ADAPTABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES 35 



Neglecting Adaptability. — In seeking certain desirable char- 

 acteristics in their sheep, breeders have often been guilty of at 

 least temporarily overlooking adaptability and hardiness; or, as 

 may have been the case in Italy and Spain, they have been willing 

 to sacrifice these things to a certain extent in order to gain the 

 characteristics especially desired. Bakewell's Leicesters lost in 

 fecundity and hardiness ; breeders of Shropshires allowed their sheep 

 to lose in constitution in order to gain extreme covering with wool 

 on head and legs; following the Civil War Merino breeders in 

 America sacrificed stamina in their sheep for the sake of extreme 

 weight of fieece in proportion to body weight. 



Whether or not adaptability should be sacrificed, to a certain 

 extent depends on the degree to which it is present and on the im- 

 portance of the thing involved in making the sacrifice. Italy and 

 Spain certainly were not in position safely to sacrifice further the 

 mother instinct and milking function of their ewes even though 

 this would have gained for them in a per head return; American 

 Merino breeders in the period mentioned above went too far in 

 reducing the stamina of their sheep, and Shropshire breeders made 

 an economic mistake by permitting a loss in constitution for the 

 sake of extreme covering of head and legs with wool. 



Importance of Adaptability in the United States. — As a 

 problem, adaptability- in sheep breeding or finding the right type 

 is important in the United States for the following reasons : First, 

 it has not received sufficient attention generally. With a few ex- 

 ceptions, breeders of pure-bred mutton sheep in this country con- 

 tinue to import breeding rams and ewes from English fiocks; this 

 goes to show that little has been done toward developing mutton 

 types suitable to American conditions. Second, consumers are 

 changing and may continue to change with respect to the kind of 

 mutton and wool they want. Third, in many localities agricul- 

 tural practices are changing and probably will continue to change 

 for some time to come and hence the type of sheep suitable in a 

 certain cormnunity at the present time may be out of date in a 

 few years. The future will see more attention given to adapt- 

 ability in sheep breeding in this country because, as the land comes 

 to be more and more intensively handled the crops grown on it, both 

 plant and animal, will have to be more and more efficient and any 

 crop that does not fit well will have a hard time to retain a place. 



