66 
Suffolk  Sheep. 
of  the  Norfolk,  which  was,  as  a breed,  often  written  of  as  the 
“ black  face.”  This  very  dark  face  and  leg  colour  seems  to 
have  been  very  typical  of  the  active,  hardy,  lean-fleshed 
Norfolk,  with  its  well-flavoured  mutton. 
The  above  will  give  some  idea  of  the  character  of  the  old 
Norfolk  sheep,  and  it  was  felt,  as  early  as  the  last  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  that  efforts  should  be  made  to  improve 
it  in  certain  directions.  Thus,  Arthur  Young,  in  the  above- 
mentioned  work,  tells  us  that  he  had  twenty-six  years’ 
experience  of  the  breed,  and  at  one  time  esteemed  them  most 
highly,  but  that  later,  having  doubts  about  them,  he  began  the 
import  of  what  he  considered  the  best  sheep  for  the  purpose, 
viz.,  Southdowns,  into  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  This  he  did, 
beginning  in  1784,  and  by  1790  had  350  of  them. 
Southdowns  soon  became  common  in  East  Anglia.  In 
1792  Mr.  John  Ellman  sent  Arthur  Young  a haunch  of 
Southdown  mutton  from  Glynd,  which  the  latter  and  his 
friends  found  “ incomparably  good.”  This  same  Arthur 
Young1  tells  us  also  that  in  that  same  year,  when  at  Mr.  Coke’s, 
at  Holkham,  Norfolk,  he  was  shown  some  Southdowns  that 
Mr.  Ellman  had  sent  to  his  host,  who  was  “ determined  to  fix 
a capital  Southdown  flock  in  the  county,  that  the  merits  of  the 
breed  may  be  thoroughly  ascertained.”  Later  on,  we  read  that 
“ upon  the  death  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  Mr.  Calhoun  purchased 
the  whole  flock  of  Southdowns,  which  had  been  originally 
selected  in  Sussex  by  the  late  Mr.  Macro,  of  Barrow.”  There 
were  300  head  in  this  flock.  At  Riddlesworth  (Mr.  Bevan’s) 
Arthur  Young  found  a complete  Southdown  flock — thirty 
score — and  a similar  flock  of  Norfolks,  and  the  owner  was 
crossing  the  two  breeds. 
There  are  other  indications  that,  by  the  year  1794,  South 
downs  were  fairly  common  in  Norfolk,  and  in  the  Annals  of 
Agriculture  for  1793,  in  “A  Week  in  Norfolk,”  by  the  editor 
on  page  491,  we  read  “ Southdowns  being  well  established  in 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  Black-faces  will  go  down  hill  quickly.” 
Though  the  old  Norfolk  has  been  superseded  by  the  Suffolk 
sheep,  we  know  that  the  actual  Black-face  has  been  retained 
as  a much-valued  heritage. 
The  Southdown  which,  as  we  are  bound  to  believe,  took 
a large  part  in  the  creation  of  the  modern  Black-face,  is  with 
us  still,  and  its  good  points  are  so  well  known  that  it  is  needless 
to  detail  them.  The  most  casual  observer  has  probably  noticed 
what  a suitable  mate  the  small  Southerner  must  have  made  for 
the  Eastern  Counties  sheep.  The  Southdown  was  “ kindly  ” 
and  short-legged,  the  Norfolk  was  active  and  had  an  abundance 
of  lean  meat.  The  Black-face  was  long  in  the  leg  and  narrow 
1 Annals  of  Agriculture,  Vol.  XIX.,  “A  Week  in  Norfolk,”  pp.  446  et  seq. 
