402 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Aet. LIII. — Notes on Coloured Sheep. 

 By Tayloe White. 



[Read before the Haiulce's Bay Philosophical Institute, 11th Sept., 1888.] 



The heading of this paper approximates very closely to what 

 I may call " shop ; " but, as the animals chiefly mentioned are 

 a distinct race, and more rare and ornamental than useful, the 

 information contained can the more readily be classed as 

 natural-history notes. I will first give the correspondence 

 received, and then append a few observations of my own. 



" Park Lodge, Baslow, Chesterfield, 

 " Deae Tayloe,— " 31st May, 1888. _ 



"I have endeavoured to obtain as full particulars as 

 possible with regard to the Duke of Devonshire's spotted and 

 horned flock at Chatsworth. Little, however, is known of 

 this, and it is only quite recently that the agent has endeavoured 

 to improve the breed by importing new blood ; still, the flock 

 does not seem to have suffered badly by in-breeding, as big 

 prices have been paid for sheep to cross with others. There 

 seem to be a few similar flocks in the country, notably at 

 Tabley and Canons Ashby, as you will see by enclosed copy of 

 a letter. 



" The Chatsworth sheep have mostly four horns — two 

 upright ones on the top of the head and two curling over the 

 face under the ears. Some ewes, I see, have only two 

 (straight) horns. They do not let the rams run with the ewes. 

 Their tails are not docked, on which there is seldom any wool 

 to speak of. The sheep are kept solely for ornament : their 

 wool is almost valueless, though I believe the mutton is 

 considered a delicacy on account of its venison-like flavour. 



" Yours very sincerely, 



" W. Meevyn Weench." 



Extract. — "The Duke of Devonshire recollects the sheep 

 being at Chatsworth as far back as 1819, and Sir Dominic 

 Coningham called them 'Jacob's sheep.' 



"They would in olden times have been called 'merino.' 

 I enclose, however, a copy of a letter from Sir H. Dryden 

 which seems to point definitely to the correct name as being 

 ' Spanish.' " 



" Canons Ashby, Byfield, Northamptonshire, 

 " Deab Sie,— " 28th October, 1884. 



" I call the spotted sheep ' Spanish.' They have 

 been for sixty years or more in this neighbourhood. I had 

 the breed from a neighbour who had been in the Peninsular 

 War, and he called them 'Spanish,' though I don't remember 

 having asked him if he saw similar sheep in Spain. 



