FOR SHOW RING AND MARKET. 61 



The Relation of Shepherd and Flockmaster. 



Shepherds, like poets, are born, not made. A shepherd in 

 the truest sense of the word is considerably more than a man 

 that herds sheep. A shepherd is one endowed with instinct 

 and skill that is remarkable when it pertains to the manage- 

 ment of a flock. The inherent love for the work debars him 

 from giving up his humble calling for one of a more elevating 

 and remunerative nature. The fold is the paradise of the 

 shepherd. The sheep are his children. His one topic of 

 conversation is sheep! sheep! sheep! A good shepherd is a 

 busy man, and a business man. Shepherds' abilities vary to 

 a very considerable extent. In the general management of a 

 flock many are adepts at their business, but lack ability in the 

 preparation of specimens for the show ring, where good 

 flocks are to be found. There also should be found mutual 

 friendship existing between flockmaster and shepherd, famil- 

 iar chats and an exchange of ideas between flockmaster and 

 shepherd bring about untold good. It is usually more satis- 

 factory for a shepherd to take care of a flock whose owner is 

 an expert shepherd himself one who knows the ins and outs 

 of the busines, and knows when his shepherd is or is not, 

 doing the right thing with his flock. A flockmaster not him- 

 self an expert in the management of the flock, could not do 

 better than leave the practical management of same to the 

 discretion and riper judgment of his shepherd, after having 

 made clear to him his wishes, as to the result desired to be 

 attained. If a shepherd has not the ability to run a flock to 

 the owner's satisfaction, the owner has his remedy. For a 

 flockmaster who is not well posted, who is incompetent, -to 

 interfere in the management of a flock that an expert shep- 

 herd has been hired to take charge of, is fatal to his own 



