British Breeds of Sheep 87 



"This may be distinguished as the district of Cowe 

 Dale as it includes and consists chiefly of this far- 

 famed valley. It is inclosed on the west by a range 

 of limestone hills, extending from Easthope in a 

 southwest direction to Westhope; on the east it is 

 bounded by the Clee Hills and the rising land of 

 district number one, and on the south it reaches 

 to the borders of that county. A reference to the 

 map will show it to be a narrow but long strip of 

 land, varying in width from one and one half to four 

 miles, and about twenty miles in length and con- 

 taining about 35,000 acres. It is a tract of land 

 possessing much interest on account of its fertility 

 and the general appearance of prosperity which dis- 

 tinguishes it. . . . It spreads beneath this vener- 

 able castle like a carpet of verdure of the richest 

 character, and the luxuriance of vegetation at once 

 strikes the beholder with the feeling that he is view- 

 ing one of the most fertile of our English vales. The 

 surface is slightly undulating, just sufficient to give 

 variety to the landscape. The soil is chiefly alluvial 

 deposit of good quality. As we rise towards the hills 

 that bound the Dale, it gradually decreases in 

 depth. It forms a loamy soil occasionally becoming 

 a stiff loam, especially in the northern portion of the 

 Dale. We also find drifts which are gravelly in 

 their nature, as between Onibury and Ludlow, but 

 these are generally narrow portions of no great 

 extent." But all the breeding districts of the county 



