MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 73 



has made its home in the English colonies, in this country, and in 

 some European countries, with good results. 



As an early lamb raiser the Dorset has no rival, if indeed an 

 equal. As milkers they are unsurpassed, and it is very rarely 

 that a ewe is found that cannot supply the necessary nourishment 

 for her offspring, be it twins or even triplets: They are very pro- 

 lific, giving large percentages of twins and oftentimes triplets. 

 They "do their lambs well/' as the British shepherd would put it, 

 and, consequently, they "die well," giving an unusually fat caul 

 and kidney, and, therefore, a very bright and saleable carcass. 



Yearling Dorset Ram. 



The original Dorset, it is claimed by some authorities, was not 

 an early lamb raiser, but that this trait was bred into it by selec- 

 tion, improved methods of feeding and management. In the face 

 of this we find in Lisle's "Observations in Husbandry" (1754) 

 that his tenant farmer had ewes which brought his lambs on the 

 15th day of December," which he sold fat to the butcher on Lady 

 Day, 1707, and, at the beginning of June, thinking his ewes to be 

 mutton, they looked so big, he went to sell them to the butcher, 

 who handled them, and found their udders .springing with milk, 

 and near lambing, and they accordingly did lamb the first week 

 in June. It was first accorded a place in the prize lists of the lead- 

 ing British shows in 1862, and since then has been very much 

 improved. The Dorset is said to contain no impure blood, conse- 



