Ewes on natural pas tures receive no hand feeding except a little hay when snow deeply covers the ground. The rams come in from the hills on Jan. z and are sent to winter on low ground. Weak ewes, not safe to survive the hardships of spring, are brought in to better pasture during February and March. Ewe hogs (ewe lambs or yearlings that have never been sheared) wintered on grass in the low coun try from Nov. I are brought home in April, and about the middle of April on the average mountain ewes begin to lamb. One lamb at weaning time for every ewe is rather over the normal amount of produce. Cheviot and cross-bred lambs are marked, and the males are castrated, towards the end of May. Nearly a month later Blackface lambs are marked and the eild (mature) sheep are shorn—the shearing of milch ewes (ewes nursing lambs) being delayed till the second week of July. Towards the end of July sheep are all dipped to protect them from maggot flies (which are generally worst during August) with materials containing arsenic and sulphur. Fat wethers for the butcher are drafted from the hills in August and the two succeeding months. Lamb sales are most numerous in August, when lowland farmers secure their tegs to feed in winter. In this month breeding ewes recover con dition and strength to withstand the winter storms. Ram auctions are on in September and draft ewe (a less desirable ewe sold from a stud flock) sales begin and continue through October. Early this month winter dipping is done at midday in dry weather. Early in November stock sheep having lost the distinguishing "buist" put on at clipping time with a large iron letter dipped in hot branding fluid, have the distinctive paint or kiel mark claimed by the farm to which they belong rubbed on the wool. The rams are turned out to the hills between Nov. 15 and 25. Low land rams put to breed half-bred and cross lambs receive about I lb. of grain daily to prevent their falling off too rapidly in condition, as they would do if exclusively supported on mountain fare. (R. WA. J. A. Mo.) American Sheep.—The established breeds of sheep in North America are of British, Spanish and French origin. The British breeds predominate in Canada and constitute considerably more than half of the pure-bred sheep in the United States. Mexico has shown more interest in Merinos and Rambouillets, which are of Spanish and French origin respectively. According to the 1920 census of pure-bred sheep in the United States, Shropshires made up 31% of those enumerated by breeds; Rambouillets, 27; Mer inos, 15; Hampshires, 13; Oxfords and Lincolns, each 4; Dorsets and Southdowns, each 2. The remaining 2% included Cheviots, Leicesters and Suffolks. Romneys, Cotswolds, Corriedales and
Karakuls are bred in the United States but are comparatively few and were not enumerated by breeds.
Shropshires are most numerous in the corn belt and Great Lakes regions; Rambouillets in the western range States, although they are also bred in some farm States, especially Ohio and Michigan. Merinos are most numerous in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsyl vania and Michigan, but they are also bred in other parts of the country, especially Oregon, California, New Mexico and Texas. Hampshires are most numerous in the western range country but are also important in farm States, notably New York, Pennsyl vania, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia. Oxfords are found in the North-Central States; Lincolns in the Mountain and Pacific States; Dorsets in the Middle Atlantic and East North Central States; Southdowns in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Vir ginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York; Cheviots in New York; Leicesters principally in the North-East and North-Central States. Romneys, Cotswolds, Corriedales, Suffolks and Karakuls are sparsely distributed in both farm and range areas.
Through selection these breeds have been modified to suit American conditions. Cross-breeding is also practised, especially in the western range country where forage is sufficiently abundant for finishing lambs by weaning time without grain. Under such conditions Rambouillet ewes are often bred to Lincoln or Hamp shire rams and Lincoln-Rambouillet cross-bred ewes to Hampshire rams for the production of market lambs. Lincoln-Rambouillet cross-bred sheep are proving well adapted to this kind of range sheep production and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been endeavouring since 1912 to establish this type by mating the cross-bred ewes to the cross-bred rams. The progress made is encouraging and this type is now known as the Columbia. Cor riedales are the result of interbreeding Lincoln-Merino crossbreds in New Zealand and they have been bred in the United States since 1914. While they are smaller than the Columbia they are similar in type and produce lambs and wool of excellent quality. Karakuls are bred for their famous lamb skins of tight, lustrous curls. (D. A. S.) See D. Low, Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Isles (1842, illustrated, and 1845) ; R. Wallace, Farm Live Stock of Great Britain (1923) ; and the Flock Books of the various breed societies; C. S. Plumb, Types and Breeds of Farm Animals; Watson and More, Agriculture: The Science and Practice of British Farming (1928) ; W. C. Coffey, Productive Sheep Husbandry; D. A. Spencer and others, The Sheep Industry, in U.S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook 1923, pp. 229-310.