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POPULAR LIVE STOCK SERIES. PRICE //

UMASS/AiWHERST A

VINTON &C^ L^, 9 NEW BRIDGE ST, LONDOJV.E.C.

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DATE DDE

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
LIBRARY

SF
375

S45

CARD

THE SHEEP

SHEEP

DOMESTIC BREEDS

AND

THEIR TREATMENT

i^eia lEtiftion

REVISED BY JAMES SINCLAIR

EDITOR OF " THE LIVE STOCK JOURNAL," ETC.

THE VETERINARY SECTION REVISED

BY

A. H. ARCHER, M.R.C.V.S.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

VINTON & Co., Limited

9, NEW BRIDGE STREET, LONDON, E.C.
1896

LIBRARY

UNIVERFrTOF
MASSACHUSETTS

AMHERST, MASS.

JUE.^F A C'&r

Early in the present century, when interest in the breeding
of live stock became more general than it had previously
been, the demand for information on the subject was sup-
plied by Messrs. David Low, Wm. Youatt, W. C. L. Martin, and
others. The works of Low and Youatt were large and expen-
sive ; those of Martin w^ere cheap and popular. Martin's Httle
books passed through many editions, and, from time to time,
were revised and modernised. They form the foundation of
the present "Popular Live Stock Series"; but in 1893 they
were so thoroughly overhauled that very little of the writing of
the original author remains. Consequently his name has not
been retained on the title page of "Cattle" and "Sheep," as
the books have been rendered practically new. They are now
published in the belief that, in view of the increased im-
portance of live stock in the farm economy of the United
Kingdom, they will be helpful in instructing beginners as to the
characteristics and capabiHties of the various improved breeds
and in giving plain hints as to management and diseases ;
while they will also serve as introductions to the more extended
studies of the subject that are to be found in the " Live Stock
Hand Books," brought out by the same publishers.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

ORIGIN OF SHEEP : THEIR NUMBERS AND VALUE IN

THE UNITED KINGDOM ..,,.. 7

CHAPTER II.
BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP— THE LONGWOOLS . .15

CHAPTER III.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP {continued) — THE MIDDLE-
WOOLS OR SHORTWOOLS . . . . . • 33

CHAPTER IV.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP '.j:ontimicd)—i:Yi.Y. ^MOUNTAIN

AND FOREST BREEDS 49

^ CHAPTER V.

THE MERINO 6o

CONTENTS

CHAPTER VI.

PAGE

DISTRIBUTION OF BREEDS AND CROSSES .... 65

CHAPTER Vn.

SELECTION AND MATING 68

CHAPTER VIII.

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING .76

CHAPTER IX.

MUTTON, WOOL, ETC. 99

CHAPTER X.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP I08

SHEEP,

CHAPTER I.

ORIGIN OF SHEEP ; THEIR NUMBERS AND VALUE
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

The domestication of the sheep occurred at a period so
early in the history of civilisation that no records exist to
jfehow the source whence was derived this important variety
of live stock, whose development has been closely associated
with the progress of the human race, and with the origin
and growth of some of our greatest industries. Darwin,
who was not easily frightened at the difficulties that often
beset the path of the patient investigator, after recording a
few of the theories that prevail as to the origin of the
domesticated sheep, frankly confessed that " under such a
hopeless state of doubt it would be useless for his purpose
to give a detailed account of the several breeds." ("Animals
and Plants under Domestication," page 98.) We may, how-
ever, mention that the classification of sheep usually adopted
by naturaUsts is as follows : ist, Ovis Amnion, the Argali of
Asia; 2nd, Ovis montana, or Rocky Mountain sheep;
3rd, Ovis tragelaphus, or bearded Argali ; 4th, Ovis 7nusmon,
the Musmon, or Moufflon, which . inhabits the lofty regions
of the Caucasus. There are, besides these, other wild
species that have been noticed and described by travellers ;

8 SHEEP.

and a fifth division has been added in the Ovis aries, or
domestic sheep, including the numberless varieties that are
to be found under the care of man all over the world. It
is this last description with which alone we are now
concerned. Both the place of origin of the domestic sheep
and the stock from which it was evolved are matters of dis-
pute among scientists. As to the former, there are a number
of converging lines of evidence which seem to indicate that
its original habitat was somewhere in the highlands of Central
Asia, in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan, and that from
this centre it spread in every direction along with the
migrations of early man. The existence alike in Asia,
Europe, Africa, and America of those wild creatures, such
as the Aondad, the Argali, and the Moufflon, which possess
a similar affinity to the sheep that the wolf does to the dog,
has led some naturalists to suppose that this may have
been the source from which the domestic sheep was
developed by cultivation and breeding. Certain pecu-
liarities, however (as Dr. F, H. Bowman remarks), seem to
indicate that there is a much greater probability that all
these animals themselves may, along with the domestic
sheep, have had in the remote past a common ancestor
from which they have diverged in different lines during the
long course of prehistoric ages. It will be remembered that
among the earliest Biblical references Abel was described
as "a keeper of sheep." The Bible story is, indeed, full of
allusions to the pastoral occupation of the ancient people
whose history it records, and some of the finest of its
poetry and most pathetic of its illustrations are based
upon an intimate knowledge of the lives of shepherds and
the habits of sheep.

