Scott Dover, age 8, of Danville, I11., for his question:
WHERE DID SHEEP ORIGINATE?
Long before man started to write history, shepherds watched flocks of sheep in the fields to guard them against wild animals. Although today sheep are found in all parts of the world, scientists tell us that they originally came from the high plateaus and mountains of Central Asia.
Today the largest of all wild sheep still live in the Altai Mountains of Siberia and Mongolia. Called the argali, they are directly related to the world's first sheep. The male argali stands four feet high at the shoulders and has spiral horns that are 20 inches around.
About half a dozen other kinds of wild sheep live in Asia now. Included is the Marco Polo sheep that live on the Asian plateaus of Pamir, three miles above sea level. The Marco Polo sheep is a bit smaller than the argali, but it is remarkable for the wild spread of its horns.
Australia today has become the world's leading sheep producing country. Here about one sixth of the world's sheep are raised. In Australia there are about 15 sheep for every person.
New Zealand is the fourth leading sheep country in the world, with Russia and China coming in second and third. In New Zealand there are 20 sheep for every person.
Here are the 10 leading sheep raising states, listed in order of importance: Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, California, South Dakota, Montana, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho and Ohio. Texas has about 3.5 million sheep while second place Wyoming has about 1.5 million.
Sheep are among the most important animals that man has tamed because they yield wool, meat and leather. They also furnish the raw materials for many byproducts, such as glue, tallow, suet, soap, fertilizer, cosmetics and the catgut used in stringing some tennis rackets.
Sheep can bite off grass much closer to the ground than cattle can. In fact, when sheep have eaten their fill, there is little plant life left.
All doemstic breeds of sheep are descended from two different kinds of wild sheep. These are the urial that lives in Southern Asia and the mouflon which is the only kind of wild sheep still living in Southern Europe. Both of these sheep probably resemble their original ancestors.
Many kinds of wild bighorn sheep live in North America.
Domestic sheep have been slowly and carefully changed from their wild ancestors. Originally, the wild sheep were tamed for the sake of their hides and milk. They were also used to carry burdens.
Very early they became important for their fleece. The coarse hair that covered the wild sheep was replaced with a soft coat of wool through breeding.
Only in the last 200 years have breeders developed sheep primarily for their meat.
Sheep today are classified into five groups, depending upon their fleece. These are fine wool, long wool., crossbred wool, medium wool and coarse wool. The coarse wool group is of little importance.