I2O SHEEP ! BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



but in securing good sheep. In mating we may follow the 

 advice of the Quaker with reference to matrimony : " Don't 

 marry for money, but go where money is." So in buying 

 rams, do not select merely on the ground of high price, but 

 go to the best flocks, and be prepared to back your opinion. 

 No doubt mistakes are made, but, on the other hand, the 

 best will always command bidders among rival breeders, and 

 the price will run up there is no help for it. A breeder 

 will always find it expedient to be a buyer, but he should 

 also keep back some of his own sheep for service. Uni- 

 formity is a point which should not be disregarded, and this 

 is scarcely to be achieved without consolidating the parti- 

 cular characters of a flock by breeding from and with itself. 

 Besides, by keeping back a few of the best lambs of a good 

 flock probably better sires are secured than could be obtained 

 elsewhere, except at extreme prices, and hence the very best 

 lamb or lambs should be retained, or let for a limited time, 

 as in all respects likely to improve and amalgamate the 

 elements of the flock. 



Most flocks have a character of their own. It is the im- 

 press of the mind of the breeder reduced to palpable form 

 through his selective powers. The breeder carries his type 

 of sheep about with him in his mind's eye, and nothing quite 

 pleases him which does not come up to this image. His beau 

 ideal must have a well-covered head, a good " scrag," a wide 

 shoulder. He will not forgive light fore- quarters, defective 

 wool or colour, and hence this man's flock will probably 

 reflect his fancy more than his aversions. On the same 

 principle, if he is a judge at a show he will recommend no 

 sheep for a prize unless it is up to his particular standard, 

 and hence exhibitors look out if they have an inkling that he 

 is coming, and draw and alter their exhibits accordingly. 

 There is also the influence of soil, which no doubt affects 

 sheep, making them looser or tighter in the coat, larger or 

 smaller in frame, or lighter or darker in feature. These two 

 chief factors, the master's ideal and the situation, both act 



