Breeds of Sheep 205 
forequarters, long, drooping back, lacking spring of rib, and with 
the wool short, coarse, and thin. 
Improvement began about 1775 under the leadership of John 
Ellman, of Glynde, who doubtless received his inspiration from 
Fic. 75.— The Southdown. Mutton type. 
the success of Bakewell with the Leicester. Ellman was impressed 
with the necessity of improving the native sheep to secure a better 
mutton form and an ease of fattening. He procured the best sheep 
that he could find and succeeded in creating a superior mutton 
type. He possessed a very large flock numbering about 1400 head. 
Jonas Webb of Barbaham, Cambridge, England, was another 
noted Southdown breeder. He began breeding about 1821 with 
a selection of sheep from the Ellman flock. Webb purchased the 
