THE PRESENT-DAY SHROPSHIRE 117 



wool. In most cases the leg covering is not complete, particularly 

 on the forelegs, and frequently it is not clear white. White wool 

 should extend to the knees and hocks, however, and on the hind 

 legs it should extend on down from the hock to the pasterns, but 

 between these points a slight admixture of dark wool is permissible. 

 Dark wool also often appears on the head and face, the places of its 

 most frequent occurrence being the horn holes and -the regions just 

 above the eyes. In show sheep such wool is objectionable, but if 

 present to only a slight extent it is largely overlooked in flock 

 specimens (Fig. 73). 



FIG. 73. Shropshire lambs bred by Henry Wardwell, Springfield Center, New York. 

 Few animals are as winsome as four-month-old Shropshire lambs covered with baby fat 

 and encased with downy white wool from nose to toes. 



Breeders attempt to grow white wool on the head and legs of 

 their sheep for two reasons : first, pure white wool on the extremities 

 almost invariably indicates freedom from dark fibers in the body 

 of the fleece; second, the sharp demarcation between white wool 

 and deep brown hair has a much more pleasing effect than the merg- 

 ing of dark wool and brown hair. Dark wool in the body of the 

 fleece detracts from its value because white wool admixed with dark 

 fibers can not be dyed to a pure color other than black. For this 

 reason any Shropshire having a noticeable amount of dark wool 

 anywhere above the knees and hocks and back of a line drawn from 

 ear to ear should be discarded as a breeding animal. Regarding the 

 covering of head and legs with wool, it should be stated that it is 

 seldom uniform in extent through all seasons of the year. Breeding 

 ewes particularly are likely to begin shedding it a few weeks after 

 they lamb and both sexes are likely to lose some of it during the 

 hot summer months. 



