Fig. 252. A Young Shepherd
Sheep increase so rapidly, mature at such an early age, and have flesh so wholesome for food that nearly every farm should have its flock. Another consideration that may be urged in favor of sheep-raising is that sheep improve the land on which they are pastured.
Sheep are docile and easily handled, and they live on a greater diversity of food and require less grain than any other kind of live stock. In mixed farming there is enough food wasted on most farms to maintain a small flock of sheep.
Fig. 253. Sheep have long been called the Golden-Hoofed Animals
Sheep may be divided into three classes:
I. Fine-Wooled Breeds
1. American Merino.
2. Delaine Merino.
3. Rambouillets.
4. Hampshire Down.
5. Oxford Down.
6. Cheviot.
II. Medium-Wooled Breeds
1. Southdown.
2. Shropshire.
3. Horned Dorset.
III. Long-Wooled Breeds
1. Leicester.
2. Lincoln.
3. Cotswold.
The first group is grown principally for wool, and mutton is secondary; in the second group, mutton comes first and wool second; in the third group both are important considerations. Wool is nature's protection for the sheep. Have you ever opened the fleece and observed the clean skin in which the fibers grow? These fibers, or hairs, are so roughened that they push all dirt away from the skin toward the outside of the fleece.
