86 BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



appearance. If not well buried they suggest the unimproved 

 sheep, and the filling-in behind the shoulders is not complete ; this 

 makes a narrow girth round the heart that is, behind the shoulders. 

 Deepness through the heart is so important that it must never be 

 disregarded. Both the fore and hind legs should be set on squarely, 

 neither turned inwards nor outwards too much. A good leg of 

 mutton is an important part of a sheep, as it is one of the most 

 valuable joints on the animal. The legs should be full from all 

 points of view, and the meat should come down well towards the 

 hocks. Squareness of frame when viewed from behind is greatly 

 increased when the legs join well below the tail. If they fork too 

 high up, the legs are not well developed. 



The wool should grow thickly on the skin, and should be fine in 

 texture and free from dark hairs, except in a few hill breeds. Many 

 breeds of Down sheep have been developed from heath breeds 

 which, in an unimproved condition, have a large quantity of 

 black, harsh hairs intermixed with the wool, especially about the 

 hindquarters and the head. These should be bred out, because they 

 are not only injurious to the wool, but indicate insufficient care 

 in breeding and want of thriving properties. When much dark 

 hair is intermixed with the wool on the thighs the sheep are called 

 " breechy." However, hair on the thighs assists water to drain 

 more freely from wool, and in wet, hilly districts this may be 

 an advantage ; and in some breeds a little breechiness is not objected 

 to as indicating the stronger constitution, which results from the 

 absence of chilling which wetter wool promotes. 



The skin should be clear and healthy ; in almost all breeds a 

 clear pinkish skin is best. A dark skin is likely to produce dark 

 wool. Sheep with dark skins are liable to produce snags. 



The underside of a sheep should be well covered with wool. This 

 adapts them for cold lair. Those with little wool below thrive 

 badly on cold soils, particularly in wet winters. 



Handling. " Handling " sheep conveys the idea of touching 

 them to see in what condition they are. The most important 

 points to handle when dealing with ordinary farm sheep with a 

 view to sale or purchase, are the loin, dock, neck, and scrag. The 

 hand should be stretched across the loin, which will show its width 

 and firmness ; the fingers should be drawn up to the spine to prove 

 how much it protrudes. The dock should be gripped to ascertain 

 its breadth and fatness ; and the " nick," a depression felt for a 

 short space along the spine above the tail, should be found by the 

 fingers, because its size denotes the fatness of the animal, as it is 

 formed by the protrusion of fat on the sides of the spine. If the 

 loin is firm and flat, the dock broad, and the nick well defined, the 

 sheep will " die " well, as these denote that the animal is in a 

 good condition internally, and that the kidney fat is well 



