56 



SOUTH DOWN SHEEP. 



"The South-Do-wTi sheep of the present day are without 

 horns, and with dark brown laces and legs ; the size and weight 

 have been increased ; the fore quarters improved in width and 

 depth ; the back and loins have become broader and the ribs 

 more curved, so as to form a straight and level back ; the 

 hind quarters are square and full, the tail weU set on, and the 

 limbs shorter and finer in the bone. These results are due to 

 the great and constant care which has been bestowed on the 

 breed by EUman and his contemporaries, as well as by his 

 successors, whose flocks fully sustain the character of the 

 improved breed. 



SOUTH DOWN EAM. 



"The sheep, though fine in form and symmetrical in 

 appearance, are very hardy, keeping up their condition on 

 moderate pastures and readily adapting themselves to the 

 different districts and systems of farming in which they are 

 now met with. They are very docile, and thrive well, even 

 when folded on the artificial pastures of an arable farm. Their 

 disposition to fatten enables them to be brought into the 

 market at twelve and fifteen months old, when they average 



