CHAPTER III. 



BREEDING. 



THE RAM. 



In the selecting and mating of the breeders, the flock- 

 master must bear in mind that the ram is half the Hock. Therefore, 

 if the farmer is not able to secure ewes of the very highest type of 

 the breed of sheep he desires to raise, all advance toward that 

 standard must be made by means of the rams used in the fleck. To 

 use scrub rams means to go backward, and to save money by pur- 

 chasing moderate animals is false economy. It is money lost and 

 not money saved to adopt such a practice, and he who follows that 

 course will never make a good sheep farmer or raise a profitable 

 flock. 



The ram should be of robust constitution, this is the main point, 

 and come of sound stock. He should be well shaped, showing a 

 good back ; well sprung ribs ; stand squarely on his legs ; have a 

 strong neck, and a good masculine head showing character and 

 breeding. In all breeds there should be no weakness in the fleece 

 on the top of the shoulder and along the back. In merinos the 

 wool should be well supplied with yolk and there should be a pro- 

 nounced black tip to the wool. This tip is not valuable in itself, 

 save that it helps to preserve the wool from the withering effects of 

 the hot sun. A small lock of wool is not a recommendation to a 

 merino ram, and the Lincoln should have a heavy lock with a blunt 

 tip, not a pointed one. The merinos and Lincolns should have 

 wool on the head ; a bald-faced merino ram has some bad blood in 

 his pedigree. The hair on the face of a merino should be soft, not 

 hard and coarse. The ears should be thick and have a soft feel. 

 A thin eared merino ram has bad blood in his pedigree. The eye 

 should be soft, not prominent and fiery. The horn should be of 

 fair size, with a double and spiral curve, not close to the head, or 

 standing wide out. A polled ram is not objectionable on that 

 account. The celebrated flocks bred by Messrs. T. and G. Pass- 

 more, Tasmania, were greatly in-bred to a polled ram used in the 

 flock over half a century ago. The merino ram is a horned animal 

 certainly, but I can see no more use for horns on our sheep than for 

 horns on our cattle. It would be the saving of many a good ram's 

 life if all the horns were off our merino sheep. 



