Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1910. SHOW SHEEP.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10131, 3 December 1910, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1910. SHOW SHEEP.

Visitors to the various agricultural and pastoral shows in New Zealand during the past month or two could not fail to have noticed that the practice of oiling and colouring show sheep is still very much in vogue. Whether the practice is desirable is, of course, open to question. During the last few months numerous letters on the subject have appeared in the "American Sheep-beeeder." The majority of the writers deprecate the practice, alleging that it deceives buyers, is a species of fraud amounting to faking or doctoring, and that it is a useless and unsightly fad. On the other hand, those who support the continuance of the practice argue that a sheep-show is for educational purposes, and it is the object of each breeder to show the results of his best oflorts at improving stock and to put it in the most presentable form; and that. it. adds attractiveness to the exhibit. It is also urged that the. fewer the restrictions as to how sheep should be exhibited, the better; that a sheep's fleece that,"lias been trimmed . and cut into is. sot. of a uniform colour ' cots rfejit cc>rc'riuj:

is necessary to make it so; ancl that a fleece that has been washed just previously to exhibition (thereby losing its natural colour) requires a little oil to give it a natural touch. At the annual International Conference of Slieep-breeders, held in Liverpool in June last, an interesting paper on the subject was read by Mr A. Man sell, who gave it as his opinion that it was possible to make an attractive exhibit of sheep without the aid of either colouring or oiling. Analysing the opinions of the many eminent men who have stated their opinions on this vexed question, it is quite evident that there is a general desire (even on the part of those who stand up for freedom of action and a right to exhibit as the exhibitor thinks best) that the practice of colouring and oiling, if allowed to continue, should bo permitted on the principle that anything of an excessive character should be discouraged, so that it should be possible for a judge, prospective buyer, or visitor to the show to make a thorough examination of any of the sheep exhibited without the unpleasant experience of greasy paint, smudged hands, and possibly j damaged clothes. That the shepherd's art will continue to be pracj tised goes without saving, but that colouring and oiling for exhibition purposes has in many cases gone beyond reasonable bounds no one who has attended our leading shows can I deny.