112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



They liave been successfully crossed with rams of both Leices- 

 ter and South Down breeds. How tiiey will succeed here, 

 remains for their enterprising and public spirited owner to 

 demonstrate. 



HAMPSHIRE DOWNS. 



It is said in England, that twenty years' careful cross-breed- 

 ing and selecting is long enough to make a new and distinct 

 breed of sheep ; there are three such cross-breeds now recog- 

 nized, so valuable for their meat and flesh combined as to be 

 rapidly taking the lead in England ; and the first of -which we 

 shall speak is the Hampshire Down, which originally was a large, 

 white-faced, coarse sheep, with horns, and a moderate fleece of 

 middle wool. About the beginning of the present century, the 

 Hampshire breeders procured some rams of the South Down 

 breed; finding the experiment successful, it was repeated again 

 and again, always by selecting the coarsest and darkest faces 

 of the South Downs ; this was done till the whole character of 

 the sheep was changed ; the horns disappeared, the color of the 

 face was changed from white to black, and with these changes 

 they imparted a more compact form, a broader back, a rounder 

 barrel, shorter legs, and sui)erior quality altogether, yet pre- 

 serving the hardiness and disposition to make early growth, 

 which the original flock undoubtedly possessed. They have 

 now spread all over England, and may be instanced as an 

 example of successful cross-breeding ; the lambs are large and 

 fatten early, and this is a most important consideration in rais- 

 ing sheep for market. Mr. Spooner says, " the greater economy 

 of fattening a young animal over an old one, may be readily 

 explained by the fact, that Avhilst the latter increases in fat 

 alone, the former does so in flesh, fat and bone, and thus can 

 assimilate a greater amount of the nutritive properties of the 

 food, and is consequently a more profitable feeder." 



We know of but one lot of Hampshire Downs in this country, 

 those owned by Mr. Messinger, of Long Island, and exhibited 

 by him at the New York State Fair for 18(J0. 



SHROPSHIRE DOWNS. 



There has been, we believe, a small importation by Mr. Loril- 

 lard, of New York, of the Shropshire Downs ; this breed is 



