274 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



ram of any age in the middle wool class, and was the heaviest sheep exhibited at that time. 

 Mr. Cooper did not permit the animal to return to England, but purchased him the following 

 spring. 



The attention given at the present time by our prominent importers and breeders towards 

 improving and perfecting all kinds of farm animals, cannot fail of great good to this branch 

 of the agricultural interests of the country. 



SOUTHDOWNS. 



THIS breed of sheep has for a long time existed in England in the region of a range 

 of chalky hills or downs, commonly called South Downs, from which the breed 

 derives its name. During the last century, great improvements in this variety 

 have been made, which have been brought about by careful breeding; consequently the 

 Southdowns of to-day are much superior to those of a hundred years ago, in respect to size, 

 form, quantity and quality of wool, and mutton. According to good authority, the changes 

 that have been effected in the true Southdowns have been converting the former speckled 

 faces to a uniform tint of brown or fawn color, sometimes approaching a gray; the forehead 

 and cheeks have been partially covered with wool; a greater symmetry of form has been 

 obtained, with increased size and fattening aptitude, together with improvement in quantity 

 and quality of wool. 



About a hundred years since, Mr. John Ellman, of Glynde, Sussex, commenced patiently 

 and perseveringly to attempt the improvement of the native sheep of the downs, and after a 

 few years succeeded in bringing them to a great perfection with regard to a more symmetrical 

 and profitable form, superior flesh and fattening powers, and early maturity, without injury to 

 the constitution. His success was so great that he formed a flock from which the best blood 

 of the breed has since been derived. 



Other breeders, particularly Messrs. &quot;Webb and Grantham, have made further improve 

 ments, beginning where Mr. Ellman left them, and succeeded in often bringing the weight of 

 rams to two hundred pounds. The wool, formerly short, has been lengthened considerably, 

 and is now used in England as a combing wool, the quality of the best types of the breed 

 being little inferior to that of the Merino. 



Description. An. English writer describes the Southdowns as follows: &quot;They 

 have a close, set fleece of fine wool, weighing, when the animals are well fed, about four 

 pounds; their faces and legs are of a dusky brown color, their necks slightly arched, 

 their limbs short, body broad and compact, offal light, and the buttock very thick and 

 square behind. They are less impatient of folding, and suffer less from a pasture being 

 thickly stocked than almost any other breed.&quot; 



The Southdowns will subsist on light pasturage, but of course thrive best when well fed; 

 and, where wool and mutton are both desired, are a profitable breed for any farmer. They 

 attain early maturity, are hardy and prolific, often producing two at a birth; in this respect 

 they surpass the Merinos. Breeders of experience state that a hundred ewes will, on the 

 average, produce a hundred per cent, of lambs, the twins occurring as often as barrenness in 

 ewes. The lambs are large, hardy, and mature early; when eight months old they are said 

 to dress from sixty to one hundred pounds. The sheep fatten readily, and take on the fat 

 evenly over the entire carcass. They are not, however (as is the case with all the highly- 

 improved English breeds), as long-lived as the Merinos, and may be considered in their prime 

 at three years. The ewes should not become mothers until two years old. Though naturally 



