630 Journal of Agricuh'i^rc. [8 Oct., 1907. 



practice of cutting into siiape, which is really dishonest trimming; the 

 top of the shoulder and backs of these sheep are by some sellers levelled 

 off with the shears, and the sides cut level with tlie forearm or thigh, 

 giving the sheep a level and full girth appearance. 



Care should be taken, but not too much attention should be paid to 

 woolly heads and outward appearance. In flock rams, good girth is first — 

 thick neck and level shoulders and good quarters are nearly always 

 associated with it ; clean bright skin, and a good useful fleece come 

 second. Good leg of mutton, bone, head covering, colour, and the many 

 necessarv and valuable points in a stud ram that go to make a type, are 

 not necessary to the lamb raiser. He wants the results of stud breeding 

 as gained by constitution and not the fancy points ; without the ability 

 to thrive we can have none of these, for it all comes from the good use of 

 the feed given, controlled by judgment in mating. 



Eives. — Good ewes in any class of sheep-breeding are half the battle, 

 and indeed more so, for they have the rearing of the lamb after, apart 

 from their influence in blood. We will be dependent on the larger grazier 

 to a certain extent for a supply of the right sort of these in future. 

 Correct rams without correct ewes are not sufficient; in ewes more so than 

 in rams, it is, as before stated, not so much a matter of breed as it is 

 tne shape of the sheep used. Where possible, farmers should keep their 

 best shaped and fleeced ewes ; a ewe can grow a fleece to more than pay 

 for her keep, and leave the lamb clear. The point is, when once you get 

 good shaped and wool-cutting ewes why sell the best ewe lambs ? Why 

 not keep increasing the good qualities alreadv procured ? 



Pure versus grade rams. — There is plenty of evidence to show that 

 there are not sufficient of the correct shape pure breeds of English sheep 

 to supply the demand for rams, and that gra<le rams of every breed are 

 being extensivelv used, and further we often hear it advocated to use 

 only pure sheep. Whv a good pure bred sheep is so' valuable is, that he 

 will throw truer than a grade, and this being so, and we are forced to use 

 badly shaped and fleeced pure ones, then it is evident that we cannot do 

 anything much worse, especially so, if he be descended from another bad 

 one before him ; but on the other hand, if a grade ram is of good shape 

 and fleece, and he is well bred, that is, comes from sheep of good form and 

 good cross, in practice he will give the best results. 



]MiLK Lambs. 



The object that appears most desirable at present is, that lambs should 

 be ready for freezing just as the ewe is beginning to go ofi^ milk. With 

 many this has to be assisted by growing rape and other fodder crops, 

 according to the class of land. These lambs can be made from 30 to 

 40 lbs. weight at from 4 to 5 months old ; they are then the most valuable 

 for the time kept and the fodder eaten, and in reliable rainfall districts 

 they should be lambed so that the farmer has the assistance of the spring 

 months to help with artificial crops. In no case should a lamb suffer a 

 check. Keeping the ewes in good heart, lambing the lambs strong, and 

 using the searing iron, marking as young as possible, are now recog- 

 nised as assisting to get the lambs to the required weight while on the 

 mother. With the attention that should be given to shape rather than to 

 breed, the adoption of the methods just mentioned, and the increasing 

 custom of sowing green fodder crops, we will be able to send off a qualitv 

 quite equal to best Canterbury and what is of as much importance also, a 

 more consistent supply, which we could not ipIv on from natural pastures. 



