THE HAMPSHIRE DOWN 



405 



these breed characteristics Wrightson makes the following inter- 

 esting comments upon the sources of their inheritance. 



The slightly Roman character of the face and the fine wool have no 

 doubt partly been derived from the old Wiltshire horned sheep. . . . The 

 quality of the flesh and the color have come through the Southdown, but 

 the color has been deepened by selection. The length of ear has probably 

 been derived from an alliance with the Cotswold. 



The size of the Hampshire Down is large, being second only 

 to the Oxford Down, although Wrightson classes the Hampshire 

 as the largest of the middle-wool breeds. Mature rams should 

 weigh about 250 pounds and ewes 190 or so. J. H. Taft of 

 Michigan made an importation of ewes which in fair flesh aver- 

 aged from 175 to 200 pounds, while lambs of his own raising 

 at about ten months old weighed an average of 113^ pounds. 

 James Wood of New York, one of the best American authorities 

 on the breed, states that 

 mature rams weigh 300 

 pounds and ewes some- 

 thing over 200, but these 

 must be above average 

 specimens. 



The Hampshire Down 

 as a mutton sheep ranks 

 high. It has long been a 

 popular breed in the Eng- 

 lish market, and, begin- 

 ning nearly twenty years 

 ago, met with favor in 

 the American early lamb 

 market, largely due to the 

 importations and popular- 

 izing methods of James 

 Wood of New York. Almost nothing has been done in experi- 

 mentally feeding sheep of this breed in America. In England 

 Lawes and Gilbert secured fair results. 



The Hampshire Down for early lambs has been regarded as 

 of special merit. The lambs mature early and fatten easily, and 



Fig. 187. A two-year-old Hampshire Down 

 ewe, first and champion at seven American 

 fairs in 1904. Owned and exhibited by Chil- 

 mark Farms, New York. Photograph from 

 Charles V. Phelps, Superintendent 



