SOUTHDOWN SHEEP

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 February 1928, Page 2

SOUTHDOWN SHEEP

BEST MUTTON PRODUCERS. Mr W. Jenkins, of Sheffield, who acted as judge of Southdown sheep at the recent A. and P. Show, has kindly supplied the “Star” with some of the points to be considered by farmers in selecting this breed of sheep. He states that the Southdown is the best mutton sheep in the world, possessing a greater percentage of meat and a lesser percentage of offal than any other breed, whilst the meat is of the very best quality. In selecting a Southdown the points to be looked for are the following:-— He must be short in the leg and long in the body and as wide as possible. Indeed, when dressed and hung up in the shop, his carcase should not be unlike that of a pig, as his meat comes right down to his hocks and bis hind leg resembles that of a pig. There is a tendency among farmers to select too large a Southdown ram, forgetting that they have size in the ewe. They should, therefore, look only for “quality” in the ram. The head shoujd show character and be wide afld' level between- the ears, with no dark markings on the poll. 'The face should be full, not too long from eyes to nose, the nostrils large and open, the jaws wide and strong and of an even mouse colour, not speckled or sandy. ,The eyes should be large, bright and prominent. The ears should be short with short wool running up the back. The neck should be wide, strong, and well set on the shoulders, not wrinkled. The shoulders should be wide and well set up, level on top, the chest wide and deep. The back should be level, with well springing rib ami wide flap loin, The rump should be wide and long and well let down, with a good overhang at the tall. The tail should be well up, nearly level with the back and wide, and the skin should be pink and soft to the touch. The wool should be of fine texture, and very dense, covering the body evenly all over. It must not bo coarse in the breech, or wasty at points, coming well over the head up to the eyes. The wo6l on the legs should be of even colour down to the feet and mouse coloured,