582 BREEDS OF LOWLAND LONG-WOOL SHEEP 



The nose should be wide, and in the rams strong and 

 slightly arched ; the back of the head flat, and the ears large, 

 but well set on and well carried. The breed is specially 

 noted for the absence of patchiness or excess of fat. The 

 crosses bred from it are slower in coming to maturity than 

 those of the Border Leicester or the other breeds of long- 

 woolled sheep. The superior quality of flesh produced, the 

 hardy constitution and active disposition, enable it, however, 

 to maintain the position of first favourite in many districts ; 

 though it must be admitted that in some counties, such as 

 Dumfriesshire, Border Leicester rams have displaced the 

 Wensleydale in breeding half-bred lambs by Cheviot ewes, 

 and to some extent among Blackfaces. 



The Lincoln Long-wool is white-faced, with a tuft of 

 wool on the forehead. It is as large as any sheep in 

 England, though not larger than the Cotswold or South 

 Devon. It was produced by crossing the Old Lincoln, which 

 was famous for its wool, with the English Leicester. 



Professor Low, in Domesticated Animals of the British 

 Isles, classes the Lincoln with the Romney Marsh as " Long- 

 woolled sheep of the fens and alluvial country," in contra- 

 distinction to the long-woolled sheep of the plains, such 

 as the Leicester and Teeswater breeds. He writes of the Old 

 Lincoln as " of large size and coarse form ; and describes the 

 wool as long, thick, and tough in the filaments, of inferior felt- 

 ing properties, but tolerably soft to the touch, and rarely 

 approaching to the harsh and wiry character of hair," un- 

 suitable for carding, and never prepared except by combing 

 for worsted yarn. " The fleeces weigh from 10 to 12 Ibs., and 

 those of rams and fat wethers often greatly exceed that 

 weight. They fatten slowly, and consume much food, but 

 are valued by the butchers for their tendency to produce 

 internal fat." Such was the animal that by frequent crossing 

 with the improved Dishley Leicester was after many years 

 transformed into the present-day Lincoln. It is said to have 

 been reduced in size, and its aptitude to fatten and tendency 

 to early maturity increased, " while the wool is shorter and 

 finer, though it wants the toughness, softness, and length of 

 fibre of the true Old Lincoln breed," the wool of which was 

 "altogether peculiar, and such .as no country in Europe 



