Karakul Sheep. 521 



Such descriptions are absolutely necessary, as the mating of the sheep 

 depends upon the curl, etc., of the pelt. The mating- of the ewe lambs 

 is thus done with the lamb before the breeder, and it would seem that 

 this method of mating will always have to be followed while the 

 breeder's object is the improvement of the curl. We can never know 

 sufficiently about the fleece of the adult to be able to tell exactly what 

 the curl was like as a lamb, where it needed tightening up, etc., and 

 in the case of ram lambs it is perhaps more important. If these lamb 

 descriptions are not made and kept and used as the ultimate deciding 

 factor, many a ram which had a very indifferent pelt will be kept 

 for stud because of build, size, and other good points. It is our 

 practice at Grootfontein to note at the time a lamb is described, in 

 the case of rams, whether the sheep is good enough to watch with 

 tho possibility of using him at stud later. All the rams thus noted 

 are carefully examined later and a final decision come to, but no 

 other rams are ever considered for retaining no matter how well they 

 grow out or how promising their fleece at ten or eleven months of 

 age may seem. 



Breeders are also strongly recommended to photograph all the 

 ewe lambs born, except " niggers " or others having such faults so as 

 to enable the owner to cull them, and also all the ram lambs which 

 m.ay possibly be retained at stud. It is impossible by means of 

 description alone to recall the pelt of every lamb to mind, and when, 

 after breeding for some years, the breeder has to decide which of two 

 rams to keep for stud, reference to the photos of their dams and 

 grand-dams will almost always enable the correct choice to be made. 

 Such an instance actually occurred on Grootfontein during this lamb- 

 ing season, when it became necessary to select a son of one of the old 

 stud rams. The choice laj^ between two lambs, one a class lA and 

 the other a 1-2A, i.e. just a shade looser in curl. Eeference to the 

 lamb photos of the dams decided the writer in favour of the 1-2A 

 beyond all doubt. For these photos a postcard size camera is best, as 

 the photos are quite large enough and they can easily be retained in 

 postcard albums. 



For the information of breeders a page out of the lamb book at 

 Grootfontein is annexed. It will be seen that at the top of the page 

 occurs the lamb's number and sex. On the first line the date of birth, 

 parentage, and class, and then follows the description. Notice also 

 that the future mating of the lamb is given at the foot of the page, 

 and the mating of the dam for the following season. These matings 

 are, of course, often changed Avhen young rams are tried at stud, but 

 the type of curl, etc., of each ram is, of course, known, and, should 

 any change be necessary, a ram of the same type is used. 



Tagging Lambs. — Every lamb, when its description is taken, 

 should be tagged with a numbered tag. This is essential for purposes 

 of keeping proper registers, for purposes of mating, etc. It is the 

 praitice in both the Government flocks to tag all pure-bred karakuls 

 in the right ear only at present, and all grade karakuls in the left 

 ear. This method has this great advantage, that it prevents any 

 possible mistake arising if a tag is lost, as the tear will at once 

 indicate whether the sheep was pure-bred or not. It has been found 

 on Grootfontein that tagging close to the base of the front of the 

 ear is much more satisfactory than tagging at the back, none of the 

 tags in tlie former position having been torn out. 



