22 BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



His sheep went out on to the Weald regularly every autumn, 

 and spent half the year there, and the names of those with whom 

 he agisted them are well known among the Sussex farmers of 

 the present time. This accounted very largely for the Southdown 

 being the most developed of the heath breeds when Ellman started 

 to improve them, and also for the reason that the Southdown 

 mated so well with all other heath breeds. The Southdown was 

 far ahead of the other breeds of the chalk heaths or downs at that 

 time. The Scotch Blackfaced Mountain Breed used to be called 

 the Blackfaced Heath Breed. As a heath breed it doubtless 

 gradually found its way to the hills of Peak and Pennine range, 

 and worked its way north into Scotland, acquiring more mountain- 

 ous habits and developing a fleece better suited to resist the heavy 

 rains and exposed feeding grounds. There is evidence of this 

 in older writings, though there is a tradition that they are derived 

 from a shipwreck during the time of the Spanish Armada. Those 

 who have followed the history of our live stock must have been 

 amused at the number of breeds to which this tradition attaches. 

 Had it been a Noah's Ark instead of a fighting fleet it could scarcely 

 have distributed breeds more successfully, whether it be of horses, 

 cattle, or sheep. Moreover, there is rarely anything to suggest 

 Spanish origin in any of the animals ; but failing a knowledge 

 of the origin, the Armada has been a convenient source to suggest. 

 Yet whilst the Norfolk breed existed as a horned breed, the South- 

 down had gradually lost them, though a coarser, but closely allied, 

 heath or forest breed, of which there remained some until com- 

 paratively a few years ago, living on land adjoining that which 

 the Southdown frequented, and known as the Ashdown Forest 

 breed, probably the last of the breeds of the great Wealden Forest, 

 which had no chalk land, carried horns or snigs. The Southdown 

 was in all probability only a section of the Wealden breed which 

 found its way to the chalk downs, and gradually developed better 

 features. For those who are not acquainted with Sussex, it may 

 be stated that the term down is not confined in its use to the chalk 

 hills, but is conferred on any smooth, rounded rising ground. 

 Pilt Down, from which Mr. Dawson took the ancient human 

 skull recently, is a considerable distance from the chalk hills. 



These three breeds, having a common origin a long way back, 

 show how environment influences type, and how necessary it is that 

 it should f or the fleece of the old Norfolk would be of little defence 

 in wet, exposed hills and it is not reasonable to suppose that 

 the Blackfaced sheep evolved its fleece to meet conditions all 

 at once. It gradually developed some other excellent features 

 which are proving highly useful to-day ; but its remote origin 

 from heaths or forests (a few centuries ago a very large portion 

 of the country was in this condition), together with the great con- 



