fleece

great !!!

This photograph appears on page 171 of the book Yesterday's Tomorrows - the Powerhouse Museum and Its Precursors 1880 - 2005. Captioned: The highly folded skn and dense fleece of American Vermont sheep promised to greatly increase the Australian wool yield. Although they certainlhy contricuted in sone part to the Australian merion genotype, Vermont genes reduced the fineness of many flocks and increased susceptibility to blowfly strike." There is more about Vermont sheep and their wool on pages 172 - 174 of that book. More than a century of breeding has led these sheep to no longer have such pronounced wrinkling it seems. So this photograph is quite the historic curiosity of sheep breeding. Read a bit about it here: www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/28/28-6/Alan_Harman.html

Wonderful historic photos!

Hi, this photo has been mentioned in a discussion thread in the Flickr Commonsgroup, and we'd love to have this added to the group pool! -- Seen in a discussion of Flickr Commons. (?)

Cute almost shaggy like a sheepdog. Love the photo.

awesome!

I'd like to know the story behind this picture--why does this sheep have a name, and why was a photograph of him commissioned? Is he particularly eminent or distinguished in some way?

OK, just found the link above: " Shown here is the most common variety of sheep in the Scottish Borders and Highlands - the Scottish Blackface. Their wool is highly prized for its hardwearing qualities and the Blackface horns add a distinctive look to walking sticks and shepherds' crooks. Photographs of livestock were not uncommon during the turn of the century, as landowners took pride in their husbandry. The side view gives us a clear idea of the physical qualities of the breed: the long thick fleece, the curvy horns, the black face and the magnificent posture. "