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Show SHEEP FLOCK OF BSC IMPORTANCE Attention Must Be Given Wool and Mutton Qualities of Animals. INTEREST IN RAISING STOCK Bulletin Issued by Agricultural Department De-partment Discusses Breeds Likely Like-ly to Meet Requirements of Various Localities. (Prepared by Oa I'niterl States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) Mutton and wool qualities both must receive attention to bring the greatest returns from farm flocks of sheep. A system that ignores either cannot be continuously successful. So assorts a bulletin, "Breeds of Sheep for the Farm," issued by the United States department of agriculture agricul-ture following the manifestation that recent market values for meat animals have caused a renewal in interest in the raising of live stock on farms. The bulletin aims to discuss sheep breeds so as to inform those not familiar with them which breeds are likely to meet requirements. In many cases, the bulletin points out, mutton and wool will deserve equal consideration. In others either may, be emphasized according to peculiarities pe-culiarities in management, feeding and marketing conditions. Sparse pasturage, pastur-age, expensive food and poor marketing market-ing arrangements will make wool the lirsr consideration, but if there is a good market for lambs and if the feed First Prize Shropshire. and care that can be given are such as are needed, the bulletin points out that the mutton qualities are the Important Im-portant things to look for in the breeding breed-ing stock. Variations in wool values, says the bulletin, largely explain the increases and decreases in lumbers of farm sheep in the past fifty years. At present, pres-ent, it is stated, many former raisers of commercial sheep who breed stock for wool are giving more attention to mutton than has been done in the past, and most of the new flocks being be-ing established are of the mutton breeds. Community Breeding. It is not to be expected, the bulletin bulle-tin points out, that all farmers in a county will select the .same breed of sheep. It lists advantages, however, that may be realized if a number of farmers in a community adopt a common com-mon plan of sheep raising and use rcms of the same type, at least, if not of the same breed. If the lambs are similar and ready to ship at the same time a number of owners can join together to-gether to fill a car or, if the number of lambs is large nnd the quality uniform, they will sell themselves, as the buyers Will come for them. Of the 30 breeds of Improved sheep brought to fixed types as adapted to the needs of their native homes, 12 are well established in the United States and others are gaining in popularity. The better-Un., .wii breeds are 7t jped ! into three classes as follows: i Medium Wool Breeds. ' Southdown Body conformation 1 ideal for mutton, but from raiser's standpoint not so large as is desirable; weights large in proportion to apparent appar-ent size; will become fat enough for market while growing; better adapted to rolling or hilly pastures; ewes gooil mothers nnd good milkers; fleece close and comparatively fine, but often too short to weigh heavily. Shropshire Ranks high In weight and length of fleece; proceeds of wool important; body intermediate between be-tween Southdown and larger breeds; lambs reach common market weight later than larger breeds. Hampshire Lambs grow rapidly when well fed ; largest of medium wool breeds; because of size and weight is not adapted to very rough or scanty pastures; fleeces vary considerably. Oxford Breed large and heavy and lambs grow rnpidly when well fed; they can be matured early, but not so early as some of the less growthy breeds ; lleece of special Importance, extra length adds to weight as well as making it useful when length of fiber without too great coarseness is needed. Dorset Horn Breeding habit strong feature; developed in sections where early lambs were desired; lambs grow and mature rapidly; particularly popular pop-ular with farmers who raise winter or "hothouse" lambs. Chevoit Accustomed to grazing over rough places, active and alert, vigorous and hardy; capable of producing pro-ducing mutton upon land unsuited to other breeds; fleece fairly dense. Other breeds mentioned In the medium-wool classes are the Suffolk and the Tunis. Long Wool Breeds. Bred chiefly for mutton, the long wools are the largest breeds of sheep. They have been developed for level lands where feed can be obtained without with-out much travel. Lambs do not mature so rapidly or fatten so young as those of other mutton breeds. Fleeces are loose, coarser and longer as compared with fine wools and medium wools. The long wools are favored by few farmers who raise iambs for market. Cotswold Big bodied, tall and of stylish appearance. All over the body the wool hangs in long wavy ringlets; fleece as a whole Is bright, and because of having no excess of oil is light in shrinkage and sells well. Lincoln Wool of great length, though much coarser than that of the shorter wool breeds ; shorter and more compactly built than the Cotswold. Leicester Wool finer nnd softer than that of the Cotswold or Lincotn, though not always so thick upon the body. Fine Wool Breeds. Characteristics of the fine wools are the fineness of the wool, ability to travel long distances for feed and water, wa-ter, and the instinct to herd closely. They are used largely on the range and have strong resistance to Internal parasites par-asites and are long lived.- They are slow in maturing. The ewes produce few twins and do not rank high as mothers and milkers. American Merino Merinos are recorded re-corded as being of A, B, or C type. The A type is extreme in number of wrinkles, as well as fineness of wool ; because of wrinkles the A type is not considered desirable for commercial wool raisers. Merinos of the B type are stronger in body than the A's, less heavily wrinkled and grow wool that Is longer but not so fine. The C type Is larger nnd less wrinkled than the other oth-er types. Length of wool with as much weight and fineness as possible is demanded de-manded in this type. Some C type flocks have considerable mutton value and the lambs are fed to be marketed after their first shearing. Rambouillet Largest and strongest body of fine-wool sheep ; some breeders breed-ers give most attention to fleece, but size is usually more sought for than in the American Merino. Size growth-iness growth-iness and strong vitality strongest points from a mutton standpoint. Fleece varies in fineness and length, but usually is quite dense. |
