456 BRITISH HUSBANDRY, [Ch. XXXIX. 



matter by which the ewes are marked when they have been tupped, and if 

 more tlian one ram be put among tlie flock, tlie ewes which have been 

 served by eacii can be ascertained by giving different sorts of colour. This, 

 however, often causes disappointment, for the tup occasionally leaps with- 

 out effecting his object, and it sometimes happens that the ewes do not 

 " blossom" — or come in season for taking the male ; in which case some other 

 means should be tried for inducing them, and, if not successful, they must 

 then be either sold or fattened off. The best mode of effecting the object 

 is to feed the animal with some stimulating food — such as oil-cake, corn, 

 or linseed ; but rape, full-blown clover, or any very nutritive herbage, will 

 probably attain the object, and may also have considerable effect in the pro- 

 duction of twins. Another plan, has, however, been adopted by some flock- 

 masters in the view of both ensuring the service of the ewe, and of prevent- 

 ing the powers of a superior tup from being unnecessarily wasted by having 

 too many ewes put to him at once: it is this — he is placed in a small 

 enclosure with only a few ewes, while among the ewe flock an ordinary ram 

 is put as a " teaser," with a patch of cloth like an apron sewed before his 

 genitals, in such a manner as to prevent any possibility of his serving the 

 ewe. When singled out by the teaser, she is taken by the shepherd to the 

 ram ; and, when served, taken away again : by which means, and thus not 

 promiscuously putting all the ewes to the ram at the same time, high fed 

 tups will effectually serve as many as four or five score*. 



The well-known description of a tup, given by that eminent breeder, 

 the late Mr. George Culley, is in the hands of every man who values his 

 flock, and if not in all cases adopted, will at least be found to contain useful 

 hints for the selection ; for there can be little doubt that the nearer he 

 comes to that appearance, the more generally perfect will be his formt. 



In addition however to symmetry, the " pelt " should be attentively 

 examined, in order to ascertain that the wool — whether the sheep be of the 

 short or long-woolled breed — be not stitchy-haired, or full of " kemps ;" as 

 well as that its staple be sound and even. He should not, of course, be 

 chosen unless perfectly sound and vigorous, nor until after he has become 

 a shearling, and he should be previously well fed so as to be brought into 

 high condition ; he is in his prime from one till five years old, and should 

 not be used after he lias reached his sixth ; but for the improvement of the 

 flock, a proper choice of the tups to be used is the point of the greatest 

 importance. In breeding from varieties possessing, on one side, a valu- 

 able fleece with a defective form, and on the other, a good form with an 

 inferior fleece, the result will be a flock comprising individuals wliich par- 



* See the Leicestershire Report, p. 2G2. 

 f His head should be fine and small, his nostrils wide and expanded, his eyespro- 

 miiient, and rather bold or daring; ears thin, his collar full from the breast and shoulders, 

 but tapering gradually all the way to where the head and neck join, which should be 

 very fine and graceful, being perfectly free from any coarse leather hanging down ; the 

 shoulders broad and full, which must, at the same time, join so easy to the collar for- 

 ward and chine backward, as to leave not the least hollow in either place; the mutton 

 upon his arm or forethigh must come quite to the knee ; his legs upright, with a clean 

 fine bone, being equally clear from superfluous skin and coarse hairy wool from the knee 

 and hough downward ; the breast broad and well formed, which will keep his forelegs 

 at a proper wideness ; his girth, or chest, full and deep, and instead of a hollow behind 

 the shoulders, that part, by some called the foreflank, should be quite full; the back and 

 loins broad, flat, and straight, from the waist ; the ribs must rise with a fine circular 

 arch ; his belly straight ; the quarters long and full, with the mutton quite down to the 

 hough, which should neither stand in nor out ; his twist deep, wide, and full, wliich, 

 with the broad breast, will keep his four legs open and upright; the whole body covered 

 with a thin pelt, and that with fine, bright soft wool. — Cul/ey on Live Slock, p. 103. 



