SHEEP. 



Lincolnshire sheep yielded a wool 

 which in quantity and, in quality was 

 unrivalled, wiiile the Lcicestcrs could 

 boast of a disjiosition to fatten which 

 the other could never equal. At length 

 the attempt was honestly made to 

 amalgamate the valuable qualities of 

 the two breeds. In consequence of 

 the cross, the wether attained its 

 maturity a full year sooner than it 

 was accustomed to do, and the fleece 

 became finer and improved in colour, 

 hut it was shorter and more brittle, 

 and not fitted for some of its former 

 purposes. On the whole, a great im- 

 provement has been effected both in 

 the carcass and the fleece ; and so 

 satisfactory did ttiis prove, that it is 

 now difficult to find any sheep in Lin- 

 colnshire tiiat have not been crossed 

 with the Leicesters. This cross is 

 deeper on the wolds than in the marsh 

 lands, which may serve to account 

 for the difference of the fleece in the 

 two. The breed of these sheep gen- 

 erally has been greatly increased 

 since the introduction of the turnip 

 system. 



" Among the long-woolled sheep 

 that have been improved by the ad- 

 mixture of the old and new long- 

 woolled breeds and the altered sys- 

 tem of husbandry, the Romney Marsh 

 must not be forgotten. From time 

 immemorial the produce in wool and 

 the thickness in stocking were scarce- 

 ly equalled in any other breed or sit- 

 uation. The Kentish men obstinate- 

 ly resisted every encroachment on 

 their favourite breed, and predicted 

 disappointment and loss in every pos- 

 sible form. For a while it seemed 

 as if tliey had reason on their side, 

 for the size of the sheep was consid- 

 erably lessened, and the wool was 

 not so valuable, nor yielded in its for- 

 mer quantity. By degrees, however, 

 it began to be found that these small- 

 er, deeper, closer, and more compact 

 sheep weighed heavier than the old 

 long-legged and long-bodied ones ; 

 that they did not consume so much 

 food, that the hard stocking of former 

 days might be increased, that they 

 were ready a full year sooner for the 

 market, and therefore became far 



700 



more profitable. That the fat form- 

 ed more on the exterior of the an- 

 imal, where it was advantageously 

 placed f(jr the farmer and the consu- 

 mer, and did not accumulate within 

 for the profit of the butcher alone : 

 and that, by careful selection, al- 

 though the wool was somewhat short- 

 er and lighter, it was improved in 

 firmness and colour and felting prop- 

 erty. 



" Some valuable breeds of long- 

 woolled sheep are found in the South 

 Hams in Devonshire, extending from 

 Axminster to Dartmoor, and from 

 the north of Devon to the vale of 

 Taunton, under the name of the 

 Bampton sheep, and also, but small- 

 er in number and size, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Exmoor. 



" The Cotswold sheep {Fig. 3), so 

 Fig. 3. 



' r.!:':^ 





-iA 



^■^ 





called from the cots or sheds in which 

 they were housed, formerly inhabited 

 the counties of Gloucester, Hereford, 

 and Worcester. They were a long- 

 woolled breed, yielding, formerly, a 

 description of wool much valued on 

 account of the fabrics in the con- 

 struction of which it was employed. 

 Even they, like the rest, have amal- 

 gamated themselves with and been, 

 in a manner, lost among the Leices- 

 ters. They were taller than the pres- 

 ent sheep, flat-sided, deficient in the 

 fore quarter, but full in the hind quar- 

 ter, not fattening so early, but yield- 

 ing a long and heavy fleece. Many 

 of these good qualities have been pre- 

 served, and to them have been added 

 that which is of so much importance 

 to the farmer, the capability of rear- 

 ing and fattening so many more sheep 

 on the same quantity of land, and of 



