THE HERDWICK SHEEP. 379 



The Herdwick Sheep are hornless, and have 

 speckled faces and legs, and short wool. Those, 

 however, are considered to be of the purest breed, 

 which have only a few black spots on their faces 

 and legs. Their fleece is thick and matted, and 

 does not often exceed the weight of two pounds, 

 or two pounds and a half. The wool is coarser than 

 that of any of the other short-woolled breeds. The 

 Ewes generally weigh from six to eight pounds, 

 and the wethers, at four years and a half old, from 

 nine to eleven pounds per quarter. Their legs are 

 fine, small boned, and clean. 



These are active and lively little animals; and so 

 hardy, that they can support themselves during the 

 severest storms, and deepest snows, in winter, with- 

 out any other food than what they are able to ob- 

 tain, either by scratching their way through the 

 snow to the scanty herbage which it conceals, or 

 by seeking out situations where the winds have left 

 the herbage exposed. So long as the severe wea- 

 ther continues, they generally collect together, 

 and, by continually moving about, tread down the 

 snow, and thus are seldom lost by being over- 

 whelmed in the drifts. In every respect they are 

 animals admirably adapted to an alpine country. 

 Mr. Culley is of opinion that this breed has been 

 crossed by the Heath Sheep, from the circumstance 

 of a few of the Rams having small horns, and from 

 some kempy hairs being intermixed with the 

 wool. 



The 



