116 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



tion of their flocks by the use of rams chosen for this pur- 

 pose from aii intermediate locality. 



It is for this reason that our Merino breeders are able to 

 get the high prices paid for rams in these distant great sheep 

 ranges. Those breeders know just what they want, and find 

 the first step in the necessary preparation of the breed has 

 been made here, and so they come hither to take the best 

 of our rams to complete the process in their own flocks. 





"ROYALIST." 



W. H. Gibson's Tasmanian Merino Ram, sold for 1,000 guineas ($5,000) at 

 the Sydney Ram Sale. 



It is for this reason too that our breeders may still 

 expect to find a constant demand for our best rains or ewes 

 for nothing more or less than this step in this process of ac- 

 cliniatation, having been made here, it is so much easier to 

 complete the process by the use of these intermediately ac- 

 climatized sheep. 



But it does not follow that American breeders are not 

 themselves forced to go back to the fountain head as regards 

 some of our breeds not yet as fully acclimatized here. We 

 ourselves need to sustain and improve every breed we have. 



