Suffolk  Sheep. 
71 
for  the  East  Suffolk  County  Council,  the  speaker  remarked 
“ the  shoulder  blades  [should  be]  tightly  fitted  to  the  vertebrae 
or  bones  of  the  neck,  which  should,  when  the  sheep  is  standing 
at  ease,  be  well  above  the  shoulder  blades.”  It  is  obvious  that 
Mr.  Lingwood  meant  to  say  “ vertebrae  or  bones  of  the  BACK.” 
It  is  the  spines  of  the  dorsal  vertebrae  or  what  we  should  call 
the  withers  in  the  case  of  the  horse  that  should  so  stand  up. 
Many  Hock-masters  would  not  approve  of  these  (the  withers') 
being  “ well  above  the  shoulder  blades,”  but  the  writer  is  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  opinion,  for  he  believes  an  open,  wide, 
loose  joining  of  shoulder  blades  to  the  backbone  is  not  present 
in  the  case  of  an  ewe  which  milks  well,  and  this  characteristic 
is  one  of  the  greatest  qualities  a Suffolk  breeder  desires.  No 
Suffolk  sheep  man  wants  his  ewes  to  be  narrow,  or  sharp,  or 
high  over  the  shoulder.  He  does,  however,  require  the  shoulder- 
blades  to  slant  upwards  and  join  in  tightly  and  neatly  on  the 
top  with  the  backbone,  so  that  there  is  no  open  or  hollow  space 
between  the  spine  and  the  shoulder-blade  on  either  side.  The 
broad  and  oblique  shoulders  coming  up  in  this  way  to  the 
spine  hold  the  body  well  together,  and  give  great  activity  and 
graceful  movement.  If  the  Suffolk  ewe  ought  to  be  fine  over 
the  shoulder,  she  should  be  big  over  the  loin,  stand  wide  when 
viewed  from  behind,  be  full  over  the  quarter,  and  have  a good 
shaped  udder  : all  these  points  denote  fecundity  as  well  as 
good  milking  qualities,  which  are  among  the  chief  merits  of 
the  breed. 
Making  some  general  remarks  on  the  points  of  the  breed, 
I would  observe  that  the  carcass  should  be  long,  level,  and 
well  balanced, ‘with  great  depth  and  heart  girth  ; the  back  well 
coupled  with  the  hind  quarters ; and  there  cannot  be  too 
much  flesh  or  muscle.  The  neck  should  be  well  set,  joining 
on  to  the  backbone  in  a uniform  line — not  hung  on  in 
“ dromedary  ” fashion  as  is  sometimes  seen,  though  this  fault  is 
nowadays  much  less  frequent  than  formerly.  Breed  for  a 
deep  chest  with  well  sprung  ribs  giving  heart  girth.  If  the 
ribs  are  deep,  besides  being  well  sprung,  and  the  flank  is 
well  let  down,  the  under  line  will  be  level,  which  is  always 
a sign  of  quality  and  constitution.  The  tail  should  be  strong, 
broad,  and  well  set  up.  The  legs  of  mutton  should  be  full 
and  well  let  down,  but  there  should  be  no  fatty  patchiness 
on  the  rump. 
Wool. — The  fleece  should  be  dense,  close,  and  fine,  with 
a fair  length  of  staple.  Locky,  matty,  or  open  wool  should 
be  avoided.  The  scrotum  and  belly  should  be  well  covered. 
The  black  face  and  legs  do  undoubtedly  give  a tendency  for 
dark  or  grey  wool  to  appear  on  the  neck  near  the  head  and 
above  the  hocks.  This  is  a defect  which  must  be  eradicated 
