SHEEP 149 



narrow backed, flat sided, strong boned, and many with thick, rough, 

 hairy legs. The wool is coarse and long." 



The Kentmere sheep were the best in wool in the early years 

 of the century. Pringle describes the sheep kept on the mountains 

 and commons of Westmorland as " either native " (i.e., black-faced) 

 "or a cross with Scotch rams. They are horned, dark or grey faced, 

 thick pelted, with coarse, strong, hairy wool." In 1837 Youatt 

 says that while the sheep on the lower grounds have been crossed 

 and improved with the Leicester or the South Down, those on the 

 hills, although comparatively neglected, have not been quite stationary, 

 no doubt through an infusion of Leicester blood from the lower-land 

 sheep. 



In 1848, at the Sedbergh Agricultural Show, there were two 

 classes for sheep, prizes being offered for Black-faced sheep and also 

 for Scotch sheep, rams and ewes. This is the first notice of a dif- 

 ferentiation of the Black-faced sheep by any Agricultural Society. 

 The Rough Fell breed were recognized as distinct from the Scotch 

 type of sheep ; the species being evolved through keeping closer 

 to the native Herdwicks and Warton Crag than to the crosses of 

 the Leicesters and Cheviots, which would appear to be more involved 

 in the production of the Scotch species. The Rough Fell is a 

 distinct breed of sheep, occupying the high land which constitutes 

 the middle portion of the county from the east side of Kentmere 

 to the west side of Ravenstonedale and the Middleton and Barbon 

 Fells. The breed is recognized by every agricultural society in 

 the county, and separate classes are allotted to them in the larger 

 shows, though the Rough Fell and Swaledale sheep are shown together 

 under the one name. Black-faced, at all the smaller agricultural shows. 



In 1881 a farmer near Tebay crossed his Black-faced ewes with 

 Lonk Tups, and produced a class of mongrels past beating. 



E. Porter describes* the Rough Fell sheep as being somewhat 

 larger than the better known Scotch Black-faced sheep, though they 

 are hardier and only give place to the Ilerdv/icks in their strength 

 of constitution. They resemble the Scotch in face markings, but those 

 with a grey muzzle and the rest black are preferred. Both rams and 



• standard Cyclopaedia of Modern Agriculture, 1911. 



