576 



FARMER' 8 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



remarkably hardy. It is said that they 

 are sometimes buried under snowdrifts 

 in the mountains for one or two weeks 

 at a time, and under such conditions 

 herd together and form a cave, in which 

 they feed upon the scanty herbage until 

 rescued by the shepherd. They may be 

 kept in large flocks of several thousands 

 in the same manner as the Merino. The 

 mutton furnished by this sheep is of' 

 exceptionally fine quality. The sheep 

 will weigh 100 to 125 pounds and the 

 fleece averages about 33 poimds of un- 

 washed wool. The breed is fitted for 



have white or rusty brown faces and 

 weigh 50 to 70 pounds. They have a 

 small head, rather long neck with a nar- 

 row chest and flat sides. The bucks have 

 horns, but the ewes rarely. They pro- 

 duce 2 to 3 pounds of wool. The mut- 

 ton is claimed to be unexcelled by any 

 breed in England. They are a very 

 active sheep, delight in lofty situations. 

 A flock of 57 ewes and 2 bucks were im- 

 ported by a Connecticut firm in 1902. 

 It is believed to be the first importation 

 of tins sheep to America. 



The Welsh Mountain sheep cross with 



Fig. 363 — PRIZE OXFORD YEARLING RAM 



rugged mountain conditions under which 

 most other flocks would be a failure. 



Welsh Mountain_Tbis is another of 

 the native breeds of Great Britain, 

 grown extensively only in the mountain- 

 ous regions of Wales. There appears to 

 be three varieties of this sheep, the 

 Higher Mountain, the Soft Wool and the 

 Radnor. The Higher Mountain sheep 

 are a small breed weighing 40 to 50 

 pounds and of black, gray or brown 

 color; both sexes have horns. The Soft 

 Wool breed is the sheep usually referred 

 to as the Welsh Mountain. These sheep 



the larger breeds and seem to carry to 

 the offspring some of the delicate flavor 

 of the meat. The Radnor sheep have 

 some of the characteristics of the Soft 

 Wool sheep, but more closely resemble 

 the Higher Mountain, except that they 

 are larger, weighing 60 to 70 pounds. 

 Suffolk rams crossed on mountain ewes 

 in England produced better results than 

 when Wiltshire, Shropshire, Southdown, 

 Leicester or Oxford rams were used. 



Barbadoes sheep — This is a medium 

 sized, fawn colored, woolless sheep with- 

 out horns. Its habits are much like the 



