38 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



but it probably does so more through the influence which 

 it exerts on food than directly. It is true, nevertheless, 

 that while moisture is generally favorable to the growth 

 of wool of strong fiber, this does not follow where heavy 

 and excessive rainfall is allowed to wash out much of the 

 yolk from the wool. Such wool will lack that softness 

 and elasticity which it would otherwise possess. 



That food and care exercise a potent influence on 

 wool is a foregone conclusion. That it should be so is 

 self-evident, since wool is produced and sustained by food 

 the same as the flesh and bone which it covers, and suit- 

 able protection, therefore, is as necessary for the produc- 

 tion and maintenance of the former as of the latter. Food 

 influences wool, first, through the sustenance actually 

 furnished to the fibers ; and, second, through the lubrica- 

 tion given to them. Both influences will be proportionate 

 to the amount and character of the food given, but both 

 will be modified by the care bestowed on the flock and 

 the protection furnished. Foods that have the highest 

 adaptation to the requirements of digestion will also have 

 the highest adaptation for wool production. Foods, there- 

 fore, that have high adaptation for the growth of the car- 

 cass have also high adaptation for the growth of the wool 

 that covers it. 



Speaking in a general way, it would seem correct to 

 say (i) that the coarseness of the wool increases with the 

 coarseness of the food fed ; (2) that its length up to a 

 certain limit increases with the suitability of the food; 

 (3) that the strength of its fiber is influenced by the suc- 

 culence of the food; and (4) that evenness of strength in 

 the fiber is influenced by the degree of the nutrition fur- 

 nished. That the general tendency in coarse foods is to 

 produce coarse wool is shown in the evolution of breeds 

 in Great Britain. The breeds which produce the finest 

 wool are found on the downs of the southern counties. 

 The breeds with coarse wool are found on lands with 

 coarser herbage, as those of Lincoln and Kent. And yet 



