THE SHROPSHIRE 



S6l 



had 1 20 suckle 176, and in 1879 he had 124 suckle 191. 

 Mr. Alfred Mansell, secretary of the English Shropshire Society, 

 states that 150 to 175 lambs per 100 is the usual average and 

 that 11,666 ewes in 1896 reared 168 lambs per 100 ewes. In a 

 study of 23,037 Shropshires recorded in the " American Shrop- 

 shire Flock Book" the author found 13,659, or 59.2 per cent, of 

 single birth; 9053, or 39.2 per cent, registered as twins; and 

 315, or 1.3 per cent, as triplets — this record covering the years 



Fig. 259. A first-prize Shropshire ewe lamb at the 1918 International Live-Stock 

 Exposition. Bred and exhibited by Illinois University. This is a very beautiful 

 example of the breed. From photograph, by courtesy of Professor W. C. Coffey 



1890 to 1899. Undoubtedly one may safely count on 125 to 150 

 per cent lambs to ewes and, where carefully selected for prolifi- 

 cacy, even 175. But twins and triplets are as a rule less strong 

 than single lambs, and the first thing of importance is a strong, 

 lusty, growthy lamb. While breed advocates have reason to be 

 proud of the fecundity of the Shropshire, in which regard it is 

 not surpassed, triplets are undesirable, and 100 per cent lambs 

 raised to full strength for a year is a fine record. 



The Shropshire as a wool producer ranks very well. The 



average fleece of unwashed wool will probably not much exceed 

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