British Breeds of Sheep 99 



good nursing qualities, free milking powers, and the 

 desire to cater to the comfort of her young. The 

 fore quarter in the ewe is narrower and lighter as a 

 rule and wider in loin and hip in conformity with 

 what is universally known as the female type in 

 animal life. The fleece in both sexes should be com- 

 pact, clean in condition, fine in quaUty, and with 

 sufficient length and weight to make the quality of 

 the chp satisfactory. No black fibers are permis- 

 sible anywhere, and the black hairs of the legs and 

 face should not find their way into the fleece. When 

 open at any point, the cleavage should be clear, and 

 reveal a skin of a light cherry color. 



Position, as producers of mutton. — The Shrop- 

 shire is an early maturing sheep, as the lambs are 

 usually so plump and smooth that they are ready 

 for market any time within the year. They reach 

 maturity at an early age, but do not weigh as much 

 as the long-wooled breeds at maturity, nor can they 

 show in daily gain the rapid increase that some others 

 may. Their gain, however, is not that due chiefly 

 to increase in frame, as in the instance of some of the 

 long-wooled breeds, but rather to a combination of 

 increase in both frame and flesh. As it has been 

 expressed, they grow and fatten together, which 

 gives them their characteristic early maturity. In 

 1890 the best daily gain of the Shropshire lambs at 

 the Smithfield Show, namely, .67 pound per head, 

 was only surpassed among the Down breeds by a 



