British Breeds of Sheep 113 



ments have come about largely by crossing and selec- 

 tion assisted also by high feeding, but the chief bene- 

 fit that has followed the latter features has been the 

 development of early maturity. A breeder has 

 summed this characteristic in the following words : 

 "Their principal points of excellence lie in their 

 extraordinary early maturity coupled with a yield 

 of mutton of splendid flavor and quality and with 

 an abundance of fleece of finely fiber ed wool. As to 

 the first point, they are unrivaled and might safely 

 be pitted against any other sheep at heavy odds and 

 with heavy stakes and would then undoubtedly 

 prove winners. A sheep that will increase these 

 qualities every day from birth to maturity, and 

 weigh ninety pound carcass or dead weight at twenty- 

 six weeks old, may be regarded with some surprise, 

 and yet this result has been excelled by breeders of 

 the improved Hampshire Down. I have had lambs 

 increase .81 pound per day for the first half of their 

 lives, an increase which compares very favorably 

 with the ..67 pound recorded from the Lincolns 

 or the .52 pound recorded by the Southdowns." 

 It was in 1887 that the American Hampshire Down 

 Breeders' Association was formed, and in 1890 the 

 first volume of their flock book was issued. The 

 breed has long before this attained the fixity type and 

 characteristics necessary to receive registration as a 

 breed. 



Characteristics of Hampshire. — The standard of 



