DonsETsuiBE sheep] AND TlIEIIl VARIOUS lUiEEDS. [bouthdown biikbp. 



to the ewes, tbfit it ia no uncommon thing 

 i'or a ewo or two to dio in the night. "Wlion 

 the ewo is eapablo of supplying as much milk 

 as the lamb will consume, such aa havo 

 lost thoir own, or which havo boon sold early, 

 aro brought in and lu'Kl by tlio head, or put 

 into a yoke, till the lambs, by turns, suck them 

 dry. They aro then turned into tho pasture, 

 and, at twelve o'clock, the dams aro driven into 

 the lamb-houso for an hour, in tho course of 

 which time each lamb is suckled by its mother. 

 At four o'clock, all the dam-ewes — as those 

 which havo not lambs of their own are called 

 — are again brought to the lamb-house, and 

 held for the lambs to suck ; and the mothers of 

 the lambs are afterwards brought to them for 

 the night. Lambs thus treated, and kept free 

 from all disturbance, will, in about eight weeks' 

 time, become sufficiently fat, and their flesh 

 extremely white and delicate." Should a lamb 

 die, the ewe is still retained to milk the rest in 

 turn ; and stands are made with stocks, into 

 which she is fastened until her udder is 

 thoroughly drained. This is done previous to 

 each lamb being allowed to suck its own 

 mother ; and thus the loss of a few lambs is 

 not so much felt, as tlie whole stock then de- 

 rives a larger proportion of the fattening milk. 

 The price at which the lambs arc sold will vary ; 

 but sometimes they produce as much as £3 ; 

 though £2 is possibly nearer the average, 

 which is a large sum for the care, and short 

 period of time (about eight weeks) which they 

 take to be fattened. When grass lamb is to 

 be produced, the ewes are put to the ram at a 

 later period, so as to have the offspring dropped 

 about March, and they are only partially pro- 

 vided with shelter. The ewes are kept in the 

 same liberal manner ; but the lambs have more 

 liberty, and are much less trouble to their 

 owners. Ten or twelve days after lambing, 

 whilst being fed on such nutritious food, they 

 will again often admit the ram, and thus will 

 bear lambs twice in the year. Such as are 

 house-fed, have by far the best chance of suc- 

 cessful breeding, as the second time of pro- 

 ducing the grass-fed lamb would be at an in- 

 convenient portion of the year, and the young 

 would be likely to suffer damage from flies, 

 and other insects, from the restlessness which 

 these little torments cause them at this early 

 period of their lives. 



THE WILTSIIIRK siii:i:i'. 



Tho old race of WdtHhire Hheep formerly 

 extended over tho greater portion of the 

 county, but they may now bo said to be 

 extinct. Tho present race ia tho largest of 

 tho fine wool-bearing animals; and what it 

 produces is extremely fine, and weighs 'iilba. 

 per fleece. It is described by Mr. !Milburn as 

 having horns rising near each other, and 

 bending backwards and downward^, close to 

 tho head of the animal. Tiie hair on the 

 face and legs is perfectly white. The bones 

 are large ; and, although the animal, compara- 

 tively speaking, makes little flesh, it eata 

 voraciously. The belly is destitute of wool ; 

 the head is long ; tho nose somewhat arched ; 

 and the nostrils open, wide, and prominent. 

 The fore quarters, especially tho breast and 

 shoulders, are light ; and there is a consider- 

 able dewlap. The hind quarters are better 

 developed, and the saddles and legs very 

 good. The back is black in the middle, and 

 the shoulder-points project upwards. On the 

 whole, it is a clumsy sheep, and is only pre- 

 served in an unimproved and native form on a 

 family farm near Hendon, where the stock is 

 kept pure, under tho provisions of a will, 

 which permits the fiirm to be held on this 

 special condition. The old Wiltshires were, 

 to a certain extent, improved 'oy selection of 

 the smaller, the better formed, and the more 

 generous feeders among the native breed ; but 

 they were chiefly indebted to the South- 

 downs, by which they were crossed again and 

 again, until almost every trace of the old 

 breed had been eradicated, and a useful variety 

 of the Southdown took its place. This 

 variety was distinguished from the true 

 Sussex sheep by being of a larger size, having 

 a lighter and finer fleece, and being of a lighter 

 colour. 



THE SOUTHDOWN SHEEP. 



This sheep is, in England, what the black- 

 faced sheep is in Scotland, being, as a mutton- 

 producer, held in the highest esteem, especially 

 for the tables of the rich. Nor can there be 

 mentioned a breed which has undergone more 

 improvement than these beautiful sheep. The 

 advancement of the old short-wooUed sheep 

 into a middle-woolled race, is an advantage ia 



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