But our theme now is the more prosaic one of tracing
the improvement of the British breeds of sheep, and
showing the importance of shepherding to the agriculturists
of the country. It is not known at what period of her
history the cultivation of sheep was commenced in Britain.
Even prior to the Roman occupation, attention seems to

ORIGIN OF SHEEP. 9

have been devoted to breeding them, as the bones of sheep
mixed up with those of deer, wild cattle, and other animals
of the chase are frequently met with in the tumuli which
abound in many districts. Whether these sheep were
most prized for their flesh or for their fleeces cannot now
be positively determined, but from the fact that horns are
never observed among the deposits, the presumption is that
they were a domesticated race. When the British Islands
were first visited by the Romans, the early inhabitants
appear not to have been wholly unacquainted with the
manufacture of coarse woollen fabrics, most probably of
felt, although it was not until some time after they had been
under foreign subjection that woollen manufactures occupied
a prominent place among the industries of the country.
A writer in Morton's " Cyclopaedia of Agriculture " says :
*' However meagre and mixed up with the fabulous the
records of the long period of Roman dominion may be,
they are sufficient to prove the importance that was attached
to the cultivation of the sheep. British woollen goods were
well known at Rome, and were much prized for their
extreme fineness. There is no evidence to show that the
raw material was imported from other countries, but strong
presumption, amounting almost to certainty, that it was
derived from native flocks. The town of Winchester, the
quality of whose stuff's is described as ' rivalling the
spider's web in fineness,' became the great seat of the
manufacture. To whatever degree of importance the
woollen industry had attained when the Romans finally
withdrew from the island, to its long occupation by them
must be attributed in a great measure the early and
successful eff'orts put forth in the improvement of British
sheep." There can be little doubt that the breeding of
sheep was from a very early date prosecuted with more
skill by the inhabitants of the British Islands than that of
any other variety of live stock.

A few statistics may now be given to show the import-
ance of sheep at the present time. In 1872, the number of

lO

SHEEP.

sheep and lambs in the British Islands was 32,247,000; in
1882 (owing to the devastations of liver fluke disease follow-
ing the wet seasons of 1878 and 1S79), the number had
fallen to 27,448,000; but in 1892, it had again increased
until it reached 33,643,00c. The following shows the
numbers in the various divisions of the country in these
years :

Years.

England. Wales.

Scotland.

-, , , Total (including
Ireland. channel Islands^

1872
1882

1892

17,912,904
14.947.994
17,993.756

2,867,144
2,5^7,914
3,197,501

7,141,459
6,853,860

7-543,447

4,262,117

3,071,493
4,827,702

32,247,000
27,448,000
33,643,000

The value of sheep and wool produced in the United
Kingdom has declined a good deal owing to the low prices
that are now current. It used to be estimated at about
;^3o,ooo,coo annually. Professor W. Brown, in his book
on "British Sheep "Farming," published in 1870, gave the
number of sheep at 34,532,000, which he calculated would
yield in one year 154,182,750 lbs. of wool. This, valued at
10^. per lb., represented an annual return of ;£"6,425,ooo.
He further reckoned that 11,510,000 sheep would be killed
annually in the United Kingdom. Taking an average car-
case at 65 lbs., we had thus 748,150,000 lbs. as Britain's
slaughter of her own mutton. At about Zd. per lb., this
came to ;^'25, 000,000 of annual value for mutton. A later
estimate was furnished by the late Mr. J. Algernon Clarke
in his essay on " Practical Agriculture," contributed to the
" Memoir of the Agriculture of England and Wales," pre-
pared by the Royal Agricultural Society of England for the
Paris Exhibition in 1878. Mr. Clarke gave a total of
21,492,000 sheep one year old and upwards, yielding
119,473,000 lbs. of wool, or an average of about 5^ lbs. per
fleece. At ten years' average price of English wool, the
value of the annual product of wool in the United Kingdom
was ^4,604,000. The number of sheep and lambs killed
annually was taken in 1878 at 9,000,000, giving 44,500,000

ORIGIN OF SHEEP. ii

imperial stones, which at ^d. per lb. was equal to ;£^23,362,5oo.
Thus Mr. Clarke's estimate of the annual value of mutton
and wool in 1878 was about ;£'28,ooo,ooo. An estimate for
1892 brings out the value of the sale of native sheep and wool
at about ;^'2 6,000,000. In that year the total clip of wool
was estimated at 153,380,321 lbs. The gross value of sheep
and lambs in the United Kingdom in 1892 has been put at
^35.745.483 (33.642,808 head, at an average of 2ii-. 3^^.
per head), this showing a heavy fall from ;^5o,72o,i56 in
1891, when the value per head of 33,533,988 was 303-. 3^. ;
and in 1890, when it was 36^-. 3'f., equal to ;£^5 7,396, 790.
The fall in values was to some extent caused by the in-
creased imports. In 1 8 7 1 the value of sheep and fresh mutton
imported was ;£"!, 790,000; in 1881 it was ^2,192,000; and
in 1891 it had risen to ;^4,o82,ooo. There were, however,
other temporary causes for the decline in the year mentioned,
such as a bad spring, and short supply of food, which caused
a glut in the markets, and a consequent depreciation of
values.

In comparison with the size of the country, the number
of varieties of sheep which the United Kingdom contains
is wonderful. The circumstance is due to the diversified
physical conditions which prevail, and to the skill of
breeders in having developed numerous types to suit the
varying requirements of soil, climate, and food. Two
sentences from Darwin concisely illustrate the main prin-
ciples that operate in the moulding of breeds of sheep.
" Sheep," he says, " are perhaps more readily affected by
the direct action of the conditions of life to which they
have been exposed than almost any other domestic animal.'*
Again : " That methodical selection has effected great
changes in several breeds of sheep no one who knows
anything of the subject entertains a doubt." As to the
first point Professor W. Brown observes : " The physical
character of a country, the nature of the soil, drainage,
temperature, rainfall, and vegetation have marked in-
fluences on the various breeds of sheep, not only on those

