120 



THE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



noses, and are not so valuable. The Dorsets are hardy, very quiet 

 and docile, and submit to any reasonable management with facili- 

 ty, adapting themselves readily to changes. They mature early, 

 weigh 100 Ibs. dead weight, at two years old, when folded upon 

 turnips alone, for which kind of feeding they are well suited. The 

 fleece is close and heavy, yielding 6 Ibs. of white, soft, clean wool 

 adapted to combing purposes. The lambs are sheared for their 

 fleeces of " lambs wool." When crossed with the Southdown, the 

 Dorset ewes produce mostly single lambs, which, when shorn, yield 



Fig. 39. DORSET EWES OF MB. PiTFiEi/o's FLOCK. (From a Photograph.) 



about 2 Ibs. each of valuable wool, and make, when mature, a 

 larger and better feeding sheep, with a heavier and finer fleece 

 than the dams. A few Dorsets have been introduced into Vir- 

 ginia, but have attracted no notice beyond the simple fact of their 

 existence there. They certainly possess some valuable points for 

 our use which should make them good subjects for experiment. 



THE CHEVIOT. The Cheviot hills traverse the boundary be- 

 tween England and Scotland. These hills have given their name to 

 a very hardy breed of sheep, the origin of which is perhaps some- 

 what fancifully dated back to the attempted invasion of England 

 by the Spanish Armada. When this formidable and dreaded fleet 

 was wrecked upon the stormy British coasts, it is said that some 

 of the sheep with which the ships were provided, swam ashore and 

 escaped to these hills, where they bred and multiplied. They 

 were originally small, light-boned, hardy sheep, and were spread 

 over most of the hilly part of the Scottish lowlands. A hundred 

 years ago the attention of breeders was drawn to the Cheviots, and 

 they were greatly improved in size and value. It is said that a 



