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to Old Mexico. They liave been bred with scarcely any ontcross and 
are a very distinctly marked breed. They have long legs, a long 
thin body not very deep, small rather long neck, and a long thin head 
carried high. The wool is fine and thin. To the eye they appear 
almost worthless as mutton sheep and of still less value for wool. 
Their good points are, that they are hardy, excellent travelers, will 
keep in good condition on the poorest and dryest of ranges, are fairly 
prolific, and can be herded in bunches of almost any size. They 
fatten easily, though never looking plump and fat like the northern 
sheep. When they reach the Chicago market, if in good condition, 
they outsell all other sheep, for they shrink very little in dressing, 
the meat has an excellent flavor, and the hide is so thin, firm, and 
soft as to command the highest price. A well-fattened bunch of 
Mexican lambs will weigh on the Chicago market from 78 to 81 
pounds. Yearlings, ewes, and old wethers of this breed are in good 
condition if they weigh 90 pounds in Chicago. 
New Mexico Sheep .—These original Mexican sheep have been 
largely graded with Merino rams in li^ew Mexico and southern Colo¬ 
rado, and for some years were run there as grade Merinos for wool. 
They have not the thick, wrinkly fleece of the typical Merino and 
show decidedly their Mexican origin, being intermediate in length of 
leg, body, neck, and head, between the true Merino and the Mexican. 
They are a small-bodied, quick-maturing sheep, and, although nevei 
growing very large, they get very fat. It takes them longei to fatten 
than the better bred sheep. Never less than five and usually six 
months elapse from the time they are put on feed until they go to 
market. 
The bunches of lambs brought from New Mexico run quite even 
in size and appearance. They are all kept under the same condition, and 
but few of the flocks have as yet been topped with mutton breeds so as to 
present any great variation from the general type. When brought 
to Colorado in the fall, about the first of November, the lambs weigh, 
in bunches, from 48 to 53 pounds. When shipped to Chicago, in 
May, they weigh from 80 to 84 pounds. Their frames are then not 
much larger than in the fall, but the body is much deeper, almost 
touching the ground, and they are almost as thick through, making 
them very plump. They easily get the highest prices on the Chicago 
market for the same reasons as the Mexican sheep. 
Merinos .—Until within a few years ago, nearly all the sheep of 
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho were straight Merino sheep, 
bred for the most part from Merinos brought from the East. Some flocks 
originated from the Mexican or New Mexican sheep, but they were 
crossed so many times with such thoroughbred Merino rams as to 
lose the characteristics of the southern sheep. So long as these flocks 
were used for wool they were carefully bred by purchasing high- 
priced rams from the East. As the price of wool fell the profits de- 
