54 BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



with the Kerry Hill and the Shropshire having been very generally 

 adopted. The west of Shropshire, and the adjoining Welsh counties, 

 used to possess a great number of local breeds, many of which 

 were overpowered by the Shropshire, as was only natural where 

 so excellent a breed, with great adaptive powers, was so readily 

 available. Even yet the possibilities of this big district for breed 

 making are not yet exhausted, and it must always be an interesting 

 locality for the sheep breeder. The Radnor itself was not as good 

 a stock to improve from as were some of its neighbours, and it- 

 has been comparatively left behind and overshadowed. 



THE BLACK -FACED MOUNTAIN. 



The importance of this breed is proved by the great number of 

 sheep entered in the 1908 Census as belonging to it. It is widely 

 and numerously found in Scotland, and is often spoken of as the 

 Scotch Black-face breed, as Scottish breeders have especially 

 identified themselves with its improvement. It is of the heath 

 type, though, through many centuries of existence on high hill& 

 or mountains, it has developed very fully the characteristics of 

 mountain sheep, and it is as a mountain sheep that it is regarded ; 

 yet, when brought to the lowlands of England, the sheep show their 

 jeady adaptability to lowland conditions ; in fact, in recent years 

 they have made a great southern invasion. Moreover, they may 

 be met, thriving well, in parts of Ireland, which are of distinctly 

 lowland type. But, on the hills of Wales, they do not make their 

 mark so deep, the Cheviot being recognised as being more suitable, 

 and as making a better cross, with the Welsh hill sheep. This does 

 not imply that the Black-face cannot be kept profitably there ; 

 but that the conditions more favour the local and the Cheviot 

 breeds. Through the north of England, where the land is largely 

 of a hilly or mountainous character, it holds sway. In the Kerry 

 Mountains of Ireland it has practically crossed out the native 

 short-tailed breed ; it has crossed out, or substituted, the old 

 native heath sheep or cottagh ; in fact, its range of useful habita- 

 tion is very wide indeed. It not only thrives well over this widely 

 spread area, but the high quality of its meat secures it a good 

 market at all times. Were the narrow origin which some would 

 ascribe to it, especially that of those who emphasise the idea that 

 it traced from the old Scotch dun-faced sheep, it would be very 

 unlikely that it would possess the ready aptitude to acclimatise 

 in so many varying conditions, or that it would mate so readily 

 with other heath breeds. 



It has much in common with the dark-faced heath breeds which 

 originated the Southdown, the Suffolk, and others found further 

 north, until they sought the higher hills, and gradually extended 



