112 
The  Lonk. 
This  ram  is  described  in  the  Farmers'  Magazine  by  Mr. 
Jonathan  Peel  as  follows  : — 
“He  possessed  qualities  rarely  found  in  combination,  large  in  size  but 
admirable  in  symmetry,  wide  in  the  loin,  well-fleshed  throughout  and  deep  in 
the  chest — that  great  point  in  a mountain  sheep — his  breast  rivalling  the  bosom 
of  a first-class  Warlaby  shorthorn,  with  a splendid  head  from  which  gi-ew  horns 
that  measured  42  inches  from  base  to  tip,  clothed  with  a coat  of  long  fine  wool, 
which  one  year  throughout  his  whole  length  reached  down  to  within  6 measured 
inches  of  the  ground,  and  weighed  in  the  scale  a good  18  lbs.”* 
At  the  same  show  a pen  of  Lonks  took  the  first  prize  for 
mountain  ewes.  In  1862,  the  year  of  the  great  exhibition,  we 
find  at  the  Battersea  Show  held  conjointly  by  the  “Royal”  and 
the  “Highland”  Societies,  that  the  two  premiums  offered  by 
the  English  Society  for  mountain  rams  were  taken  by  Lonks, 
and  that  two  pens  of  the  breed  were  entered  in  the  class  for 
mountain  ewes,  one  of  which  obtained  first  prize.  From  1863, 
when  Lonks  were  victorious  at  Worcester,  till  1879  the  Royal 
Society  ignored  the  existence  of  Mountain  Sheep  in  their  cata- 
logue. In  1887,  however,  we  find  classes  allotted  to  the  Lonk 
breed  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Society. 
At  Smithfield,  ihe  Lonk  first  made  his  debut  in  1862  among 
other  mountain  sheep,  and  was  victorious  ; later,  we  find  the 
breed  successful  at  this  show  in  the  years  from  1862  to  1866, 
and  in  1868,  1877,  and  1878,  since  which  date  Lonks  have  not 
been  shown  at  Smithfield. 
In  1865  three  rams  and  a pen  of  ewes  were  sent  to  the 
Highland  Society’s  show  at  Inverness,  where  they  were 
entered  in  a class  for  “ Long-Wools,”  Leicesters  and  Cotswolds 
being  also  eligible.  Of  this  unusual  occurrence  a writer 
remarks  : — 
Spectators  were  puzzled  and  judges  were  confounded  at  the  sight  of 
these  animals  so  incongruous,  placed  together  in  the  same  classes.  The  Council 
were  referred  to  for  instructions.  After  much  consideration  the  misplaced  Lan- 
cashire sheep  were  excluded  from  competition,  but  were  nevertheless  awarded 
two  special  prizes  of  £6  each.”* 
Though  Lonks  have  only  comparatively  recently  come 
before  the  general  public,  yet  in  their  own  district  there  have 
long  been  classes  for  them  at  the  local  shows. 
In  1881,  the  Lancashire  Society  first  gave  them  a class  to 
themselves,  though  for  many  years  previous  to  this  date  they 
had  been  exhibited  in  “ mixed  classes.” 
There  exists  in  Lancashire  at  the  present  day  a cup  won 
by  a Lonk  ram  at  the  Whalley  Agricultural  Society’s  Show — 
perhaps  the  oldest  show  in  the  country — in  the  year  1811. 
Points  of  the  Breed. 
The  head,  which  is  very  characteristic,  should  be  black, 
or  white,  or  black  and  white.  The  favourite  face  colour  is 
* Farmers'  Magazine,  May,  1869. 
