THE MUTTON BREEDS OF SHEEP 345 



409. Organizations and records. The first English 

 flock-book was published in 1886, by the Suffolk Down 

 Sheep Society organized in that year. Some twenty vol- 

 umes have been issued since. In America, the American 

 Suffolk Flock Registry Association, organized in 1892, 

 has issued the third volume of its flock-book. 



DORSET-HORN SHEEP. Figs. 68, 69. 

 By H. P. Miller 



410. The Dorset is an English breed that takes its name 

 from the county in which it originated. It is a mutton 

 breed, specially valuable for crossing to produce early 

 lambs. It is characterized by gracefully curving horns 

 in both male and female. 



411. History in England. The Dorset is one of the 

 oldest distinct breeds in England, no other race having 

 been mingled with it originally, within the time of any 

 records referring to it. It was first mentioned in 1707, 

 when it was reported to have yeaned in December and 

 again in June. The two counties of Dorset and Somerset 

 seem to have been the home of two races, differing some- 

 what, which became mingled in the present Dorset. The 

 original stock of Dorsetshire was small, light in the 

 shoulders, with white face and legs and a black nose. Both 

 males and females bore horns. The stock of Somerset 

 was larger, coarser, longer-wooled, with flesh-colored nose 

 and better form. The Dorset seems never to have had a 

 devotee with the genius of Bakewell or Ellman, and at 

 one time came near losing its identity through admixture 

 of the improved breeds of the day. Its ability to produce 

 lambs earlier than any other breed seems to have saved it. 



