EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI EIVEE. 415 



faced sheep of Hampshire are a cross between the old black -faced Berk- 

 shire and the pure Southdown. A celebrated English breeder of 1858 

 stated that they were closely descended from an original hardy race 

 peculiar to Hampshire. Their strength of constitution and size have 

 been retained, and are characteristic of the animal. Prof. John Wil- 

 son, in 1855, said that the breed appeared to be the result of a cross 

 between the pure Southdown and the old horned sheep of Hampshire 

 and Wiltshire, by which the hard working though fine quality of the 

 former was combined with the superior size and constitution of the 

 latter. The breed was commenced early in the present century, and 

 by a system of judicious crossing possesses the leading characteristics of 

 the two parent breeds. E. P. Squarey, most excellent authority, asserts 

 that the breed undoubtedly dates its origin from the crossing of the 

 Old Wiltshire horned sheep and the Old Berkshire liiTott with the South- 

 downs, which were introduced into Wiltshire and Hampshire early in 

 the present century. The Old Wiltshire has already been noted (p. 45). 

 The Old Berkshire was found at an early day in the center of Berkshire, 

 where they fed on a light, sandy, and barren soil. Most of them were 

 horned, some were polled. They had generally black faces, Eoman 

 noses, black or mottled legs, and long tails j some few, however, had 

 white or mottled faces. They were strong, active, and tall, and folded 

 well, and when fattened grew to an enormous size, but it generally took 

 a long time to fatten them. These sheep were next in weight to the 

 old Leicester breeds, but higher than them on the legs. The wool, 

 although somewhat coarse, ranked among the short varieties. The 

 first cross of this breed was with the Wiltshires, and was not altogether 

 satisfactory; then the Southdowns gradually spread in the district and 

 effected a complete revolution in the character of the sheep, and with 

 few exceptions the Berkshires are now either pure Southdowns or very 

 deeply crossed by them.* 



For a long time after the displacement of the Wiltshires and Berk- 

 shires, the charming character and high quality of the Southdowns 

 which superseded them satisfied the most advanced of the farmers of 

 Berks, Dorset, Wilts, and Hants, and only when they came to realize 

 how much they had lost in the size, early maturity, and hardiness of 

 the Old Wiltshire type, as represented in the Old Wiltshire itself and 

 the Berkshire, did they bethink them of going back to those animals 

 for additional substance and development to the Southdowns. Then 

 they began a system of crossing with Hampshire rams with varying 

 degrees of success, depending simply on the instinctive capacity of 

 the farmer to properly select the animals for this purpose. Whilst 

 one aimed at the prodiiction of a large-framed long- wool producing, 

 hardy animal, another devoted his attention to the maintenance of the 

 high quality and beauty of the Southdown, with earlier maturity and 



•The Sheep of Great Britain. In report of Bureau of Animal Industry, 1889-'90. 



