ORIGIN OF SOUTHDOWN SHEEP 45 



the same boundaries were convenient for the experi- 

 mental areas. This farm was a very good example of 

 the way a man may sometimes depart with success 

 from the general farming customs of his district ; 

 without its down it had become less suitable for sheep, 

 and the occupier had boldly thrown them overboard 

 and evolved a plan more suited to the soil and situa- 

 tion. Two of the three crops on the arable land were 

 sold, including a good deal of the straw, for which 

 Brighton and Lewes provided excellent markets. The 

 other third of the arable helped to feed the dairy cows, 

 which were producing an average of 150 gallons of 

 milk a day. During the summer also the surplus 

 grass was being consumed in fattening bullocks, so 

 that plenty of saleable material was always being 

 raised on the farm. The dairy cows were heavy 

 Shorthorns and a Sussex bull was used ; the resulting 

 crossbreds are among the kindliest of animals to grow 

 quickly and fatten on grass. Of course, such a farm 

 was expensive in labour; it is much more costly to 

 carry green crops to cows than to run the fold over 

 them, and in that district men earned good wages, 

 milkers in particular being difficult to get at any price. 

 For such strong land, well situated as regards access 

 to the town and rail, higher rents had to be paid than 

 for the hill farms proper, but the farm showed every 

 sign of earning a good profit on the pound or so per 

 acre which was about the rent prevailing. 



Before leaving this country we paused at the little 

 village of Glynde, a few miles outside Lewes, because 

 it was the home of John Ellman, the founder of the 

 Southdown sheep. Of course, the Southdowns were 

 not made in the sense the Hampshires or the Sufifolks 

 have been made ; Ellman took the sheep of the 

 country and selected them to a type he had in his 



