244 THE SHEEP OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



which were shown by the late Mr. Ellman, of Glynde, and Mr. 

 Jonas Webb, or Lord Walsingham, for example, and which led 

 the nephew of the former to protest against the decision of his 

 colleagues at one of the meetings of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society, on the ground that the sheep were not characteristic. 

 But we can see, in the conditions to which each was subjected, 

 sufficient cause for modification without the introduction of 

 foreign blood. The Sussex Down of old time, and to a certain 

 extent at the present day, is the manure carrier from the open 

 downs to the arable land ; consequently, after running out all 

 day, the sheep were driven into a fold on the arable land, and 

 there left for ten or twelve hours without food. Small frames 

 and great hardiness were necessary for such a life. Contrast 

 this with the high culture as carried out by the foremost low- 

 land feeder — lambs allowed every advantage from birth, accus- 

 tomed to pick at the best of artificial food, receiving frequent 

 changes of diet, and having the supply at hand and not to be 

 sought for. Regular feeding insures increased size. 



Little, however, is known either of the type or date of the 

 British sheep. Writers, who have assumed that because the 

 oldest records contain no mention of them that therefore they 

 did not exist, appear to forget that the same reasoning might 

 apply to the country itself ; for, during the barbaric ages, and 

 before the Roman times, we search in vain for an authentic 

 history of Britain. It is quite true that the Phoenicians traded 

 with the Britons for lead and tin only, and no mention is made 

 of sheep; but it does not therefore follow that they did not 

 exist. The Phoenicians, it is believed, confined their dealings to 

 Cornwall, and sought such articles as they were deficient in ; 

 whereas wool was grown by neighbouring countries, and un- 

 doubtedly used for clothing. It is, however, known that the 

 skins of animals were exchanged, and there is no reason why 

 these should not have included the sheep. If sheep were not 

 in existence in these islands, it is a little remarkable that, within 

 a short period of their subjugation by the Romans, a woollen 

 manufactory should be established at Winchester, and goods of 

 a very high class be furnished. Indeed, the finest and most 

 superior robes used only on state occasions were supplied from 

 Britain. It is not important to cany the speculation further, 



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