MEDIUM-TAILED BRITISH BREEDS 107 



cross, the Oxford down originally had a mottled 

 face and a fleece approximating to the long-wool 

 type, but these features were subsequently elimi- 

 nated, and the breed now conforms in general 

 character to the Southdown and the under-mentioned 

 Shropshire, although running larger than either, 

 rams commonly weighing 275 lbs., and occasionally 

 reaching 400 lbs., or even more, while ewes scale 

 about 200 lbs. With a dark brown hairy face, 

 and a tuft of wool on the face, the Oxford down 

 differs from the Shropshire by the lighter tint of 

 the brown area and the much smaller amount of 

 wool on the forehead, where, however, the tuft is 

 of greater length and looseness. The Oxford down 

 is also a bigger and heavier sheep, with a longer 

 and looser fleece. From its large size and the 

 fecundity of the ewes, which is nearly equal to that 

 of the Shropshire, the Oxford down soon came into 

 favour as a " mutton-sheep," and flocks have been 

 established in most of the sheep-breeding countries, 

 exclusive apparently of South Africa. 



The Hampshire down, as may be inferred from 

 the preceding paragraph, is a rather older cross-bred 

 type than the Oxford, having gained a recognised 

 position in the Shows of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society so early as 1840, under the title of West 

 Country down, a designation which remained in 

 general use for a considerable period. It owes 

 its origin to crossing the old horned and white- 



