30 June, 1909.] 



/\oiiiiii\ MarsJi S/u'cp. 



375 



healthy he is a verv g(x>d duer, and is particularly hardy in dry autumns 

 and in the depth of winter. But once they begin to be bred hastily for 

 numbers and pedigree onh. then thev will be found no better than any 

 other ordinary sheep. 



Many enthusiasts credit the Romney with l«ing fluke, worm, and foot- 

 rot resi.stant. Thev hold that as they were bred successfully on low 

 marshy land they must be immune ; but we are not to forget that they 

 have been evolved on well drained marshes, ver\ different to much of our 

 cold unimproved countrv for which Romnevs axe recommended. No 

 matter how hard}" a class of sheep mav be, it has no possible hoj^e of 

 succeeding for anv length of time on some of our unhealthy countrv, 

 notwithstandinff drenches and licks. 



ROMNEV MARSH E^^•E 



LAUV ELLAM.' 



A typical Romney should possess alxne all else a full girth and lev^el 

 forequarter. As with all breeds, the governing principle is first to acquire 

 good thriving abilities, and this is attained (when the country is fairlv 

 healthy) by selecting good shaped stud sheep as broad and full girthed 

 as can be found, and then combining style of fleece and other minor typical 

 l^oints. Good width is mostly a sign of good constitutional vigour, and 

 this point, when coupled with improvement of the pastures and liberal 

 feeding, is the best preventive towards warding off such troubles as worms 

 and fluke. 



The Romnev is credited with being evolved generations ago from the 

 English Leicester on one side and Ryeland on the other. Romneys as a 

 breed are finer in grain of mutton and grade of w^ool than the English 

 Leicester and secrete about the same amount of yolk. The wool is shorter 

 in length of staple and rather more dense, but yet sufficiently long to turn 

 the bulk of heavy rainfall and continuous showers in \-ery wet districts. 

 A good Romnev fleece, in grade and length of staple, is about mid-way 

 between good Shrnpshire and gnnd English T>eicester. 



