Sheep and Sheep Husbandry - Embracing Origin, Breeds, Breeding and Management; With Facts Concerning Goats - Containing Extracts from Livestock for the Farmer and Stock Owner

By A. H. Baker

This book contains classic material dating back to the 1900s and before. The content has been carefully selected for its interest and relevance to a modern audience. Each publication has been professionally curated and includes all details on the original source material. This particular instalment, "Sheep and Sheep Husbandry" contains information on origins, breeds, breeding and much more. It is intended to illustrate the main aspects of sheep husbandry and serves as a guide for anyone wishing to obtain a general knowledge of the subject and understand the field in its historical context. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Oct 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473354609

Book preview

Goat

Sheep and Sheep Husbandry

EMBRACING

ORIGIN, BREEDS, BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT;

WITH FACTS CONCERNING GOATS

DOREST SHEEP

Specially photographed for this work.

SHEEP AND SHEEP HUSBANDRY.

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CHAPTER I.

ORIGIN, ANATOMY AND POINTS.

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I.NATIVE COUNTRY OF SHEEP.——II. THEIR DIVERSIFIED CHARACTER.——III. ANATOMY OF THE SHEEP.——IV. TOP AND VERTICAL VIEWS OF SKULL.——V. DENTITION OF SHEEP.——VI. POINTS OF SHEEP EXPLAINED.——VII. DIVISIONS OF FINE WOOL.——VIII. COMPARATIVE VALUE OF FINE AND COARSE WOOL.——IX. RANGING AND FLOCKING OF DIFFERENT BREEDS.——X. REGIONS ADAPTED TO SHEEP.——XI. POINTS OF EXCELLENCE OF THE PRINCIPAL BREEDS.——XII. STANDARD FOR AMERICAN MERINOS.——XIII. STANDARD FOR MIDDLE-WOOLED SHEEP.——XIV. STANDARD FOR COTSWOLD SHEEP.

I. Native Country of Sheep.

The native country of sheep is not known, and has not been since the earliest historical times. There are no wild sheep known, if we except the Ovis Montana, or wild sheep of Montana, in the United States, though at the Paris exhibition of 1865, several wild (so-called) sheep were exhibited, although bred in confinement. Among these were the wild sheep of Barbary, Ovis Tragelapus, more resembling a goat than our wild species, which is really a sheep; and also the Punjaub wild sheep, Ovis Cycloceras, a native of Northern India, and the European moufflon, Ovis Musimon, belonging to Corsica and Sardinia.

II. Their Diversified Character.

That sheep were the earliest domesticated of any of the wild animals, there is no doubt. Abel was a keeper of sheep, the first recorded shepherd or herdsman of any kind. The great length of time since their domestication, is also shown by their widely diversified character. The classification of Linnaeus shows: The Hornless, Horned, Black-faced, Spanish, Many horned, African, Guinea, Broad-tailed, Fat-rumped, Bucharian, Long-tailed, Cap-bearded, and Bovant. To these may be added the Siberian sheep of Asia, found also in Corsica and Barbary, and the Cretan sheep of the Grecian Islands, Hungary, and some portions of Austria, making about all the principal sub-species.

III. Anatomy of the Sheep.

SKELETON OF LEICESTER SHEEP.

Explanation.—Beginning with the head, the references to cut of skeleton show: 1—The intermaxillary bone. 2—The nasal bones. 3—The upper jaw. 4—The union of the nasal and upper jaw bone. 5—The union of the molar and lachrymal bones. 6—The orbits of the eye. 7 —The frontal bone. 9—The lower jaw. 10—The incisor teeth or nippers. 11—The molars or grinders.

The Neck and Body.—1, 1—The ligament of the neck, supporting the head. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7—The seven vertebræ, or bones of the neck. 1 —13—The thirteen vertebrae, or bones of the back. 1—6—The six vertebræ of the loins. 7—The sacral bone. 8—The bones of the tail, varying in different breeds from twelve to twenty-one. 9—The haunch and pelvis. 1—8—The eight true ribs with their cartilages. 9—13—The five false ribs, or those that are not attached to the breast bone. 14—The breast