MEDIUM-TAILED CONTINENTAL BREEDS 133 



likewise by the finer quality of the wool, which 

 extends in some degree on to the lower part of 

 the limbs. 



The Poitou or Bayonne breed, on the other 

 hand, is characteristic of the mountainous districts 

 of the south-western and south-eastern provinces, 

 more especially in the neighbourhood of Roussillon 

 and Bayonne and in the districts of Poitou and 

 Provence. This breed is likewise regarded as the 

 result of crossing the original French stock with the 

 merino, and is nearly equal in size to the latter, 

 while in form it is to a great extent intermediate 

 between the two parent stocks. The head is larger 

 than in the merino, with the muzzle narrower, the 

 forehead flatter, and the nasal region less convex ; 

 while the crinkled wool is not so fine in texture. 



The Solognote breed is found on poor heathy 

 and swampy ground only in the neighbourhood of 

 Sologne, between Orleans, Blois, and Bourges, in 

 north-western France, and is believed to have origi- 

 nated by crossing the original native breed with 

 the Berri strain. These sheep are reared both for 

 mutton and for wool : the latter is shorter than that 

 of the Berri breed, but much superior in point of 

 fineness to the product of the pure French breed. 



The Ardennes sheep, although typically a native 

 of the province from which it takes its name, re- 

 appears in the south-east of the country in 

 Burgundy, and in both districts is kept in large 



