114 
The  Lonk. 
reaches,  but  drags  along  the  ground.  The  legs,  which  should 
be  black  and  white  in  colour  (too  much  white  being  often 
looked  upon  as  an  indication  of  “softness”),  should  be  well 
formed,  strong,  and  showing  ample  bone. 
A good  Lonk  lam  combines  length  and  straightness  of  back 
with  the  general  appearance  of  a neat  and  active  sheep,  and  he 
should  walk  in  a graceful  manner. 
The  wool,  which  should  come  well  up  to  the  horns  and 
down  to  the  knees  and  hocks,  is  exceedingly  fine  in  texture, 
close  or  thickly  set  with  no  flake  or  curl.  The  wool  when 
washed  has  a very  fine  silky  appearance,  is  perfectly  white, 
and  is  very  valuable  for  the  manufacture  of  various  fine  goods. 
The  skin  should  be  of  a fine  pink  colour,  with  no  black  or 
brown  spots,  and  it  is  just  behind  the  horns  that  these  are  apt 
to  make  their  appearance. 
This  year  (1909)  the  fleece  off  a breeding  ewe  running  in  a 
flock  on  the  Fell  was  sent  unwashed  for  examination  to  the 
Bradford  Technical  Institute.  By  the  courtesy  of  Professor 
Barker  of  that  institution  we  are  enabled  to  give  the  following 
report  : — 
“Weight,  7 lb.;  quality,  44  to  46’s  ; yield  of  clean  wool,  78  per  cent. 
With  reference  to  the  fineness  of  fibre,  this  is  not  above  the  Lonk  average. 
The  quality  is  fairly  uniform  throughout,  but  kemps  are  fairly  prevalent  in 
certain  sections.  The  colour  is  satisfactory,  and  the  weight  is  about  the  average. 
“ Compared  with  black-face  this  fleece  is  freer  from  kemps,  is  finer  in  fibre, 
much  more  uniform,  not  quite  so  long,  and  will  yield  rather  less  of  clean  wool. 
The  wool  from  the  shoulders  and  back  is  satisfactory,  but  the  britch  is  low  in 
quality,  and  kempy.” 
Management. 
The  following  account  applies  to  the  hill  farms,  which 
alone  are  the  true  homes  of  the  Lonk. 
The  Ewsc  Flock. — The  tup  is  generally  put  to  the  ewes  at 
the  end  of  October  so  that  they  shall  lamb  down  in  April. 
While  with  the  tup  they  are  generally  on  poor  hillside  pastures 
or  “ coppies.” 
After  tupping  is  over  the  ewes  are  sent  on  to  the  “ fells  ” or 
moors,  where  they  remain  till  Christmas,  the  tups  sometimes 
being  run  with  them.  If  the  weather  is  very  rough  they  are 
then  allowed  to  run  where  possible  from  the  fell  to  the  coppies, 
and  a little  hay  may  occasionally  be  given.  This  very  often 
cannot  be  done,  as  many  farms  only  have  a “ fell  right,”  which 
means  that  several  flocks  belonging  to  different  owners  are  all 
running  together  on  one  large  fell. 
About  ten  days  or  so  before  lambing,  the  ewes  are  brought 
down  into  the  best  pastures  and  meadows,  the  best  being  often 
very  poor.  Just  before  lambing  they  will  probably  get  some 
hay,  and  perhaps  a little  corn,  though  many  a Lonk  goes 
through  life  without  tasting  “ proven,”  as  corn  is  called  locally. 
