loo MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



every chance to do well here, and I think I have every reason to 

 feel encouraged." 



THE DEVON LONGWOOL. 



This is a breed that is worthy of the notice of every mutton 

 raising country. To the writer's mind the Devon Longwool is one 

 of the handsomest, most hardy and useful of the longwool breeds. 

 They have existed for "centuries in certain sections of the county of 

 Devonshire, especially in the vicinity of Bampton, a well known 

 market town, where they are sold in large numbers. Bell's Gazet- 

 teer, of the year 1836, contains the following: "Many sheep are 

 fed in the neighborhood; they are of a large size, and of an un- 

 commonly fine quality, from the excellence of the pastures." It 

 would seem that the Devon Longwool originated from the old 

 Bampton Nott, since Professor Wilson wrote in the '50s: "It is 

 very difficult to find a pure Bampton unmixed with other blood, 

 a few only remaining in Devonshire and West Somerset." 



The old Bampton Nott was a big-framed, heavy-fleeced sheep, 

 with white face and hornless. Some authorities claim, and prop- 

 erly so no doubt, that the Devon Longwool is a product of the 

 old Bampton Nott brought about by crossing with the Leicester 

 and Lincoln. Today the Devon Longwool is raised in Devonshire, 

 West Somerset and several districts in Cornwall. The present day 

 Devon Longwool very much resembles the Leicester, but its face 

 is somewhat longer, it has a greater width of forehead and nose, 

 and the ears are somewhat longer. The frame is more bulky 

 and of greater length, although not quite so neat. They have the 

 reputation of being great early lamb raisers. The wethers are 

 not now kept as they used to be until they are two years old. 

 By the time they are yearlings they dress from 22 Ib. to 24 Ib. 

 per quarter. As yearlings they shear from nine to eleven pounds 

 of clean washed wool, notwithstanding that they are generally 

 shorn as lambs. The ewe flock generally averages from eight 

 to nine pounds of wool. In the rich lowlands of Somerset, 

 especially in and around the vale of Taunton Dean, they make 

 remarkably heavy weights with a very little supplementary food. 

 The Devon Longwool is now recognized by the Royal Agricultural 

 Society of England, and some very remarkable shows of the breed 

 are made at the different agricultural shows in that country. 



Mr. John Risdon, secretary of the Devon Longwool Breeders' 

 Association, writes of this grand breed : 



"The Devon Longwooi is descended from the Bampton sheep, 

 which were an excellent strong, hardy breed. . 



"Bred in the district from which they took their name, these 

 sheep were mated with Bakewell's Dishley blood, and from time 

 to time with rams from the South Hams (Totnes district), while 

 some flockmasters took character and strength from Lincoln blood. 



