QUESTIONS 199 



vidualistic and, therefore, poorly adapted to promoting a breed 

 organization. The strength of their personalities showed not only in 

 the sheep they bred, but also in the manner in which the American 

 Merino was developed and promoted. There came to be known the 

 Eich Merinos, the Hammond Merinos and many others, taking, as a 

 rule, the name of the man who developed them, and each individual's 

 sheep possessed certain peculiarities which made possible their 

 existence as a separate family or strain. Then state organizations 

 came into existence under various names, some of which suggested 

 an attempt to gather all of the breeders of the country under the 

 same banner, but if such was the hope it was never realized. What 

 more could have been accomplished had breeders efficiently organized 

 themselves in a national society is, in part, a matter of conjecture, 

 but had such action taken place, surely some of the conservatism, 

 which resulted in clinging blindly and doggedly to certain types 

 long after their appropriate day, would not have developed. In the 

 writer's opinion this conservatism has been responsible to a degree 

 for the passing of the Merino from many sections. Had the type 

 been modified to more nearly suit conditions it would have stayed 

 longer and much to the advantage of the sheep industry of the 

 country. 



QUESTIONS 



1. Indicate the formative period of the American Merino. 



2. What circumstances led up to the first wave of popularity for Merinos 



in tjie United States? 



3. Contrast the work of Atwood and Hammond. 



4. Compare the A-, B-, and C-types of American Merinos and indicate the 



conditions under which each would be most popular. 



5. Compare the prolificacy of the American Merino with that of the 



Shropshire. 



6. Compare the milking functions of Dorset Horns with American Merinos. 



7. Suggest a breed that is more efficiently promoted than the American 



Merino. 



8. What breed seems to you as most unlike the American Merino in rate 



of growth? 



