104 



Mr. W. Heape. 



While the percentage of lambs and of twins in cross-bred flocks is 

 greater than the same percentage for the total pure-bred flocks, the 

 ewes of certain pure breeds are undoubtedly more fertile than the 

 average cross-bred ewe. 



The flock percentage of lambs in 306 pure-bred flocks, ranges from 

 203*8 to 59*09 per cent., the percentage for 89,370 ewes being 120-4 

 per cent. The most frequent percentage in these 306 flocks is between 

 110 and 120 per cent. ; the following Table (I) shows this, and as the 

 column for "under 110 per cent." includes all failures, the excess in 

 the 110 per cent, column is all the more marked. 



There are more flocks of between 100 and 200 ewes than of any 

 other number, and it is in these flocks the highest percentage of lambs 

 occur ; broadly speaking, the frequency of a high percentage of lambs, 

 and the height of that percentage, vary in proportion to the number 

 of flocks and to their size. 



Abortion and Barrenness. 



There is an element of error in these statistics, due to the fact that 

 some ewes abort at an early stage of gestation, when the foetus is small 

 and the circumstance liable to be overlooked by the shepherd ; some of 

 these ewes come " in use" again and are again served by the ram, but 

 some do not again come " in use," or, owing to the fact that they have 

 already been drafted into a flock without a ram, they are not again 

 covered ; in either of these cases they are put down as barren. Thus, 

 although I do not believe the error is a great one, the percentage of 

 abortion in ewes may be higher and the percentage of barrenness lower 

 than is represented in Table IY. 



The total loss from both these causes amounts to 7-1 per cent, for 

 all pure-bred ewes ; of these the Lincoln sheep suffer the most (12 per 

 cent.) and the Hampshires the least (4*01 per cent.), a very startling 

 difference and of specially grave significance to Lincolnshire flock- 

 masters on the wolds (see Table V). 



Abortion. 



In 300 pure-bred flocks the percentage of abortion varies from 

 23-75 per cent, to 0, while the percentage for 85,878 ewes is 2-39. 

 The Dorset Horn (4*11 per cent.) and the Lincoln (4 per cent.) breeds 

 surfer most, while all other breeds except Southdowns have less than 

 2 per cent. The causes which induce a high percentage of abortion 

 are little understood, and severe losses are from time to time experi- 

 enced from no knc vvn cause (Lincolns 20 to 30 per cent, and Dorset 

 Horns). 



Statistics supplied indicate, that an undue proportion of shearling 



