72 
THE SHEEP. 
the Down and Forest Breeds, but it has been made to surpass them all by the effects of breeding and careful culture. It has been 
widely spread over all the south-eastern counties of England, and has passed into districts beyond the countries of the chalk, taking 
the place of the pre-existing breeds of the downs and commons. The sheep of this breed are destitute of horns, have dark-coloured 
faces and limbs, and produce a short felting wool fitted for preparation by the card. Their size varies with the locality and the 
taste and opinions of breeders, but they are of greater weight, and bear heavier fleeces, than the older sheep of the Sussex Downs. 
They are adapted to a lower range of pastures than the Black-faced Sheep and Cheviot Breeds, and are better fitted for a dry 
and temperate climate than for a cold and moist one. 
11. The Old Wiltshire.—This and the other varieties of the larger fine-woolled Sheep of the central counties of Chalk 
may be said to be now extinct beyond a few scattered remnants. They produced good felting wool, and fattened to a considerable 
weight; but they were of coarse forms, and have universally yielded to the progress of the more highly cultivated South Downs. 
12. The Dorset and Pink-nosed Somerset Breeds, naturalized in the calcareous district of the south-western counties. They 
have horns in both sexes, bear a clothing wool of medium quality, and are noted beyond any other breed for the facility of the 
females to receive the males at an early season. This latter property has caused them to be extensively cultivated for the rear¬ 
ing of house-lambs. They have now been much diminished in numbers by the effects of crossing, and the substitution of other 
breeds regarded as more profitable. Allied to these varieties is the Isle of Portland Breed, of small size, and of little economical 
importance beyond the narrow district which it inhabits. 
13. The Merino Breed, derived from the mountains of Spain, but partially naturalized in England. It bears the finest wool 
of any known race of sheep. On account of this property it has been extensively diffused over a great part of Europe, and carried 
to America, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Colonies of England in Australia. The individuals, however, are of defective forms, 
of tender constitutions, deficient in the power of yielding milk, and slow in arriving at maturity. For these reasons the Merino 
Breed, notwithstanding the abundance and excellence of its wool, has been received with little favour in England, and is deemed 
inferior in value to the more improved varieties of the country. 
14. The Long-woolled Sheep, comprehending, ls£, the pure New Leicester Breed; and, 2d, the varieties more or less inter¬ 
mixed with it in blood, of which the principal are : ls£, the larger class of Lincolnshire Sheep; 2d , the Romney Marsh Breed; 
3d, the Cotswold Breed; 4 th, the Devonshire Notts; 5th , the Long-woolled Irish varieties. All these sheep are of large size, are 
destitute of horns in both sexes, and bear long wool, unsuited for preparation by the card, but eminently fitted for preparation by 
the comb, and the manufacture of stuffs termed Worsted. They are the kinds of sheep more especially adapted to the plains, and 
the districts where artificial food can be reared in the necessary quantity. They have been continually increasing in numbers with 
the extension of tillage and the general improvement of agriculture. Of the several varieties, the New Leicester Breed occupies 
the first class with respect to form and the aptitude to fatten readily. The larger Lincolnshire, the Romney Marsh, the Cotswold, 
and the improved Devonshire Breeds, have each properties which render their cultivation profitable under particular circumstances. 
The Irish varieties have not yet generally attained to the perfection at which the others have arrived. 
