FOR SHOW RING AND MARKET, 21 



cannot describe what bloom is; I have tried, time and again, 

 but in each attempt have I signally failed. The best answer 

 that I can give to the question is, that "Bloom is the extreme 

 height of condition to which an animal can be fed without 

 injury to its constitution that state or condition that can 

 promise of no higher perfection. As with a flower, there is 

 a day when a sheep may be said to be unripe, while the fol- 

 lowing day it may be in full bloom, again another day, and 

 like the flower it may be over ripe and on the downward 

 road to decay unless the shepherd be skilful enough to hold 

 him there. It is so with ourselves. There is a day when we 

 are at our best. 



Then why is it that the novice sometimes thinks himself 

 slighted and his sheep unfairly dealt with when, in his esti- 

 mation, his sheep are well fitted and "fat" enough to win 

 anywhere? Simply because his sheep are over-fitted and lack 

 bloom, he does not know where to draw the line between 

 bloom and blubber, but the judge does. The youthful exhib- 

 itor should endeavor to impress upon his own mind the fact 

 that a sheep that is gaining in flesh is to a certain extent in 

 bloom, but not in the sense that applies to show stock. A 

 sheep going up hill is not in bloom, neither is a sheep that 

 is on the downward course, but the one that is on the crest 

 of the hill, as it were, is. 



It is a comparatively easy matter to get our sheep in 

 bloom, but'a very difficult one to keep them in that desirable 

 condition. When we once have them in bloom we must 

 keep watch that they do not get over-fat, soft, and blubbery. 

 An animal that is "on the shrink" will handle soft, as likewise 

 will an overdone specimen. 



It is not advisable for an inexperienced feeder to attempt 