12 SHEEP.

introduced from different habitats, but even on those
whose constitutions have been inured to the particular
ranges where any change of climate may be brought about."
The sheep is remarkable for its capacity of adaptation to
the circumstances that surround it, and we have certain
varieties that seem to have been shaped chiefly by the
nature of their environments. There are also numerous
instances of failure of attempts to force sheep to thrive
under circumstances that are unsuitable to particular breeds.
Physical characteristics of the country affect the constitu-
tion of the sheep, the quality of the meat, and the growth
of the wool, and it is contended that they have contributed
in perhaps a greater degree than methodical selection on
the part of breeders to the production of many of our
existing races. Professor Tanner, in an able paper on the
'' Influence of Chmate, etc., on Sheep," published in the
Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in
1869, has some suggestive remarks on this most interesting
subject. He alludes to the constitutional vigour of the
mountain breeds of sheep, and as to the quality of their
meat remarks : " In this respect our mountain sheep hold
an indisputable pre-eminence, for no mutton surpasses it,
neither does any equal it unless produced under somewhat
similar circumstances. The quality of the meat depends
upon the lean portion being tender and charged with a
rich juice ; and these results can only be obtained from an
animal of mature age, of active habits, and fed upon short,
sweet herbage. By activity of body the muscles are brought
into exercise, and a healthy growth is the consequence.
The food being short and sweet compels the sheep to take
plenty of exercise to gather their supplies, and the herbage
being sweet and nutritious, in contradistinction to that
which is coarse and immature, renders the meat savoury,
the gravy dark and rich, and the meat palatable and
digestible." We may here interpolate the observation that
modern practice and tastes have dealt a heavy blow at
" mature " mutton ; this may suit a few epxures, but the

ORIGIN OF SHEEP. 13

great buying public prefer tender, fine-grained meat cut
from young sheep. Mr. T. Ellman, son of the great im-
prover of the Southdown breed of sheep, says : " The
training, the character and history of any race of animals,
the influence that situation, soil, and climate, as well as
management, exert in the appearance, constitution, and
disposition, must not be overlooked. So treacherous are
these agencies that experience gained in one county may
be of little avail in another ; the Norfolk man transferred to
the Southdown hills becoming, as it were, a child again,
and the Southdown man being equally at sea if removed
to Leicestershire. So great, indeed, is the effect of soil
and climate, that the fine flavour of Southdown mutton
may be changed in time 10 the coarse, tallowy meat of the
Leicester or other long-woolled sheep. Nor wall the flesh
alone be interfered with, but the wool and every other
feature will become assimilated to those of the natives of
the different localities." These are very important in-
fluences in connection with sheep-breeding, and may, in
fact, be said to lie at the root of the science. Nor ought
we to overlook the causes that compel breeders to en-
deavour to change the characteristics of their sheep. Thus
variations in the descriptions of wool required for the
manufacture of fabrics have their resulting effects in the
development of the type to produce the needed quality
of fleece. Then the taste of consumers of mutton has to
be consulted, and this frequently revolutionises the aims
of breeders. This latter influence was forcibly set forth
by the late Mr. Wilson, Edington Mains, w^ho wrote :
'''- Very important changes in the sheep husbandry of
Berwickshire have occurred in my day. Forty years ago
every Lowland farm had its flock of Leicester ewes, and
now, with the exception of a very few kept for ram-breed-
ing, there is no such thing. About the time referred to, a
cross-breed, between the Cheviot ewe and Leicester ram,
was universally substituted for the pure Leicester. This
change was due in part — and particularly when it was first

14 SHEEP.

adopted — to the fact that ewes of this cross were found to
be hardier and more prolific than Leicesters. But from the
first it was due in part, and always more so as years
passed, to a change in the tastes of our best customers —
the miners and mechanics of the north of England. At
the earlier period named the largest and fattest mutton
pleased them best ; whereas now the article that is in
demand is a carcase weighing about 20 lbs. per quarter,
with a large preponderance of lean flesh. For several
years sheep of the first cross between Leicester and Cheviot,
or Leicester and Blackfaced, have been worth \d. per
lb. more than those with two or three crosses of Leicester
blood, and with a consequent larger proportion of fat
meat. Farmers, like other traders, have to consult the
taste of their customers, and hence their practice of sheep-
breeding is not altogether left to their own choice. In
Southern England the mutton of the Downs and their
crosses obtains a similar preference to that of the larger
and fatter long-woolled kinds."

CHAPTER 11.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP— THE LONGWOOLS.

There are in the United Kingdom about thirty breeds of
sheep, possessing more or less distinctive characteristics. A
number of these, in their present form, are of comparatively-
recent development, and all have been improved and adapted
to suit modern needs. We believe, however, as we have
already stated, that the systematic breeding of sheep has
been carried on in this country for a longer period than has
been the case with any other variety of live stock. The
evidences are clear that the cultivation of sheep, particu-
larly with a view to the production of wool, is a very ancient
branch of rural industry. It was because our forefathers
had, during many ages, been careful and skilful breeders of
sheep that their descendants were enabled to take the front
rank in the world as improvers of these as well as of horses,
cattle, and pigs. It will not be possible in this treatise to
do more than briefly sketch the progress of the various
breeds, and in doing so we may take for notice first the
group that, as a rule, conforms to the description of Long-
wools ; and as the breed has exercised a wonderfully far-
reaching influence in ameliorating other races, we shall
begin these descriptions with

THE LEICESTER.

