194 



BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



in the case of the Blackface-Wensleydale cross a three-quarter 

 bred sheep is often produced by mating the first cross with one 

 or other of the original types. Such cross-breeding, however, 

 is very liable to upset the wool characteristics of the animal, and 

 although useful from the mutton point of view, is not to be com- 

 mended so far as the wool is concerned. Of course, the wool 

 thus produced, if compared with the Blackface wool, is better ; 

 but in comparison with, say, the Wensleydale wool, is markedly 

 inferior and more irregular. After all, the problem seems to be 

 one of breeding a sheep to give the utmost return from the land 

 in both mutton and wool. 



DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE PRODUCTION OP AUSTRALIAN "COME-BACK" WOOL. 



In some few cases, special breeds of sheep are cultivated ^with a 

 particular object in view. Thus, the Shetland sheep supplies the 

 Shetlanders with the beautifully long, silky, fine wool from which 

 they manufacture the renowned " Shetland shawls." The Cheviot 

 sheep may also be cited as a sheep whose wool has given rise to a 

 special industry, viz., Cheviot tweeds, while the Welsh- mountain 

 sheep has produced a wool which, from its non-shrinking properties 

 has become famous in the form of Welsh flannels. Thus again 

 it seems most obvious that if our farmers were less conservative 

 and acted under good advice, much benefit, both to themselves 

 and the wool manufacturer, might accrue. For example, pure 

 Shetland wool may be worth 5s. per pound for making into Shetland 

 shawls, but if not adapted to its special purpose it is probably 

 worth less than Is. per pound. That there is so little connection 

 between the wool grower and the wool manufacturer is lamentable, 

 and it is hoped that the Wool Exhibit at the Yorkshire Show, 

 held in Bradford last June, has stimulated the interest of all 



