THE BLACKFACED BREED OF SHEEP. 21^9 



and have been long common to all kinds of hill sheep. This is 

 apparent enough from the mention that is frequently made of 

 them by old writers. In several now forgotten works a number of 

 curious opinions are formed with reference especially to braxy, 

 which seems to have exercised the fears of the flockmasters of 

 last century. To the present day this disease continues to inflict 

 the most severe losses. In the south a death-rate equal to 3 in 

 the score among hoggs, due to this cause alone, is not uncommon. 

 In this breed, as in others, the fancy of the day varies con- 

 siderably. It may, however, be said that the most successful 

 breeders have a pretty definite ideal before them. The points 

 which shouhl be looked for in a perfect animal, as this is at 

 present understood, are a thick, broad face; nostrils full; horns 

 low set at the crown (that is to say, coming low out, and not 

 rising too mucli), and turned backwards rather than forwards, 

 and with a division or clear space on the crown between the 

 horns ; the colour of the face should be black and white, with 

 the black predominating moderately clear and bright ; the chest 

 broad and deep ; the shoulders lying well back ; the ribs widely 

 arched and deep ; the back sliort, wide, and level ; the quarters 

 full and lengthy ; the thigh strong and large ; the body well set 

 on clean flat legs, with well-developed joints ; the wool uniform 

 in quality, coming well down to the knees, with a strong deep 

 fleece, and a fine sharp curl upon it, and free from kemp hairs, and 

 blue or black. A slight tuft of wool on the forehead in young 

 sheep is generally an indication of good wool. Judged by this 

 standard, the sheep of the present time are deficient principally 

 in their wool, which too frequently does not stand age ; it 

 beincj a serious defect to cultivate a class of wool that onlv 

 shows a curl upon it in one-year-olds, and afterwards becomes 

 short and bare. Some objection might also be taken to many 

 sheep as being too narrow in the chest. The advice might, there- 

 fore, be given to breeders to aim at having the ribs of their stock 

 wider than they have generally been in the past. Some atten- 

 tion to the manner in which the sheep are set upon their legs 

 would also be well bestowed, as their legs have very commonly 

 been too close together. The colour of the face should be 

 closely kept in view. In many cases, the quality of the wool, as 

 well as the substance of the sheep, has been a good deal inter- 

 fered with by a tendency to run too much on clear-faced sheep. 

 Fi)r avoiding very bright colour, it is not, however, altogether 

 desirable to go to the opposite extreme. It is no doubt true 

 that dun faces very often go along with good fleeces, but these 

 should not be strongly recommended, as it is best to keep the 

 colour of the face in moderation. It has already been j^ointed 

 out that it is imyiortant to have the horns lying a little back. 

 To the change that has taken place in this respect may to some 

 extent be ascribed the improvement of late noticed in the frames 



