THE INFLUENCE OF THE BREED-MAKER. 7 



past, sheep, like man, came westward from Asia during great 

 migrations the former probably accompanying the other. The 

 short-tailed, goat-like sheep still found in the extreme north, and 

 in the hills of Kerry, Ireland (though in recent years they have 

 been nearly crossed out), has its counterpart in the north of Europe 

 and north of Asia. The many-horned sheep still found on some 

 islands off the coast of Scotland are related to the old Iceland 

 breed. 



The soft-woolled sheep of Wales, the white or pink nosed, some- 

 what antelope -shaped sheep of the type most commonly met 

 with in Wales, is a long-tailed variety, of a tan-faced type not 

 extinct in Scotland in Low's time, and thus differed from the 

 short-tailed northern breed in fact, having more in common 

 with the sheep of the Celtic nations of Europe ; moreover, they 

 are held to be of even more remote antiquity than the short-tailed. 

 One other true mountain sheep is the goat-like breed of the higher 

 Welsh mountain, though with tail of natural length. It is a true 

 mountain grazer, and prefers the highest altitudes, though if 

 brought lower it increases in size and loses much of its wildness, 

 and Low believed it to be the only descendant of the ancient sheep 

 in South Britain. These are what would be regarded as the more 

 truly mountainous breeds in this country. In fact, it is doubtful if 

 other breeds introduced later, as by the Romans, no matter how 

 they have altered in the course of time, are strictly entitled to be 

 regarded as mountain breeds, unless it be one or two minor ones, 

 the origin of which in this country is traditional. These old 

 types have intermingled very little with the better breeds. 



Leaving out the ancient breeds which have their homes in the 

 high hills and more remote parts of this island, we come to those 

 which are of greater economic importance. The heath breeds 

 and the breeds of the rich plains, in the main, represent the 

 great divisions, the long-woolled and the short-woolled breeds, 

 and the less often used, though desirable addition, the medium 

 woolled. The longwools are more essentially grass-raised on 

 rich land ; the Down-developed heath breeds are suitable to pass 

 much of their life on the arable land ; whilst the heath breeds 

 which have not been influenced by the Down thrive under more 

 trying conditions generally on grass land giving only moderately 

 good herbage, and are not kept much on arable land in their native 

 districts. Considerable licence may be given to this division, 

 but no classification can be made that does not break down some- 

 where ; it is given as a general survey. 



Although there are many recognised pure breeds of sheep, 

 generally taking their names from the county or locality from 

 which they sprang, very few, if any, can claim to having sprung 

 from one stock, or from stocks from one district only. Anything 



