Among the Herdwicks. 103 



kemp. If there are a few grey hairs now " it sars the 

 buyers to talk about," which is something gained. 

 They vary very much, according to the severity of the 

 winter, from I Jibs, upwards ; and Mr. Nelson's Royal 

 Newcastle prize wool averaged 5 Jibs, unwashed from 

 five-year-old wethers. The fleece, which is coarse and 

 open, is divided into two or three qualities, as the 

 hecklings and breechings cannot be used with the rest. 

 Kendal, where monthly sales by auction have been 

 established, is the great mart for it, and i8s. gd. per 

 stone is thought a good price. Much of it is used 

 for coarse woollens and rugs, and it often returns 

 to its native dales in the shape of full cloth suits 



or I7lbs. a quarter as well-fed shearlings. "What will they say at 

 Cockermouth?" is a question which has long since lost its political 

 meaning, but still it is never out of the dalesman's head, as that little 

 town is their auction mart, both for fat and store sheep, each autumn. 



The face and legs of the breed are speckled, or rather grey mottled, 

 and become greyer and whiter with age. If the face is grey, it should 

 shade off to white towards the nose to suit the keen Fell Dales critic. 

 Tups have generally two or three curls to their horns, and the absence 

 of horn in a female is not a desirable sign. The horns should be white 

 and " slape," not too small or too close, and rising well out of the back 

 of the head. A light grey or ' ' hoar frost nose" betokens constitution, 

 and the nostrils should be wide and strong, and affixed to a long and 

 bold head. The ears should be white and sharp, and stand well up, as 

 any tendency to droop betokens a want of spirit to grapple with hill life. 

 A good eye, a broad forehead with a tuft on it, and a rustiness about the 

 poll, are all solid requirements, as well as wool up to the ears, and 

 good " heckling," which in some tups looks like a lion's mane. It is 

 also one of the flock-master's chief aims to get them aS wide as possible 

 between the fore-legs, and with a broad breast placed well forward, as 

 the forequarter is chiefly relied upon both for constitution and the scales. 

 The knees should also be strong, and " the bone thin to the fetlock, 

 and then a big white foot to follow." Despite the difficult ground 

 which they have to traverse, the best breeders try to get them well filled 

 in behind the shoulders, and round in the rib, and the less false rib they 

 have the greater their power of bearing hunger. There is a tribe 

 amongst them which has fourteen ribs, and these are preferred whenever 

 they can be got. They should also be straight on the hind-leg and 

 well muttoned down to "the camerals" or hocks, while the tail should be 

 thick at the root, and just long enough so as never to want cutting. 

 These are the show points, but the majority of flocks fall very far short 

 of them. Royal Agricultural Society's Prize Essay (H. H. D.). 1866. 