"The formation of the new Leicester breed of sheep
may be said to form an epoch in the economical history of

1 6 SHEEP.

the domestic animals, and may well confer distinction on
the individual who had the talent to conceive, and the
fortitude to perfect, the design. The result was not only
the creation of a breed by art, but the establishment of
principles which are of universal application in the produc-
tion of animals for human food." In these well-chosen
words Professor Low, in his book on the " Domesticated
Animals of the British Islands," very justly describes the
character and value of the work accomplished by Bakewell
in establishing the improved Leicester breed of sheep. It
would serve no good purpose to attempt to trace the source
and origin of the breed or breeds on which Bakewell com-
menced his operations. Suffice it to say that during the last
century a number of varieties of long-woolled sheep, pre-
vailing in Leicestershire and the adjoining counties, pos-
sessed miany points in common, the differences being such
as would be caused by dissimilarity of soil and climate,
intensified by the diversified aims in breeding which in-
fluenced farmers owning the several descriptions. It appears
that what may be called the original Leicester was of the
same general type as the Teeswater, the Lincoln, and the
Romney Marsh. The old Leicesters were heavy, coarse-
grained animals, the meat having little flavour and no deli-
cacy ; the carcase was long and thin, flat-sided, and with
large bones on thick, rough legs. The fleece was heavy and
long, and of coarse quality. The sheep were slow feeders,
and when sent to market at two and three years old
weighed loo to 120 lbs. each. The fleece weighed 13 or
14 lbs., and measured from 10 to_ 15 inches in length. Prior
to Bakewell's time, a Mr. Allom, of Clifton, Leicestershire,
had a good flock, and sold ram lambs at the then high price
of two guineas to three guineas each. To Bakewell, how-
ever, belongs the credit, in Professor Low's phrase, of
creating the improved Leicester breed by art, and establish-
ing thereby principles universally applicable in the produc-
tion of animals for human food.

Before Bakewell's time the profits derived from sheep,

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. i;

especially those of the long-woolled breeds, had depended
so much upon the wool that graziers seldom paid further
attention to the carcase than to see that it presented a
sufficiently large surface for the development of the fleece.
In short, with the exception of such an isolated case as that
of Allom already mentioned, and perhaps a few others, the
wool received all the attention, and the chief object kept in
view as regards the carcase was to make it large. It was
about the year 1755 that Robert Bake well, of Dishley, near
Loughborough, in Leicestershire, commenced to alter all
this. His efforts were contemporaneous with the dawn of
agricultural improvement in England, and with the expansion
of its industrial resources. The higher kind of farming
then inaugurated demanded that live stock should be bred
in larger numbers and cultivated in a more scientific
manner ; and the increase of the manufacturing population
at once afforded a ready market for the increased supplies
of beef and mutton. Bakewell therefore endeavoured to
lessen the size of his sheep ; to reduce their bone and offal ;
to impart symmetry to their shapes, and especially to stimu-
late early maturing properties. He, in short, set about the
origination of a mutton-producing breed, expressing his
indifference to the extent or quality of the fleece. Wool
was thus a point upon which he placed but a very secondary
value ; indeed, he regarded a heavy fleece as detracting
from what was his great aim — a ready disposition to make
all the food assimilated tend to the accumulation of fat.
Even on mutton production Bakewell had distinct and
peculiar ideas, which were amply warranted by the cir-
cumstances prevailing at the time. The largest and fattest
sheep commanded the best price. It was found for many
years that to take a small and not overfed joint of mutton
into one of the large towns of Yorkshire or Lancashire was
to run the risk of having the commodity neglected, for the
usual practice was to put a large joint of fat mutton over a
dish of potatoes at the workman's table. The meat went to
the heads of the family; the potatoes, saturated with the fat

i8 SHEEP.

and gravy, making a savoury meal for the junior members.
Thousands in the manufacturing and mining districts were
for many years brought up in this way, so that in breeding
fat sheep Bakewell had a better warrant than would apply
in the present day, when fat is obtained in more palatable
and digestible form in butter and its cheaper imitations^
and when the working classes, as well as others, prefer to
have lean and juicy mutton. Among the few recorded
statements of Bakewell (who was not a communicative man)
there is one that is mentioned by Mr. Pitt in his " General
Survey of the Agriculture of Leicester" (1809), which
throws light on his objects. A gentleman said to the great
breeder: "Your mutton is so fat that I cannot eat it."
Bakewell's rejoinder was : " I do not breed mutton for
gentlemen, but for the public ; and even my mutton may
be kept leaner to suit every palate by stocking harder in
proportion and by killing the sheep in time."

Probably there is no better explanation of Bakewell's
method of breeding than that which he furnished to his
friend Marshall at the end of the last century, and which he
thus summarises : " It will most likely come out that no cross
with any alien breed whatever has been used, but that the
improvement has been effected by selecting individuals from
kindred breeds — from the several breeds or varieties of
long-wooUed sheep by which Bakewell was surrounded on
every side, and by breeding in-and-in with this selection,
sohcitously seizing the superior accidental varieties produced,
associating these varieties, and still continuing to select with
judgment the superior individuals." Bakewell's sheep soon
attained great popularity. His first let of a ram was in 1 760,
the fee being lyj. dd. In 1789 he let three rams for 1,200
guineas for the season. The Dishley Society was established,
and by means of it the sheep acquired very high value.
Until quite recently Mr. Valentine Barford possessed a flock
of Leicesters that had been preserved pure from the days of
Bakewell. They were distinguished by great symmetry, and
although Mr. Barford did not go beyond his own flock for

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 19

his rams, neither the health of the sheep generally nor the
fecundity of the ewes was impaired; his sheep, however,
were small.

The Leicesters soon extended all over England, and
large numbers were taken to Scotland and Ireland. The
ameliorative influence exercised by the breed on all the
long-woolled varieties and on some of the short-woolled kinds
was very great — the chief features imparted being a tendency
to early maturity and the production of a great proportion
of fat.

