BREED CHARACTERISTICS 393 



Standard of Excellence and Scale of Points for Shrop- 

 shire Sheep. 



Poiots. 



General Appearance. — Attractive, indicating breeding and 

 quality, with stylish carriage, and a symmetrical form covered 

 with a dense fleece ... .... . .25 



Constitution. — Robust, as indicated by width and depth of chest, 

 strength and formation of neck, and by bold, active movement 10 



Size. — In- breeding condition when fully matured, rams should 

 weigh not less than 180 to 225 pounds, and ewes not less than 

 125 to 170 pounds ... 10 



Fleece and Skin. — Fleece of good length, dense, elastic to 

 touch, medium fine, free from black fibre, slightly crimped, 

 with evenness of texture throughout; scrotum of rams well 

 covered with wool. Skin light cherry color, free from dark 

 spots . . , . . 15 



Body. — Well proportioned, with shoulders well placed, fitting 

 smoothly upon the chest, which should be deep and wide, broad 

 and straight back, thick loins well covered with firm flesh; 

 hindquarters well finished; twist deep and full . . .20 



Head and Neck. — Head short, broad between the ears and eyes, 

 bold and masculine in rams, without horns, well covered with 

 wool, ears short and erect, eyes bright, color of face and ears 

 dark brown. Neck of medium length, strong and muscular 

 (especially in rams), symmetrically joined to head and shoul- 

 ders. Rams with horns or stubs are disqualified as heads of 

 flocks ...... 15 



Legs. — Well set apart, broad, short, straight, color dark brown, 

 and well wooled; pastern strong and upright . 5 



Total 100 



Hampshire. — ^The Hampshire breed ranks rather large 

 in size and Hke the Shropshire, has certain very marked 

 breed characteristics. The face is dark brown in color, 

 broad, long, and the nose very strikingly Roman in appear- 

 ance. The legs are also dark brown or black in appearance. 

 The fleece is medium in length, reasonably dense, but not as 

 good in quality as in the Shropshire or Southdown, lacking 

 in length, density, fineness and an even distribution. 



In general appearance, the Hampshire is a large, long, 

 broad, and deep animal. It is second to the Oxford in size. 

 The legs are of medium length, thus giving the animal a 

 fairly low-set appearance. There is some inclination to 

 narrowness and shallowness in the heart girth. The weight 

 of the rams ranges from 200 to 250 pounds and the ewes 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



