266 History of the English Landed Interest, 



differed widely, A Norfolk breeder would tell people that 

 they should be " black-faced and black-legged, and that their 

 horns should come out forward, and turn in such a manner 

 as you can see the ears through or behind the circle of the 

 horns." A Wiltshire breeder would, on the contrary, affirm 

 that " sheep should have white faces and white legs, and that 

 their horns should come out backwards in such a manner that 

 the ears may be seen before the horns." But a Sussex flock- 

 master " insisted that these authorities were both wrong be- 

 cause sheep should be grey-faced, grey-legged, and hornless." ^ 

 But sheep had always been looked after far more carefully 

 than cattle. Flocks, especially in Herefordshire, were kept 

 under cover and stall-fed at night, both winter and summer ; 

 and though Jacob gives the average weight of wethers in his 

 time at only 22 lbs. per quarter, and of ewes at 18 Ibs.,^ we 

 shall find, before we have done with our subject, that even 

 at a period when the fine fleece and sweet mutton of the 

 mountain sheep were more esteemed than the thick pelts, 

 heavy wool, and coarse-grained meat of the Lincolnshire 

 variety,^ the sizes of sheep were rapidly increasing. This 

 new departure in breeding must be ascribed to Bakewell, 

 who now began to carry the Leicestershire mutton and fleece 

 to the fore. The long bodies and short legs of these sheep 

 gave them the appearance of beavers,* and were soon much 

 preferred either to the camel-like proportions of the tall light 

 Dorset s, the smooth-headed Lincolns, hurdle-backed, swarthy- 

 faced Norfolks, firkin-bellied Southdowns, long-wooled E,om- 

 neys, or even the world-renowned Cotswolds. John Ellman 

 introduced the Southdown sheep in 1780, and not much later 

 young Jonas Webb was registering a mental vow that he 



* Annals of Agriculture, vol, vi. p. 420. 



* The Country Genttemmi's Vade Mecum. 1717. 

 ^ Annals of Agriculture, vol. vi. p. 419. 



* Yoving, in 1771, measured two with the following results :— Three-year- 

 old ram : girth in the wool, 5 ft. 10 in. ; height, 2 ft. 5 in. ; collar, broad 

 at ear tips, 1 ft. 4 in. ; breadth over shoulders, 1 ft. llj in. ; ditto over 

 ribs, 1 ft. 10| in. ; ditto over hips, 1 ft. 9^ in, Two-j-ear barren ewe : 

 height, 1 ft. 11 in. ; girth, 5 ft, 9 in. ; breast from the ground, four fingers 

 length. — Eastern Tour. A. Young, 1771. 



