392 Report of the Stewards of Stock at the Battei'sea Shoiv. 
off; and the perpetual trimming into shape which goes on 
enables the animal to fill the eye, to the great disadvantage of 
those which have been fairly shorn. Mr. Charles Gillett, of 
Cote House, Bampton, had all the first prizes, as well as a second 
and third. 
The three classes of Dorset Sheep only commanded IS entries, 
and these came from only three exhibitors. Mr. Danger's entries 
won the two head-prizes in each class ; in fact, only two sheep, the 
property of Messrs. Bond and Paull, returned without a prize or a 
commendation. This very old breed is kept in large flocks on 
the high lands of Dorset and Somerset, and derives its peculiar 
value from its early production of lambs, and its aptitude to 
have twins with the fewest casualties. With " the Sale ewes " 
the Southdown ram is used, and early in October they are sold 
at Weyhill Fair to graziers in the Isle of Wight, Hampshire, 
and Sussex, who provide the earliest lamb supplies to the metro- 
polis. In other respects it is behind many other breeds, and 
lacks fattening properties. This may arise in a measure from 
the fact that few breeders are graziers, and that the wether- 
lambs are sold in store condition in the autumn of each year — a 
remark which applies peculiarly to Dorsetshire, where the 
greatest number are kept. In Somersetshire they go by the 
name of Somersetshire or Improved Dorsets, and there (seeing 
that the breeders graze as well) their fattening properties are 
better developed. The two-tooth wethers in Somersetshire be- 
come fat in May, when they are 15 months old, and kill well as 
regards quality of mutton. " The competition in these classes 
was very limited, but the animals exhibited were of very superior 
quality, and represented admirably the character and excellence 
of the breed." 
The Mountain Classes presented sheep of every variety — 
" Exmoor Mountain, or Lonk," Cheviot, "Limestone Moun- 
tain, or Farleton Knott," and " Scotch Mountain ;" and if the 
pure Lonk won all the first and two of the second prizes for the 
Forest of Bowland, the Cheviots stood second as shearling ewes, 
and the Exmoors monopolised all the third prizes. 
The class earned the report of " not numerous, but very good 
indeed ; in size, mutton, and wool the Lonks were the best we 
ever saw, and a pen of Cheviot shearlings (which proved to be 
Colonel Pennant's) were exceedingly good. The Exmoor 
sheep, though rather small in size, handled well, and turned up 
very beautiful firm mutton." Few sheep have been more im- 
proved than the Exmoors during the last thirty years : their 
weight at the beginning of that period could not have been 
more than 56 lbs., whereas Mr. Quartly's pure-bred wethers at 
Smithfield last year weighed just three times that amount. All 
