PREFACE. 
Ill 
Over the greater part of Wales, for example, there are races of wild diminutive Sheep, which, 
in economical value, bear no comparison with those which could be supplied from other 
mountain districts. In Kerry, and other mountainous districts stretching along the western 
coast of Ireland, in place ot such Sheep as the country could maintain, are to be seen assem¬ 
blages of animals of the size of dogs, and as wild as antelopes, neither having wool fitted to 
the manufactures of the country, nor being capable of fattening to any size. Even in the 
heart of Yorkshire, as we shall see in the sequel, a breed of Sheep is preserved, covering a 
considerable tract of country, which, from its coarseness of form, and inaptitude to fatten, 
ranks in the lowest class of cultivated Sheep in England \ and in every part of the kingdom 
we may see examples of the vast public and private loss which results from ignorance of the 
relative value and economical uses of the different breeds of our domestic animals. 
To remove the causes of mistaken practice, in a branch of industry so important to the 
interests of producers and consumers, may be regarded as a national object. From the pro¬ 
duce of live-stock in this country, a large part of the subsistence of the people, of the mate¬ 
rials of our manufactures, of the profits of the farmer, and of the revenue of the landholder, 
is derived. Over a great part of the kingdom tillage is difficult or impracticable, and the 
only valuable production is live-stock; and it is not too much to assert, that half the rental of 
the British Islands is derived from this source. These considerations will make it appear, 
how much the study and advancement of this department of rural economy merits the atten¬ 
tion of those who seek to widen the channels of native industry. 
Impressed with a feeling of the advantages which would result from a correcter know¬ 
ledge of the character of the various races of our domestic animals than any written descrip¬ 
tion can convey, I, several years ago, formed the design of a public Agricultural Museum, 
comprehending, amongst the other necessary objects of such an institution, a complete collec¬ 
tion of Paintings, illustrative of the various races of our Domestic Animals. I submitted the 
plan to his late Majesty’s Government, Loed Althoep, now Eael Spencee, being then 
Chancellor of the Exchequer. The measure obtained the sanction of this distinguished No¬ 
bleman, whose enlightened attention to every branch of rural improvement is every where 
known and appreciated. A Grant was made, from a public fund in Scotland applicable to 
the purposes of general improvement in that country, for founding an Agricultural Museum 
in connexion with the University of Edinburgh. This grant, though it could not complete 
the design, was sufficient to lay the foundation of the extensive collection which has been 
subsequently formed. It is from this collection, which is still in progress, that the materials 
for the present work are derived, and from these such a selection will be made, as will fulfil 
the purpose of illustrating the most important and characteristic races of the country. 
January 1 . 1840 . 
