368 Mountain Breeds of Sheep. 



Argyllshire ; and in some instances to Northumberland, as a 

 wool cross. The cast ewes are generally sold at Moiser Fair 

 near Keighley, and four to five thousand of them are dispersed 

 round the neighbourhood among the small farmers, who take one 

 crop of lambs from them by a Leicester tup. This cross knocks 

 out the horn in the gimmers, and makes capital hoggs, which 

 feed to 16 lbs. a quarter at twenty months on good lowland 

 pasture, without any artificial food. Cotswolds and Southdowns 

 have also " hit " pretty well with them, but they have been but 

 seldom tried. 



Some maintain that the pure Lonk should be copper coloured 

 on the nose, and have the face and legs of the same hue, but 

 fashion differs from them on this point. A white face is gene- 

 rally eschewed as soft, and any approach to a brindle shade as 

 indicative of cross-breeding. The blending of pure black and 

 white is now generally indorsed in the show ring, more espe- 

 cially if the poll is white, and the white streaks fall over each 

 cheek. Lightness in the forequarter is a characteristic of the 

 Lonk, and, as in the Ayrshire cow, betokens good milking. 

 Their scrags are rather light and their legs long, and the loin 

 too often lacks strength. The lambs shoot their horns with the 

 jiew year, and the wethers never go beyond one curl. Breeders 

 make much of the horn, and consider its strength a great proof 

 of constitution. It ought to be self-coloured and finer than that 

 of the Blackface, but it should come out low from the head, 

 with the same fine, gentle curl. 



For cunning the Lonks are unrivalled. They are, in fact, 

 always working for themselves, with a zeal and sagacity which 

 makes them very bad neighbours. Small farmers buy the 

 wethers from the Moor by 20 or 30 at a time, and if there be 

 one better acre than another in a parish, be it garden or church- 

 yard, the strangers very soon make themselves tenants at will. 

 Hence it is often necessary to " hopple " them in spring time. 

 On the hills they run up walls, like a cat, when they cannot 

 take them " off and on," but a wire fence 5 feet high is too much 

 for their philosophy. A curious anecdote is told about one 

 which wanted to get back from the Ings to the hill. A canal 

 was in the way, and the bridjje-gate was strongly barricaded, 

 but the Lonk bided his time till a canal boat sailed past, and 

 then jumping on to its deck, cleared the canal at twice. The 

 story is true enough, and as our informant naively added, " What 

 posnble inducement could a man have to lie about a Lonk ? " 



Both ewes and lambs are very hardy, and a little cow near 

 Skipton might once be seen suckling four cades, and as proud of 

 them as if they were calves. Except on the fell tops, the 

 lambing: beerlns about March 20th. Most of the ewes lamb on 



