72 BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



THE ROSCOMMON. 



The Roscommon is the long-woolled breed of Ireland, and 

 originated from a coarse native race such as commonly inhabited 

 the rich lowland and marshy tracts. Ireland, as a country, is 

 excellently suited for sheep farming, and has always suffered 

 in its sheep industry, as it is mainly under small holdings. Experi- 

 ence shows that sheep farming never thrives under a system of 

 small holdings. Ireland, especially the western province of 

 Connaught, where sheep are more numerous than in the north, 

 was much associated with the Roscommon breed, and in the west 

 .the winter grazings have taken very much the nature of commonage. 

 Twenty years ago I found that often the walls were thrown 

 down in the autumn, and the owners dare not replace them, for, 

 as they put it, " the boys would make it hot for them at the next 

 fair," as their commonage was hindered. The breeding was, 

 and practically always had been, left to chance rams, which was 

 altogether opposed to improvement in the sheep stock. Where 

 bigger holdings prevailed, better management was the rule, and 

 with good pasturage and less neighbourly interference of a pre- 

 judicial nature, a better sheep was found. But the breed was 

 in a very backward condition until within comparatively recent 

 years, and possessed many of the features that Culley, at the 

 end of the eighteenth century, attributed to it in his description 

 as follows : 



" I am sorry to say I never saw such ill-formed, ugly sheep 

 as these (referring to 95,000 he saw pitched at Ballinasloe Fair) ; 

 the worst breeds we have in Great Britain are by far superior." 



He further said, they had nothing but their size to recommend 

 them. They possessed very long, thick, crooked, grey legs ; heads 

 long and ugly, with large flapping ears, grey faces, and eyes sunk, 

 necks long, breasts narrow, high narrow herring backs, hind quarters 

 drooping, and tail set low. A bad enough record indeed ! Some 

 little improvement, the result of English breeds, was noticeable 

 occasionally. Systematic improvement was, however, slow ; and 

 this was not well established until about 1850, from which time, 

 however, great advance has been made. To a few men in Co. 

 Roscommon the chief improvement is due, though not entirely, 

 but owing to the more general improvement made in that county, 

 the breed has been established as the Roscommon. 



The Leicester has been mainly used to improve the type, and as on 

 all other long-wools it very quickly wrought improvement, the 

 Roscommon felt its influence. Having been in the hands of men 

 with considerable skill in breeding who recognised the value of 

 modern principles, it has come much more into line with other 

 long-wool breeds. The Lincoln, however, has been successfully 



