No. 149.] 261 



These ten ewes were imported from England in September, 

 1850, together with a buck and one other ewe. The buck died 

 soon after landing from the ship, and one of the ewes also died 

 from a broken leg arising from an accident at sea in a gale. 



These sheep were bred by the most distinguished breeder of 

 South Down sheep in England, Mr. Jonas Webb, of Babraham, 

 Cambridge, England. Mr. Webb commenced showing bucks 

 alone of»his breeding in 1840, at the shows of the great English 

 Agricultural Society, and he has steadily every year won all the 

 first and second prizes till 1850, when for the^n-^ ti7ne he was 

 beaten, and then only by bucks got by his own rams and their 

 dams by his own rams. Mr. Webb now only shows shearling 

 bucks, and his long list of winnings shows his superior breed. 

 He has annual lettings by auction of his bucks, and generally 

 lets about 150 each year, at prices varying from 20 guineas to 60, 

 80 and 100 for the use ot a buck for one season. The buck which 

 I brought out was the second highest in price at his letting in 

 1850 for shearling rams. 



At the Fair of the American Institute, I showed all the sheep 

 of this importation, ten in number, that were alive at the time 

 of the Institute's show in October, 1850, and they won all the 

 premiums for ewes of their class. 



In January, 1851, I imported from Mr. Webb twenty more 

 South Down ewes, ten being lambs of 1850. The ten ewes were 

 shearlings, and all ten have dropped lambs, got in England by 

 Mr. Webb's celebrated buck Favorite. 



It will thus be seen that I imported thirty-two South Down 

 sheep, thirty of which survive, and of these eleven have dropped 

 lambs got in England. Col. Sherwood, of Aubui-n, no w owns ten 

 of these ewes. 



These sheep coming from the very best source in England, 

 (for Mr. Webb has no equal as a breeder of South Downs in Eng- 

 land,) must contribute to the improvement of South Downs in 

 this country. 



AMBROSE STEVENS. 