The breed, as has been said, has extended all over the
United Kingdom. The county in which the Leicester
originated, together with the breed's constitution and general
disposition, would point to a naturally fertile and highly
cultivated soil as its habitat. Scattered over such a wide
range of country the type has varied, not only owing to
climatic conditions and the nature of the soil, but also in
accordance with the varied objects that have governed
breeders in the continual process of selection. In general,
as Mr. John Algernon Clarke wrote, it is correct to say that
the fore- quarter of the Leicester is remarkably well developed ;
the shoulders are wide and sloping, consequently there is
no rigidness along the back ; the bosom is deep and wide,
and the fore-flank very full. The animal stands close to the
ground ; the neck is short, so that the head is raised but
little above the line of the back. The neck is full and
broad at the base where it proceeds from the chest, but
gradually tapering towards the head, and being particularly
fine at the junction of the head and neck ; the neck seeming
to project straight from the chest, so that there is, with the
slightest possible deviation, one continued horizontal line
from rump to poll. The ribs are well sprung, and the car-
case is very true ; the hips are well covered, but not wide,
and tapering to the rump, which is small. The back is
well covered with fat. The eye is full and prominent ; the
head is tolerably long and fine, and hornless ; the ears are
thin and rather long, and the muscular development is

B 2

20 SHEEP.

moderate. The legs of mutton are not large, and there is
a deficiency of lean meat. With a wonderful capacity for
external and rapid development there is little inside fat;
hence Leicesters are not now favourites with the butchers.
Their great merit is their early development and accumula-
tion of weight on a given quantity of food. The wethers,
when fattened in their second year, weigh 25 to 35 lbs. per
quarter; the fleece 7 to 8 lbs. At the Smithfield Club
Shows of recent years, lambs from nine to ten months have
weighed 154 lbs., and wethers twelve to twenty-four months
old 273 lbs. ; these, of course, being the live weights of
animals that have been forced to their utmost capacity.

By a good many breeders the Leicester is still kept in
a pure state, and it would be a pity if ever the profits be-
came so small as to permit its extinction ; for among the
long-woolled breeds there is none that can be so confidently
relied upon for the purposes of improvement. The demand
that still exists for the Leicester to cross with other varieties
will, it is hoped, prove a sufiicient inducement to owners to
preserve unimpaired the purity of the breed. It cannot,
however, be said that in its pure state it approaches to the
position of a general favourite with tenant farmers. The
taste of consumers, as we have already explained, has
altered very much since Bakevvell's time, and they insist
upon having better mixed mutton than the Leicester can
supply. Then the defective nursing powers of the ewes
and the tenderness of the lambs render it unsuitable for
rent-paying farmers, although few of them will deny the
excellence of the cross, or their indebtedness to the breed
and to its founder^ Bakewell, for much of the improvement
of the general sheep stock of the country.

There are, however, several varieties of the Leicester
that have been varied in character and type to meet
present day needs. This is notably the case in Yorkshire
and in the Border counties, where the breeders have been
particularly successful in retaining the good qualities of
the Leicester, and in incorporating with these a larger

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP, 21

size, a more robust constitution, and a greater proportion
of lean flesh.

BORDER LEICESTER.

If the Leicester, as it left the hands of Bakewell, has
exercised its chief influence in the improvement of other
varieties and has not quite maintained its popularity in its
original form, there can be no doubt that the breed known
as the Border Leicester, and which is an offshoot of the
original Dishley stock, has gone on steadily improving and
increasing its territory. The brothers Culley entered the
farm of Wooler, Northumberland^ in 1767, having migrated
from the Teeswater district. They had both been
frequent visitors at Dishley, and had imbibed the principles
of breeding that were practised by the great master. His
sheep were the special subjects of their admiration, and
they aimed at doing for the native breed of Yorkshire what
he had accomplished for the Leicester. With this view
they obtained rams from Bakewell, but it is expressly stated
by Young, in his "Annals of Agriculture," that they at no
time purchased ewes at Dishley. They, however, when
they removed, probably took further north the class of
sheep from which the improved Leicester was evolved.
They quickly transformed the character of the native breed
of Northumberland by the repeated use of Dishley rams,
and it is an unquestioned fact that it was chiefly from the
Culleys that the sheep came from which the present race
of Border Leicesters are descended. Other eminent early
breeders were Scott, of Mertoun ; Robertson, of Ladykirk ;
Thomson, of Lilburn ; and Grey, of Milfield. Mr. John
Grey, of Dilston, was intimately acquainted with the
breeders of early days, and in a letter to Mr. Wilson, of
Edington Mains, said he had used rams from Mr. Thomson,
of Lilburn, and from Culley himself. Mr. Grey hired rams
from England, and had three foT two years from Lord
Althorp, which he described as "perfect as to shape and
quality, but on a low leg, with a round, full carcase," and

22 SHEEP.

they were very profitable sheep for feeding. Then he went
on to state that in his district all the ewes were sold for
breeding another year in Yorkshire, and the buyers liked
them to stand upon a higher leg and make a bigger show in
the pens at York or Wakefield. "This taste," he said,
" prevailed, I think, pretty generally in the Borders, and
has operated, together with the effects of climate, in
changing considerably the look and character of the
Border Leicester sheep from the original of Leicestershire."
The Dishley breed were mentioned in the "Agricultural
Survey of Roxburghshire," published in 1798, and in this
it was stated that there were in the county five or six
flocks of the Dishley breed remarkable for the beauty of
their shapes, their tendency to fatten, and their heavy
fleeces. In the same work it was mentioned that rams of
this breed, reared in the county, were hired at from 8 to 15
guineas for the season ; ewes tupped at two guineas each,
some being brought from different quarters at great expense.
Spanish, Herefordshire, and Southdown sheep were also
spoken of as being kept pure, and the result of crossing
with other breeds was related. The Border Leicesters have
been most carefully bred with a view to practical utility,
and they are a breed the development of which reflects the
highest credit upon the flock-masters in whose hands they
have been kept in a state of continued improvement. The
rams are usually sold at Kelso in the autumn, and they
fetch very high prices. Lord Polwarth's flock at Mertoun
is generally at the top of the list, his average for a con-
siderable number of shearlings having been as high as
^53 1 95-. 4^. per head, some of the rams making ;^£^i95,
;^i6o, and ^^155 each. The points of a typical Border
Leicester ram have been stated as follows by the Hon. Henry
J. Scott, Mertoun : Head white, hard, and clean cut ; eye
clear and prominent; nose black; ears well set and free
from blue, but black spots do no harm. Neck set well into
shoulder, with bold, gay carriage ; strong in neck vein ;
not ewe-necked. Shoulders and chest deep and wide ;

