130 JUDGING SHEEP 



qualities. Excessive fatness as a rule is in this way in- 

 jurious. 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 

 difference in age among the contestants. As to the pos- 

 sibilities of future development, the judge can only have 

 his own experience and observation to guide him. It may 

 be said, how'ever, 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, show- 

 ing 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 individuals in the flock, 

 the nearer they are to being yearlings the higher they 

 should be appraised. Younger than this calls for sup- 

 positions relating to their development, and when they 

 pass beyond two years, their worth in the flock has lost 

 the value that results from the production of one year, 

 though it cannot be said that the merit of the sheep has 

 decreased in any other respect. 



