67 
Shropshire Sheep. 
density, length of staple and fineness which is now one of 
the leading attributes of the breed. 
The present Shropshire is the result of great skill and 
judgment on the part of the breeder during the last sixty 
years. By degrees, nice soft black (not sooty) face and legs 
have supplanted the brown or speckled faced sheep, a straight 
spine has been obtained, the head of the male now possesses 
strength and character, and in both sexes the head is beautifully 
covered with wool of a valuable staple, which in addition to its 
charm against sore heads and flies, is a distinct improvement 
to the general appearance of the sheep. The wool is now the 
most valuable of all the short-woolled breeds when weight, 
denseness, and length and fineness of staple are taken into 
account, and it is this fact which has proved of great value 
when crossing the Shropshire ram on the merino or come-back 
ewe, the result being an ideal mutton sheep, whilst the wool 
loses little of its merino character for density and fineness. 
The extensive foreign trade for the last 25-30 years and the 
demand for black faces and legs has done much to eliminate 
the brown face and legs, as it is found in practice that the 
black leg which the Shropshire always puts on the cross bred 
is a feature when they have to be marketed in London or 
elsewhere. 
None of these great improvements in the contour and 
appearance of the present-day Shropshire have been obtained 
at the sacrifice of essential points, for the sheep of to-day is 
wider, deeper and fuller of flesh than the improved sheep of 
which we write, whilst its quality of wool and mutton have 
been greatly improved, and in addition the breed enjoys the 
reputation of being the hardiest, most prolific, and the earliest 
maturing of all the short-woolled varieties. 
The spread of the Shropshire sheep is amongst the most 
remarkable features of the latter day livestock trade, brought 
about largely by the magnificent display of Shropshire sheep 
at the Royal Agricultural Show at Shrewsbury in 1884, when 
875 sheep were exhibited as against 420 of all other breeds of 
sheep. No less than sixty competitors hailing from fifteen 
counties exhibited Shropshire sheep. This remarkable exhibit 
brought a quick response in a most extraordinary foreign 
demand for Shropshires, mainly from the United States and 
Canada, and this in its turn stimulated home breeding, and 
Shropshires became universally spread over Great Britain and 
Ireland, doing particularly well in the Emerald Isle where they 
have always been great favourites. 
North of the Tweed Shropshires have also done well, and 
one of the leading flocks of the present day is that of Mr. T. A. 
Buttar some twelve miles from Perth. 
