Breeds of Sheep 37 



and general thriftiness under conditions adapted 

 for the heavier breeds, and the characteristics that 

 lead to this are identical with those that make them 

 the champion grazers of rough and exposed pastures. 

 Flockmasters situated on highly cultivated pastures, 

 the conditions of lowlands, find that the Southdown 

 ewes become too fleshy and give birth to weak and 

 soft lambs. Thomas EUman, the noted Southdown 

 breeder, is on record as saying that so great is the 

 efifect of climate and soil that the fine flavor of the 

 Southdown mutton may be changed in time to 

 coarse, tallowy meat; and he further adds that not 

 only the flesh, but the wool and every other feature, 

 will become assimilated to those of the different 

 localities. 



Climatic influence on wool. — It is an inexhaustible 

 subject to discuss in detail the influence of altitude 

 and its features of climate, soil, and food on wool. 

 Hair is the greater part of the covering of the sheep 

 in a state of nature, and wool is the result of culture 

 and good treatment; hence its susceptibility to 

 influence. Climate is considered to have an in- 

 fluence on density, and the colder the climate, the 

 denser the fleece grows. On the other hand, ex- 

 treme exposure, especially in conjunction with 

 poverty of soil, is credited with much of the kemp 

 or dead hairs that appear in the fleeces of some sheep. 

 The fact that the sheep of the eastern counties 

 of England have bare heads and those of the mid- 



