Breeds of Sheep 23 



In respect to their habits in eating, there is nothing 

 noteworthy, further than that they eat the turf 

 closer than other domestic animals. They are 

 enabled to do this through the agency of a split lip. 

 The upper lip being somewhat divided and the in- 

 cisor teeth being very sharp and chisel-like, they can 

 graze very close. Another feature that is oftentimes 

 used to their disadvantage is the extent to which 

 they can exist without water. This seems to be 

 accountable to the fact that some of the salivary 

 glands are unusually large in sheep. Bearing on 

 their conduct toward water, it is often interesting 

 to observe their marked preference for running 

 water. When watering them at the pump, they will 

 crowd for positions at the smaller trough with its 

 running stream in preference to the large with its 

 greater abundance of water. 



Ancestry of present-day sheep. — The story of the 

 origin and development of the existing breeds is of 

 great interest in itself aside from its value as a study 

 of methods of improvement and of the proper place 

 of each. All varieties of domestic sheep have been 

 classed together as Ovis aries, the species aries being 

 considered as represented alone by the domestic 

 form. While there can be no doubt that all our 

 breeds, fine and coarse wools alike, are of a common 

 stock, it seems strange that no representation of the 

 species should be found in the wild state. It is niore 

 than probable that the early stock to which our 



