in forming a New Breed of Sheep, 



217 



has achieved a new cross-breed insurin*>; great improvement, and 

 requiring thenceforth only careful selection to perpetuate by 

 propagation among themselves the qualities which he has in 

 view. But he has reckoned without his host. For no sooner 

 are the lambs weaned, than their strength, their vigour, and their 

 beauty begin to decay as the heat of our summer increases. 

 Instead of growing, they seem to dwindle ; their square shapes 

 shrink ; they become stunted, and, on the threshold of life, put 

 on the livery of old age. A violent cold in the head completes 

 their exhaustion. This is accompanied with a copious flow of 

 slimy mucus from the nostrils, constant sneezings, and sometimes 

 cough. At last the constitution gives way, or, if the animal 

 last till autumn, the malady indeed ceases but he remains 

 stunted for life. The time lost was the time of growth, and 

 cannot be recovered, for nature never goes backward. Hence- 

 forth he looks like a foreigner escaped from the mortal influence 

 of an inhospitable climate, and remains inferior even to our 

 native sheep, which at least have health and hardiness in their 

 favour. 



The experiment has sometimes been tried with English rams 

 in a third generation, and the symptoms above described have 

 arisen even more strongly in proportion to the stronger admix- 

 ture of English blood. Thus experience has shown us that 

 English sheep of whatever breed, being formed under the peculiar 

 circumstances of Great Britain, require absolutely the continu- 

 ance of those circumstances to remain what they are. These 

 circumstances, again, we have found, cannot be realised in 

 France without infinite precautions, and an expenditure that 

 destroys the most indispensable of all requisites in such opera- 

 tions, namely, profit. 



It is, moreover, remarkable that the results described arise 

 equally with each kind of English ram that has been used, 

 namely Leicester, New Kent, and Southdown. Only the foreign 

 influence is more marked in the product of Goord's New Kent 

 or of the pure Southdown than in that of the Leicester or the 

 less pure New Kents or Downs ; in fact the principle of anti- 

 quity or purity of race is what has most influence upon crosses.''^ 

 The Leicester and other rams of mixed origin being of very 

 modern origin in comparison with our French breeds, and 

 especially with the Merinos, whose source is lost in the night of 

 ages, their influence must be, and is in fact, weaker than that of 

 the mother. This difference of action, which should be clearly 

 understood, establishes shades of distinction distinctly marke.d 

 according to the kinds of ram that are used. , , 



Thus, if you put a Leicester ram, a mixed New Kent, or > 



* Consult on this subject the excellent work of Mens. Hurard, Des IJar'as 

 Domestiqms. 



