Annual Meeting 1125 



he should add ton yearlings to his flock each year and cull ont 

 about ten of his oldest and poorest ewes. He should never breed 

 his ewe lambs as lambs, but should keep them over until the 

 following autumn and then breed them. This will give him 

 stronger and better sheep. In my own flock, in the fall — say 

 in October or November — I go carefully over my ewe lambs and 

 pick out 25 or 30 of the best of them, taking their numbers. The 

 following sjiring, just after shearing time, I go over them again 

 to bo sure that I am right, and then I select the best of these, 

 pick out about 20, which I keep to add to my flock. All of the 

 ewes that have been so selected are never priced, and in fact 

 would not be sold to a buyer no matter how much money he 

 would pay for them. 



The man who does this will find that his flock will gradually 

 improve in quality and will soon be all tops, while if he pursues 

 the opposite course and sells his best ewe lambs or yearling ewes 

 and keeps the worst, he will soon find that his flock is so deteri- 

 orated that he will be disgusted with them and give up keeping 

 sheep. 



In regard to rams. Only the best should be selected in the 

 same way and the poorer lambs should be castrated. I should 

 say that at least a third of the output should bo made into 

 wethers. The rams coming from a flock so managed will be good 

 in character and will advertise the flock, as a pleased buyer will 

 not only come back again but will toll his friends of his purchase. 



Mr. Huson: I know you all feel very grateful to Mr. Ward- 

 well for this very instructive and entertaining address. I wish 

 time would permit a general discusion, not only of Mr. Ward- 

 well's address but that of IMr. ISTye ; but we are behind somewhat 

 on our schedule, and it will be necessary for us to take up the 

 next address, which is a very important one to all of us 

 engaged in breeding of animals. The subject is " The Principles 

 Fnderlying the Control of Infectious Diseases of Animals," by 

 Dr. Moore, Dean of the State Veterinary College at Ithaca. 



