108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



erties of health and soundness of constitntion as well as for 

 external form, and facUity of fattening, and therefore did not, 

 like Bakcwell, confine himself rigidly to the blood of his own 

 stock, but resorted to others, that he might infuse fresh vigor 

 into his flocks, and prevent them from becoming too delicate. 

 His aim, in short, was the really useful, and though he reaped 

 the due reward of his enterprise and skill, it was never obtained 

 by acts of any kind of deception or useless ostentation. 



The description of a perfect South Down slieep, as given by 

 Mr. EUman, may not be uninteresting: — 



" The head small and hornless, the faces brown and gray, 

 and neither too long or too short ; the lips thin, and the space 

 between the nose and eyes narrow, the under-jaw or chop fine 

 and thin ; the ears tolerably wide, and well covered with wool ; 

 the forehead, also, and the whole space between the ears well 

 protected by it as a defence from the fly ; the eye full and 

 bright, but not prominent, the orbit of the eye not too project- 

 ing ; the neck of a medium length, thin towards the head, but 

 enlarging towards the shoulders, where it should be broad and 

 high, and straight in its whole course above and below. The 

 breast should be wide, deep, and ])rojccting forward between 

 the fore-legs, indicating a good constitution, and a disposition 

 to thrive ; corresponding with this, the shoulders should be on 

 a level with the back, and not too wide above ; they should bow 

 outwards from the top to the breast, indicating a springing rib, 

 and leaving room for it ; the ribs coming out horizontally from 

 the spine, and extending far backward, and the last rib pro- 

 jecting more than the others ; the back flat from the shoulder 

 to the setting on of the tail; the loin broad and flat; the rump 

 long and broad, and the tail set on high, and nearly on a level 

 witii the spine; the hips wide, and the space between them and 

 the last rib on either side as narrow as possible, and the ribs 

 generally presenting a circular form, like a barrel ; the belly 

 as straight as the back, the legs neither too long nor too short; 

 the fore-legs straight from the breast to the foot, not bending 

 in at the knee, and standing far apart both before and behind ; 

 the hocks having a direction rather outward, and the twist or 

 the meeting of the thighs behind being particularly full ; the 

 bones fine, yet having no appearance of weakness ; the belly 

 well defended with wool, which comes down before and behind 



