HILL AND HEATH BREEDS. 57 



Washed fleeces of good wether Lonk hoggs run from 7lb. to 

 91b., and of good " gimmer " hoggs from 61b. to 7lb., and ewes 4|lb. 

 to 61b. Mr. W. Ralph Peel gives the following very lucid de- 

 scription of the points of the breed in the Journal of the R.A.S.E. : 

 The head, which is very characteristic, should be black, 

 or white, or black and white. The favourite face colour is 

 black, with distinct white markings, brown or mottled faces 

 being objected to. These markings, together with great depth 

 and strength of lower jaw or chap and a pronounced " Roman 

 nose " points strongly insisted upon by breeders give a hand- 

 some and picturesque appearance, perhaps unrivalled among all 

 our breeds of farm stock. This fine head, which should show 

 width between the eyes and over the nostrils, must carry massive 

 and well-placed horns. Great attention should be paid to how the 

 horns are placed on the skull. They should be set on wide apart 

 at the base, should come from the skull nearly level with the top 

 of the head, and have curl enough not to meet the cheek. The 

 breeder believes that a strong horn showing quality that is, a 

 clean horn with not too many puckers on it denotes that strength 

 of constitution without which this favourite sheep is unable to 

 battle against the many adverse conditions found among his 

 native hills. The horns curl once or twice according to age. The 

 head and horn should be well set off by an eye standing well out, 

 showing a fine and bright colour. Width of neck and loin are 

 insisted upon, and, as far as is possible, narrowness of the shoulder 

 is to be avoided. If this defect, characteristic of hill sheep, cannot 

 be altogether eliminated, depth through the heart and well sprung 

 ribs must always be typical features in the frame of the well-bred 

 Lonk. The tail, which, in the ram, is always undocked, must be 

 strong, wide, and long ; in many well-bred lambs it not only 

 reaches, but drags along, the ground. The legs, which should be 

 black and white in colour (too much white being often looked 

 upon as an indication of softness), should be well formed, strong, 

 and showing ample bone. The wool, which should come well 

 up to the horns, and down to the knees and hocks, is exceedingly 

 fine in texture, close, or thickly set, with no flake or curl. The 

 wool, when washed, has a very fine silky appearance, is perfectly 

 white, and is very valuable in the manufacture of various fine goods. 



DERBYSHIRE GRITSTONE. 



The Gritstone or Dale-o'-Goyt breed has been long established 

 in the hills and dales of the Peak District of Derbyshire, where, 

 for more than a century, flocks have been kept pure. It is of the 

 heath type, but, unlike most of the heath breeds, it is hornless. 

 It has a dark face, preferably black, with white mottling, and the 

 legs partake the same colouring. It was only in 1906 that the. 



