DOMESTIC BREEDS OF SHEEP. 35 



The wool is considerably longer and coarser than that of the 

 Southdown. The mutton is of exceptional quality. The ewes are 

 quite prolific and they are good mothers, though they are said to grve 

 less milk than the old type. 



The importers speak very favorably of the breed and think that as 

 soon as it becomes better known it will be popular in the hilly sec- 

 tions of this country. 



The Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society of Great Britain was 

 founded in 1906, and this society is doing considerable work in placing 

 the breed before the public. 



THE RYELAND. 



The Ryeland derived its name from the tract of land in Hereford- 

 shire along the River Wye upon which rye had grown for a great 

 many years. The breed was for a long time an important one, and 

 it was especially prominent in the live-stock industry of the mid- 

 land counties at the beginning of the last century, when it is said 

 that Herefordshire alone pastured some 500,000 head of the breed, 

 and there were also flocks in Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Shrop- 

 shire, and Staffordshire. 



The improved breeds, notably the Shropshire, crowded the old 

 Ryeland out, and at one time it was thought that they were extinct. 

 Much of the credit for preserving the breed is due to a Mr. Shepherd, 

 of the district of Malvern. 



The old Ryelands were a small, white-faced, polled breed, having 

 considerable wool about the eyes. They were extremely hardy and 

 capable of thriving upon scanty fare. The fleeces were of excellent 

 quality, being finer than those of the Southdowns, but they rarely 

 exceeded 2\ pounds in weight. 



Some authors held that the breed was of foreign origin, because of 

 the practice of sheltering and feeding at night, which is unusual with 

 other native sheep in this district. However this may be, a Merino 

 cross was made when the latter sheep were introduced into England, 

 but failure resulted from the experiment. Leicester blood is also 

 said to have been introduced between the years 1800 and 1827, with 

 accompanying length of fiber and increased size. For almost a cen- 

 tury there has been no crossing, and the type is now fairly well fixed. 



While the breed is again on the ascendancy, its distribution in 

 England is by no means widespread. Wallace says that in 1903 

 there were about 30 flocks in existence, while in 1907 this number had 

 increased to 200. They are to be found principally in Hereford and 

 Breclmockshire, and in fewer numbers in Monmouth, Gloucester, 

 and Worcester Counties. 



Ryelands were first brought into the United States by George 

 McKerrow, of Wisconsin, for the Colorado Experiment Station. 



