180 SHEEP : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

 EXHIBITION SHEEP. 



THE production of the splendid specimens of sheep which 

 form a principal attraction at all agricultural shows takes us 

 out of the ordinary routine of farm management, and intro- 

 duces us to one of the mysteries of the art of stock-keeping. 

 The contrast between a pen of wethers at Islington, or a pen 

 of ewes at any great show of breeding stock, and ordinary 

 wethers or ewes as seen on the farm or at a fair, is very strik- 

 ing indeed. How such a result is obtained must indeed 

 appear a curious question to the uninitiated, and it is not 

 too much to say that it could not be achieved at all without 

 a prior outlay of many hundreds of pounds, and an application 

 of skill which could not be emulated by any person outs : le 

 the mystery. We do not say that it is impossible for a man 

 to forthwith enter the arena, or that if enough money is 

 expended he might not at once take his place among the 

 aristocracy of the breeding fraternity. But we do say that 

 his object could only be secured by a heavy outla} 7 , and the 

 purchasing of the results of years, or even generations of 

 patient workers. A first-prize pen at a national show in a 

 country such as England means a great deal. It means a large 

 flock from which to choose, careful breeding for years, and 

 skill in feeding and in selecting the animals sent up. The 

 success could not be achieved without cordial co-operation 

 between master and shepherd, both fulfilling their part in 

 securing the result ; and hence, without various qualifications, 



