INDIGENOUS BREEDS. 3 



so more need not be said here. But the indigenous features of the 

 breed bear much on this point, and it is for this reason that it is 

 desirable to examine the breeds as they were when the indigenous 

 features of the races which entered into their composition were 

 very apparent. 



As illustrating in what direction these observations might be 

 made, there are shown the old Wiltshire breed, the Southdown, the 

 Cotswold, and Leicester, which, with the Berkshire Knot, or Nott, 

 in varying degree formed the basis of the Hampshire Down, the 

 two first and the last playing the main part. The Wiltshire was 

 the only horned breed, but it took a long time to eradicate 

 the horns entirely, the recurrence of snags up to within com- 

 paratively recent years being evidence of this. But the pronounced 

 Roman nose came from the Wiltshire, as did the long, drooping ears ; 

 their presence is valuable as denoting the fact that the indigenous 

 blood is there, making the breed adapt itself to the district in which 

 it is associated. The dark face, mainly from the Berks Knot, 

 is evidence of the retention of that blood, and therefore a suitability 

 to heathland other than the chalk heaths. The Cotswold helped 

 in size, and also fits a breed which, if only the product of dry, chalky 

 soils in a dry climate, would not fit it to winter on cold, wet arable 

 land. The Leicester, although the evidence of a liberal introduction 

 of this is small, doubtless has had influence on the wool and 

 clearness of the skin, as well as of the powers of early maturity. 

 The Southdown gave the Down characteristics, with the thick- 

 ness of flesh, fine quality of the fat, and the denseness of the fleece. 

 With all these characteristics, it is not surprising that the building 

 up of a breed essentially to suit the conditions of downland should 

 be based on a constitution that adapts it to many other soils 

 and especially to go very wide to cross with other breeds, notably 

 with the longwools. The fact is it does. Hampshire rams are 

 greatly in demand, and increasingly so for this purpose. 



The reproduction of the engraving of the fattened Berkshire 

 Knot wether is the only portrait I have met with, and was published 

 in 1803, when already the breed was being much crossed out by the 

 Southdown. It is typical of the hornless local heath breeds found 

 in various parts of the country, although the heath breeds were 

 more commonly horned. In making the composite breed out 

 of these several stocks, breeders had to find the proper proportions 

 to instil, and to maintain or eliminate the features which they 

 approved or disliked, and in these they were naturally guided by 

 observations which they made in the field and fold. That they 

 did it well there can be no doubt, and when they commenced that 

 system of in-breeding which is part of the fixing of type where 

 crude and irregularly bred animals are brought under improve- 

 ment, it is easy to imagine how some improvers gave greater pro- 



