240 The Management of Sheep Stoch 



in the peculiai' country they inhabit. Sheep bred upon the 

 Romney Marshes, are an example of this : crosses with more 

 refined breeds have been repeatedly tried, but have been aban- 

 doned, since the produce invariably lost somewhat of the hardy 

 character which renders them so peculiarly suitable to that exposed 

 country. 



At the present day our aim is to combine plenty of wool, 

 weight of carcase, aptitude to feed, and good quality of flesh — 

 points that are not united in any of the old distinct breeds. 

 Thus, wool and carcase are found in such long-woolled breeds 

 as Leicesters, Lincolns, and Cotswolds, but the quality of the 

 flesh is so inferior as to limit the chief demand for such mutton 

 to our manufacturing districts. The Southdown gives us the 

 perfection of quality, but the frame is small and the fleece light, 

 and such animals, except in a limited district, are not profitable 

 farmer's stock. For the production of mutton and wool on soils 

 favourable for sheep culture, breeds derived from a cross of the 

 Long and Short-wools — such as the Shropshire, the Oxfordshire, 

 and the Down Leicester sheep — will generally prove most pro- 

 fitable. Care and judgment is, however, required to maintain 

 the form and character of breeds so comparatively recent ; still, 

 under good management, they will probaljly continue to increase. 



The Shropshire sheep are peculiarly valuable in the West 

 Midland Counties, and are rapidly increasing over that con- 

 siderable area ; they follow the Down rather than the Long- 

 wool in character, possessing a moderately heavy fleece, of a 

 close, thick texture, admirably adapted to protect them from 

 the weather; they are very hardy, prolific, and produce a fine 

 quality of mutton. The Oxfordshire sheep exhibit more of the 

 Long-wool character, with less symmetry ; they are larger, with 

 fatter backs, and more open and longer wool ; they are hardy, 

 and moderately prolific; and are well suited to the arable soils 

 of Oxfordshire and the adjoining counties ; these sheep were 

 originally derived from a cross of the Cotswold and Hamp- 

 shire Down ; they come to maturity early, and, when well 

 done from birth, come out at from 12 to 14 months old, 

 weighing 20 lbs. a quarter, and cutting 7 to 8 lbs. of wool. 



In the drier climate, and in the lighter soils of the Eastern 

 Counties, we find a great varietv of cross-bred sheep, many of 

 which trace back to the old Norfolk black-faced sheep. To quote 

 from a recent writer in the ' ]Mark-lane Express,' " Though the 

 pure-bred Norfolks are never seen, traces of the old blood are to be 

 found in more than half the flocks of the county. The rem<ain- 

 ing qualities of the breed which are perpetuated are not to be 

 despised. They impart a great frame, hardihood, and strength 

 of constitution, and wonderful milking properties." When we 



