386 THE SHEEP OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



nose supported by well-filled profiles is a desirable feature. The 

 neck should not be very long nor low. The shoulder being high, 

 the neck should be well filled. The back not very long but well 

 up, the ribs fairly sprung, the quarters deep, and the mutton 

 full below. A great breadth of back, and monster arching of 

 rib are evidently not characteristic of the breed, but they stand 

 well for depth of frame and squareness of quarter. A well- 

 wooUed, highly-bred tup walks out very gaily, indicating only 

 two or three inches between the flow of the wool and the ground- 

 He should stand erect on his legs, with well set up quarters and 

 considerable breadth of brisket. About a good black-faced ram 

 there is a great deal of symmetry and not a little style. Tups 

 whose horns rise a good deal from the head at the root, before 

 turning cannot be too carefully avoided, for they invariably 

 inflict a heavy loss among the ewes in the lambing season by the 

 size of the lambs' heads. Black-faced sheep are liable to " Braxy," 

 and " Sturdy." On most hill farms a few acres of roots might 

 be grown, which, with a liberal supply of hay, would be invalu- 

 able during protracted storms. 



