CHAPTER XXIII. 



MANAGEMENT OF A MARSHLAND BREED. 



Kent or Romney Marsh. The Kent or Romney Marsh sheep 

 had for its foundation a very big, coarse, long-woolled sheep, 

 indigenous to Romney Marsh, which had much in common with the 

 old Lincoln, and other breeds of the marshes and fens, as dis- 

 tinguished from the long-wools of higher lying lowland pastures. 

 There is, however, much that is distinct in the breed, and its mutton 

 is superior to that of any long-woolled breed. The Romney Marsh 

 is generally an exceedingly rich alluvial tract of soil of geologically 

 recent formation ; much of it having been reclaimed from the 

 sea, and the general appearance of the Marsh is very suggestive 

 of the Fenlands of Lincoln and adjoining counties. The Marsh 

 extends from Hythe to the River Rother, about fourteen miles, 

 and in its broadest part, from Dungeness to Appledore, is about 

 ten miles. This district is largely given up to the maintenance 

 of sheep, but the breed affects a far larger area. Formerly, the Isle 

 of Sheppey carried a somewhat similar, but inferior class, of sheep, 

 and the Sheppey men of more than a century ago had to go to the 

 Marsh for their sheep to improve and maintain their type and 

 character. Those interested in this breed cannot do better than 

 read the excellent description of " The Management of the Marsh 

 and Kentish Sheep," written by Bachelor about 140 years ago, 

 though published rather later in his " Synopsis of Agriculture." 

 They would be struck by the great similarity in the treatment 

 then and now, except in those cases where the most advanced 

 flocks are pioneering in the breed's improvement, and are repre- 

 sented in competitions in the showyards. Even in them the 

 ground work of management remains very similar. The breed has 

 considerably improved since Bachelor's day, and the sheep kept 

 on the Sheppey are in line with those on the Marsh. 



Flukey Land. A feature of the Kentish breed is the very large 

 numbers held by individual flockmasters, for in few big breeds of 

 British sheep are there such big flocks ; these flockmasters number 

 their flocks in thousands, and five -figure flocks are to be met 

 with, though this is possible only through the custom of wintering 

 most of the sheep away from the Marshes. Until comparatively 



