50 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



in the Southdown and is not usually so close-set or 

 dense. Certainly there is no more beautiful sight 

 than a well-bred and well-kept flock of Shropshires, 

 the fine matronly ewes with their white fleeces set 

 off by the brown of heads, ears and legs. Their 

 mutton is perhaps not quite so good as the South- 

 down, but there is not much difference in this re- 

 spect, and they are equally prolific, though the 

 lambs may not have quite the same vigor at birth 

 nor do they usually fatten at quite so early an age. 



The one difficulty with the Shropshire sheep in 

 America is the careless and ignorant shepherd who 

 permits his flock to become infested with parasites 

 or allows his ewes to become so fat that they do not 

 breed well, and such a man might not succeed with 

 any breed. 



The greatest field for the Shropshire sheep in the 

 United States is to furnish sires for cross-breeding 

 on grade or pure-bred Merinos. Somewhat safer 

 than the Hampshire in use on Merino ewes, getting 

 lambs somewhat heavier than the Southdown, the 

 Shropshire is destined to very extensive use. Half- 

 blood Shropshire lambs do not at birth have too 

 large heads, they are very growthy and, well fed, 

 make beautiful specimens and command good prices. 

 Where the half-blood Shropshire ewes from Merino 

 dams have been tried, results have not always been 

 satisfactory, the majority of breeders favoring send- 

 ing all the half-blood lambs to market and keeping 

 the character of the ewe flock strongly Merino, this 

 from a desire for a good yield of wool and because 



