MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 177 



fell from a favorite ewe he would stand and look at it and move 

 it about for an hour or more." 



SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCK. 



To be a successful breeder one must be a good judge of the 

 breed he handles, and to become a good judge it is necessary that 

 he be in love with and a faithful student of that breed. Even 

 those who have had a life-long experience with a breed are not 

 always good judges of that breed, for sometimes they lack natural 

 intuition or are not keen students of same. 



Type and breed character are the first considerations in se- 

 lecting subjects for the breeding pens or showring, for without 

 these we cannot hope to be successful. Next to type comes qual- 

 ity in fleece and general conformation. All the size possible is a 

 good thing, provided it keeps company with quality. That a good 

 big animal must be more valuable than a smaller one it is super- 

 fluous to mention. The highest average of quality is found in 

 animals of medium size, but this does not mean that no large ani- 

 mal carries quality in the superlative degree, for some of the 

 champions of the different breeds shown in this and other coun- 

 tries have been conspicuous not only for their quality but their 

 size also. 



CONSTITUTION 1 . 



Someone has tritely and truthfully said: "Without consti- 

 tution we have no sheep." To purchase a flock that is constitu- 

 tionally weak is to fail in the sheep business. To abuse a flock 

 until its constitution suffers, as too often is the case, also means 

 failure. To keep a hill country sheep on the lowlands or the 

 heavy mutton breeds whose habitat is the lowlands on poor hilly 

 lands is to court failure, as their constitutions must ultimately 

 become damaged. These are matters pertaining to constitution 

 which are worth pondering over. Because a sheep is big is no 

 reason why he should be sound constitutionally. Some big sheep 

 are built upon lines almost entirely in opposition to the laws gov- 

 erning a sound constitution. For instance, how often do we see 

 sheep of huge proportions, with sides so flat or "slabbed" as to 

 make it impossible for it to carry a properly developed and healthy 

 pair of lungs. Then in muscle such are often found to be sadly 

 lacking. Then in breadth of skull, thickness of neck and width 

 between the eyes they are anything but what they should be. When 

 a sheep has well-sprung ribs, plenty of heart-room, stands low on 

 leg, is thick in crops and twists and has ample breadth of skull 

 it usually dies of an acquired disease, rather than a constitutional 

 one. 



