484 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK IV. 



their original state they were distinguished by white faces, a consider- 

 able thickness and length of head, and a broad forehead with a tuft of 

 wool upon it, a long and thin neck, and flat-sided carcass. With wide 

 loin there were a narrow breast, thick legs, coarse muscle, and large 

 bone. The wool was of a good quality, and the fleece of fattening 

 wethers weighed from 8 to 9 Ib. They were hardy, bred with little care 

 on wet and exposed land, requiring after the first year, when they were 

 wintered on the uplands, no other food, in the most exposed situations, 

 than occasionally a little hay in addition to their pasture, and were 

 fattened entirely on grass. 



Photo ly G H. Parsons. 



Fig. 116. Devon Longwool Ram. 



First in the Shearling Class at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show at Lincoln, 1907. 

 The property of Mr. F. White, Torwestou, Somerset. 



On this breed the ameliorating influence of the Leicester in the 

 early part of the century, combined with a general awakening of the 

 breeders to the need for greater care in managing their flocks and 

 selecting their rams, had a marked effect. The result was to reduce 

 the size of the animals, and make the wool lighter and closer, while, 

 however, it gave them a better- disposition to fatten. 



THE DEVON LONGWOOL (fig. 116) is another breed which owes much 

 to the " Leicester wave." The original stock were the Bampton 

 Notts, 1 which have existed in the district surrounding Bampton from 

 time immemorial. In 1808 they were described as " a profitable class 

 of sheep, which at twent} r months old weighed 22 Ib. per quarter, and 

 sheared 6 Ib. of wool to the fleece." The owners of this breed very 



1 "Nott" signifies :( Polled." 



