6n 



When rams from a stud (lock prove good sires it is an excellent 

 plan to keep to that line of blood. This style of breeding gives 

 great uniformity to the stock. Changing from one stud to another 

 and .totting a different type of ram every year invariably leads to 

 disappointment. 



For many years I used rams drawn from the one stock, and by 

 careful culling I got the sheep at last to be as uniform as if they had 

 been cast in the same mould. Of course, if the breeding in the stud 

 tails off a change should be made, and even if there is no falling off 

 a change is sometimes advisable if rams better calculated to improve 

 the sheep can be obtained. The sheep-breeder should have a 

 standard of excellence in his mind, and all his efforts should be 

 directed to breeding up towards that standard. 



FIGHTING RAMS. 



As the season for coupling approaches merino rams are much 

 given to righting, and the contests are so severe that a ram is 

 occasionally killed. The Americans have adopted an excellent 

 plan for preventing lighting among rams. This consists in fixing a 

 broad piece of stout leather to the animal's horns in front of his 

 face in the following manner : A visor of stiff leather (or if that is 

 not handy, bullock's hide will do) is shaped to extend from the 

 horns to a little below the eyes, and broad enough to cover the 

 face. In one top corner a hole is made sufficiently large to slip 

 over one horn, while at the other top corner a piece is cut out 

 to lit the horn ; ties of leather or string hold this firmly to the 

 horn and the visor is fixed. The ram can see to graze and 

 walk about, he can see the other sheep by slightly raising his head, 

 but directly he lowers his head to fight the view of his opponent is 

 lost to him, and the fight does not take place. This plan is now 

 generally adopted by the owners of stud sheep in Tasmania. A 

 very ancient means of preventing a ram from fighting was to bore 

 a hole through the horn near the head with a gimlet. I have 

 never known this plan tried, but it must be a painful operation for 

 the ram. 



PEDIGREE. 



No matter what breed of sheep is raised, the ram should 

 always be pure bred. I am no worshipper of pedigree merely 

 because it is pedigree, but experience has shown me, in every 

 variety of stock, that breeding from a pure sire is always advan- 

 tageous. The pure bred sire is more prepotent than the mongrel, 

 consequently the sheep-breeder who uses pure bred stock can make 

 a pretty fair estimate of what the produce will be like. It is not 

 so with the mongrel, who has no type to confer on his offspring. 

 But while I recommend the use of pure bred sires in all cases, that 

 purity of breeding must be accompanied by the high qualities of 

 form and fleece which it is intended to impress on the flock. 



