Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-03-27
Sheep Jnterest.
WRlNkLED SHEEP.


peared from time to time in your paper
by Mr.. E. p. Smith, but his article pub
lished March shows that he does not
comprehend the use of wrinkles, and
does not understand why our best breed
ers of Merino sheep derive so much
benefit in the improvement of their flocks
by a judicious use of wrinkly rams.
If the use of wrinkles brought us no
compensating advantages, then should
agree with Mr.. Smith that they were only
a nuisance, and had better be eradicated
altogether from our f1ocks. But the pre-
sent great high grade of Improvement
could never have been reached in Ver-
mont Merinos if our breeders had not
comprehended tile value of their iudcious
use, nor could that standard be maintain
ed if such use were to be discontinued.
For fifty years l have been breeder
of sheep. At first | was as much opposed
to the folds or wrinkles as Mr.. Smith is,
and for at least one-half of the fifty years
was left behind by those breeders that
better comprehended their value and
their proper use. During all those fifty
years | have heard the same kind of OBJ
jections urged as Mr.. Smith gives us in
the article referred to. Many breeders
have advocated the same ideas, but |
have yet to learn of single breeder with
those ideas who has been able to keep up,
or haye any part in the great improve
ments that have been taking place in Yer
mont Merinos.
There is not the slightest doubt but the
use of these folds have been as greatly
Inexperienced by a portion of our
breeders who have used them to excess
as by the other class who have discarded
them altogether, and the result has been
an excess of wrinkles, without other
qualities just as essential to perfect
Merino sheep as are the folds.
Were it not for the great increase in
the density of fleece these folds bring us
when judiciously used, | could agree
perhaps with Mr. Smith that we had bet
ter discard them, but Mr.. Smith is, |
think, greatly mistaken when he says
the "wrinkled sheep are also poor wool
producers | can cite the case of a
wrinkly ram that produced nine pounds
thirteen ounces of WOOL cleansed fit for
the cards, from carcass weighing 107
pounds, per cent of OH wool to live
weight, the growth of 362 days. An
other that from 107 pounds live weight
gave ten pounds three ounces of cleansed
wool, 27S days growth, a per cent of
about the same, taking the age of fleece
into consideration. | will cite the case
of eve that gave nine pounds two
ounces of cleansed wool from seventy
three pounds of carcass, grown in 363
days, a per cent of 1925 of wool TO live
weight. | will again cite the case of
nine ewes, averaging 353 days growth
of fleece, that gave an average Of seven
pounds ~ ounces of cleansed wool, av-
eraging 79i pounds live weight, or a
per cent of OIL. Most of these ewes
were heavily folded, and all were sired
by rams that were heavily wrinkled.
These amounts of cleansed wool, or
rather percentages of ceansed wool. are
quite as large, or larger, than are claim
ed by the breeders of long-wooled large,
smooth delaine MerinOs of wool in the
grease. and until Mr.. Smith can cite the
case or cases of rams and ewes without
wrinkles (not sired by wrnlily rams)
that have produced as large percentages
of wool shorn at public shearings, and
the fleeces cleansed under the superv-
sion of reliable committees, as those
have cited were, his arraignment of
wrinkly sheep as poor wool producers
remains unsupported by reliable proof.
As to the price fixed by dealers on the
mutton of wrinkly sheep, ! think | am a
very fair Judge of mutton carcasses, hav,
ing butchered a good many thousand
sheep, and fail to know how one is to
tell whether carcass of mutton had a
wrinkled skin on it or not. The very
best, sweetest, tenderest mutton | have
eaten was that produced by a heavily
wrinkled Merino eve that had stopped
breeding and was eight years old when
killed. On the other hand, the toughest
and poorest mutton have eaten for q
number of years was from smooth
young Shropshire. do not wish to be
understood by this as claiming that Me
rino mutton is superior to Shropshire
but any unprecedented person who had al
opportunity to test the mutton of these
two sheep, and should Judge between
the two, would, without any hesitation
pronounce Merino mutton much superior
to Shropshire. There is no doubt tina
the prejudice against Merno mutton il
derived from eating that which was yer,
imperfectly fattened. perhaps old cul
sheep that were killed after they had be
: come too old to be longer useful, and a
Merino sheep will be useful about twic
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