50 BULLETIN 94, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The Wensleydale is a large, high-standing, hornless, long-wool 

 breed, very active and hardy. The face and legs, and the entire 

 skin to a less degree, are blue. This color is preferable because 

 dark-faced lambs are desired when this breed is crossed upon the 

 Black-faced Highland. These lambs are known as "crosses," or 

 "Mashams," in Britain. The mutton is of good quality, the fleece 

 is long and open, the locks falling in close ringlets, and the fiber is of 

 good quality. They are said to be quite fertile and to make good 

 mothers. 



In England there are rival breed associations. Both of these asso- 

 ciations were founded about 1890. One was known as the Pure 

 Select Wensleydale Sheep Breeders' Association, but changed its 

 name later to the Incorporated Wensleydale Sheep Breeders' Asso- 

 ciation. This society holds its annual fair at Hillifield. The other is 

 called the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders ' Association, and 

 this society's fair is held at Northallerton. The scale of points of 

 the latter English Society will be given, as there is no American 

 society. 



SCALE OP POINTS POR WENSLEYDALE RAMS. 



Points. 

 Head: Face dark; ears dark and well set on; head broad and flat between ears; 



muzzle strong in rams; a tuft of wool on forehead; eyes bright and full; head 



gaily carried 15 



Neck: Moderate length, strong, and well set on to the shoulders 10 



Shoulder: Broad and oblique 5 



Chest: Deep and wide 10 



Wool : Bright luster ; curled all over body ; all alike in staple 20 



Back and loins: Ribs well sprung and deep; loins broad and covered with meat; 



tail broad; flank full 25 



Legs and feet: Straight and a little fine wool below the hock; fore legs well set 



apart; hind legs well filled with mutton 15 



Total 100 



THE DARTMOOR. 



On either side of the Dartmoor in Devonshire a type of sheep has 

 developed that is designated as the Dartmoor breed. Some claim 

 that the foundation stock of this breed was the same as that of the 

 Exmoor, and this theory is as plausible as any, but for at least three 

 generations the breed has been distinct from the Exmoor in that they 

 are considerably larger and produce heavier, longer fleeces in which 

 the staples are more distinct. 



Like the other long-wool breeds, the Dartmoor was considerably 

 improved years ago by the Leicester, Lincoln blood also being intro- 

 duced about this time. 



The breed has never been very widely distributed, but they have 

 proven an excellent sheep in their native moor. Their extreme hardi- 

 ness enables them to withstand the rigors of the winters of the Dart- 



