112 THE SHROPSHIRE 



attempted to be denied that the Shropshire is a cross-bred sheep; 

 the original breed was homed, and the first attempt at improvement 

 was to get rid of these incumbrances, and there is little doubt. that 

 this was effected by the cross of the Southdown. This sheep was well 

 adapted for the Downs, but for the enclosures of Shropshire some- 

 thing more docile was required, consequently recourse was had to 

 the. Leicester." It is altogether* probable that most, if not all, of 

 this crossing was done before there was a conscious movement toward 

 the formation of a new breed, and it is certain that selection has 

 been the great agency in the improvement of the breed. The leading 

 breeders have been thorough students of blood lines, and in the main 



FIG. 68. First prize yearling Shropshire ram, England Royal Show, 1909. Bred and 

 exhibited by Sir Frank Bibby. A smoot^ low- set thick type that has helped to develop 

 popularity for the Shropshire. 



they have practised closely restricted line breeding. Except from 

 the standpoint of historical interest it little matters how the breed 

 was developed because it is a notable fact that at the present time it 

 breeds true to a uniform type (Fig. 69). 



Cooperation of Breeders. A comparatively large number of 

 farmers, with a few leading, worked together to bring the Shropshire 

 into prominence. As stated elsewhere, a certain Samuel Meire and 

 a George Adney were two of the earlier and more prominent im- 

 provers. These two men did their most effective work in the early 



