CHAPTEE XY. 



SHROPSHIRE SHEEP, 



LTHOUGH a comparatively recent breed, these 

 valuable sheep are probably more widely distri- 

 buted than any others, and merit increasing patron- 

 age, as they possess many sterling qualities, which 

 it is the object of the present paper to describe. Although 

 moderns in their improved character, the original stocks were 

 the Longmynds in Shropshire, and the denizens of Cannock 

 Chase in Staffordshire. Ply m ley, who is quoted by Tanner in 

 his prize essay on Shropshire published in the " Journal of the 

 Eoyal Agricultural Society," vol. 19, p. 42, thus describes the 

 sheep : " There is a breed of sheep on the Longmynd, with 

 horns and black faces, that seem an indigenous sort ; they are 

 nimble, hardy, and weigh near 101b. per quarter when fatted. 

 The fleeces upon the average may yield 22^1b., of which |lb. will 

 be the breechens or coarse wool, and is sold distinct from the 

 rest. The farmers of the hill country seem to think the 

 greatest advantage they derive from the access of foreign stock 

 is from the cross of the Southdown with the Longmynd sheep ; 

 the produce they state to be as hardy and to bite as close as the 

 Longmynd sheep ; and the weight of the carcass is increased." 

 Plymley's work was published in 1803 ; and, after such 

 evidence, it is surprising that anyone could contend for the 

 purity of the Shropshires. 



Mr. H. Evershed, in his essay on Staffordshire, described 

 the dry surface of Cannock Chase, and its good climate, as 

 favouring a heavier heath-sheep than occurs elsewhere. The 

 original sheep had a short light fleece of about 31b., and a 



