DOMESTIC BEEEDS OF SHEEP. 25 
There are very few Dorset flocks west of the Mississippi. Dorset 
wethers lack the finish characteristic of the lambs. Their fleece is 
not as heavy as is desirable. The lack of higher development in these 
two respects will probably prevent their ever becoming popular upon 
the range. 
The Dorset Horn is a medium-sized, somewhat rangy, white-faced 
breed, both sexes being horned, as the name would indicate. There 
is considerable variation in the size of American Dorsets, but rams 
in breeding condition should weigh from 200 to 225 pounds; ewes 
from 150 to 175 pounds. Then fleeces lack somewhat in weight, but 
are of excellent quality. The fiber is very white, and discolorations 
are practically unknown. Ewes produce from 6 to 7 pounds and 
rams from 8 to 10 pounds of wool. Twenty-five samples of Dorset 
fleece were graded upon the Philadelphia market, for the United 
States Department of Agriculture, 15 of which were three-eighths 
blood combing and the other 10 quarter blood combing wools. 
The Dorsets are probably the most fertile of all the mutton breeds 
of sheep, ewes frequently producing twins and triplets, and occasion- 
ally quadruplets. American breeders report from 140 to 175 per cent 
lamb crop. The ewes will breed either in the spring or fall, and it is 
claimed that they will produce two crops of lambs per year, but it is 
unlikely that this can be successfully accomplished, as most American 
breeders of prominence condemn the practice as being injurious to 
the ewes. The ewes are excellent mothers and usually have ample 
milk for their lambs, whether they be singles, twins, or triplets. In 
the United States a large percentage of the ewes lamb in the fall, 
many breeders having the entire crop dropped at this time. In their 
native shire the ewes were formerly used for dairy purposes. 
The breed matures early, the lambs growing rapidly and exhibiting 
a bloom that they often do not retain during the wether stage. 
Dorset ewes are very highly regarded for the production of " hot- 
house" lambs, and the grades are considered even better for this 
purpose than the purebreds. The East, with its large cities and con- 
sequent favorable market facilities, is especially adapted to the 
production of this product, which explains the distribution of the 
breed in this section. 
The light shearing qualities and the fact that the Dorset is a hard 
feeder are the main objections to this breed. Dorset lambs are as a 
rule excellently fleshed, but the criticism has been made that the 
wethers are deficient upon the shoulders and back. The breed is 
also criticized for being deficient in heart girth. This is especially 
true of the rams. 
The Dorset Horn Sheep Breeders' Association of England was 
founded in 1891. The American Dorset Horn Breeders' Association 
was founded the same year, but has been inactive of late years. The 
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