﻿THE MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP ON THE FARlfc 5 



produce thorn after tho. flock is once established. There is also more, 

 stability in their values than in those of market stock. 



Certain artificial advantages have been set up by the establishment 

 of the breeds, because of set regulations that must be met as a condi- 

 tion of registration under these breeds. For instance, no matter 

 how nearly a grade may approach a purebred in identity of blood 

 lines, it never becomes eligible to registry hi the associations of the 

 well-established breeds. 



CROSSBRED SHEEP. 



At times the market, or the natural conditions of a new country, 

 may demand a type of sheep that can best be produced by crossing 

 two breeds. If a demand of this nature is other than temporary a 

 new breed is developed, or the existing breeds are so changed that 

 they fulfill the demand. The Corriedale sheep of Australia and New 

 Zealand 'are a breed resulting from crossing to meet market demands. 

 As a rule, crossing is not very satisfactory. The reasons for this are 

 that the breeding stock must be maintained separate or brought in 

 from outside the. flock and that the lambs are noff very uniform, espe- 

 cially after the first generation. Some English investigations indicate 

 that crossbred sheep are less fertile, but it is doubtful whether there 

 is enough difference in this respect to be of any importance. 



Cross breeding among the medium and long wool breeds has been 

 rarely practiced in America. Crossing the fine wools with the 

 medium and long wools has been done to a considerable extent in the 

 range country, but to a rather limited extent upon the farm. The 

 general practice has been to use mutton rams upon merino ewes. 

 The object of this crossing has been to improve the mutton qualities, 

 or, in other words, to meet a market demand. In England cross- 

 breeding is a very common practice; purebred ewes, after producing 

 several crops of lambs, being mated to rams of other breeds. 



GENERAL TYPE OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 



The farmer's sheep should be a wool and mutton sheep, with 

 emphasis upon mutton. This "dual purpose" sheep, if the name be 

 permissible, is a proved success, and it is already represented in some 

 of the breeds. The best type is the most profitable combination of 

 wool and mutton. The investigations of the Tariff Board * indicate 

 that sheep farming for wool alone is unprofitable. In investigating 

 543 flocks of the fine-wool section of Ohio they found that when there 

 was a net credit to wool the percentage of receipts from wool was 38 

 an)l from other sources 62. If the raising of sheep for wool alone does 

 not pay in this region, it probably would not in any other part of the 

 farming section. 



1 Report of the Tariff Board, vol. 2, pt. 2. 



