SHEEP, 



In crofling- this breed with the Difliley, an ufeful kind of 

 flieep lias, however, been produced, both the wool and car- 

 cafe being increaLd in weight, but much injured in refpeft 

 to finenefs ; and it is contended by fome, that the breed is 

 rendered much Icfs hardy by it. 



Wtirton Cragg Breed or Variety. — This is a fort or variety 

 of (hcep which is principally met with in the diftriift of the 

 above name, and that of Silverdale, in the northern part of 

 the county of Lancafter. Thefe cragg flieep are greatly 

 efteemed for the fine flavour of their mutton, their ready 

 difpofition to fatten, and the finenefs of their wool. They 

 are a dole compaft well-made breed of flieep, commonly 

 with white or mottled black and white faces and legs. 

 Their fleeces are fliort and clofe in the wool, which ufually 

 fells high. Their pallure is chiefly that of the poor fliort 

 rocky lime-ftone kind. They are deferving of more atten- 

 tion than has hitherto been bellowed upon them by the 

 farmers of the neighbourhoods where they prevail. 



The Shropjh'ire or Morf Breed or Variety. — This is a fort 

 which, according to the writer on live flock, has Imall horns, 

 with fpeckled dark or black faces and legs ; they have the 

 fwll charaftcr of real fiiic-woolled flieep, and have been, for 

 centuries, bred in Siiropfliire, Staffbrdlhire, Worcefterfliire, 

 and the vicinity. Their fleece is nearly all fine, and, it is 

 faid, fuperior to Ryeland wool, fince the crofling which has 

 taken place in that Itock. Mr. Pitt, of Pendeford, in a 

 letter to lord Somerville, dated 1799, eftimates the extent 

 of Morf common, or walle, at 3600 acres, and the number 

 of flieep fummered thereon, at 15,800, to the annual profit 

 of fifteen fliillings per acre in wool only, on a moderate 

 calculation, eight fleeces and a half to the ftone of 14 lbs. 

 Nothing is reckoned on account of carcafe, as the (heep have 

 fome extra keep during winter. It is added, that the 

 Shropftiire commons produce good fine wool, but none equal 

 to Morf by fixpence a pound. 



The Dorfetjhire Breed or Variety. — This breed is known 

 by having the face, nofe, and legs white, head rather long, 

 but broad, and the forehead woolly, as in the Spanifh and 

 Ryeland lorts ; the horn round and bold, middle-fized, and 

 (landing from the head ; the flioulders broad at top, but 

 lower than the hinder quarters; the back tolerably Itraight; 

 carcafe deep, and loins broad ; legs not long, nor very fine 

 in the bone. Weight per quarter in wethers, at three years 

 and a half old, from i61bs. to 20 lbs. Mr. Billingfley lays, 

 that the wool is fine and fliort. It is a breed which has the 

 peculiar property of producing lambs at any period in the 

 feafon, even fo early as September and 0<£\ober, fo as to 

 fnit the purpofes of the lamb-fuckler. It has been found to 

 anfwer well in fome of the midland diilrifts, and, from its 

 clofe make, to be equally advantageous with almoft any 

 other. It is, however, fuppofed capable of improvement by 

 being crofled with rams of a larger fize. There are varieties 

 of it met with in feveral diftriits. And it is faid by fome, 

 that the Dorfet breeders pay great attention to preferve the 

 colour of their flocks from mixture, fince white lambs are 

 the moft efteemed in the London markets, from a prcfumcd 

 fuperior delicacy in the meat. It is believed this is one of 

 the bell breeds in England, if not fuperior to all others, con- 

 fidciing its various qualifications. Their property of bring- 

 ing twins, and making our higheft priced houfe lamb, mull 

 beconfidered fird ; they are both good hiU Ihcep ai:d padure 

 lliccp, and their flefli is an excellent medium between the 

 delicate mutton of the hills, and the rich and juicy meat of 

 the bell lowland flieep. The later Dorfet lamb«, when 

 fattened, make the earliell grals lamb. By the practice of 

 this county, the lambs which the breeders retain are fliorn 

 at Midfummcr, having been taken from the ewes in May ; 

 produce of wool, one pound to a pound and a half each, the 



t4 



price a penny/);r pound nearly, under the price of fheep'swool. 

