SHEEP 405 



mines to a great extent, the condition. Too much yolk is not desired, 

 but a sufficient amount is necessary to give the fleece a soft texture 

 and a bright lustre, which are indicative of health. The skin 'be- 

 neath the wool should be of a bright pink color. A bluish tint is 

 often found in the skin but should be discriminated against because 

 it may indicate lack of vigor and health. 



Comparative Judging. The foregoing discussion has dealt al- 

 most exclusively with observations on and descriptions of the good 

 and bad qualities of a single individual ; also methods of examination 

 of same. It has taken up the various features and considered them 

 more or less in detail. It is essential to become familiar with all 

 these details of an animal before a fair estimate of its true merit can 

 be made. The work so far has been a study of the ideal and a detec- 

 tion of faults and deviations from the standard required. In other 

 words, the work has consisted of accurate observations, which is an 

 analysis of conformation, quality, condition, etc. In actual sheep 

 judging, however, where several animals are brought together for 

 the judge to rate and place, the judge must balance these obser- 

 vations already made. This is altogether a matter of comparison and 

 may be called comparative judging. 



In the show ring, the judge must inspect each animal sepa^ 

 rately, then make a draft of the likely winners, by considering, bal- 

 ancing and comparing each of the main points separately and collec- 

 tively, until he is able to decide which animal, on the average, comes 

 most nearly to filling all the requirements of the standards for that 

 class. Such animal will be the first prize winner, the next best will 

 be the second prize winner, and so on until all the animals are placed 

 relative to their respective merit. 



In doing this work the judge keeps uppermost in mind the more 

 important features of general appearance, style, size, and conforma- 

 tion, quality, condition, and wool, at the same time, keeping in mind 

 that these features include collectively all details which he considers 

 may be made necessary by the presence of evenly balanced animals 

 in the ring. 



Feeder Sheep. When judging feeder sheep always keep in 

 mind the type that best meets the demands of the butcher. The 

 feeder that will come nearest to doing this when fat will be the most 

 profitable. 



Constitution and Form. From the market standpoint the 

 chest, breast, or underline require little consideration but in the view 

 of the feeder, these points are of great importance. To be profitable 

 to the feeder, a sheep must have a vigorous constitution, be able to 

 consume a large amount of feed and transform it into valuable meat 

 at the lowest possible cost. These characters are invariably associated 

 with a wide, deep chest, good depth of barrel, and well sprung ribs 

 to give ample room for the lungs, heart, and digestive organs. Good 

 si /o is desired because an animal is wanted that will attain a good 

 weight at an early age. A short, broad head with fine quality ears, 

 full, bright eyes, open nostrils, strong lips, and a short, thick neck, 

 deep body and short legs, all indicate a vigorous, thrifty animal 



