Suffolk  Sheep. 
65 
of  an  accident,  for  in-  the  Annals  of  Agriculture ,x  we  read, 
in  an  article  on  a “Tour  to  Mr.  Bakewell’s,”  by  Arthur  Young, 
“ I cannot  avoid  mentioning  a circumstance  which  happened 
with  me  during  the  present  summer  ” [that  is  to  say,  the 
summer  of  1784,  for  he  publishes  in  March,  1785].  “ I have  a 
Southdown  ram  which  Lord  Sheffield  was  kind  enough  to  give 
me  from  his  flock  at  Sheffield  Place  for  the  purposes  of  ex- 
periment. This  ram  got,  by  accident,  among  a little  flock  of 
Norfolk  ewes  belonging  to  a tenant,  the  effect  of  which  was 
his  having  seven  or  eight  lambs  of  an  entirely  different  breed 
from  all  the  rest.  His  lambs  were  drawn  fat  by  the  butcher 
early  in  the  summer,  who,  when  he  came  to  make  choice, 
drew  every  one  of  Southdown  breed  before  he  took  a single 
Norfolk,  declaring  at  the  same  time  they  were  by  much  the 
fattest  of  the  flock.  The  farmer  applied  to  me  immediately  to 
save  him  a ram  lamb,  but  they  were  already  cut.  Next  year  I 
shall  certainly  supply  him.”  In  a foot-note,  the  author  says, 
“ He  has  got  the  ram,  and  I have  made  other  trials  on  the 
Southdown  breed,  which  I intend  to  lay  before  the  public.” 
We  may  now  glance  over  some  of  the  earlier  accounts 
of  the  old  Norfolk  breed  of  sheep  that  has  now  practically 
disappeared,  so  that  little  first-hand  evidence  is  now  obtainable. 
Mr.  Marshall,  in  his  Rural  Economy  of  Norfolk , published 
in  1787,  describes  these  sheep  as  being  of  a long  and  slender 
carcass,  with  long  legs  and  a short,  fine  fleece.  Both  sexes  had 
horns,  those  of  the  rams  being  large,  long  and  spiral.  Their 
loins  were  wide,  their  hind-quarters  of  a suitable  size,  but  their 
fore-quarters  were  deficient.  He  admits  that  some  of  the 
breed  had  not  the  general  defects  of  the  race,  and  goes  on  to 
praise  them  for  their  hardiness,  their  folding  well,  early  fatting, 
and  the  superior  flavour  of  their  mutton. 
Arthur  Young,  writing  on  the  “ Agriculture  of  the  County 
of  Norfolk  ” in  1804,  tells  us  that  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  had  fox- 
ages  possessed  a breed  of  sheep  of  which  the  farmers  were 
extremely  proud;  that  their  fleece  was  “third  in  the  Kingdom 
for  fineness,”  but  that  their  shape  was  bad.  He  also  quotes  a 
Mr.  Kent  concerning  the  hardy,  active  chai-acter  of  the  Norfolk 
sheep. 
W.  C.  Spooner  2 and  David  Low  3 both  speak  of  the  activity 
of  the  Norfolk  sheep,  while  the  latter  author  testifies  to  their 
hardiness  and  suitability  to  a country  of  scanty  hei-bage,  as 
well  as  to  their  travelling  and  folding  well.  Nearly  all  the 
above  writers  give  emphasis  to  the  dark  face  and  leg  colour 
1 Vol.  VI.  (1786  A.D.),  page  476. 
1 The  History , Structure , Economy  and  Diseases  of  the  Sheej),  W.  C. 
Spooner,  V.S.,  1844. 
* The  Domesticated  Animals,  1846. 
VOL  71 
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