178 Sheep Management, Breeds and Judging. 



older show fitters. Not every one who started in 

 this work can today look back with pride at his 

 record. Many tried to fit and show once or twice, 

 but today they are no longer in the race for they 

 dropped out simply because they were not success- 

 ful at the start. It seems as if only a small num- 

 ber of men naturally possess the necessary liking 

 for sheep, the personal qualifications, and the un- 

 bounded persistency and self-sacrifice necessary 

 to make a success of this work. For some men it 

 is too tiresome a job, others have not enough pa- 

 tience to feed so carefully as is required to obtain 

 the best results. Others find it too troublesome to 

 be down on their knees a good deal of their time 

 molding out a sheep with the shears to a perfect 

 form. 



"This work of fitting prize winners may be 

 classed among the fine arts," said Prof. W. A. 

 Henry at one time. This is indeed very true, and 

 those who have practiced this line of work for 

 years fully agree with this statement. Yet while 

 there are many happy hours in the showman's life 

 there are apt to be a great many more that are 

 dark and gloomy. The sweet as well as the bitter 

 medicine must be swallowed. No one can show 

 more plainly whether he really is a man or not 

 than when he meets with defeat in the show ring. 

 Grumbling and disorderly conduct towards the 