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 23

ribs wide and round like a barrel ; big through heart ;
deep in flanks ; quarters long and square ; light in offal.
Bones fine and hard like a deer. Wool '' pirly," fine lustre
wool, well clad all over in belly and testicles ; none on
legs or head. General frame should be large and roomy,
lines straight above and below ; immensely wide ; standing
up well, yet not leggy, with a free, bold style, and aristo-
cratic expression.

Fat tegs at twelve to fourteen months old weigh 23
lbs. to 25 lbs. per quarter. Wool averages 9 lbs. per
fleece. The breed is a valuable one in its pure state, and
it crosses splendidly with the Cheviot and Blackfaced
varieties. The merits of the Border Leicester for crossing
with foreign and Colonial breeds are widely acknowledged,
and many are exported for this purpose.

LINCOLN.

The old Lincoln appears, as we have seen, to have been
the original type from which Bakewell developed the
Dishley Leicester. In the earliest books on agriculture
which contain descriptions of live stock, the Lincoln sheep
is referred to in more or less complimentary terms. Thus
Markham, in 162 1, alludes to those in the salt marshes as
"the largest sheep in England." The animals were of
enormous size, and the form w^as gaunt and somewhat
unsightly ; still, they had splendid fleeces, which exceeded
those of all other breeds in length of staple, viz. 10 to 18
inches, and weighed from 8 to 16 lbs. per fleece; the wool
being curly stapled and noted for its gloss or lustre. The
old variety has disappeared. After a stubborn fight — among
the incidents of which was a w^ordy warfare between Mr.
Chaplin, a Lincolnshire breeder, and Bakewell — the Lincoln
men dipped into the blood of the improved Leicester pretty
freely, and the coarseness gradually disappeared, the flesh
was laid on more uniformly, the sheep attained maturity fully
a year earlier, and an aptitude to fatten was induced. The

24 SHEEP.

fleece was slightly diminished in weight, but was improved in
quality. This was, indeed, the point in which the Lincoln
flock-masters bettered the lesson which they learned from
Bakewell — they did not sacrifice wool in the pursuit of flesh
and fat. Mr. J. Algernon Clarke, who was a recognised
authority on this breed, said the Lincoln now possesses a
size, expansion of frame, and nobility of appearance equal to
those of the Cotswold, with the compactness of form, quality
of flesh, fine countenance, and light oflal of the Leicester,
while surpassing both for the weight and value of the
wool. A frequent weight of wool from a ram is

25 lbs., while as much as 32 lbs. of clean washed wool is
recorded; and a good breeding flock will average from 12
to 14 lbs. each fleece. The sheep are very hardy, whole
flocks being folded on turnips during the winter months.
They are also prolific, about 30 per cent, of the ewes pro-
ducing twins. The breed is less subject to foot-rot than
some of the other varieties. A three-shear wether belong-
ing to Mr. Dawson in 1827 is said to have weighed 92!-
lbs. per quarter; a wether killed at Holbeach in 1844
weighed 62 J lbs. per quarter ; a ewe exhibited by Mr.
John J. Clarke at the Smithfield Club Show in 1846,
weighed 62 J lbs. per quarter, and Mr. C. Clarke had
at Lincoln in 1827, wether sheep, each of which weighed
62 lbs. per quarter, and yielded 24 lbs. of wool. In 1826,
a three-shear wether was killed which weighed t,2>6 lbs. ; a
two-shear 364 lbs., and a shearling 284 lbs. dead weight.
As a rule, however, wethers average 25 lbs. per quarter, and
the wool 12 lbs. per fleece. Often, however, the fleece will
weigh 20 lbs., and there are instances of 26 J lbs. of wool
being clipped. At the Smithfield Club Shows lambs from
nine to ten months old average 172 lbs., and wethers from
twelve to twenty-four months old 305 lbs. live weight. The
breed has fully maintained its position in the county of Lincoln
and adjoining districts, while numerous specimens have
been exported to Australia and South America, the flock-
masters of these countries having found that the Lincoln

#.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 25

increases the mutton-producing qualities when crossed with
the Merino, at the same time that it does not detract from
the fleece so much as others of our improved breeds do.

COTS WOLD.

