Bell: The Six-Nippled Breed 



101 



^^if^ ^S' 



FEEDING THE SHEEP 



Figure l. Dr. Bell always kept a box of oats by the gate of the sheep pasture, which 

 was very close to his house. Very often when he came back from his office in the late 

 afternoon he would take some of his grandchildren down to feed the sheep. He was de- 

 lighted in having his flock tame enough so that they would eat from his hand. 



In the case of the lambs, both male 

 and female, the size and position of 

 the nip])les with reference to each other 

 was carefully noted and measured. 

 Often for further elucidation profile 

 drawings were made in the note-book. 

 Then the size and general bodily con- 

 dition of both sheep and lambs were 

 considered, and decision rendered 

 whether or not all requirements had 

 been successfully met. If the verdict 

 was unfavorable the ears of the lamb 

 were simply clipped to prevent future 

 confusion, and it was discarded from 

 "Mrs. Bell's Twin-Bearing Flock." 

 Holes were punched in the ears of the 

 accepted sheep after a method of Mr. 

 Bell's own devising, which through 

 their position designated the number 

 assigned to that particular lamb in the 

 sheep catalogue. This number was 

 given only to that sheep and will always 

 identify it beyond doubt. When the 

 owner of it, whether from failure to 

 meet later requirements or from other 

 causes, no longer belongs to the flock, 

 that number still remains in the cata- 

 logue, mute evidence of such a sheep 

 having once existed. 



In all, Mr. Bell this year examined in 

 this -minute way fifty-one sheep. It 

 involved two mornings of hard work 

 on the part of all four men en- 



gaged, and Mr. Bell followed this 

 by four nights of labor, going over 

 the results and tabulating them. This 

 meant filling ten large sheets of his 

 note-book with several columns of 

 figures and notes written in his own 

 small handwriting. All this was gone 

 through before the summary could be 

 started. 



Mr. Bell, of course, must have been 

 very tired at the finish, but he was too 

 much interested and pleased with the 

 condition in which he found his flock, 

 to be even aware of fatigue. 



The Summary is presented exactly 

 as Mr. Bell left it, and it is perhaps 

 interesting to note that the language 

 is exactly as it came from his lips, 

 without change or correction. He 

 looked the original dictation over, and 

 directed that it be typewritten as it 

 stood. 



He would, of course, have made 

 changes in its wording, had he himself 

 prepared it for publication, for he was 

 very critical of every word used and in 

 the construction of every sentence. The 

 formation of the last two sentences 

 Nos. 3 and 4 in the paragraph describ- 

 ing the result of the process of selec- 

 tion in "Mrs. Bell's Flock," for exam- 

 ple, will not scan, but is left untouched. 

 Mabel Gardiner Bell. 



