CHAPTER TT. 

 VARIETIES OF SHEEP AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS. 



I. LONG-WOOLED ENGLISH SHEEP. II. LINCOLN SHEEP. III. ROMNEY MARSH 



SHEEP. IV. LEICESTER SHEEP. V. THE COTSWOLDS. VL NEW OXFORD- 

 SHIRE SHEEI'. VII. THE OXFORD-DOWNS. VIII. MIDDLE .\ND SHORT- WOOLED 



BRITISH BREEDS. IX. WHITE-FACED MOUNTAIN SHEEP. X. BLACK PACED 



HIGHLAND, OR SCOTCH SHEEP. XI. HAMPSHIRE-DOWNS. XIL SHROP- 

 SHIRE-DOWNS. Xin. SOUTH-DOWNS. XIV. OTHER BREEDS OF GREAT 



BRITAIN. XV. DORSET SHEEP. XVI. FINE-WOOLED SHEEP. XVIL AMER- 

 ICAN MERINOS. XVIIl. THE ATWOOD AND HAMMOND MERINOS. XIX. THE 



RICH MERINOS. XX. ABOUT SHEEP IN GENERAL. XXI. THE AVERAGE 



WOOL PER SHEEP. XXII. SUMMARY OF BRITISH BREEDS. XXIII. THE 



SHEEP IN AUSTRALIA. XXIV. THE WOOL HARVEST. XXV. WHERE THE 



WORLD'S SHEEP ARE LOCATED. XXVL THE WORLD'S GREATEST WOOL 



SUPPLY. 



Long-Wooled English Sheep. 

 Long-wooled sheep may l)e divided into two classes — those reared iu 

 rich alluvial and mar.shy districts that have been drained, as the Lincoln 

 and Konino}^ marshes ? and those reared in the rich agricultural districts 

 of arable land devoted to mixed farming. The latter includes the Cots- 

 wolds, the Lcicesters, and the Oxford-Downs. In discussing long-wooled 

 sheep, we shall simply give characteristics, supplemented with accurate 

 illustrations of the more valuable breeds, since this will be all that will be 

 necessary to enable the reader to easily recognise them and estimate theii 



value. 



n. Lincoln Sheep. 



The Lincoln sheep are the largest sheep known, tfnder fairly good 



feeding they dress up to 120 to 160 pounds at two years old past, while 



under exceptional circumstances they dress up to 90 pounds per quarter at 



thatage. Their long, lustrous fleeces, at the second shearing, will weigh from 



10 to 15 pounds of washed wool, the fibre measuring nine inches in length. 



They have been known in the United States since 1835, are hardy and 



prolific, but large feeders. Notwithstanding their good qualities, they 



have not become widely disseminated in this country, the Cotswolds 



being generally preferred. They require the best and most succulent 



grasses and the most skillful care, and this, probably, is the reason why 



they have not succeeded so well in the West, where high farming is not 



the rul& 



HE. Komney Marsh Sheep. 



These sheep are natives of the Southeastern part of England,especially 

 the drained marsh districts of Kent, where they have been bred from the 



1014 



