DESCRIPTION 141 



lowed his example and made further improvement along the same 

 lines, and it was largely through the sale of stock from their flocks 

 that the improved type became prevalent in the county (Fig. 93). 

 Description. Form and Size. The Dorset Horn is really a 

 Down breed, but strikingly unlike the other prominent Down 

 breeds because of its horns and its all-white color. The body is 

 long, the bone and head features are strong and the whole make-up 

 is more suggestive of ruggedness than of quality. The face is 

 inclined to be long, and the muzzle is thicker than in the other 



FIG. 93. The Dorset Horn ram has massive horns which give his head a most 

 masculine appearance. 



Down breeds. High, open shoulders with a noticeable drop behind 

 them and a rump deficient on either side of the spine are not of 

 infrequent occurrence. Before the day of their improvement, 

 Stevenson said of the Dorset that the ewes were much more com- 

 plete in form than the wethers or rams, an observation w r hich 

 applies to a certain extent to the modern type. Dorset Horns are 

 large, mature rams weighing approximately 275 pounds and ewes 

 180 to 200 pounds. 



Wool. A tuft of compact wool covers the forehead, and there 

 is wool on the cheeks, but none on the face. On the legs the wool 



