MILK LAMBS : HOW TO GET, GROW AND MARKET 24I 



grafted on them as it is on the other breeds named. 

 Among the Down breeds Hampshires are probably the 

 most suitable. But milk lambs may also be obtained 

 from grades, though not until the breeding habit in these 

 has been so modified that they will with reasonable cer- 

 tainty produce lambs at the desired season. Such lambs 

 may be thus obtained from grades possessed of various 

 blood elements, but not until the breeding habit is modi- 

 fied by some such method as that pointed out below, 

 when discussing changing the breeding habit. 



The material from which milk lambs may be obtained 

 is not plentiful as yet. Pure Dorsets and pure Tunis 

 sheep are too valuable to grow milk lambs from them. 

 The attempts to modify the breeding habit in grades are 

 recent and by no means general. As a result, the material 

 from this source for breeding winter lambs is not plenti- 

 ful. But it is from this source that growers of pure bred 

 lambs will chiefly obtain the ewes that will furnish the 

 lambs. 



How to change the breeding habit — The tendency in 

 nearly all breeds of sheep is to drop their lambs in the 

 spring rather than in the autumn or winter. This tend- 

 ency or breeding habit may be so modified that ewes 

 will produce lambs at any season that may be desired ; 

 one or two methods may be chosen to effect such change. 

 By the first it is brought about by selection, by the sec- 

 ond through breeding and selection. The second method 

 will reach the desired end much more quickly than the first. 



When the breeding habit is changed by selection, the 

 ewes that breed early are retained for such breeding. The 

 progeny of these are also saved for further breeding. 

 When the flock is well sustained by nourishing food, the 

 tendency to breed still earlier is encouraged. In time, 

 therefore, the habit in breeding may be changed from 

 one season to another. This inethod of securing change, 

 however, is too slow in itself to meet the needs of the 

 growers of milk lambs. 



