DOMESTIC BREEDS OF SHEEP. 51 



moor, principally upon grass, but sometimes supplemented with a 

 little hay. They can withstand a very wet climate. Only the show 

 sheep receive grain or roots. 



Wrightson says, ' ' The Dartmoor sheep of to-day are a large, long^- 

 wooled variety, rivaling in size the Cotswold, Lincoln, or Romney 

 Marsh breeds." With the exception of their hardiness they have 

 largely lost the characteristics of a mountain breed. They are pref- 

 erably hornless, but the rams occasionally have short horns, about 

 2 inches long and extending backward from the head. The face is 

 gray, with black spots frequently about the muzzle and on the ears. 

 Dun spots are objectionable. The wool is long, sometimes reaching 

 a length of 15 inches in 12 months, of excellent quality, and very 

 strong. It extends over the polls and well down over the hocks and 

 knees, and a little appears upon the hind legs. Fleeces should weigh 

 about 15 pounds. 



The ewes are excellent mothers and produce early lambs when re- 

 moved to more favorable climates, but few fat lambs are produced 

 in the Dartmoor. 



Wm. Cooper & Nephews imported 58 head of Dartmoors in 1909 

 for John Rawlins, of Forest, Ontario. Soon afterwards these sheep 

 were sold and taken to Utah and Wyoming. They greatly resemble 

 a gray-faced Cotswold and are of about the same size as that breed. 

 They are characteristically ewe-necked. The fleece is of exceptional 

 length and quality, and the ringlets are close and distinct. The 

 Dartmoor has been used for the production of extra long wool to a 

 limited extent, and they seem especially suitable for this purpose. 



However, too few of this breed have been imported and not enough 

 trials have been made to warrant any extended discussion as to their 

 general fitness to American conditions. 



BLACK-FACED HIGHLAND. 



The Black-faced Highland is much famed in poetry and legend, 

 and there are many explanations as to its origin. Among these are 

 that the original stock was cast ashore from the Spanish Armada, an 

 already overworked theory, and that they are the result of a cross 

 between a sheep and a goat, something which has never been proved 

 to exist, and from present knowledge seems impossible. Other theo- 

 ries are that they came from the mountainous part of England to 

 Perth and Dumbarton, and that the original flock was placed upon 

 the estate of King James IV, in Ettrick Forest, about 1503. Either 

 of these latter two theories is at least possible. At any rate, these 

 black-faced sheep have been well known for a century and a half, 

 and the dispute as to their origin would indicate that they had 

 ranged the Highlands for a still longer period. 



