457 



ject him at once from further service. I do not often use my I'ams 

 after they are 5 or 6 years old, for when they have attained that age, 

 their progeny begins to fail in vigor and strength. Much, however, de- 

 pends upon the treatment he receives. If a ram is carefully used, not 

 over-ioorked, he will retain his vigor and elasticity much longer, and I 

 have known rams- 7, 8, or even 9 years of age, whose progeny was as 

 vigorous, as that from a ram of 3 years old. 



I select my stock rams with the greatest care, for I consider this the 

 most important point in breeding ; and here I find my records of great 

 value in aiding me to make the best choice. If, for instance, I have a 

 ram before me, who has, in every respect, the requisite quaUties, and 

 turning to my records, I find his ancestors occupy a high i-ank, that is, 

 stand in the first class for a number of generations back, I then have 

 no hesitation to appoint him a sire for my ewes, and in nine cases out of 

 ten, he acquits himself to my entire satisfaction. Or, if I have two 

 rams before me of equal quality and hardly knowing to which one to give 

 the preference, my records decide the question, for the one who has 

 got the best ancestry is preferred to the other. 



The experienced shepherd knows that even in full-blood flocks, not 

 all individuals are equal in quality of wool, size, form, &c., but that 

 some families arrive to much greater perfection than others. Here again 

 my records are of great value, for with their aid I can designate every 

 individual member of each family, and cross them with other families, 

 and in such divisions as I think most beneficial. For eleven years have 

 I thus managed my flock and selected my stock rams from those of my 

 own raising, and yet I have no very near relationship, and I can go on 

 eleven years more in the same manner and avoid that error ; only tak- 

 ing a little more trouble, and some years use more rams, than to a su- 

 perficial observer would seem necessary. Now if my sheep were not 

 numbered and recorded, I could not go on without running the risk of 

 injuring my flock by too close breeding. This is an important point in 

 the principle of breeding domestic animals of all kinds, and if once 

 lost sight of, the injury will soon be perceived by the experienced and 

 discerning eye ; often the injury is irreparable. That it is lost sight of 

 and is overlooked by too many of my brother shepherds, is but too true, 

 and this is one reason, why so many make but little progress in the 

 improvement of their flocks. These considerations lead me to the prin- 

 ciple of what is termed, " Ireeding in and in,'''' a principle that em- 

 braces much, and is but little understood by the great mass of our farm- 

 ers, b'.tt which, for want of time, I must pass over in silence. 



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