SECRETARY'S REPORT. 135 



Unlike his cotemporary Bakewell, he did not attempt to make a 

 new breed by crossing', but by attention to the principles of breed- 

 ing, by skillful selections for couplino' and continued perseverance 

 for fifty years, he obtained what he sought^ — health, soundness of 

 constitution, symmetry of form, early maturity, and facility of 

 fattening, and thus brought his flock to a high state of perfection. 

 Before he began we are told that the South Downs were of " small 

 size and ill shape, long and thin in the neck, high on the shoulders, 

 low behind, high on the loins, down on the rumps, the tail set on 

 very low, sharp on the back, the ribs flat," &c., &c., and were not 

 mature enough to fatten until three years old or past. Of his flock 

 in 1794, Arthur Young* says: " Mr. EUman's flock of sheep, I 

 must observe in this place, is unquestionably the first in the 

 country ; there is nothing that can be compared with it ; the wool 

 is the finest and the carcass the best proportioned ; although I saw 

 several noble flocks afterwards which I examined with a great 

 degree of attention ; some few had very fine wool, which might be 

 equal to his, but then the carcass was ill-shaped, and many had a 

 good carcass with coarse wool ; but this incomparable farmer had 

 eminently united both these circumstances in his flock at Glynde. 

 I affirm this with the greater degree of certainty, since the eye of 

 prejudice has been at work in this country to disparage and call in 

 question the quality of his flock, merely because he has raised the 

 mei-it of it by unremitted attention above the rest of the neighbor- 

 ing farmers, and it now stands unrivalled." This, it will be no- 

 ticed, was only twelve years after he began his improvements. To 

 Mr. Ellman's credit be it said that he exhibited none of the selfish- 

 ness which characterized Mr. Bakewell's career, but was always 

 ready to impart information to those desirous to learn, and labored 

 zealously to encourage general improvement. That he was pecu- 

 niarily successful is evident from the continued rise in the price of 

 his sheep. The Duke of Richmond, Mr. Jonas Webb, Mr. Gran- 

 tham, and other cotemporaries and successors of Mr. Ellman have 

 carried successfully forward the work so well begun by him. The 

 Improved South Downs now rank first among British breeds in 

 hardiness, constitution, early maturity, symmetry, and quality of 

 mutton and of wool combined. The meat usually brings one or 

 two cents per pound more than that of other breeds in Smithfield 

 market. It is of fine flavor, juicy, and well marbled, i. e., the fat 



* Annals of Agriculture, Vol. 11, p. 224. 



