THE FOREST BREEDS OF ENGLAND. 
PLATE YI. 
1. RAM of the Exmoor Breed, bred by Mr Westcott, Hawkhurst Common, Exmoor. 
2, EWE of the same Breed. 
England, like the sister Island, was once covered with noble forests, which gradually fell before the ravages of war, 
and the progress of the settler. But, on the conquest of the Normans, vast tracts of fine country were retained in the state in 
which they then existed, for the purposes of the chase, often, indeed, partially or wholly denuded of the woods, but retaining 
the names of forests, chases, and other denominations indicative of their original nature, and the purposes to which they had been 
applied; such were Windsor Forest, Sherburne Forest, Mendip Forest, and many more. Even to the reign of Elizabeth, a large 
part of the whole surface of England was in the state of forest; but in place of vast tracts reserved for the capricious sports of the 
sovereign, or the great feudatories, the unoccupied grounds had been gradually settled upon, acquired by individuals through royal 
grants and otherwise, or left in a state of common property, in which inhabitants of towns or the neighbouring counties acquired 
the privilege of pasturage and other rights. The Royal Forests were by degrees reduced to a small extent, as compared with 
their former state, and are now mostly planted for the supply of naval timber; and, with respect to the Commons, these have been 
long in the course of division, under the sanction of Acts of Parliament. 
The native Sheep kept on these forests and larger commons often acquired distinctive characters, forming well-defined breeds. 
Of these several yet remain, and until late in the last century they were very numerous. Most of them, however, are no longer to 
be recognised as separate varieties, and few of them remain without intermixture with the Sheep of the adjoining country. They 
were generally of small size and defective form, but had usually short fine wool suited for the manufacture of cloths. Their 
faces and legs were sometimes white, but generally black, grey, or dun : they had usually horns, but sometimes the horns were 
wanting in one or both sexes. They were wild and thriftless, but, like all the smaller unimproved races, yielded excellent mutton. 
The cultivation of the forests in all cases caused the substitution of superior breeds; and even where cultivation did not take 
place, the interests of the owners led them to cross their flocks with the superior breeds of the cultivated country. 
In the poorer and more elevated parts of the counties of Stafford, Leicester, Cheshire, Shropshire, and others, are still to be 
found the remains of old Forest Sheep, distinguished by black or grey faces and legs, and yielding short clothing wool. Those of 
Cannock Chase yet exist, though they have been mostly crossed. They are destitute of horns in both sexes, and the wool weighs 
from two to three pounds the fleece. The Sheep likewise of the ancient Forest of Delamere in Cheshire are still in existence. 
These are the type of the old Sheep of Shropshire, and approach to the general form of the Southdown. 
Of the Forest Breeds, two remarkable ones yet exist in the elevated country between the Bristol and British Channels, the one 
inhabiting the heathy tract of granite forming the Forest of Dartmoor, the other the district of greywacke of the Forest of Exmoor, 
at the sources of the river Exe, on the confines of Somerset and Devon. These two races have long attracted attention, from 
their having supplied the well-known Oakhampton mutton, so named from the sheep having been killed at that town, whence the 
carcasses are sent to London. But the Oakhampton mutton now not only includes that of the Forest Sheep, but that of the crosses 
between them and other breeds. 
The Dartmoor Sheep are very small in size, and, like the Sheep of Wales, have long soft wool, in which respect they differ 
from the other Forest Breeds. The faces and legs are white, and the males have horns. They are exceedingly wild and restless. 
They are reared in their native pastures of heath, and fattened in the lower country. They will remain feeding in the valleys in 
winter, but no sooner does the vegetation of spring commence than they seek to regain their native pastures, and endeavour to 
break through the fences opposed to their return. Even the crosses retain this instinct of the race. 
These Sheep produce mutton which bears a high price, and are constitutionally well suited to the barren undrained 
district to which they are indigenous; but yet they are an unprofitable race of Sheep, from their small size, defective form, 
and above all their wild and restless temper. The immediate profit from crossing them has been so great that the pure 
breed is rapidly diminishing in numbers, and will soon become extinct. The principal breeds with which they have been 
crossed are the Leicester and Southdown. The Leicester cross is preferred, being more hardy than that with the Southdowns, 
