On Cross Breedinrj. 
301 
regarded as, I will not say an ornament, but an indispensable 
appendage of the breed. Uniformity of colour is also a great 
point with most Hampshire breeders, with what amount of 
advantage we cannot say, but black tips to the ears as well as 
black faces are deemed essential, and any crossing with speckled- 
faced sheep, such as the Shropshire, is in consequence viewed 
with dislike. 
It was not until the Wiltshire sheep-breeders began to produce 
some large but more symmetrical animals that the Hampshire 
men began to consider whether it was not possible to reduce 
the size of the heads, without losing the characteristics of the 
breed. By attention and careful selection this has been accom- 
plished, and we have now a breed of sheep which is admirably 
adapted to the present system of fatting off at much earlier 
ages than formerly, and, for the most part, as tegs and two- 
teeth sheep. It is certainly not owing to any aristocratic 
patronage that the Hampshire sheep have forced their way into 
public estimation. They have neither been upheld by agricul- 
tural societies or agricultural writers, nor have they been launched 
into public favour as winners of prizes ; on the contraiy, they 
have been laughed at, criticised, and condemned ; and yet they 
have not only held their own, but have spread far and near, 
so that the county in South England where none are to be found 
is probably the exception, not the rule. The Hampshire sheep 
may, therefore, be instanced as an example of successful cross- 
ing, and as a proof of what can be done by the male parent, in 
changing, in very few generations, the character of the original, 
and yet retaining some of its good qualities, thus forming a 
breed more intrinsically valuable than either source from whence 
it is derived. It has been truly said that the public is wise 
though composed of fools ; and undoubtedly, when the pocket 
is concerned, the decision of the public is, for the most part, 
correct. Thus at the various autumnal' fairs large lambs are in 
the greatest request, and command the higliest prices, which in 
itself is a sufficient proof that with a given amount of food they 
make a greater quantity of mutton. It was found indeed by Mr. 
Lawes, in his careful and valuable experiments, that the Hamp- 
shire sheep, although they were surpassed by the Cotswold, yet 
exceeded the Southdown in the amount of mutton raised from a 
given weight of food. The greater economy of fatting a young 
over an old animal may be readily explained by the fact, that 
whilst the latter increases in fat alone, the former does so both 
in flesh, fat, and bone, and thus the latter can assimilate a greater 
amount of the nutritious properties of the food, and is conse- 
quently a more profitable feeder. 
