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DORSET HORN SHEEP. 



This breed of sheep, which is one of the ohlest mutton breeds 

 in the kingdom, and unrivalled for its fecundity, is widely 

 distributed, being found not only on the extensive sheep walks 

 of Dorsetshire, but extending into Somersetshire and the Isle 

 of Wight, whilst very choice flocks are found on the borders of 

 Devonshire, and in other more distant English counties, as, for 

 example, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire. It has also found its 

 way into America, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. 



History and Ancestry. 



The earliest records of the l)reed go back to 1G93, when 

 Edward Lisle, in Ohservations on Hushandry , published by 



his son in 1757, describing his journeys into Dorsetshire, 

 remarked on the fecundity of the Dorset Horn Breed, saying 

 that his tenant had ewes which brought him lambs at Christ- 

 mas, which he sold fat to the butcher at Ladyday, and at the 

 beginning of June, thinking his ewes fat, went to sell them 

 to the butcher, who, when he handled them, found their 

 udders springing with milk and near lambing, and eventually 

 they did lamb early in June. Another early writer to mention 



