30 Sheep-Farming 



belief that only a definite kind of land, rolling in 

 character, rocky in nature, and scanty in pasture, 

 is especially adapted for sheep-grazing, but a study 

 of the different breeds and their adaptability for 

 different altitudes verifies the fact that there are 

 breeds of sheep specially suited for most of the varia- 

 tions in natural environment that exist at present. 

 While it cannot be asserted dogmatically that the 

 breeds of sheep are only suited for the conditions 

 of the altitude assigned them, yet it may be claimed 

 that they will do best when their circumstances 

 approach those that they have been accustomed to 

 in their native districts. 



Influence of altitude. — The three features re- 

 quiring consideration in discussing the adaptability 

 of sheep are those of climate, soil, and food. These 

 in turn are decidedly dependent on altitude, and this 

 again, in England and most other countries, is de- 

 termined by the geological structure that gives the 

 land its shape. The geological strata, whether hard 

 and capable of resisting the elements, or soft and 

 decomposable, exerts an important influence on 

 the altitude or the height above the sea. High 

 altitudes are associated with broken, rocky regions 

 with more exposure than pasturage, whereas the 

 opposite brings to mind the fertile lowlands of alluvial 

 soil and luxuriant vegetation. With the altitude as 

 a basis, it is possible to arrange the breeds so as to 

 illustrate the wide variation that exists in their char- 



