558 = 292 Practical Agriculture. 
I 
of Leicester or other good blood, have extended their are 
the Weald is stocked with them in winter, and thej have spre 
themselves over the greater portion of Kent, displacing t 
Southdowns in many localities. Half a century back thf 
sheep were distinguished by thickness and length of head, 
broad forehead with a tuft of wool upon it, and a long thi 
neck and carcass. They were flat-sided, had a sharp chii 
tolerably wide loin, the breast-end narrow and not deep, a 
the fore-quarter neither heavy nor full ; the thigh was f 
and broad ; the belly large and tabby ; the tail thick, loi 
and coarse, and the bone large ; the wool was long and not fii 
coarsest on the thighs ; but they had much internal fat, and w» 
great favourites with the butcher. 
Weights. The wethers seldom reached market until they were thi 
years old, and weighed from 10 to 15 stones, and the ewes fn 
9 to 11 stones (of 8 lbs.). 
At the present day, tegs of the improved breed can be sent i 
market from turnips at 17 lbs. to 20 lbs. per quarter; wh 
the two-shear wethers weigh 25 lbs. to 30 lbs. per quart 
Possessing more symmetrical frames, and lighter bone and ofi , 
the best Romney Marsh sheep attain to considerable weigh : 
the heaviest shearlings at a late Smithfield Club Show seal) : 
260 lbs. each, live weight. 
The wool is specially valuable for the length of staple, fi. 
ness of quality, and bright glossy character, which makes it 
demand for Flanders and France, being principally used in 
manufacture of a fabric known as " cloth of gold." The hogg a 
ewe fleeces weigh on an average 6 or 7 lbs., and the wool ^ 
two-shear wethers up to 10 lbs., individual fleeces considers ; 
exceeding these figures. 
Devon Devon Longioools. — While a limited number of Exmoor mo' 
Longwools. ^j^'jj sheep are found on the northern border of Devonsh 
an ancient breed, the South Hams Notts, somewhat resf 
bling the Romney Marsh sheep, graze the pastures in the soi 
and the hardy, delicate-fleshed Dartmoor, or Oakhampton she 
feed on the bleak and lofty forests, the most prevalent flo 
in central and eastern Devon, in West Somerset, and in p;S 
of Cornwall, are of the Devon Longwool breed. This is a | • 
duct from crossing, principally with Leicesters, but partly w i 
Cotswolds and also with Lincolns, the native Bampton breed J 
named from a village on the Somersetshire border. I?ut n t 
breeders have now ceased to import Leicester or any other 1)1( . 
They are without horns, white-faced, and closely resemble e 
Leicester; and Mr. Joseph Darby describes the diifcrenc 
Points and these terms : — " A well-bred sheep of this variety differs froi 
Weiglits. pure Leicester in having a longer and larger face, with gre 
f 
