ORDER RUMINANTIA. 341 



long 1 small necks. They are low before, high on the 

 shoulder, and light in the fore-quarters ; the sides are 

 good, and the loin tolerably broad ; the back-bone too 

 high ; the thigh full, and twist good ; the fleece is very 

 short and fine, weighing from two and a half to three 

 pounds : they prevail in Sussex, on chalky downs. 



The Cheviot have the head bare and clean ; faces and 

 legs white, subject to spots of gray or dun ; the fore- 

 quarters generally wanting depth in the breast, and breadth 

 both there and on the chine ; the body is long ; the legs 

 fine, with clean small bones, well covered with wool to the 

 hough. Weight of the fleece about three pounds. 



The Hardwyke breed is peculiar to that rocky moun- 

 tainous district at the head of the Duddon and Esk Rivers 

 in Cumberland ; they have speckled faces and legs ; wool 

 short, weighing from two to two and a half pounds, which, 

 though coarser than the other short-woolled sheep, is yet 

 finer than the heath sheep. 



In France much attention has been paid of late to the 

 improvement of the native breeds with a success equally 

 satisfactory, though less general. The native races are, in 

 general, middle-sized, with moderately large horns, or alto- 

 gether without horns ; the chaffron is much arched, the tail 

 long and slender, the legs heavy, and the wool abundant 

 and coarse. In colour usually white, but in the southern 

 departments sometimes overbalanced by black, or brown- 

 black. This general character is modified by the crossing 

 of Spanish, English, and Flemish breeds. 



The Flemish breed, common to both France and the 

 Netherlands, is, in general, hornless, high on the legs, and 

 derived from an intermixture with the Barbary long-legged 

 sheep. 



The Solognot breed has a fine head, small at the mouth, 

 mostly without horns ; and the wool curled at the ends only. 



The Berichonne is distinguished by a long neck, the head 



