130 JUDGING SHEEP 



bodied and wiae across the loins and the hips. The con- 

 dition of the ewe should not be such as to impair her 

 breeding qualities. Excessive fatness as a rule is in this 

 way injurious. The flesh should be evenly distributed 

 and not gathered in bunches about the tail head, and it 

 should be firm and not flabby. 



186. Judging Lambs and Flocks. In judging lambs 

 the main consideration is to make due allowance for 

 the differece in age among the contestants. As to 

 the possibilities of future development, the judge can only 

 have his own experience and observation to guide him. 

 It may be said, however, that it will be found as a rule 

 that the short, smooth and thick lamb, which shows best 

 at five or six months old or under, will rarely develop into 

 a sheep of desirable size when mature ; while the lamb 

 that is more growthy, yet possessing a well knit frame, 

 showing some length and also quality, will develop both 

 size and smoothness. Stress should be laid on the strength, 

 straightness and firmness of the back and the depth of the 

 body. In judging flocks the rams that head them should 

 receive chief consideration, though this does not mean 

 that the uniformity and the type of the ewes should be 

 overlooked. An exceptionally good ram either in the 

 showing or in use as a sire will as a rule obliterate a 

 multitude of small faults in the remainder of the flock. 

 In reference to the ages of the individual in the flock, the 

 nearer they are to being yearlings the higher they should 

 be appraised. Younger than this calls for suppositions re- 

 lating to their development, and when they pass beyond 

 two years, their worth in the flock has last the value that 

 results from the production of one year, though it can- 

 not be said that the merit of the sheep has decreased in 

 any other respect. 



