Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1900-01-05
DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR
OUR RURAL READERS.
How Successful Farmers Operate This
Department of the Farm-A Few
Hints as to the Care OF Live stock
and Poultry.
Sheep for BreedlIng.

Sheep for Breeding,
At the request of Secretary Coburn
of the Kansas board of agriculture,
John A, Craig, professor OF animal
husbandry of the Iowa Agricultural
College. delivered an address before
the boards recent annual meeting on
sheep; Good and Bad. Among
other interesting things contained
therein he outlines the points that
should be found in animals which are
to be used especially for breeding pur-
poses, and also the condition they
should be in. AS Prof. Craig is rec
ognized authority on all matters per-
tanning to sheep, the following may be
probably read and considered by all
| identified with this industry:
The ram should show masculinity in
many features. In those breeds that
have horns, the latter should spring
strong from the head and turn clear
| from the face. In all rams the face
should be broad between the eyes,
somewhat short, and with Roman
nose. The crest, or scrag, should be
thick and rising, and the neck full
point deserving emphasis Is the depth
of the chest. The body should sink
deep between the forelegs, and the ribs
back of the shoulder should be deep
and round, making the girth large and
the brisket prominent and wide-two
features that are indicative of strong
constitution. A live fleece, that is, one
that is springy and not dead to the
| fnIEah fhinlk
| covering of belly wool, is also indica-
tive of vigor or constitution. For the
same reason, in those breeds that are
wooded about the head, the more com
plete and dense this covering Is the
better it is liked. The legs of the ram
should be straight and strong. and
short. In movement, the ram should
be bold and active. This is often in
fuenced by the condition. A ram should
never be so heavy in flesh as to be use
less for service, as is too often the case
in the show ring. The flesh should be
even and firm, and not gathered In
masses or rolls at any part of the body
1t Is very apt to gather at the fore
flank, leaving the back bare or raw
Excessive condition is likely to make
:, the ram unwieldy in action, or result In
broken down paslerns, which usually
/ render a ram useless for breeding pur-
poses
! The eve should be rather long in tht
face, with fine features The necl
should be slender and without any o
the thickness noticeable in the ram
The body should be deep, round-ribbed
and specially long, so as to provid
room for the growing lamb The typ
of the good milking eve verges strong
3 ly toward that which is typical of til
: good dairy COW. The eve that milk
well, and consequently rears early ma
4 turing lambs, tends toward the wedg
, shape, deep in the chest, large bodied
and wide across the 1oins and hips
The condition of the eve should not b
such as to impair her breeding quail
ties. Excessive fairness, as a rule, !
3 N this way injurious. The flesh shoul
: be evenly distributed and not gatherei
: in punches about the tail-head, and
4 should be firm and not fiabby
a AS result of our consideration 0
the good and bad qualities of sheer
there arises the more important prob
; lem OF breeding to reproduce the form
e er and to remove the latter. / hay
q failed to find, up to this day, Wher
!, success has been obtained by in-and-i
Q breeding, eross-breeding, or any othe
4 form, but that there was man benin
: the system who knew well the merit
: and dement's of the animals he wa
breeding. And further, KNOWN
= these, he made his selection to get tn
y best blend. This is the basis of
9 method of breeding that arises froT
e what has gone before. For want OF
better term, | have named It balance
a breeding" and | believe that TIL
II method has the means of developin
! and adding to the good qualities an
: at the same time lessening and reno,
:. ing the dement's of our domestic an
mails.
To follow balanced breeding IN shee
:, would mean the selection of rams wit
II the leading thought of removing ii
N weakness of the flock. When one rea
c. ICES the force of balanced breeding an
#. acts on it in tine selection of sires,
:. is wonderful what strides may be mad
II toward perfection in few years VII
= this sire we correct a deficiency of tt
" fleece, and yet retain the good qualitit
of form; with another. we add lit
n more bone, another deepens the fles
ap on the valuable parts. and SO on, eac
AZ marking new advance; while clos'
. discrimination and ripper judgmel
NJ keep disclosing new features to be a
- tanned in each additional effort.
nj
Dairy Notes.
'As Winter is the time when we hes
&c most about difficulties with the crea
oy to be churned Sometimes it take tN
IN hours to come and sometimes 1t wi