io8 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



faced breed of Hampshire and Wiltshire, and like- 

 wise the black-faced strain of old Berkshire sheep 

 (all of which, as already mentioned, are now extinct 

 as pure breeds), with Southdowns. Only slightly 

 inferior in size and weight to the Oxford down, a 

 very early breeder, with moderate fecundity, and 

 yielding excellent mutton, the improved modern 

 Hampshire enjoys well-deserved favour, and has 

 been introduced into many countries. 



The face and limbs are of so dark a brown as 

 to be practically black, the large and sharply pointed 

 ears are dirty mouse-colour at the back, and should 

 incline a little outwards, while the chaffron displays 

 a tendency towards the Roman-nosed type. The 

 relative fineness of the wool is probably an inherit- 

 ance from the old Wiltshire stock, as is also the 

 convexity of the nose, while the length of ear is 

 attributed to a Cotswold cross. 



The Shropshire sheep may be regarded as the 

 most specialised of the down type ; this specialisa- 

 tion showing itself in the development of wool on 

 the greater part of the face in the best representa- 

 tives of the breed. This woolly mask should 

 extend right down to the nostrils, leaving only the 

 tip of the nose hairy. Shropshires run rather 

 bigger and heavier than Southdowns, and carry a 

 fleece with wool of the medium type. The horn- 

 less head is relatively larger than in the South- 

 down, and should have the ears short, broad, and 



