Formation of a Flock 145 



uted and not gathered in bunches about the tail 

 head, and it should be firm and not flabby. A good 

 way to select breeding stock is to study type and 

 fleece first and then the bodies after shearing. Such 

 a plan is not often practicable, but when it can be 

 followed, it is most safe and instructive. 



Need of uniformity in ewe flock. — Ewes that are 

 of the right size and general build and true to the 

 features of their breeds, and at the same time of a 

 high degree of excellence in fleece and form, are not 

 to be had at ordinary prices. Since something must 

 be sacrificed, it had better be points of conformation 

 than type. With all the ewes of the same general 

 build and type, it remains to so breed and select as 

 to overcome the individual defects. Ewes of the 

 blocky, compact, heavily muscled kind, coming from 

 prolific vigorous stock of the same kind, are sure to 

 prove satisfactory under fair treatment. Some de- 

 fects of form may impair their market value, but 

 such are less serious and much more readily corrected 

 than is a variety of type. It is easily possible 

 within any one of the breeds to find a range of type 

 running from the kind that get ready for market at 

 an early age to those much larger that grow through 

 a longer period and fatten at greater weight, but 

 much later. Each may be profitable under its own 

 conditions, but cannot be so in the same flock at the 

 same time. In such a mixed flock, the lambs cannot 

 all be marketed at once, or if they are, their lack of 