 A three-fhear flieep may produce four or five pounds of mid- 

 dling fine wool, which it would be highly advantageous to 

 improve to the utmoft, on this excellent breed. 



This is a breed, or fort of flieep, which feems to prevail 

 among the generality of farmers in the highlands, and fome 

 other parts of the county of Devon, which border on the 

 above, in which they are found to anfwer very well. 



And there is a breed or variety nearly connctled with thefe 

 in the Mendip hilly dillrift. They are fmaller than that 

 breed, having fmaller horns, more deer-headed, the wool lefs 

 in weight ; the mutton excellent in its flavour. It has been 

 obferved by the author of the " General Treatife on Cattle," 

 that in the Wefl; Riding of Yorkfliire, and in the adjoining 

 parts of Wellmoreland, they have a breed of horned and 

 white-faced flieep, bearing a llrong affinity to the Dorfets ; 

 they are called Craven and Wenjleydale fheep, but more ge- 

 nerally Petiijlon, from the market town where they are fold. 

 They are a good down or hill fheep, in their pure ilate, and 

 give a fleece of coarfe fhort wool, weighing between two and 

 three pounds, the carcafe good mutton, about fifteen pounds 

 per quarter. They are varioufly crolled in that riding, with 

 Cheviot, Difliley, and Northumberland tups ; with the two 

 laft, for the purpofe of making pallure fheep, in which cafe 

 the weight of carcafe is increafed to twenty or thirty pounds 

 per quarter. In the north, this breed is commonly crofled 

 with the Heath flieep, which gives them black or grey faces 

 and legs, with fometimes a black fpot on the top of the neck, 

 the wool coarfe and open, inllead of being clofe and thick 

 fet upon the flcin, as a defence againll the feverity of the 

 climate of that hilly and expofed country in which they are 

 fed ; defefts for which the remedy is obvious. Ryeland tups 

 have been tried with the Penillon ewes, a crofs which made a 

 confiderable improvement. 



The Wihfiire Breed or Variety. — This is a fort which has 

 fometimes the title of horned-crocks. The writer on live 

 flock dillinguifhes the breed, as having a large head and 

 eyes, Roman nofe, wide noltnls, horns bending down the 

 cheeks, colour all white, wide bofom, deep greyhound breall, 

 back rather llraight, carcafe fubftantial, legs long, bone 

 coarfe, fine middle wool, very thin on the belly, which is 

 fometimes bare. He fuppofes, with Culley, that the bafis 

 of this breed is doubllefs the Dorfet, enlarged by fome long- 

 woolled crofs ; but how the horns come to take a diredlion 

 fo contrary, is not cafy, he thinks, to conjefture ; he has 

 fometimes imagined it mufl be the lefiilt of fome foreign, 

 probably Tartarian, crofs. The old Hertfords were, he 

 fayf, fuppofed a kindred breed with the Wilts, but at prefent, 

 the few of this kind bred in Herts are of fmaller fize, longer 

 and coarfer wool. Thefe large and leggy Wilts' flieep 

 work well in the fold, and have always had the charafter of 

 good thrivers at corn, oil-cake, and the beft meat, making 

 very large mutton, and very deep in flefli, which is high- 

 flavoured, yielding the dark-coloured gravy. The breed is, 

 he adds, every where on the decline, generally fupplanted 

 by the South Downs, of which the farmers find they can, 

 on the fame quantity of land, keep more than one and a half, 

 for one of the Wilt;:, the former, moreover, producing both 

 better mutton and better wool. The difeafe called the 

 goggles, is faid to be peculiar to the Wilts flieep. It is 

 flated, that this breed has been long ufcd, more or lefs, in the 

 counties bordering on Wilts, and in Surrey, Kent, Herts, 

 Eflex, and Midd\-fex. But that it is a breed not worth 

 preferving j perhaps the only thing to be done with it to 

 advantage, is to crofs it with the Merino. The Hampfliire 

 variety of this breed is faid, for what reafoii he knous not, to 

 be more hardy. It is a breed, however, which is elleemcd 

 in fome places. 



The 



