AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF EUROPE I GERMANY 99 
Table 86. — Sheep: Classification according to type in Germany, survey of 1912 
Type 
Number 
Per cent 
of total 
number 
1, 697, 596 
566,806 
29.13 
Crossbreeds of merino type... 

Total , 2,264,402 ! 38.85 
Mutton 232,336 
Crossbreeds of mutton type 1.063,495 
Other crossbreeds 183,309 
3.99 
18.25 
3.15 
Total 1,479,140 ! 25.39 
German native J 1.382.311 23. 72 
Crossbreeds of German, 582,438 9.99 
Total 1.904.740 33.71 
Indefinite 119,650 
Total sheep 5,827,941 100.00 
Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, Berlin. 
1 A hardy coarse-wooled sheep kept in heath or mountain regions where the other breeds are not profitable. 
The local superiority of the native sheep arises from the following 
facts: They are well qualified to make the best possible use of the 
feed that grows in their neighborhoods. The young animals pro- 
duce mutton of a good and sometimes excellent quality. The ewes 
in some instances have a high milk yield and form an excellent foun- 
dation for crossbreed purposes for the production of lambs to be 
fattened for market. , Crossbreeds grow quickly and reach maturity 
early. For this reason the ewes of the different breeds are largely 
reared to maturity by the small farmers themselves. The native 
breeds are not less important for small farms, on which the sheep are 
reared on rough forage, than they are on the larger farms, where they 
get a liberal supply of oil cake and corn. The best-known breeds of 
these native sheep are the Franken, the bastard of Wurttemberg, the 
Rhon, and the milk sheep of East Friesland. 
Franken sheep are produced in the Kingdom of Bavaria, in the 
governments of Lower and Upper Franken. This breed has spread 
to neighboring Thuringia, to some localities in Wurttemberg, and 
even as far as Baden. This is a hardy and robust breed, capable of 
withstanding rough climatic and poor grazing conditions, producing 
meat of an excellent quality and strong, if coarse, wool. 
The Wurttemberg bastard sheep owes its origin to a cross of the 
Spanish merino with the Franken sheep, which took place about the 
eighteenth century. The merino blood was used in various degrees, 
so that two types came into existence, the fine and the rough bastard, 
indicating the quality of the wool, which is produced in paying 
quantities. 
The Rhon sheep originated in the Rhon Mountains and is a most 
hardy breed, capable of withstanding extremes in temperature, and 
produces a fair quantity of wool of medium quality. 
The East Friesland milk sheep are found rather generally throughout 
Holstein and Schleswig, as well as in the Netherlands. The chief 
consideration of this breed is milk and lamb production. The ewe 
can be milked from 150 to 200 days in the year, with a yearly product 
