SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 353 



Selection of the Breed. "But what breed is it best to select? 

 In order to obtain the highest degree of success in any Hne of business 

 it is necessarj' to have a clearly-defined idea as to what is to be accom- 

 plished. One should know what kind of sheep the best markets demand 

 and what kind is capable of producing the greatest profit. One of the 

 greatest dangers that will attend the selection of a breed is this ; it will 

 be the desire to secure a kind of combination sheep, one at the same time 

 that shall be a typical mutton sheep and a first-class wool-producer. No 

 such a breed of sheep exists in the world at the present time. 



The (so-called) mutton Merinos are a strong class of sheep and are 

 good wool-producers, but when their carcass is hung up in market by the 

 side of a Shropshire or Southdown they make a poor show. Why ? 

 because the Merino has been bred for generations with the one idea of 

 wool-production. Better feeding will make a better fleece, but a better 

 carcass never. The only way to make mutton sheep from a Merino 

 flock is to cross them with rams of the pure mutton breeds and thus 

 breed it away from its present characteristics. It will be far wiser to 

 cross one of the mutton breeds which have been brought to their present 

 high standing by skillful breeding, than to undertake to transform a 

 flock of wool-producers into mutton sheep, an effort that can only re- 

 sult in complete failure. 



Much has been said and written in regard to the merits of dark-faced 

 breeds, and it is true that in our best markets a dark-faced lamb will 

 readily sell for a half-dollar more than one of the same weight with a 

 white face. Of course there is no merit in a dark face of itself, but sheep 

 with dark faces and legs have been found to possess qualities of carcass 

 which are superior to those found in white-faced sheep. The dark face 

 is simply a trade-mark, which indicates the quality of the goods which 

 accompany it. And right here is the danger. That is, that farmers 

 will pay too great attention to the trade-mark and too little to the qual- 

 ity of the carcass and thus debase the trade-mark until it shall stand for 

 naught." — F. D. Ward. 



Advantages of Sheep-raising. "It is a fact, well known by 

 every observing man, that, as a rule, dairy sections are less exhausted 

 and the people more prosperous than grain-growing sections, and the 

 keeping of cows, if properly done, is not only profitable, but actually 

 makes the farm grow better. But not all parts of our State are dairy 

 sections. Although by the extended use of the silo many sections not 

 now keeping cows might do so to advantage, still, there are conditions 