Among British breeds of sheep no one is so well entitled
to advance " claims of long descent " as is the Cotswold.
There is a great deal of evidence to prove the early celebrity
of this breed. Such old writers as Camden, Drayton,
Stowe, and Speed, in works which appeared daring the
nfteenth and sixteenth centuries, make distinct allusion to
the Cotswold sheep. There are records that in 1437
Cotswold wool was exported to Spain, and that in 1464
and again in 1468, Cotswold rams were shipped to that
country, these latter having been presents from the English
to the Spanish monarch. The exceptional preference thus
accorded to the Cotswold would of itself mark out the race
as one of great excellence even at that early period, but we
are not confined to such indirect testimony of the value of
the breed. Historians and poets agree in bestowing high
praise on the Cotswold. Camden (born 1551, and the
translation of whose historical work appeared in 16 10)
describes the Cotswold wool as " most fine and soft," and
as being " held in passing great account among all nations."
Drayton, the poet (1612), especially notes the "abundant
fleece " of the Cotswold, and his " wealthy locks," and
Speed (1629) remarks that on the Cotswold hills *' sheep
are fed that produce a singular good wool, which for fine-
ness comes very near to that of Spain, for from it a thread
may be drawn as fine as silk." The habitat of the breed
is the tract of low calcareous hills in the eastern division of
the county of Gloucester, which was formerly a range of bleak
wastes employed in the pasturage of sheep, and much of it in
a state of common. These conditions were not favourable to
the development of a long-wooUed massive breed of sheep,
such as the Cotswolds now are, and it has been maintained

26 SHEEP,

by some that the sheep referred to by the old historians
were of a short-woolled kind, and that their character has
been so completely altered since that they are practically a
different breed. We need not, however, discuss this
question. More recently the Cotswold sheep has un-
doubtedly undergone considerable alteration and improve-
ment. About a hundred years ago breeders liberally
infused the Leicester blood into their flocks, and Low states
that the system of crossing was pursued so extensively that
after a time there did not perhaps exist a single Cotswold
flock which was not more or less mixed in blood with the
new Leicester. The desired objects having been obtained,
crossing was to a considerable extent discontinued, and the
breed was thereafter cultivated pretty closely within itself.
The Leicester imparted more symmetry of form and greater
disposition to early maturity, while it did not materially
reduce the grand massive frame and abundant fleece of the
Cotswold, or impair its fertility or constitutional vigour.

In the prize essay which appears in the first volume of
the Cotswold Flock Book (1892), Mr. W. S. Harmer thus
describes an ideal Cotswold : The head should be wide
between the eyes, and the eye itself full, dark, and
prominent, but mild and kindly, and in no way coarse
about the brow. The face should be proportionately wide
to the space between the eyes, but not too flat, and should •
run of much the same width to the nostrils, which must
be well expanded and somewhat broader than the face, with
the skin on the nose of a dark colour. The cheek is full,
and, as in the face, well covered with white hair ; a just
perceptible blue tinge on the cheek and round the eye being
rather fancied. The ear long, but not heavy, of medium
thickness, and covered with the same short, soft hair ; it
should be well carried up, while black spots on the point of
the ear are not considered objectionable. The top of the
head should not be coarse or bald, but covered with wool,
not hair, and the Cotswold is to be distinguished by a fine
tuft of wool on the forehead. The head should be sufficiently

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 27

long to save it from being called short and thick, but it
should not have a long, lean appearance. Grey faces still
crop up occasionally in all the best hill flocks. The neck
should be big and muscular, and should be gently curved to
enable the sheep to carry the head well up, thereby giving^
the animal a good appearance. The neck should be
slightly smaller at the ears than where it curves from the
shoulders. The shoulders should lie well back, and the point
of the shoulder should be well covered with flesh, as also
the chines. The ribs should be deep, well sprung from the
back ; the hips and loin wide and well covered w^th flesh.
The rump should be carried out on a level with the back,
giving the animal a square-looking frame ; the leg of mutton
well let down to the hock and thick on the outside. The
legs, both front ^nd hind, should be straight, moderate in
length, and well set outside the body. The pastern joints,
both front and hind, should be short. The whole body
should have a firm, solid touch (not loose and flabby), and
be well covered with a thick-set, long, and lustrous wool.

Cotswold sheep are capable of enduring great hardships,
succeeding well in exposed situations, and on nearly all
kinds of soil adapted for sheep-farming. They produce
a great amount of mutton and wool at an early age ;
their rapid maturing properties and disposition to fatten
enabling them to be brought to market at from nine to
twelve months old, with ordinary feeding, at a weight of
from 90 to 112 lbs., while it is not unusual for the best
flocks to turn out 120 to 130 lbs. sheep at that age. At the
Smithfield Club Shows wethers twelve to twenty-four months
old average 298 lbs. (live weight); ewes over three years,
275 lbs.; and lambs under twelve months, 186 lbs.
The average weight of the fleece throughout a well-
managed, first-rate flock will be from 9 lbs. to 1 1 lbs. of
washed wool. Sometimes the weight of a hogget fleece
exceeds 14 lbs. It ought, however^ to be added, that the
mutton falls short of the best quality, especially when the
sheep grow aged, mainly from want of a due intermingling

28 SHEEP.

of fat and lean, and their open, curly fleeces are not at
the present day in the foremost rank for length and fine-
ness of staple.

Large numbers of Cotswolds are exported to Germany,
tfce United States of America, and other foreign countries ;
their large size and impressiveness causing them to be
highly valued for crossing purposes.

ROMNEY MARSH, OR KENTISH.

Although this breed is not well known in England
outside the county of Kent, and adjoining portions of
Sussex, where it is chiefly maintained, colonists have
discovered its merits, and large numbers have been
exported, especially to New Zealand. As described in old
books, the breed does not appear to have been a very
handsome one ; but evidently it was valued in its own
district, for it has a very ancient history, and the intro-
duction of fresh blood seems to have been resisted with
a good deal of vigour. No doubt, however, there was at
one time a careful and judicious infusion of Leicester
strains, and these having effected their usual mission, the
breed was subsequently kept pure, and so we have a class
of sheep which nothing else can dislodge from its strong-
hold, and which, as we commenced by remarking, is highly
valued abroad. The points most desired by breeders are
these : As much bone as possible ; a good head, by no
means weak, but not of sour expression ; a heavy fleece
of fine wool and true Kent character, with as good a
carcase as possible. These sheep have to live through
their second winter on the marshes without extra food,
and contrive to put on meat the while, so that after being
shorn, the two-year-olds are ready to draw week by week
to supply the local markets, where their mutton is ap-
preciated by the butchers during the summer months as
much as is that of some finer sorts. They are essentially
grazing sheep, and not winter fatteners, as they dislike

