94 SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



and many find their way from these fairs into various parts 

 of the country. While most English farmers are looking 

 upon the lambing time as a thing of the past, the Cumberland 

 and Westmoreland dalesmen are just about to welcome the 

 little strangers. The rams are turned out from about Novem- 

 ber 2oth to Christmas, so that lambing may be expected 

 from April ijih to May 22nd. 



THE LONK. 



It is in vain that we search for notices of " the Lonk " 

 breed in any of the older standard works on sheep. Youatt 

 does not name the breed in his memorable treatise, which 

 extends over 600 pages, exclusively devoted to sheep. Under 

 the heading LANCASHIRE, he tells us that "the prevailing breed 

 (1837), is what is here called the Woodland horned sheep, a 

 variety of the heath or mountain sheep. . . They are found 

 pure or with almost every variety of cross ; but the principal 

 crosses, and which are decided improvements, are, according 

 to the nature of the country with the Leicester or the South- 

 down, and by means of which both the carcase and the wool 

 are increased in weight and value." It is also noticeable that 

 in describing the farming of Lancashire in 1849, Mr. William 

 James Garnett (Prize Report, vol. x.,R.A.S.J.) states decidedly 

 that " there is no breed of sheep peculiar to the county." In 

 Morton's " Cyclopaedia " no mention is made of this breed. 

 David Low seems to have been ignorant of its existence. 

 While, as already said, the old writers do not name the Lonk, 

 Youatt evidently had him in his mind when he penned the fol- 

 lowing passage : " In the W T est Riding of Yorkshire and on the 

 borders of Lancashire, a breed of short-woolled sheep has 

 existed from time immemorial. They are horned, with mottled 

 faces and legs; some of them, however, are white faced. They 

 are called the Penistone sheep, from the town situated between 

 Sheffield and Huddersfield to which they are usually driven 

 for sale. There is the same or a kindred race in Craven. It 



