractive per- 

 sons that mate, and the young are chosen in preference to 

 the old. This is one of the reasons for the great increase 

 of population in nations in which the degree of prosperity 

 is the measure of the increase in numbers. It is the reason 

 why the American people are increasing more rapidly than 

 any other in the world, and the same is the reason why the 

 French people is practically stationary as to numbers. There 

 being no other nation in the world than ours, in which the 



