102 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



fied from the original type. The same is the case 

 with regard to the original soft-woolled sheep of the 

 Mendips and several other districts in the west of 

 England. 



In fact all the original breeds or sub-breeds of 

 British soft-woolled sheep may be said to be more or 

 less completely extinct ; and the use of their wool 

 in the manufacture of the finer descriptions of cloth 

 replaced by that of the merino. 



We now pass to the consideration of the so- 

 called down type of sheep, which take their name 

 from the South Downs, where the typical breed was 

 produced. The first for notice is the Suffolk down, 

 which was evolved from the old Norfolk breed, by 

 crossing with South and Hampshire downs, and 

 still retains the black face and legs of the Norfolk, 

 although it has lost the horns. The disappearance 

 of the horns is due to the Southdown cross, while 

 the large size of the breed is attributed to the 

 Hampshire blood. It was not until 1859 that the 

 breed acquired a place even in local shows, and it 

 was soon after recognised by the Royal Agricultural 

 Society. The wool is of the Southdown type, but 

 somewhat deficient in quality. 



In 1888 Suffolk downs were introduced into 

 the United States, where, however, they failed to 

 become popular.^ During the first few years of 

 the present century they have been exported to the 



'■ See Plumb, o/>. cit., p. 421. 



