SHEEP' 



607 



The following year, when the experi- 

 ment was repeated, the Shropshire lambs 

 gained on an average 2.87 pounds apiece 

 for 12 weeks, and the Dorsets 4.47 pounds. 

 In both experiments the lambs of both 

 breeds were given all they would eat. 

 The Dorset ewes ate more food than the 

 Shropshire ewes, stood forced feeding 

 better and were less affected by changes 

 in the weather than the Shropshires. 



When grade Shropshire and grade 

 Dorset ewes were compared, the lambs 

 from the grade Shropshire ewes made 

 an average weekly gain of 2.66 pounds 

 a week and from the grade Dorset ewes 

 3.64 pounds. Here again the advantage 

 of Dorset blood in the ewes for produc- 

 ing rapid growing lambs is shown. 



Shropshire vs. Merino ewes — The Col- 

 orado station investigated the relative 

 merits of Shropshires crossed on Meri- 



Fig. 376 — PRIZE DORSET LAMBS 



nos as compared with Dorsets crossed on 

 Merinos for producing early lambs. In 

 these experiments the Dorset-Merinos 

 produced about 20 per cent more lambs 

 than the Shropshire-Merinos, and on this 

 account' were about 16 per cent more 

 profitable. The gains in feeding were 

 about the same for both crosses, as were 

 also the prices received for them. 



Establishing a breeding flock — It is 

 generally conceded that the best results 

 in growing hothouse lambs are secured 

 by the use of Dorsets or their grades. 

 Pure Dorset ewes are too expensive for 

 this purpose. Fortunately the Dorset 

 bucks are no more expensive than those 

 of any other breed, and experiments at a 

 number of stations in crossing grade 

 ewes with a pure Dorset buck show that 

 the characteristics of the Dorset ewe to 

 breed fully three months earlier than 

 the other breeds is transmissible through 

 the male line to the first cross, and 

 more strongly still to the second cross 



of the Dorset on the first cross ewe, re- 

 serving each year the ewes which breed 

 earliest. Not only is the tendency to 

 breed earlier transmitted to the off- 

 spring, but also the tendency to produce 

 twins and triplets. 



Mr. J. S. Woodward, writing on this 

 subject in a recent number of the; 

 American Agriculturist, states that the 

 most satisfactory combination for win- 

 ter lambs is the pure bred Dorset bucks 

 crossed on American Merino ewes. This 

 produces plump, fat lambs, not so large 

 as lambs of a similar age from mutton 

 breeds, but one that is plump and fat, 

 and one that will bring the highest price 

 in the market. A 30-pound lamb with 

 a kidney as fat as a goose egg sells for 

 more than a 40 or 45-pound lamb with a 

 kidney only as large as a quail's egg. 



Age of ewes—The ewe should be 

 not less than two or more than six years 

 old, and have a good mouth; she should 

 be short legged, large bodied with a 

 clear, bright eye, good udder and sound 

 teats, and a heavy milker. High grade 

 Dorset ewes may sometimes be kept 

 until eight to 10 years old, even when 

 they are gummers, and still produce 

 profitable lambs. In some of the west- 

 ern states, old ewes are bought, fed and 

 bred for winter lambs, and mother and 

 lambs sold together for $6 to $8, when 

 the ewe alone if sold in the fall would 

 bring but $2.25 to $2.50. 



As a result of six years' experiments 

 at the Minnesota station, Professor 

 Shaw found that the breeding habit of 

 common grade ewes, which usually drop 

 their lambs in the spring, may be so 

 changed in two or three generations of 

 judicious crossing and selection that 

 they will produce lambs in the fall and 

 early winter. This change was brought 

 about most quickly by mating the ewes 

 with pure bred Dorset rams and always 

 reserving the earlier dropped lambs for 

 breeding uses. Professor Shaw also 

 found that dams that have suckled 

 winter lambs may usually be bred more 

 readily before being turned out on grass 

 than subsequently. This is especially 

 true if they are fed a stimulating grain 

 ration while yet in the shed. When the 

 early breeding habit has once been es- 

 tablished in the ewes the quality of the 

 lambs produced can be improved by us- 

 ing Southdown and Shropshire bucks. 



Breeding for hothouse lambs — I n the 

 production of winter lambs, if the ewes 



