74 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



The infusion of Leicester blood refilled the great coarse 

 animal, but still left its produce the largest sheep in exist- 

 ence, the quarters of which weigh when fully finished for 

 market thirty-seven pounds, and the fleece often twenty- 

 four pounds. These weights are of course above the aver- 

 age, but they go to show what type this sheep is of. 



Necessarily such a sheep is fitted for the highest culture 

 of the laud, in which root crops take the most important 

 place. In the United States, however, the silo takes the 

 place of the roots, to a large extent, but yet roots and big 

 sheep and heavy fleeces will always go together. 



But with our vast ranges we have occasion and space 

 for this grand sheep for crossing on the common natives. 

 This has been done to some extent in suitable circumstances, 

 with much advantage, and when the shepherds will abandon 

 the unwise and wholly wrong belief common among 

 them, that a big ram is not suitable for crossing on little 

 ewes on account of the supposed great size of the lamb 

 thus produced, this breed will be extensively used for this 

 purpose, producing a valuable mutton carcass and a most 

 useful cross-bred wool. It is not, however, a part of wisdom 

 to suppose that this cross, violent as it is, will be the founda- 

 tion for a new race having the excellencies of the Lincoln- 

 shire. This subject, however, is too important to be more 

 than suggested here; it lies at the foundation of the science 

 of breeding, and must be left for consideration hereafter. 



This breed is white faced, and has a conspicuous tuft 

 on the forehead, which is the most marked indication of the 

 old blood in it. The head is massive but not coarse, the nose 

 is somewhat arched (Roman) and bare of wool. The brisket 

 is full and deep, the body round and well proportioned, arid 

 while it is a heavy sheep it has no coarseness about it. It 

 does not come up to its old weights either of carcass or 

 fleece, but its quality is improved by the refinement it has 

 undergone through many years of continuous careful breed- 

 ing, making it a desirable sheep for its mutton and wool, 

 and for the improvement of the common flocks. 



THE ROMNEY MARSH. 



It seems at first thought that a marsh sheep should be 

 a misnomer. But sheep are made for every condition, even 



