SHEEP FOR WOOL, MUTTON AND BOTH USES 43 



grazed for successive generations on herbage abundant 

 and coarse, they increase in size, but they lose something 

 in the fineness of the grain of the flesh. 



The influence of breeding on mutton production is 

 very marked. The progeny of the first cross of a pre- 

 potent pure-bred sire on ewes of common or mixed breed- 

 ing will bear a close resemblance to the sire in appearance 

 and qualities. The progeny of, say, the fourth generation 

 will bear so close a resemblance to the breed from which 

 the sires are chosen that, judged from the standpoint of 

 appearances, they would pass for pure breds. These re- 

 sults, however, can only be attained when food is suffi- 

 ciently furnished and when the care is as it should be. 

 The crossing, or to speak more accurately, the upgrad- 

 ing, thus effected, should have a regard to the conditions 

 which relate to the furnishing of food. If the attempt is 

 made to increase size through up-grading beyond what 

 the food ordinarily furnished will maintain, it will end in 

 failure. The natural tendency toward increased size, the 

 outcome of breeding, must be adequately supported by 

 such food supplies as will maintain the tendency referred to. 



The care bestowed qualifies every attempt to improve 

 the carcass through breeding as well as through feeding. 

 The effort to effect improvement through correct breeding 

 may be more than neutralized by lack of proper care. On 

 the other hand, superior care may go far toward neutraliz- 

 ing the untoward results that follow mistakes in breeding. 

 The care that should be given is dwelt upon in nearly every 

 chapter of the book. 



Wool is helpful to production in so far as it furnishes 

 protection sufficient to keep the sheep in a comfortable 

 condition. To accomplish this the covering must be 

 enough to protect the carcass against inclement weather, 

 and it should not be so much as to prove oppressive 

 through the over-production of heat. Up to a certain 

 limit, therefore, wool production will be helpful to mut- 

 ton production, notwithstanding the drain on assimilated 



