92 BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



a draft of the best lambs the flock is improved yearly, especially 

 when the ewes are put to a high-class ram. An endeavour should 

 be made to obtain similarity of type and features, as sheep, whether 

 sold in a large flock or in small pens of five, always realise a better 

 price when they are well matched in colour and shape of the heads, 

 in size, and in quality of the wool. Quality is the English sheep- 

 farmer's watchword, as it is only by producing meat of better 

 quality than the foreigner that he can reap the advantage which 

 the soil, climate, and better farming of England afford. Let the 

 aim therefore be quality. This is more difficult to get than size. 

 Too great size, especially in breeds whose special value is in their 

 mutton, is a mistake, as coarse joints are not wanted. Quality is, 

 however, compatible with size, but quality must stand first. Select 

 the ewes with this view. Refuse those which are coarse, gaunt, 

 and narrow in the forequarters. 



Culling Ewes. After each weaning the flock should be over- 

 hauled, so that those no longer worth keeping in it may be taken 

 out to make room for the draft of young ones. The first to go 

 should be the barren or guest ewes ; then those which have had 

 diseases of the udder, or are abnormally deficient in their supply 

 of milk. A short supply of milk is not uncommon in ewes with 

 their first lamb, so too much notice should not be taken in the 

 first year. Those which had an inversion of the womb should not 

 be bred from again. As ewes have to " cut " or graze much of 

 their food, often from bare pastures, or following other sheep on 

 roots, it is necessary that their front teeth should be sound. On 

 stony land the teeth are frequently broken off when they are com- 

 paratively new. and they gradually wear away under any circum- 

 stances, so that from the time the teeth are fully developed their 

 grazing powers are lessened. When they can no longer graze 

 sufficiently for their proper sustenance, it is of no use to keep them 

 in the flock, as the extra labour of producing a lamb brings them 

 to the point of starvation, and either the ewe or the lamb is bound 

 to suffer. The ewes withdrawn from the flock should be sold or 

 fattened off as quickly as possible, according to the food at disposal. 



