British Breeds of Sheep 93 



was made as follows: "Mr. Meire, the great 

 Shropshire improver, first used Leicesters on the 

 Shrops to give them fatter backs, and then South- 

 downs to darken their faces." There is abundant 

 evidence in the foregoing statements to indicate 

 that the Shropshire derives its merits from many 

 sources. 



Attaining the status of a breed. — The first Shrop- 

 shires to attract public attention were shown by Mr. 

 Samuel Meire of Castle Hill near Much Wenlock, 

 Shropshire, at the Royal Agricultural Society Show 

 at Gloucester in 1853. The record in the Journal 

 of this society for that year notes that Mr. Meire's 

 exhibit received recommendations. Mr. R. Mil- 

 ward in a report on the exhibition of Live Stock at 

 the Gloucester meeting of the society says: "The 

 new class of Shropshire Downs was very successful ; 

 it is to be hoped that the society will recognize them 

 as a distinct breed." This is the first official refer- 

 ence to the Shropshire. The sheep shown must 

 have been of some merit to be worthy of this recom- 

 mendation, which, however, was not acted upon 

 until some years later. It was not until 1859 at the 

 same society's show, that the Shropshire again made 

 a notable exhibit. Representatives of the breed 

 were shown in the class " Short-wooled (not Shrop- 

 shires)," and in the competition for the special prizes 

 offered for Shropshires, there were eight flocks repre^ 

 sented and a dozen others included among the list 



