Practical Agriculture. 
b(jd = 297 
reed — which possessed great power of enduring long travelling 
nd severe folding, hard keeping and hard working, as manure 
arriers for the light lands. Mr. Wilkinson (in his Report on 
Tampshire) describes the original breed as " worthy oi being 
jmembered. They were imposing-looking animals, long in 
jg, high in withers, sharp in spine, large, bony, narrow, with 
ig heads, curling horns, and fine Roman noses." Until about 
)rty years since, the new breed resulting from the combination 
t these sheep with Southdowns had produced sheep of two 
issimilar characters. In North and East Hampshire, according Mr. E. P. 
) Mr. E. P. Squarey, they were large, muscular, early matured Squarey on 
nimals, giving a fair quantity of wool of moderate fineness ; the ' 
ead large and well set on, of dark brown colour verging towards 
lack, covered with coarsish hair, with Roman nose ; the ears 
lick, of the same colour as the face, and an occasional tendency 
) recur to the original type by producing " snig " horns ; the 
eck with greatly developed muscles, the legs with large bones, 
nd sometimes the wool growing below the hocks and knees. 
Thite spots on faces, ears, and legs were avoided, if possible, by 
le ram breeders. But the Wiltshire breeders adopted a more 
irgely framed and probably less handsome sheep, were less 
irelul as to uniformity of colour, and did not discard ewes with 
leckled faces or ears, provided they had size and other good 
ualities. The Southdown flocks of Berkshire and Dorsetshire 
ecame to a great extent merged into .the improved Hampshire 
r West Country Downs. Large areas of the Down pasture 
inds had been broken up, artificial manures were introduced, 
le growth of turnips, rape, vetclies, trifolium, rye, and Italian 
■ e-grass lor sheep-feed, led the breeders generally to turn their 
tention to the Hampshire system of selling wether lambs in 
16 late summer or early autumn, instead of keeping them till 
ley were sold as shearlings, or still older, for less money than 
mbs now realise ; and for early maturity and greater size the 
ockmasters crossed their Downs with the Hampshires. Latterly 
le Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Dorset breeders have produced 
leep which for flesh and fleece are generally superior to those 
the Hampshire flocks. The late Mr. Humphrey, of Oak Ash, Hampshire 
ear Aewbury, achieved for the Hampshire Downs an improve- *""eed 
ent comparable to that which Mr. Jonas Webb accomplished 
■r the Southdowns ; and this work he commenced by using upon 
le Hampshires some of the largest rams from the Babraham 
ock. In Wiltshire, Mr. James Rawlence of Bulbridge, and 
tr. Alfred Morrison of Fonthill ; in l^orset, Mr. T. C. Saunders 
VVatercombe; in Hampshire, Mr. F. Budd of Hatchwarren, 
lessrs. J. and M. Arnold of Petersfield, Mr. J. Rigg, and 
[r. J. N. Palmer of Cleddesden, are among the most cele- 
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