THE LONK AND ROUGH SHEEP 549 



weighs 4^ Ibs. to 5 Ibs. in the case of ewes kept in moderate 

 condition, up to 6 or 7 Ibs. for ewe and hogg on the best 

 pastures. 



The rams have been used to cross with Scotch ewes to 

 increase the size and improve the wool, but the attempt has 

 not succeeded, as the constitution of the produce is weakened. 

 The sheep are mostly kept in small flocks of not more than 

 200. Sometimes they are all sent off to winter in the 

 lowlands in Cheshire and Derbyshire, at 53. to 73. each, from 

 wet country, unfavourable for them in winter. The ewes 

 return about the beginning of March, and hoggs in the end of 

 April or beginning of May. Some farmers do not send their 

 sheep away, but supply them with hay and a few oats. Ewes 

 begin to lamb about the middle of March ; the earlier, the 

 fewer deaths of lambs. Wether lambs fit for the butcher go 

 off in August and September, and the rest run over to the 

 following autumn, and kill as exceptionally lean mutton up to 

 70 and 100 Ibs. ; they handle hard on the back, and the back- 

 bone stands up. Lean mutton is in special request among 

 the cotton spinners of Manchester, and the founders in the 

 Black country, who have a strong aversion to fat. 



The Lonk Sheep Breeders' Association and Flock Book 

 Society issued the first volume of The Lonk Sheep Flock Book 

 for 1905. From this brochure of 18 pages we learn that 

 the name " lonk " is most probably derived from the word 

 Lancashire, and that the breed is old and " well adapted to a 

 mountainous district, which does not seem to be favourable to 

 any other breed " ; also that it is the duty of the Association 

 to encourage its increase in quality and quantity. 



The Rough sheep or the Blackface Mountain (horned) 

 breed of the North of England is smaller than the Lonk. It 

 differs conspicuously from the Lonk in its wool, which is 

 stronger and coarser. The black of the face is not so clear, 

 possessing often a brown tinge. It is practically identical 

 with the Blackface sheep which existed in the Highlands of 

 Scotland into the latter half of last century, but its wool is not 

 so long and strong as that of the modern Scotch variety. 

 It is a true mountain slow-maturity type, hardier than any of 

 the other allied breeds of the North of England, bigger and 

 hardier than, and preferable to, the Dale breeds on the most 



