ESTABLISHING A FLOCK AND IMPROVING IT 459 



ternational Fair held in Chicago the following year. They 

 were awarded champion honors for the best pen of five 

 lambs in the grade classes in competition open to the 

 world. One of the number was awarded first honors in 

 the dead meat class at the same fair. Thus quickly may 

 improvement be affected by judicious upgrading. 



It may not be correct to say that in-breeding should 

 not be practiced to any extent, but if practiced it should 

 be with caution and the exercise of much good judgment. 

 When the mating is correct, good qualities will be in- 

 tensified, but when incorrect, those that are undesirable 

 will likewise be intensified. The mission of in-and-in- 

 breeding is to aid in the establishment of breeds, 

 rather than to aid in the establishment of flocks from 

 breeds already established. With properly chosen sires, 

 in-and-in-breeding is safer in grade than in pure-bred 

 flocks, as the former are usually possessed of more of the 

 elements of ruggedness than the latter at the time of the 

 establishment of the flock. But even in grade flocks it is 

 of questionable utility unless when the flock is being es- 

 tablished, because of the hazard incurred. The evils to 

 be feared are loss of size and stamina, and also more or 

 less prolificacy. But it may not only be allowable, but 

 judicious, to use the first sire chosen on his progeny. 



Improvement through selection — Selection in a flock 

 has reference, first, to the retention of lambs that are to 

 be used for future breeding, and, second, to the rejection 

 of ewes that are not desirable any longer because of some 

 defect or because of age. The ewe lambs to be retained 

 should, of course, be the tops of the flock. They should, 

 of course, be chosen on the basis of size, form, covering 

 and uniformity in body and fleece. The selection should 

 be rigid, as in no other way can a high standard be real- 

 ized. It would seem safe to say that the measure of the 

 estimate put upon a flock by visitors is the extent to 

 which inferior specimens are absent, rather than the ex- 

 tent to which superior specimens are present. 



