SHEEP. 81 



erally white ; the eye lively and prominent ; the countenance 

 open and pleasing ; the ear large, and with a long space from 

 the ear to the eye ; the body long ; and tience they are called 

 'long sheep,' in distinction from the black-faced breed. They 

 are full behind the shoulder, have a long, straight back, are 

 round in the rib, and well-proportioned in the quarters ; the 

 legs clean and small-boned, and the pelt thin, but thickly cov- 

 ered with fine, short wool ; they possess very considerable fat- 

 tening qualities, and can endure much hardship, both from 

 starvation and cold."* 



We have no acquaintance with this breed. There are prob- 

 ably but few of them in this country. Mr. Randall speaks very 

 disparagingly of those which had fallen under his observation, 

 but which may have not been fair specimens of their breed. 



8. The Lincoln Breed. Culley described the old breed of 

 Lincolnshire sheep, half a century ago, as having " no horns, 

 white faces, long, thin, and weak carcasses ; the ewes weighing 

 from 14 to 20 Ibs. per quarter, the three-year old wethers from 

 20 to 80 Ibs. ; thick, rough, white leg, large bones, thick pelts, 

 and long wool, from 10 to 18 inches, and weighing from 8 to 

 14 Ibs. per fleece, and covering a slow-feeding, coarse-grained 

 carcass of mutton." Culley, however, ran into the opposite 

 extreme ; if the Lincolnshire farmers bred only for the wool, 

 he regarded only the mutton. A cross between the two pro- 

 duced a very profitable and much improved animal. 



III. CHOICE OP BBEED. 



"In selecting a breed for any given locality," Mr. Randall 

 says, " we are to take into consideration, first, the feed and cli- 

 mate, or the surrounding natural circumstances ; and second, 

 the market facilities and demands. We should then make 

 choice of that breed which, with the advantages posssessed, 

 and under all the circumstances, will yield the greatest net 

 value of marketable product. 



* American Farmer's Encyclopedia. 



4* 



