OHAPTEE XIY. 



THE HAMPSHIRE OR WEST COUNTRY DOWN 

 SHEEP. 



By E. p. SQUAEEY. 



AMPSHIEE or West CoTintry Down sheep are bred 

 on the chalk formations of Berkshire, Hants, Wilts, 

 and Dorset, and occasionally are fotind in Sussex 

 and Surrey. This breed undoubtedly dates its 

 origin from the crossing of the old Wiltshire Horned sheep and 

 the old Berkshire Knot with the Southdowns which were intro- 

 duced into Wiltshire and Hampshire early in the present 

 century. 



For a long time the high quality and charming character of the 

 Southdowns, with their fine form, satisfied the most advanced of 

 the Wilts, Hants, and Dorset farmers ; and it was not until they 

 realised how much they had lost in the size, early maturity, and 

 hardihood of constitution which existed in the old Wiltshire 

 type, that they bethought them of recurring to those animals 

 to give additional substance and development to the South- 

 downs. These crosses were made with varying success, and 

 depended simply on the instinctive capacity of the farmer to 

 properly select the animals for this purpose. Whilst one aimed 

 at the production of a large-framed, longwool-producing, hardy 

 animal, another devoted his attention to the maintenance of the 

 high quahty and beauty of the Southdown, with earlier maturity 

 and greater size. 



From about 1815 to 1835, the Hampshire Downs of the 

 north of Hants and the south of Wilts were totally dissimilar 



