FITTING SHEEP FOR SHOW RING AND MARKET. 25 



should be reduced in strength by adding water; and as the 

 lamb gets older the milk may be fed stronger. I, however, 

 cannot recommend the plan, and have followed it but little. 

 If the lambs come early and both they and their dams are 

 abundantly and regularly furnished with succulent rations, 

 and a reasonable amount of good, sound trough-feed, until 

 weaning time, and after that the lambs are fed a little heavier 

 of some first-class lamb food, the difference of size or con- 

 dition between these and the milk-fed ones is hardly, or, at 

 all, discernable. I have raised some extra good lambs that 

 had been taught to suck a cow; but when weaned from their 

 foster mother, disaster has ofttimes followed, and I cannot 

 but condemn the practice. . 



Early Lambs Best for Show. 



The early lamb is without doubt the lamb par excellence 

 for show purposes. As before intimated, the combination 

 of size and quality must naturally win over quality minus the 

 desirable size. The would-be-exhibitor, therefore, being 

 aware of this fact, would do well to select some of his best 

 ewes and breed them as early as practical to the best rams 

 his means will admit of, so that the lambs will be of good 

 size by the time the show season opens. Although the best 

 ewes cannot be said to raise the best lambs, at all times, of 

 course it is sound policy to breed from the best at command. 



Getting Ewes in Season. 



Where difficulty exists in getting our ewes in desirable con- 

 dition for the acceptance of the rams' amorous attentions, a 

 change from the ordinary ration or pasture field to a field of 



