676 



SHEEP. 



noticed are the most extended and best known to 

 history. 



Of the short-woolled sheep there are more varieties 

 than of the long-woolled ones. They are all of too 

 roaming a character for the arable lands, and they 

 are too delicate for the mountains. They are ex- 

 tending over most parts of the country, however, 

 though, in proportion as they are more northerly, 

 their pasture must be less elevated and exposed. 



The South Downs are probably entitled to take the 

 lead among the short-woolled sheep. They have the 

 wool very short and fine ; they are without horns ; 

 they have the face and legs of a grey colour, are 

 light in the fore quarter, and have the back a little 

 too ridgy ; the hind quarters are very full and well 

 shaped ;"and, though the carcass is light as compared 

 with that of the midland sheep, the flavour is superior. 

 The downs upon which the best of these sheep are 

 pastured are mostly chalk, covered with short and fine 

 herbage ; and the sheep, especially ou the higher 

 walks, have the finest air and plenty of exercise, and 

 are in consequence very healthy. There is nothing 

 which shows the healthiness of a sheep-walk, and the 

 fact of the exercise which the sheep have in feeding, 

 more than the quality of the fat, which is always 

 tallowy, atid inclining to be rancid, when the pasture 

 is unhealthy, or the animals have not sufficient air 

 and exercise ; and when thus improperly assimilated, 

 and therefore indigestible and unwholesome, the 

 quantity may be much greater than when the quality 

 is very superior. South Down mutton is much in 

 request in London by those who are particular in the 

 flavour, though the larger sheep of the midland 

 breeds furnish joints of greater show. The fleece of 

 the South Down sheep, though of fine texture, is 

 light, averaging between two and three pounds. 



Though, therefore, they must be considered as 

 good wool-bearing sheep, in so far as quality goes, 

 the quantity is inferior ; and their jeal value rests 

 upon their superiority as mutton-sheep. If we take 

 both quality and quantity into the account, they have 

 few equals in this respect. They have not the exqui- 

 site flavour of the "wee sheep o' the Heelands," no 

 doubt ; but they yield better, and their flesh is both 

 very digestible and very nutritious. It owes much of 

 this to the fine pure air of the Downs, as well as to 

 the small and sweet grasses ; and though the wild 

 thyme and the mountain trefoil give a zest, we are 

 not sure that they add any thing to the wholesome- 

 ness, though they do not subtract. An engraving 

 of the South Down is given on page 665 of this 

 article. 



The Herefordshire breed are of small size, but ex- 

 cellent quality. They have the legs and the face 

 white, and the wool advancing upon the cheeks toward 

 the eyes, though not so far as in the merinos. They 

 arc handsome little sheep, furnishing mutton of the 

 ver} 7 best quality ; and the staple of their wool is fine, 

 though the fleeces do not average above two pounds 

 each. These sheep are housed during the night, in 

 cots erected for the purpose ; and on this account 

 they are sometimes called cotting sheep. They are 

 also called the " Ryland " breed, from the fact that the 

 lands, upon which they were first introduced in stock 

 as herded flocks, being of so light and dry a nature as 

 to be fit only for the growth of rye. The continued 

 pasturing with these sheep has, however, tended 

 greatly to improve the quality of the soil, and the 

 land is now equal to the production of any kind of 



crop that may be suited' to the climate. Thus these 

 sheep furnish a very striking proof of the certain 

 advantage of the introduction of sheep upon mid 

 light lands, when these are so weak or exhausted as 

 to be unfit for any of the more valuable kinds of grain. 

 In tillage husbandry there is no amelioration for such 

 lands, but by the application of manure in lanre quan-. 

 tity. But the very same circumstances which occa- 

 sion the exhaustion of the land, lessen the quantity of 

 manure procurable in the vicinity ; and even if the 

 manure can be had, great part of it is wasted, because 

 it does not bring a covering of continuous vegetation 

 to protect the surface during the severe seasons. It 

 is worthy of remark that the parts of Saxony and 

 Poland, into which the Merino breed of sheep has 

 been recently introduced with so much advantage, 

 partake not a little of the same character which tra- 

 dition gives to the land upon which the Hereford 

 sheep have been introduced with so decided advan- 

 tages. That is to say, they were "rye" lands before 

 the sheep were placed upon them ; and not only that, 

 but they were so far exhausted that the crops of rye 

 had become very light. Thus we see that when wo 

 get hold of a sound philosophical principle in the 

 study of nature, it carries us much farther than wo 

 would a priori conjecture, and it always carries us in 

 safety. 



The Dorset breed is one of the most esteemed of 

 the short-woolled sheep. They generally have horns, 

 white faces, tall and slender legs, and long and rather 

 thin bodies, but they are heavier than the South 

 Down or the Hereford ; their flesh is finely flavoured, 

 and the wool, which is heavier in the fleece by a 

 fourth than the South Down, is at least equal to it 

 in quality. There is one property of the Dorset 

 sheep, and of the lands of other countries that are 

 related to it, which gives it an additional value over 

 some of the others. By proper management, lambs 

 may be obtained at almost any season of the year ; 

 at least they can be brought to the London market at 

 or before Christmas, at which time they fetch a hiirh 

 price, and amply repay the additional care and trouble 

 that are necessary in the procuring of them. This 

 breed are pretty widely ramified over the south of 

 England between the Devons on the one hand and 

 the South Downs on the other ; and they extend 

 northward in the sheep tracks ; .till they come to blend 

 with the midland breed formerly noticed. lhey dif- 

 fer much, however, in the different parts of their 

 range, as attention has been paid to their various 

 qualities. In some places, the. principal object has 

 been the carcass, in others the wool, and in others 

 again the adaptation to some particular kind of pas- 

 ture ; and these have produced so many diversities 

 of appearance that it is not easy to give a general 

 description. 



The Norfolk breed, which are chiefly (o be met 

 with in the dry parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, are a 

 very discursive and restless race, and require very 

 extensive pastures. They have large bones, long and 

 strong grey legs, a long and thin body, black faces, 

 and long spiral horns. They are of much larger lineal 

 dimensions than the Dorset breed, but the weight is 

 not greater, and the fleece, which, however, is short 

 and fine, is only about half as much. The activity of 

 this breed makes them consume a great deal of food, 

 and therefore they are not the most economical in 

 their keep ; but the countries, where they are chiefly 

 cultivated, are favourable for turnips, and the sheep 



