Chapttr LIII. 



HAMPSHIRES. 



This breed originated in the Chalks of Hampshire, England, from 

 which locality it takes its name. It is supposed to be the result of 

 mixing the blood of the old Wiltshire and native, or old Hampshire 

 sheep, with the Southdown. It is stated, also, that the Cotswold, ane 

 possibly the Leicester, may have had some place in the make-up of the 

 modern Hampshire breed, but this is disputed by those who may be 

 called good authority. In this connection we give place to the following 

 interesting communication from that veteran breeder and importer of 

 Hampshires, now president of the Hampshire Association, Mr. James 

 Wood, Mount Kisco, N. Y. : 



"The statements made by a number of writers on Hampshires, that they carry 

 Cotswold and perhaps Leicester blood, are all based upon a supposition of Spooncr in a 

 paper on 'Cross Breeding,' published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society 



HAMPSHIRE RAM, CYCLONE. 



Imported by JAMES WOOD, Mt. Kisco, New York. 



in 1859, which I have. In the main, it is an admirable paper. He does not say it is a 

 fact, or that there is sufficient evidence to prove it, but he supposes there may have been 

 an infusion of such blood. 



"All independent authorities are against it. Youatt is the oldest author who men- 

 tions Hampshires, and he states that they had their origin in the original Wiltshire and 

 Berkshire sheep crossed with the Southdown. Prof. Wilson a very high authority 

 states that no other blood was used. John Coleman, professor in the Royal Agricul- 

 tural College, Cirencester, and late editor of The Field, denies the Cotswold theory. 

 Squarey, in Coleman's 'Sheep of Great Britain,' says only the old Chalk breeds and 



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