March, 1914 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



461 



Dorsert Home Sheep n 

 Australia. 



Bv II. S. Major, Assistant to the 

 Sheep and Wool Kxpert, Agricul- 

 tural Gazette of N.S.W. 



— Ori^n of the Breed. — 

 I.ike most of the domesticated 

 breeds of shee]> which are popular 

 at the present time, the exact 

 oric^in of the Dorset Horn is un- 

 known. It is claimed that the 

 breed is absolutely pure, and its 

 history dates back for several cen- 

 turies. 



In " Modern Sheep : Breeds and 

 Manajrement," by "Shepherd Boy," 

 appears the following : — " The Dor- 

 set Horn is one of the oldest of 

 the English mutton breeds. As its 

 name implies, it originated in Dor- 

 setshire a, very long time ago- 

 some writers claiming 2,000 years. 

 This breed is also found in large 

 numbers in the adjoining county of 

 Somersetshire, where it is highly 

 esteemed as an early lamb raiser, 

 and to it the Christmas and Eas- 

 ter ' hot-house ' lamb markets owe 

 much for the wonderful quality 

 which it supplies." 



— Points of the Dorset Horn 

 The adult ram is very massive 

 in build, and the bone througliout 

 is heavy. The head is large, and 

 shows great depth of jaw and 

 breadth across the nose and muz- 

 zle. The horns are very massive, 

 deeply corrugated, and turn spiral- 

 ly outwards. The ewes possess 

 very small horns, half-moon in 

 shape. The lips are unusually 

 thick, and the ears, muzzle, and 

 skins very pink in colour. There 

 is a striking likeness between the 

 head of a Dorset ram and that of 

 a clean-faced Merino ram, which 

 would suggest some remote con- 

 nection between these two breeds. 



The chest of the Dorset is very 

 wide and deep ; the brisket is pro- 

 minent and fleshy, and forces the 

 front legs and shoulders very wide 



apart, thus giving the animal great 

 thickness " through the heart." 

 In this latter respect the breed 

 has few equals. The wither is well 

 formed and flat ; the top and bot- 

 tom lines rcsem1)le those of the 

 Komney Marish. 



The rump is well rounded ; and 

 on the limbs, both fore and hind, 

 the fle.sh is carried well down to 

 the knees and hocks. The feet are 

 strong and large ; the hoofs are of 

 a clear honey colour. The face and 

 lower limbs are covered ^vith 

 short white hairs. 



-- The Wool. — 

 In keeping with its early de- 

 velopment and propensity to fat- 

 ten, the Dorset is a noor wool-pro- 

 ducer, andv the best feature of its 

 fleece is its pure white colour when 

 washed. The body wool of South- 

 downs and Shropshires is a dull 

 white in comparison, and the black 

 points are a soiirce of trouble to 

 the fellmonger and wool sorter. 

 The Dorset ram cuts a fleece 

 weisrhing between 7 and 9 Vb., and 

 is very lightly covered on the 

 head, belly, and legs. In texture 

 the wool resembles that of the 

 black-faced Down breeds. It is 

 short, harsh in handle, and defici- 

 ent in character. Its nualitv would 

 vary between 50's and 56's counts. 



— General Characteristics of the 

 Breed. — 



The Dorset Horn is essentially 

 a mutton breed, and should al- 

 ways be farmed as such. 



It readily adapts itself to the 

 various conditions of climate and 

 pasture. The breed possesses 

 many points in common with both 

 the British T^ongwood and Down 

 breeds. It is probably the quick- 

 est maturine sheep in the world. 

 As two, tooths the Dorsets are 

 very attractive-looking sheep, but 

 they loose their [rood appearance 

 more rapidly than most breeds ; 

 nevertheless, they retain their vi- 

 tality,- and the rams are very pre- 

 potent. The ewes are good milk- 



producers, and can mother twins 

 with ease. 



— The Flock at the Wagga Ex- 

 Experiment Farm. — 



The i)rcsent flock of pure-bred 

 stock was not formed till r'jio, 

 when the Departtncnt purchased 18 

 ewes and s rams at the dispersal 

 sale of the stock of Mr. Norman 

 Brookman, Glcnthorne Stud, South 

 .Australia. These sheep were of 

 two strains, and were the progeny 

 of high-class English: im])ortations. 



At that time it was the De- 

 partment's chief intention to es- 

 talili.sh this flock at Wagga Farm 

 for the purpose of supplying rams 

 for the cross-breeding experiments 

 then inaugurated. As regards the 

 merits of this breed, within cer- 

 tain limits they have exceeded all 

 expectations, and it only on ac- 

 count of their scarcity in Austra- 

 lia that their intrinsic value is 

 not generally known. 



At the Wisconsin Agricultural 

 College, U.S.A., tests with differ- 

 ent mutton crosses have been car- 

 ried out over a number of vears. 

 and the prosreny of the D'orset 

 Horn rams have proved their su- 

 periority over all other breeds 

 employed. Americans refer to 

 the Dorset ewes as milk and dairA- 

 sheep, and the lambs are termed 

 " hot-house " so rapid is their de- 

 velopment. 



From the experience gained of 

 the breed at the Wao-ea Farm we 

 are ahle to endorse these opinions. 



At the Waega Farm all the 

 lambs are ear-tacfsred, so that in- 

 dividual records can be carefullv 

 kept. In i'QT2 the Farm had onli- 

 70 points of rain between Janu- 

 ary and .Time. There was no 'rra'^s 

 and all stock had to be tand-fed 

 on a mere sustenance diet. The 

 little pure Dorset Horn flock of 2" 

 ewes dropped 30 lambs, and reared 

 TII per cent. At the asre of three 

 months the whole lot averao^ed f>- 

 ft>. live weight, and ^t 5 months 

 the average was 88 lb. Seven of 



GLOBE T' IMBBR MILLS.;) 



TIMBER OF ALL KINDS. Galvanized Iron, Joinery, Mouldings, Turnery, Shadehouse Battens,Tre isr i.atlis. • 

 Boxes and Cases of Every description made up or packed in Shooks. 



Butter Boxes and Fruit Cases a Speciality. Write for Prices. 



Flinders Street Adelaide, and at Port Adelaide, 



