456 



Feeds and Feeding. 



4.6 to 8.7 per ct. At the Oklahoma Station^ it was observed that, on 

 account of the laxative nature of alfalfa hay, sheep fed thereon shrank 

 more in shipping than others fed prairie hay. (587) 



Data on shrinkage and weight of dressed carcass of lamhs and wethers. 



♦Average of 3 trials. 



742. Wool production. — Soil and climate produce marked effects 

 on the characteristics of sheep, as shown by Brown- in his study of 

 the evolution of various English breeds. The rich lowlands of Eng- 

 land with their abundant nutritious grasses produced the heavy- 

 bodied, plethoric Long-wools, the next higher lands with less abun- 

 dant herbage furnished the Downs and Middle-wools, while the 

 mountains with scanty herbage produced the active, still lighter 

 breeds. Coleman^ states that the peculiar luster of the Lincoln wool 

 diminishes when these sheep pass to a less congenial soil, and that 

 wool in certain districts of Yorkshire brings a higher price than that 

 of other localities, due to the favorable influence of soil and climate. 

 He further states that limestone soils, while for many reasons pecul- 

 iarly suited to sheep, tend to produce a harshness in wool which 

 renders it less valuable than that from sheep living on clays or 

 gravels. 



Aside from the moisture and dirt, wool is made up of yolk or 

 suint, fat, and pure w^ool-fiber.* The yolk or "fat," chiefly a com- 

 pound of potassium with an organic acid, comprises from 15 to over 

 50 per ct. of the unwashed fleece, being low in sheep exposed to the 

 weather and especially high in Merinos. As the yolk is soluble in 

 water, most of it is removed by washing the sheep or fleece. The 

 "fat" in a washed fleece may range from 8 to over 30 per ct. 



Warington^ states that the production of wool-hair and wool-fat is 

 practically no greater when a full-grown sheep receives a liberal 

 fattening diet than when it is given only a maintenance ration. 

 Feeding lambs liberally produces a larger body and consequently a 

 heavier fleece. At the "Wisconsin Station*' Craig found that lam])s 



» Bui. 78. 



^ British Sheep Farming. 



' Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs of Great Britain. 



* Warington, Chemistry of the Farm. 

 ° The Chemistry of the Farm. 

 ° Rpt. 1896. 



