THE HAMPSHIRE DOWN 



S79 



a pronounced Roman nose. The lips and nostrils are black. The 

 ears are moderately long, large, and thin, of a dark mouse color 

 behind, and are more pointed than with Shropshire or Southdown. 

 In the best type the ears lean outward slightly. The neck tends 

 to be a bit long, lacking the shortness of the Southdown ; yet 

 Wrightson, the best British authority on this breed, states that it 

 is thick and muscular and is considered to be a point of special 

 excellence and importance. He further states that the shoulder tops 

 are wide and that the girth behind the shoulders and of the entire 

 fore end must be well 

 marked to secure any at- 

 tention either in the prize 

 or sale ring. This breed 

 has been criticized by Wal- 

 lace, who states that a con- 

 spicuous defect in ordinary 

 specimens is a falling away 

 behind the shoulder, but 

 this defect is not common 

 in the improved Hamp- 

 shire Down of to-day. The 

 type of body and general 

 carcass is in common with 

 accepted standards for 

 other mutton breeds. The 

 legs are dark brown in 

 color, like the face ; in fact, the color is so deep a brown that 

 it may almost be regarded as black. The skin should be a bright 

 pink, but Hampshire Downs frequently have a bluish or dark skin 

 much resembling the Oxford Down. In further reference to these 

 breed characteristics Wrightson makes the following interesting 

 comments upon the sources of their inheritance : 



The slightly Roman character of the face and the fine wool have no 

 doubt partly been derived from the old Wiltshire horned sheep. . . . The 

 quality of the flesh and the color have come through the Southdown, but 

 the color has been deepened by selection. The length of ear has probably 

 been derived from an alliance with the Cotswold. 



Fig. 268. A two-year-old Hampshire Down 

 ewe, first and champion at seven American 

 fairs in 1904. Owned and exhibited by Chil- 

 mark Farms, New, York. From photograph, by 

 courtesy of Charles V. Phelps, superintendent 



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