378 APPENDIX 



SHROPSHIRE SHEEP SCALE OF POINTS 

 1. Type and General Appearance 



An alert, attractive, and stylish appearance, showing at a glance 

 the true characteristics of the Shropshire. 30 Points. 



2. Form and Constitution 



Head. To impress at once the Shropshire characteristics. 

 Heads of Rams. To be masculine as indicated by a broad 



nostril, short, broad between ears and eyes. 

 Neck. Short and muscular, fitting into shoulders in graceful 



outlines. 

 Heads of Ewes. To be feminine in appearance, medium in 



length, but not delicate. 

 Neck. Not so strong as in the ram. 



In all cases head and face nicely covered with wool ; ears, 



short and erect; eyes, bright; color of face, brown to a 



clear dark (not sooty) black. 

 Body. Well proportioned, with shoulders so placed as to fit 



in evenly to a deep wide brisket. A full heart-girth ; broad, 



level back ; ribs well sprung, with straight under line ; loins 



thick-fleshed; fore and hind flank deep; a low coupled 



twist, and full leg of mutton. 

 Legs. Brown to clear dark color (not sooty black), well set 



apart, short and straight with strong upright pasterns. 

 Size. When fully matured and in proper breeding condition, 



rams should weigh not less than 175 to 250 pounds and ewes 



not less than 140 to 180 pounds. 



35 Points. 

 3. Fleshing 



While the body should be well formed, with the full outline 

 pleasing to the eye, yet it is the quality and quantity of flesh, 

 not fat, which gives value to the carcass. Therefore the 

 parts furnishing the high-priced cuts should be fully de- 

 veloped. 



The back, loins and legs should be so fleshed as to show a large 

 percentage of flesh compared with the other parts of the 

 body ; at the same time symmetry must prevail throughout. 



Strong bone in legs conformable with size of body usually goes 

 with a large proportion of lean meat to fat in the finished 



25 Points. 



