264 BREEDING AND CROSSING. 



QUALITIES OF A GOOD MUTTON SHEEP. 



" There are various points that are sought after by breed- 

 ers, not because of the particular value of those points, but 

 because they are evidence of other valuable qualities, such 

 as aptitude to fatten and early maturity. Thus, in the South 

 Down breed, small heads and legs, and small bones, are es- 

 teemed, as they are qualities which are found connected with 

 fattening properties. Black muzzles and legs are also val- 

 ued, probably because they denote the good constitution and 

 hardihood of the animal. We must, however, take care lest, 

 in carrying these points to an extreme, we neglect other val- 

 uable qualities. Straightness of the back, breadth of loins, 

 and rotundity of frame, are points which cannot be disputed, 

 and are not merely signs of good qualities, but good qualities 

 themselves. The straightness of the back, so perfect in the 

 Leicester, is by no means natural to the South Down, in an 

 unimproved state, but rather the contrary. In the improved 

 breeds, however, it is present, and is justly regarded" as an 

 excellent point, giving a better surface for the laying on of 

 flesh, and affording larger scope for the abdominal organs. 

 Its converse, too, a round or convex back, is produced or in- 

 creased by the effects of poverty and cold, and is almost sure 

 to follow if the breed is neglected and exposed. 



" The development of bone, of course, requires nutriment 

 as well as any other part, though not, perhaps, in the same 

 degree. Large bone, therefore, abstracts nutriment which 

 would otherwise be more profitably employed, and thus is 

 anything but a desirable point in sheep. Horns, for the same 

 reason, are much better dispensed with. One point in sheep, 

 which is justly regarded as extremely favorable, is a soft, 

 mellow feeling of the skin and parts beneath. These parts are 

 the cellular, or rather adipose membranes, which in fat sheep 

 are full of fat, and in lean sheep, when possessing this mel- 

 low feeling, denote the plentiful existence of these membra 

 nous cells ready for the reception of fat, which is deposited 

 in them almost in the form of oil. 



" Breadth of loin and rotundity of frame are qualities that 

 require no observation, having been before alluded to. The 

 former denotes the presence of a large quantity of flesh in 

 the spot where it is most valuable, and it also bespeaks a 

 large and roomy abdomen, i^ round frame is also the sure 

 attendant of a large abdomen, and an extended surface for the 



