CHAPTER XLII. 



DESCRIPTIVE NOTES OF THE MORE IMPORTANT 

 BREEDS OF SHEEP. 



THE various breeds of sheep, of which, there are many, 

 may be classified in general according to their character of 

 fleece and their relationship to mutton production. The 

 ordinary classification has already been explained on page 

 374. The following descriptions are intended to set forth 

 the more distinctive characteristics of the various breeds, 

 without going into unnecessary detail. The standard and 

 scale of points, being official information on the subject, 

 are, when possible, made a part of each breed description. 



The Southdown breed of sheep was first developed in 

 southeast England, in Sussex county. It is one of the old- 

 est and best-known breeds. The face, ears and legs are 

 very dark reddish-brown in color, with a tendency to gray- 

 ish brown on the face. In size South downs rank as medium, 

 though many mutton breeders think them too small. Ma- 

 ture rams will no doubt average about 175 pounds, and 

 the ewes about 185 pounds. In conformation, specimens 

 of this breed represent the highest ideals in mutton form, 

 being short of head and neck, wide of breast and back, 

 thick and full in leg of mutton, deep of body, short of leg, 

 and generally compact of body. This is a hornless breed, 

 and the -head tends to be short and wide. The ears are 

 small and covered with short wool or silky hair. The flesh 

 covering is usually smooth and of superior quality. The 

 yield of fleece is somewhat light ; five pounds might be 

 regarded as a fair average, with a length of staple of about 

 two and one-half inches, and of medium quality. The two 

 important criticisms of the breed are lack of size, and the 

 light weight of fleece. 



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