102 Sheep-Farming 



Characteristics as breeding stock. — The leading 

 merit of the Shropshire, in which they contest for 

 supremacy only with the Dorset, is the degree in 

 which they meet the requirements of good breed- 

 ing stock. The rams are of good disposition, and 

 reliable breeders, but it is to the ewes that we look 

 to sustain the Shropshire's reputation for good breed- 

 ing qualities. The ewes are excellent mothers, hav- 

 ing the disposition to be attentive to their lambs in a 

 kindly way, and also having characteristics of being 

 prolific and milking freely. The average Shropshire 

 flock will return at least a lamb and a half to a ewe, 

 though there are many records of better returns than 

 this. A peculiar and valuable characteristic is the 

 length of time they will retain their utility in the 

 flock. It is not infrequent in the pure-bred flocks 

 to find ewes ten years old still producing as good 

 lambs as the younger members. The presence of 

 such not only indicates excellent vigor, but also 

 points to a good breeding record for each year, as 

 any deviation from this would mean disposal as a 

 cull. As an instance in point, it will be suflBcient 

 to quote one from among many : A ewe pur- 

 chased at a sale of a prominent breeder in Shropshire 

 in 1886 when four years old was alive and well in 

 1893, and her record in the seven years was the pro- 

 duction of fourteen lambs, twins each year, except- 

 ing one instance of a single and one of triplets. The 

 ewe was eleven years old at the time the data were 



