SHEEP. 



duce of 1 16 ewe lambs, bred by Mr. Bevan at Riddlefworth, 

 1792, was : 



Farther, it is alfo added, that he was early in tr^'ing 

 South Do-.n (lieep, but finding them tender at lambmg, 

 went into a new Leiccfter crofs ; thefe he abandoned, and 

 got back to the South Downs, but ftill efteems them a ten- 

 der breed, and that they ought to have yards (heltered and 

 littered for lambing in bad weather ; remarking, that all the 

 farmers he knows on the South Downs have thefe yards for 

 that purpoie. It is likewife ftated, that Mr. Bircham, at 

 Hackford, declares againft having any favourites ; he has 

 generally bought Norfolks, and half-bred lambs ; fome few 

 South Downs;, but they did not anfwer : has had fome 

 Leicefters : any fort he can get worth his money. Little 

 farmers, who ktep a few Iheep, find the polled breeds very 

 convenient from their quietnefs, and therefore prefer them. 

 Norfolk lambs bred near Cromer, bought by Mr. G. 

 Jones at 14;., were run on Itubbles in the autumn, and put 

 to turnips at Chritlmas, then to layers of the firll year, pro- 

 bably as the bed food for ftieep, and fold (hearling wethers 

 at Michaelmas at 55J. each ; 2olb3. to 24lbs. a quarter. And 

 colonel Butler, at Haydon, is iaid to be convinced that Nor- 

 folks anfwer better than South Downs: (hearlings fometimes 

 aflbrding 2olbs. and 25lbs. a quarter, and iQilbs.of tallow; he 

 has a breeding flock of 400, and lold his wether lambs at 26s- 

 and his ewe lambs at 24*. Mr. Johnfon, of Thurning, has 

 40 fcore of South Downs, which he has been rearing thefe 

 fix years, having bought many ewes, and got good tups. 

 He has, however, a good opinion of Norfolks, and will not 

 be furprifed to fee them come into fafliion again. In May 

 1792, he fold two-fliear Norfolks at Smithfield for 3/. each. 

 He admits their rambling difpofition, which is much againil 

 them ; and he is clear that he cannot keep fo many on his 

 farm as of Soutli Downs. The South Down wool is not, 

 on good keep, fo good as Norfolk wool, but tlie fleece is 

 heavier. Five years ago he got a lot of Yorkfliircs from 

 the Wolds, white faces, polled, and the wool very coarfe, 

 but they tluove wonderfully ; never having had any flieep 

 that did better, infomuch, that he was forry wlu-n he parted 

 with them. Norfolks, he tlnnks, will bear folding better 

 than South Downs. The latter will, however, come to 

 hand rather looner, but not on ling : iias had threc-ftiear 

 South Downs of 281bs. a quarter. Alfo at Snettifliam, 

 Mr. Styleman, the writer allerts, keeps 2000 of various 

 breeds. South Downs, new Lcicellers, and half and half; 

 m number confiderably more than when, on tlie fame land, 

 he kept Norfolks: his farm may, and probably does, pro- 

 duce more (hcep-food than it did at that time ; but he is per- 

 feftly clear in the great fiiperioiity of the niunber,' this cir- 

 cumllance dedutled, and that the profit is confiderably 



greater ; and he is clear alfo in the fuperior hardinefs and 

 kindluiels of feeding of the new breeds. Of all crofs-breeds, 

 he thmks the firll crols of the Leiceiler tup on the Norfolk 

 ewe the bcfl, and that wool now (1802) fells at 46^. a 

 tod ; fleeces 4lbs. And at Hillingdon, all are either Nor- 

 folks or half-breds, a Leiceiler tup on a Norfolk ewe. 

 Captain Beacher thinks there are no Iheep in the ifland which 

 the Leiceiler will not improve. He has grazed many Wilt- 

 fliircs, and thinks them the beft of all for cole-grazing in 

 the fens. But Mr. Beck, of Caftle Rifing, has had South 

 Downs thirteen years, beginning with fome from Mr. Tyr- 

 rels, of Lamport, and has imported three or four times 

 fince. He has now 800, and is quite convinced of their fu- 

 periority to Norfolks : when he was in that breed, he had 

 not half the number ; but after abating fully for improved 

 hufbandry, and every other circumltance, he is clear that 

 there is a fuperiority of four to three. His fences are and 

 muft; be bad, and in fuch a farm quietnefs is a vail object : 

 his farm 486 acres. He gained the firit prize for ewes, both 

 the laft and this year at Swaff ham, and alfo at Holkham 

 The (urveyor examined his flock attentively, and it certainly 

 is a very beautiful one. His wool now averages eight to a 

 tod, equally of hogs and ewes : his Norfolks todded twelve : 

 he is clear that, take the country through, they average 

 half as much again as Norfolks. Before he took the farm 

 there were fifty fheep on it, and a dairy of cows. What an 

 improvement ! However, in the vicinity of Downham are 

 found all forts of breeds : towards the river, Lincolns and 

 Leicefters ; higher up, Norfolks and South Downs. Mr. 

 Saffory likes the South Downs belt, but thinks that if as 

 much care and attention had been exerted to improve the 

 breed of Norfolks as the South Downs have experienced, 

 they would by this time have been a very different fheep. 

 Norfolk three-fliear wethers fold in April laft at St. Ives, at 

 from 4/. 4r. to 4/. loj. each. At Bretenham, Mr. Twift keeps 

 68 fcore of breeding Norfolk ewes on 1800 acres of poor 

 land. H2 had a South Down tup fome years ago from 

 Mr. Crow, but he could not perceive that the breed did 

 better than Norfolks, though they itood the fold to the 

 full as well. 



In the diftriA called Marfliland, Mr. Dennis, of Wigen- 

 hall, St. Mary, grazes only the beft Lincoln wethers ; he 

 buys from May-day to Midfummer ; keeps them over-year, 

 clipping twice, average price 50J. to 6oj. and fells at 6^s. to 

 751. getting i8lbs. in the two fleeces: his good land will 

 carry fix^^r acre, on an average, in fummer ; in winter, two 

 on three acres ; and thefe will quite prefcrve their (ledi ; if 

 the feafon be favourable, will get fomething : he thinks that 

 there is no other breed fo profitable here ; even a ftalii of the 

 new Lcicefter is hurtful, as they will not ftand the winter fo 

 well. Sheep the chief ftock, thougli fome Lincoln bullocks. 

 He never gives hay to flieep, nothing but grafs ; 32lbs. a 

 quarter his average of fat wethers. But Mr. Swayne, of 

 Walpole, prefers the crois between Lincoln and Leicrfter : 

 he buys them fliearling-wethers, about Lady-day ; laft year 

 3/. to 3/. io.f. each, but has liad tliem at 36/. and 38.f. He 

 clips the beft twice, three to a tod, which he likes better than 

 heavier fleeces of iheep demanding more food. Some give 

 I7lbs. or iSlbs. of wool. At Michaelmas he culls the worft, 

 or buys cole for them, il reafonable ; fells all by Midlummer, 

 making 8j. or loi. a-liead, when bought in high, befides 

 the wool. Very few beafts arc kept. 



Alfo in Hertfordfhirc, fome prefer the South Downs to 

 Wiltftiires, as the latter have the goggles oftei', but the 

 South Downs never. But the long-legged Wiltfliires lufl^er 

 lefs in folding on wet land. But in other places the rclu)t of 

 the comparifon fecms to be, that Soutli Downs do better on 



3 I 2 grafs- 



