EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 279 



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1890, but there has been an appreciation in value owing to choice 

 breeding and the introduction of many full-blooded English sheep. 



The most recent accession to the sheep husbandry of the State is 

 the Dorset Horn sheep. These are the best of the old upland horned 

 sheep of England, and for a long time have bred unmixed in the county 

 of Dorset and in the adjacent country. It is somewhat larger than the 

 Southdown and longer on the legs, which are white, as is the face. The 

 wool is moderately fine, somewhat longer than the Southdown, and is 

 applied in England to the making of inferior cloths. The shoulders are 

 low and the loins broad and deep, the back straight, the lips and nos- 

 trils black, though with a frequent tendency to assume a pinkish, fleshy 

 color. They have always been a strong, hardy sheep, good travelers, 

 active and docile, suited to the practice of folding and capable of sub- 

 sisting on scanty pastures. 



That character, however, which has commended these sheep to the 

 English breeder is the fecundity of the females and their readiness to 

 receive the male at an early season, and their excellence as nurses. 

 They frequently have twins and rear a greater number of lambs than 

 any other sheep. They have been known, like the sheep of some 

 warmer countries, to produce twice in the year; this, however, is rare, 

 but it is common for the ewes, especially when well fed, to take the 

 ram and become impregnated while they are nursing their young. They 

 will receive the ram as early as the months of April or May, the usual 

 time being the early part of June, so that the lambs shall be born in 

 October and be ready for use by Christmas, at which time they are 

 considered a great luxury, and command a high price. This has given 

 rise to the practice of rearing the lambs in houses until they are ready 

 for market. This method has long been regularly and systematically 

 pursued on a large scale, especially within reach of London, where a 

 great demand exists for this kind of luxury. 



The original horned Dorset breed is practically extinct and the im- 

 proved Dorset has taken its place. The great improvement made in 

 the Dorsets since 1830 has increased the demand for them. They pos- 

 sess good quality, fatten readily, and incur but little risk in lambing, 

 while the lambs mature early. Within a few years past they have 

 doubled in size, their fleeces are twice as heavy, and their fattening 

 propensity has been increased to the extent that the best Dorset lambs 

 now arrive at maturity quite as early as the Downs. Losses in lamb- 

 ing and barrenness are so rare that from 150 to 160 lambs may usually 

 be calculated on for every 100 ewes placed with rams, and their fecun- 

 dity is so great that the possibility of getting from these sheep two 

 crops of lambs in one year does not exist merely as rare and exceptional, 

 but has often been effected. Statistics show that out of 3,547 ewes only 

 60 were lost, and they reared 4,425 lambs, or 125 per cent of lambs, with 

 a loss of only 1.6 per cent of ewes. With moderate feeding a wether of 

 this breed comes out fat at from thirteen to fourteen months old, with 



