Ohm Forest Sheep. 
151 
them with the Ryeland sheep of Herefordshire, whence they had 
migrated apparently at some very distant period. Lowe treats the 
subject of the breeds of sheep of England in a masterly manner, and 
does not content himself merely with a narrow view of local breeds, 
but deals with them broadly from the naturalist’s view, his section 
on sheep being a review of the breeds of the world. Hence, his 
opinion is most valuable, and the assertion that the breed is an off- 
shoot from the Ryeland may be accepted with considerable con- 
fidence. 
The Clun Forest breed has now been crossed with the Shropshire 
and the Radnor, which have themselves been crossed with other 
breeds, so that the distinctive white face has disappeared ; but the 
fact of their having originated from the same stock as the Ryeland 
is a most important matter when considering the present character- 
istics of the breed. Previously, however, to discussing the modern 
points of the breeds of sheep in this part of the kingdom, it would be 
well to glance at the early history of the breeds of England in general. 
Before the population of the country became dense, thei-e were 
large tracts of uncleared Forest and Heath land, which carried a 
number of varieties or breeds of sheep, the differences between 
which were determined chiefly by the soil, the locality, and the 
elevation at which the land lay. It is not necessary here to 
enter into the characteristics of the sheep of the lower country 
and of the plains, where the soils were richer and where a quieter 
class of animals, producing longer wool and a greater proportion of 
fat, were found, though these have been called to the aid of many 
of the hill country sheep-breeders to promote the production of 
animals with a greater aptitude to fatten. Nor need we consider 
the Heath sheep, because they have not influenced the breeds which 
took part in the moulding of that which is the subject of this paper. 
So recently as the beginning of this century the poor hilly parts 
of Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire, &c., carried 
sheep which possessed the black or grey faces and legs, and the short 
wool, of the old horned Forest sheep ; and these were of the same 
type as the sheep of the higher Welsh mountains to-day. It is be- 
lieved that these breeds were the descendants of ancient sheep of 
South Britain, and that any variation was due to the causes we 
have mentioned, and not to interbreeding with any other breeds. 
The Radnor sheep of to-day is distinctly of the same origin as the 
sheep of the higher Welsh mountains, but the more favourable con- 
ditions under which they exist, together with the fact that they have 
been much intercrossed with other breeds, notably the Shropshire, 
may cause this feature to be overlooked by the casual observer. But 
by following the sheep from the higher lands through the lower and 
richer ones, the gradation in size and the similarity in the main 
features may be easily traced. Although some very faint resem- 
blances may be found in the Radnors to the sheep of the lower 
Welsh mountains, they are indeed slight. The latter, the character- 
istic breed of Wales, possess white noses and lengthened hair under 
the chin, and are often spoken of as the soft-woolled breed, owing to 
