THE DORSET HORN 



587 



in danger of being extinguished. In 1856 Professor Wilson, 

 another British authority, writes that " the practice of crossing 

 with the Southdown is becoming very general." In this same 

 connection Youatt, in 1837, comments on the use of Devonshire 

 Knots and Leicesters on Dorsets, but says the cross was not suc- 

 cessful. However, some flocks were apparently kept free from 

 crossing, notably on the isle of Portland, where about four thou- 

 sand sheep of a small Dorset type existed in 1 840. The general 

 improvement of the breed as a whole was secured by selection 



FIG. 273. A " royal winner " Dorset Horn ram, the property of H. Mayo, Coker's 

 Frome, Dorchester, England. From an English engraving published in 1870 



on the part of various breeders in the western part of Dorset, 

 but especially by Richard Seymour of Bradpole, who, between 

 1830 and 1840, perhaps, had the best flock extant. Between 

 1860 and 1885 the breed was much improved by Henry Mayo 

 of Coker's Frome. 



The introduction of the Dorset Horn to America is very recent, 

 being the last of the well-known breeds brought from England to 

 this country. The first Dorsets shown in the United States were 

 some ewes and lambs exhibited in 1885 at the American Fat- 

 Stock Show at Chicago by E. and A. Stanford of Steyning, Eng- 

 land. The first owned in this country were purchased in March, 

 1887, by William Daley of Lockport, New York, from Valancey 



