1Y 
CONTENTS. 
III. THE SHEEP.— Continued. 
The Penistone Breed, so named from the market-town of that name; 
derived from a limited district of coarse heaths on the confines of 
Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire.—The affinity of the Peni¬ 
stone with the Black-faced Heath Breed ; its coarse and ungainly 
form, and slow power of fattening, . . Pages 31—32 
10.—THE OLD WILTSHIBE BBEED. 
The largest of the fine-woolled breeds of England,—formerly inhabiting 
the greater part of the county of Wilts.—Description of the Breed; 
the fineness of its wool; its coarse, unthrifty form, and its slow 
power of arriving at maturity; the rapid diminution of its numbers 
by crossing, and the substitution of superior races.—Notice of ex¬ 
tinct breeds allied to the Wiltshire, . . 33-34 
11. —THE DORSET BREED. 
Naturalized in Dorsetshire, and other countries of the chalk.—Descrip¬ 
tion of the Breed; the quality of its wool, and the faculty of the 
females of receiving the male at different seasons, and their em¬ 
ployment on this account for the rearing of house-lambs ; the re¬ 
semblance in the form of this breed to the Spanish Merino; the 
diminution of its numbers by the effects of intermixture.—The 
Pink-nosed Somerset Breed; a variety of the Dorset, but exceed¬ 
ing it in size.—The Isle of Portland Breed, likewise of the fa¬ 
mily of the Dorsets, but of diminutive size, and confined to a limit¬ 
ed district, ..... 35—36 
12. —THE MERINO BREED. 
The climate of Spain, and the diversity of its soil and surface.—The 
foreign invasions and civil convulsions of the country.—The domi¬ 
nion of the Phoenicians—of the Romans—of the Goths—of the 
Moors. The ultimate restoration of the country to the power of the 
Christians, the final expulsion of the Moors, and the progressive 
decline of arts and industry.—Notices of early writers regarding 
the fine woolled Sheep of Spain.—The classes of Spanish Sheep. 
The Merino race—its origin and characters—the migratory and sta¬ 
tionary flocks, and their management.—The acquisition of the Me¬ 
rino Breed by other nations, and the history of its naturalization 
in different countries —in Sweden, France, Saxony, Prussia, Aus¬ 
tria, and the British Islands. Account of its introduction into Eng¬ 
land, and of the means adopted for its cultivation.—Unfavourable 
result of the experiments,—whether in maintaining the breed in 
its pure state, or mingling it in blood with the native races.—Cha¬ 
racter of the naturalized Merinos—their value and defects.—Ex¬ 
tension of the breed to New Holland—its prodigious multiplication, 
the delicacy and softness of the fleece, and the great importance of 
its production in these colonies to the manufacturing interest of 
Britain, ...... 37-46 
13.—THE RYELAND BREED. 
Historical notices of the district of the Ryelands, and the origin of the 
race.—The fineness of its wool—exceeding that of any produced in 
the British Islands.—Description of the Ryeland Breed. Experi¬ 
ments on crossing it with the Spanish Merinos, and their failure._ 
Experiments on crossing with the native races, and the results.— 
Progressive diminution in the numbers of the breed, and its near 
extinction, . . . . . 47—48 
14.—THE SOUTH-DOWN BREED. 
Notices of the Short-woolled Breeds of England; and the diversities pro¬ 
duced by food, climate, and place.—Account of the Downs of 
Sussex, and the indigenous sheep.—The modern South-Down Breed; 
its habits, external form, and the nature of its wool.—The progres¬ 
sive improvement of the breed; and the changes produced on its 
form, size, and characters.—The wide diffusion of the breed, chiefly 
in the dry and calcareous parts of England ; its mixture with the 
native races of the forests and commons, and the beneficial re- 
sults .49-52 
§ WOOL. 
Physiological description of the Wool of sheep, and the distinction be¬ 
tween the hair and wool of the fur of animals.—The difference in 
the character of the wool of different races of sheep, and the value 
of particular races dependent on the texture, fineness, felting qua¬ 
lity, and other properties of the fleece.—The distinction of wool 
into Long and Short.—The property of felting, arising from the 
form of the filaments, and the economical value of different kinds 
of wool dependent upon this property.—History of the Woollen 
Trade of England ; the laws for promoting it, its progress, and vast 
importance as a branch of national industry, . 52—58 
15.—THE OLD LINCOLN BREED. 
Distinction between the Short and Long-woolled Breeds of Sheep of the 
British Islands.—The Old Lincoln Breed; its derivation from the 
fens and marshes of Lincolnshire and the adjoining districts.—Ac¬ 
count of the Breed, and of the changes which it has undergone ; its 
coarse form, and the produce of its wool, exceeding in quantity that 
of any European race of sheep.—The modern Lincolnshire variety 
and its properties, .... 59-60 
16.—THE ROMNEY MARSH BREED. . 
Description of the alluvial district of the Romney Marsh.—The great 
numbers of sheep which it contains, and the characters of the an¬ 
cient race.—The changes produced in it by a mixture with the 
blood of the Long-woolled Sheep of the Midland Counties.— The 
modern breed of the Romney Marsh.—Comparison between the 
Romney Marsh and New Leicester Breeds, and the effects of the 
latter in modifying the form and characters of the Sheep of the 
Marsh, , 61-62 
17—THE OLDER LONG-WOOLLED BREEDS OF THE 
INLAND DISTRICTS. 
The districts occupied by the Older Long-woolled Breeds.—The Old 
Teeswater Breed; its distinctive characters, and the changes which 
it has undergone.—The Old Warwickshire Breed.—The Long- 
woolled Breeds of the western counties.—The Long-woolled Breeds 
of Devonshire, and the changes produced in them by admixture 
with the improved race of the Midland Counties.—The Long-woolled 
races of Ireland; their ancient characters, progressive improvement, 
and present condition, .... 63—64 
18.—THE COTSWOLD BREED. 
Account of the district of the Cotswold Hills, and notices of their former 
occupation by a race of fine-woolled Sheep.—The modern Breed of 
the Cotswold Hills, producing long wool, and therefore distinct from 
the former race.—Opinions as to the time and mode of its intro¬ 
duction.—Description of the Older Long-woolled race of the Cots¬ 
wold Hills; the changes which it has undergone by admixture 
with the New Leicester, and its present condition and economical 
value, ...... 65-66 
19.—THE NEW LEICESTER BREED. 
Experiments on Breeding by Robert Bakewell of Dishley, in the 
county of Leicester ; his principles and practice of breeding as ap¬ 
plied to the Sheep ; his eminent success and ultimate formation of 
a race of distinct characters termed the Dishley or New Leicester 
Breed.—Question as to the original of the breed of Bakewell.— 
Description of the New Leicester Breed; its size, form, wool, and 
the property of arriving at early maturity of muscle and fatness. 
The practice adopted by Bakewell, his contemporaries and succes¬ 
sors, of letting rams for hire, and the effects in preserving the 
purity and extending the influence of the new breed.—The high 
economical importance of the breed; its general diffusion, and pow¬ 
erful influence in improving the long-woolled sheep of the country. 
—Examination of the principles of breeding established by Bake¬ 
well, and the degree in which they can be applied to practice in 
the case of the Sheep, .... 67—70 
Summary and Classification of the Breeds of Sheep naturalized and cul¬ 
tivated in the British Islands, . . . 71-72 
