African Piebald Sheep. 21 



show mucli more white. The ewes are either hornless, or with a 

 very small pair of horns. The occurrence of Four-horned Sheep in 

 St. Kilda and Uist has been already mentioned, these being 

 characterised by their brownish, or brown and white, fleece, and 

 brown horns. Some of these Hebridcan Sheep have been introduced 

 into certain English parks. In the present breed, on the other 

 hand, when the rams have four horns (fig. 11), the upper pair generally 

 • curve upwards and backwards in a curiously Goat-like manner. 

 A more important characteristic is that the horns, whether two or 

 four, are invariably black. The fleece and tail are long ; and while 

 the middle of the face is white, the rest of the head and body is 

 generally piebald. Wholly black specimens are, however, by no 

 means uncommon. 



Sheep of this breed are kept by the following owners, viz. : 

 The Duke of Devonshire, at Chatsworth ; Mr. E. C. Lowndes, of 

 Castle Coombe, Chippenham, Wilts ; Mr. J. Wliitaker, of Rains- 

 worth, Nottinghamshire ; Lady Cowley, of Draycot Park, Wilts ; 

 Mrs. Farrer, of Ingleborough, Olapham, Yorkshire ; Sir H. Dryden, 

 of Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire ; and Col. Piatt, of Gorddinog, 

 Llanfairfechan, North Wales. The late Duke of Hamilton also 

 possessed a flock in Scotland. 



In regard to the native home of these Sheep, there appears to be 

 much uncertainty among owners. It is, however, certain that they 

 do not come from either St. Kilda or Uist. Perhaps the most 

 satisfactory history exists in the case of the flock owned by Mrs. 

 Farrer. The original parents of these Sheep were brought home 

 from the Cape about a century ago by the present owner's grand- 

 fatliei', Col. Farrer, who believed that they had been imported into the 

 Cape by Spanish or Portuguese settlers, who were supposed to have 

 brought them from their own country. A portion of this original 

 flock was given to Sir Henry Dryden's ancestor, so that the Ingle- 

 borough and Canons Ashby flocks have the same ancestry. 



Lady Cowley's flock was imported at the time of the last Zulu 

 War, about twenty-five years ago, and consisted of about thirty 

 head. These were small, wholly black, two-horned Sheep, with 

 moderately long wool and long tails. A few of these black ' Zulus ' 

 were given by Lady Cowley to Mr. Lowndes, and these were 

 subsequently crossed with piebald two-horned rams from the flocks 

 of Mr. Whitakor and Sir H. Dryden, with the result that the breed 

 was greatly improved in size and stamina, while the rams frequently 

 developed a second pair of horns. That the small black ' Zulus ' 

 and the larger piebald breed are identical, or nearly so, is rendered 



