THE SUFFOLK DOWN. 75 



has yielded to the spirit of the times, and a society and a 

 club have been formed. There are also societies for Lincolns, 

 Cheviots, Cotswolds, Dorset Horns, and Improved Leicesters. 



THE SUFFOLK DOWN. 



This excellent breed is one of the few survivors of the old 

 county breeds of Down sheep which inhabited the Chalk 

 Hills of Southern England, and extended from Norfolk and 

 Suffolk through Essex, Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hants, Bucks, 

 Berks, Wilts, Dorset and other counties possessing chalk 

 downs. Of these Down breeds we can only name three 

 which are of importance, namely, the Southdown, Hampshire 

 Down and Suffolk Down, and these last have been greatly 

 improved by the Southdown. The original Suffolk sheep 

 existed in famous flocks during Arthur Young's time in 

 peculiar form in the neighbourhood of Bury St. Edmunds. 

 Mr. Edward Prentice, the able Secretary of the Suffolk Sheep 

 Society, has contributed an excellent account of the " genesis " 

 of the breed, and a scale of points is also to be found in the 

 sixth volume of the Flock Book. The late Mr. George Dobito, 

 of Lydgate, was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic sup- 

 porters of the breed, and the establishment of the Suffolk 

 sheep as a distinct breed was mainly due to his efforts. 

 While the breeders. of Suffolk sheep willingly allow the im- 

 provement effected by the use of Southdown sires, and, it 

 may be, Southdown dams, they maintain that existing flocks 

 date back to 1810, and have been bred with " rigid adherence 

 to purity of blood." The Suffolk sheep may be described 

 as follows, adhering to the points laid down as necessary by 

 the Suffolk Sheep Society: Head hornless; face black and 

 long, and muzzle reasonably fine, especially in ewes (a small 

 quantity of clear white wool on the forehead not objected to) ; 

 ears a medium length, black and of fine texture ; eyes bright 

 and full ; neck moderately long and well set ; shoulder broad 

 and oblique ; chest deep and wide ; back and loin long, level, 

 and well covered ; tail broad and well set up ; ribs long and 



