DOMESTIC BREEDS OF SHEEP. 35 
The wool Is considerably longer and coarser than that of the 
Southdown. The mutton is of exceptional quality. The ewes are 
quite prolific and they are good mothers, though they are said to giye 
less milk than the old type. 
The importers speak very favorably of the breed and think that as 
soon as it becomes better known it will be popular in the hilly sec- 
tions of this country. 
The Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society of Great Britain was 
founded in 1906, and this society is doing considerable work in placing 
the breed before the public. 
THE RYELAND. 
The Ryeland derived its name from the tract of land in Hereford- 
shire along the River Wye upon which rye had grown for a great 
many years. The breed was for a long time an important one, and 
it was especially prominent in the live-stock industry of the mid- 
land counties at the beginning of the last century, when it is said 
that Herefordshire alone pastured some 500,000 head of the breed, 
and there were also flocks in Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Shrop- 
shire, and Staffordshire. 
The improved breeds, notably the Shropshire, crowded the old 
Ry eland out, and at one time it was thought that they were extinct. 
Much of the credit for preserving the breed is due to a Mr. Shepherd, 
of the district of Malvern. 
The old Ryelands were a small, white-faced, polled breed, having 
considerable wool about the eyes. They were extremely hardy and 
capable of thriving upon scanty fare. The fleeces were of excellent 
quality, being finer than those of the Southdowns, but they rarely 
exceeded 2§ pounds in weight. 
Some authors held that the breed was of foreign origin, because of 
the practice of sheltering and feeding at night, which is unusual with 
other native sheep in this district. However tins may be, a Merino 
cross was made when the latter sheep were introduced into England, 
but failure resulted from the experiment. Leicester blood is also 
said to have been introduced between the years 1800 and 1827, with 
accompanying length of fiber and increased size. For almost a cen- 
tury there has been no crossing, and the type is now fairly well fixed. 
While the breed is again on the ascendancy, its distribution in 
England is by no means widespread. Wallace says that in 1903 
there were about 30 flocks in existence, while in 1907 tins number had 
increased to 200. They are to be found principally in Hereford and 
Brecknockshire, and in fewer numbers in Monmouth, Gloucester, 
and Worcester Counties. 
Ryelands were first "brought into the United States by George 
McKerrow, of Wisconsin, for the Colorado Experiment Station. 
