328 THE SHEEP OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



jaw, a long but not a thin neck, no tuft of wool on the forehead, 

 which they call owl-headed, nor any frize of wool on the cheeks ; 

 thick in the shoulder, open-breasted, and deep ; both fore and 

 hind legs stand wide ; round and straight in the barrel ; wide 

 upon the loin and hips ; shut well in the twist, which is a pro- 

 jection of flesh on the inner part of the thigh, that gives a 

 fulness when viewed behind, and makes a Southdown leg of 

 mutton remarkably round and short, more so than in most other 

 breeds ; thin speckled legs, and free from wool ; the belly full of 

 wool ; the wool close and hard to the feel, curdled to the eye, and 

 free from projecting or strong fibres. Those flocks not bred with 

 particular care and attention are apt to be coarse-woolled in the 

 back, but some are fine all over ; weigh fat from 121b. to 151b. 

 a quarter." Contrast the above with the best specimens, as 

 shown by the Prince of Wales, Lord Walsingham, the Duke of 

 Richmond, Messrs. Grorringe, Penfold, Chapman, Ellis, and 

 others, and remark the attributes of the improved sheep as 

 described by Mr. Elhuann himself, and quoted by us from 

 Youatt : " The head small and hornless ; the face speckled or 

 grey, and neither too long nor too short ; the lips thin, and the 

 space between the nose and the eyes narrow ; the under jaw or 

 chap fine and thin ; the ears tolerably wide and well covered 

 with wool, and the forehead also, and the whole space between 

 the ears well protected by it as a defence against the fly ; the 

 eye full and bright, but not prominent ; the neck of medium 

 length, thin towards the head, but enlarging towards the 

 shoulders, where it should be broad and high, and straight in 

 its whole course above and below. The breast should be wide, 

 deep, and projecting forwards between the fore legs, indicating 

 a good constitution, and a disposition to thrive. Corresponding 

 with this the shoulders should be level with the back, and not 

 too wide above ; they should bow outward from the top to the 

 breast, indicating a springing rib beneath, and leaving room for 

 it, the ribs coming out horizontally from the spine, and 

 extending far backward, and the last rib projecting more than 

 the others ; the back flat from the shoulders to the setting on 

 of the tail ; the loin broad and flat ; the rump long and broad, 

 and the tail set on high, and nearly on a level with the spine. 

 The hips wide, and the space between them and the last rib 



