302 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



fleeces of coarse wool, were homed in both sexes, and like 

 most of the mountain breeds that ranged in the heather 

 a lid subsisted on browse and the scanty herbage of the 

 higher moorlands yielded tine flavored mutton. The Ex- 

 moor, which has been greatly improved in the last half cen- 

 tury by Leicester crosses, is relatively, a medium sized, white 

 faced, white wooled, white legged and very hardy sheep, 

 with prettily turned horns, long round barrels, broad loins, 

 short legs, drooping shoulders, rather faulty neck and mod- 

 erate shoulder girth, and carries a fleece of about five Ibs. 

 of wool. Where well bred and fed, the mature Exmoor 

 dresses from ten to eighteen Ibs. to the quarter. Tins breed 

 of sheep, like the Dorset, matures early and the ewe is a 

 prolific lamb bearer, very frequently presenting twins and 

 triplets. The breed is noteworthy, too, for its unusual 

 longevity, and in the quality of its mutton has few equals. 



THE LIMESTONE OR CRAG SHEEP, 



which have found ready recognition and a good representa- 

 tion at the Royal and other shows, are mainly confined to the 

 rugged moorlands of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire 

 where they are near neighbors of the Lonks. Youatt speaks 

 of them in this wise: "Towards the borders of Westmoreland 

 the Limestone breed of sheep are found. They are natives 

 of that part of the country and singularly confined to il. 

 It is a horned breed, with white face and legs, depasturing 

 on a rocky limestone land." Prof. Wrightson describes them 

 as follows: ''Both sexes horned, face and legs white, wool 

 firm, intermediate in length, and inclining to the character 

 of short rather than long wool. Wethers 18 to 22 Ibs. per 

 quarter at twenty months old. Females very prolific. Out 

 of fifty-four ewes in a given flock, thirteen produced triplets, 

 and the entire fifty-four brought up ninety-six lambs to 

 weaning time." The Crag sheep, he says, are "well adapted 

 for the dry and high lying moors of the mountain limestone 

 nnd are able to subsist almost without water." 



THE DEVON LONG WOOL. 



a native of Devonshire, comes down through the centuries 

 from the old Bampton, a large, swarthy, strong boned, heav- 

 ily fleeced, white faced and hornless breed of sheep, that 

 got their great size and bone from the rich Bampton pas- 



