344 THE SHEEP OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



of face was dark grey, witli flat foreheads ; the legs black. Later 

 on, both the Kinver Hill and Sutton Maddock flocks were 

 altered in character by the influence of Oxfordshire blood. The 

 size was increased thereby, but we very much question the 

 policy of the cross. It may be here mentioned that the late 

 Lord Chesham, whose flock for many years and until its dis- 

 persal a year or two since stood A 1, purchased a good many 

 sheep from Mr. Smith, and thus a considerable percentage of 

 Mr. Meire's blood must have existed in his sheep. 



Enough has been said to show that Mr. Meire was a great 

 improver in his day, and that his sheep made a considerable 

 impression wherever they went ; it is to us a matter of great 

 regret that his operations were arrested at so early a period. 

 Mr. Adney pursued quite a different plan to Mr. Meire ; he 

 stuck to the Shropshire as he found them, making his improve- 

 ments by selection ; his judgment was undoubtedly good. His 

 most fortunate produce was the ram Buckskin, who was 

 descended from a Southdown cross, and if the picture represent- 

 ing Mr. Adney and his sheep is a likeness, this was evident in 

 his fine rather flat head and grey character. Old Patentee was 

 by Buckskin, being a twin out of a ewe bred by Mr. Adney ; he 

 did not follow his sire, having a large, plain, and dark head ; 

 he was an extraordinary getter, and his blood exists in every 

 Shropshire flock of any note. Mr. Adney's enemies declared 

 that he sold many more rams than he bred, picking them up 

 all over the country. His judgment was far in advance of his 

 contemporaries, and if this rather questionable practice be a 

 fact, he would doubtless realise a considerable amount. Mr. 

 Thomas Horton, of Harnage Grange, Mr. Adney's nephew, 

 possessed a good deal of his blood, and at one time, when his 

 Duke of Kent, a grandson of Buckskin, was in his prime, his 

 reputation was considerable ; but his flock lacked uniformity, 

 and latterly his animals wanted quality. This was not his 

 only prize winner — Lord of the Isles and Lord Salop were 

 both prize winners. Up to and for many years before his 

 death, no flock was more highly valued by breeders than that of 

 the late Mr. Masfen, of Pendleford, who, although he was not 

 an exhibitor, had a very high reputation for judgment, and his 

 rams made a higher average than most of his contemporaries. 



