THE "FAKING" OF SHEEP.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1087, 28 March 1911, Page 8

THE "FAKING" OF SHEEP.

"SOLID AND PERMANENT SHOW STEWARDS." ' "Correspondcnco of a singularly instructive character has boon appearing in I the columns of The Doiunion on the 'vexed question of faking of show sheep, V isayd tno "farmers' Union ■ Advocate. > "borne of the adverse criticism of preparation of show sheep lias been dccitled;ly intemperate and overdrawn. ... ;lf a man buys a stud ram which has palpably been done well and reared under specially favoured conditions, and expects'it to do'well when turned out under ordinary conditions ho is raani!festly . inviting, failure. In ,tho_ wholo : conrso o£ the controversy tho critics have ifailed to • strike the happy medium;-to draw the lino well between legitimate preparation and faking. To feed well (but ■not overdoing it, which is almost as bad js.starving an animal) is essential if stud 'sheep are to possess the constitution they ' should have," and if the wool has been pulled out by tho sheep rubbing against fences or other obstructions, it is surely permissible that the. shepherd should trim off the straggling fibres. Of course, colouring, oiling, and false shearing—tho worst vice of the lot—should never be tolerated. Tho .first-named two arc easily dis- ' cernible, but the last-named requires the eye of a keen sheepman to detect it Several of our leading A. and P. Societies have discussed this question, and : have dismissed the matter by leaving it -to the judge,' simply directing these officials' notice to arulo oh the question which '''stipulates that' winning animals must bo fairly shorn or trimmed. Hero it is where ■ somebody else besides the judge comes in. The steward is not always as woU up to !his work as ho should be, and this weak- . iicss is intensified by show societies making the mistake of changing thoir stow- • ards, instead of allowing certain stewards ;to act in the same sections from year to I year, so that they may become thoroughly acquainted with tho peculiar reauirc•ments of individual sections. Hence it is •■that such an important rule is seldom ! brought under the judge's notice when ho lis about to commence his work, arid tho. | judge, thinking thereby that ths society idoes ont attach much importance to tho .'faking question, talces no notice of the /Adventitious aids of the expert shepherd. ;If an explicit rule on the subject exists :then it should be. observed, and the stew- ; nrd is the one to see that this is done. (The rule should also be carried ont tho'roughly. At a recent show, a ram was "refused the championship becauso of the glaringly bad work of ail amateur sliep(hcrd in leaving the wool twico as. long ,-on' ono part of the body as on another, (but the judge decorated a ewe, from the same exhibition, whose flecco displayed .an equally remarkable variation in (length. If the rule is applied in ono case it should bo applied" thi»ughou't. (Here again, however, there is a difficulty. At ono of the leading shows of tho (Dominion this year, the judgo in a black'faco class endeavoured to fo'ilow the rule' ,-tliat all colouring of sheen would spell I disqualification, but they 1 failed in .their good intension, for if they had strictly adhered to the rule they would have had ■to disqualify fully 73 per cent. of the exhibits! This, however, is surely indication enough that some reform is needed." As to a solution of the problem, the ■'Advocate" says-.—"Tho matter is ono that should be taken up by the A. and I'. Societies in a decisive manner, cspecially in tho direction of annointing solid men permanently to tho positions of .stewards of sheep classes, and directing these men •to impress upon judges the desire of the fociety in regard to trimming and fak'ng." In conclusion, the "Advncato" savs:— "While no ono would defend penning sheep absolutely in tho rough, there is no defence for falso shearing, while colouring and oiling nro almost as reprehensible. A; and P. Societies have taken tho ricrht view in leaving it to the discrefion of tho judges, but tho rules to this end should ■not be allowed to be dead letters. Stewards should bo periodically reminded of +neir duties in this connection, and asked tn «oe that judges npbreciato tha desire of the societies to control (lie work of preparation of sheep for exhibition."