Formation of a Flock 143 



and the sheep approaches somewhat towards the 

 form that is being imitated. 



Quality. — After the form of the sheep has been 

 carefully gone over, the quality should be noted, 

 The cleanness of the bone, the apparent strength of 

 it, and the nature of the hair that covers the face 

 and legs should be noted. These are important 

 in either breeding sheep or fat sheep. It is, perhaps, 

 most valuable from the butcher's standpoint, be- 

 cause the waste is less from a sheep of good quality 

 than it is from one that is inferior, but sheep of the 

 best quality will not dress much over fifty per cent of 

 their live weight. 



The ram. — Aside from the breed type, the ram 

 should show masculinity in many features. In 

 those breeds that have horns, the latter should 

 spring strong from the head and turn free from the 

 face. In all rams, the face should be broad between 

 the eyes, somewhat short, with a strong nose. The 

 crest or scrag should be thick and rising and the neck 

 full. A point deserving emphasis is the depth of 

 the chest. The body should sink deep between the 

 fore legs, and the ribs back of the shoulder should be 

 deep and round, making the girth large and the 

 brisket prominent and wide, — two features that are 

 indicative of a strong constitution. A live fleece 

 — that is, one that is springy and not dead to the 

 touch, and especially a dense, thick covering of belly 

 wool — is also indicative of vigor or constitution. 



