IN-BREEDING
THE SHEEP INDUSTRY. At one time there was a great craze for in-breeding and for mating animals so closely related that risks were run of the offspring being devoid of constitution. Nowadays, happily, this craze has almost died out, and wiser counsels prevail. In the sheep world resolute men, such as John Ellman, of Glynde, and Jonas Webb, of Babraham, were two of those great breeders who took a stand against the custom of in-breeding too closely. Jonas Webb wanted a little more size in his Southdowns, and so he bred for size and attained his point without any. loss of quality in mutton or wool. He believed that the larger Southdowns were likely to be more popular all over the country than the more diminutive sheep, but he did not in-breed to attain his object. Ellman started out to improve the symmetry of the carcass and to put the flesh in the right places, while he also aimed at increasing the weight of the fleece without damage to the mutton. Both these great men succeeded in the work they set out to accomplish.
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Bibliographic details
Waipa Post, Volume 38, Issue 2270, 19 February 1929, Page 7
Word Count
185IN-BREEDING Waipa Post, Volume 38, Issue 2270, 19 February 1929, Page 7
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