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 29

the restraint of folding, and their long wool unfits them
for living on arable land in wet weather. At the
Smithfield Club Shows wethers from twelve to twenty-four
months old weigh alive, 256 lbs. ; ewes over three
years old, 267 lbs. ; and lambs under twelve months old, 167
lbs.; sometimes wethers will weigh up to 300 lbs. The wool
is remarkably lustrous and fine, and is in great demand
upon the Continent; weight of fleece, 7 to 15 lbs., the
average about 9 lbs. In France and Flanders the Kent
wool is used in the manufacture of a fabric known as
*' cloth of gold."

WENSLEYDALE.

The Wensleydale is chiefly cultivated in the north and
north-west of Yorkshire, and in parts of Cumberland,
Westmoreland, and North Yorkshire. These sheep are
directly descended from the old Teeswater, which Culley
described as the largest variety in Great Britain, and to
which reference has already been made. In 1838, Mr. R.
Outhwaite, of Appleton, purchased a big Leicester ram
from Mr. Sonley, Lund Court, Helmsley, for the purpose
of crossing with his Teeswater ewes. Amongst the produce
of this cross was the sire of the ram Blue Cap, which is
" the patriarch of the modern Wensleydales ; " and from
him the great majority of the present breed of Wensleydale
sheep are descended. The breed is thus described by
Mr. T. J. Other, in the Live Stock Journal Abnanac for
1891 : "The Wensleydale is a big, squarely-built, up-
standing sheep, with a good wide back, strong neck, good
legs of mutton, carrying a fleece of fine silky wool, and
having a great aptitude to lay on flesh rapidly. The skin
of the face and ears is of a dark blue colour ; this blueness
of the skin frequently extends all over the body. The
most valuable qualities of the Wensleydales are the ex-
cellence of their mutton, their size, their hardiness, and
their activity. The mutton is of high quality, containing
a very large proportion of lean flesh of a fine texture, the

30 SHEEP.

sheep at the same time attaining size as great as or greater
than any other long-woolled breed. Their hardiness and
activity are best proved by the fact that they are ex-
tensively used for crossing with Blackfaced and other
mountain breeds. This requires them to be robust enough
to bear great extremes of cUmate, and to be active enough
to get about after the ewes on rough ground. The first
cross between a Blackfaced ewe and a Wensleydale ram
results in a sheep yielding first-class mutton, and attaining
from 1 8 to 22 lbs. per quarter at from eighteen to twenty
months old. The next cross between a half-bred ewe, bred as
above, mated w^ith a Wensleydale ram, produces a sheep
which will attain 20 lbs. a quarter when a year old, and is
a favourite sort with the butcher on account of the high
quality of its mutton. The ewes of the Wensleydale breed
are prolific. There is usually more than fifty per cent, of
twin lambs weaned in a flock, and frequent cases have
been known of two lambs having been reared from every
ewe in a flock. The hoggs or yearling sheep clip from
10 to 16 lbs. of wool each ; the ewes a Httle less."

DEVON LONGW^OOL.

The " Bampton Nott " is a very ancient variety, which
was described in 1798 as "a valuable sort, not much unlike
the Leicester, well-made, and covered with a thick fleece of
wool, weighing in general 7 lbs. or 8 lbs., and they sometimes
reach 12 lbs. The wethers, when two years old and fattened
on turnips, attain the weight of about 25 lbs. per quarter."
These Bampton Notts were crossed with the Leicester, the
Lincoln, and the Cotswold, but chiefly with the first-
named, and so, while retaining the good points of the
original, a sheep of Leicester type has been evolved. It is
chiefly bred in central and eastern Devon, West Somerset,
and certain districts of Cornwall. A well-bred Devon Long-
wool difl'ers from a pure Leicester, says Mr. Joseph Darby,
in having a longer and larger face, with greater width at the

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 31

forehead and nose, the ears being also longer. The frame
is more bulky and of greater length, although not quite so
round or compact, but the girth is equal to that of the
Leicester. The Devon Longwool also appears to stand
higher than the Leicester, which it surpasses in good con-
stitution and hardiness ; it will attain greater weight of carcase
and more flesh in a given time, and is also reputed to come
earlier to maturity. The wether sheep are never kept until
they are two years old, but come out in the months of
March, April, and May, weighing from 22 lbs. to 24 lbs.,
and in some cases 25 lbs. the quarter ; and when shorn,
they cut from 9 lbs. to 1 1 lbs. of clean washed wool each,
although they have been shorn as lambs the preceding
year. These results are usually obtained by natural food,
with very little, if any, assistance from oil-cake or corn.
The ewes clip from 8 lbs. to 9 lbs. each. At the Smith-
field Club Shows the average live weights have been :
lambs under twelve months, 159 lbs.; wethers twelve to
twenty-four months, 244 lbs.

SOUTH DEVON, OR SOUTH HAMS.

This is a more local variety of Devon sheep, descended
from the South Hams Notts, which were crossed with the
Leicesters. By this means the flesh was improved in
quality, earlier fattening was developed, and the fleece
became more valuable. The wool is now moderately fine,
and the staple long ; the fleece weighs about 9 lbs.

ROSCOMMON.

The chief sheep-breeding province of Ireland is Con-
naught, and at the great fair held at Ballinasloe in the
month of October each year, there is always a fine col-
lection of the Roscommon breed, a large and useful variety,
the type of which has been much improved by the intro-
duction of Leicester blood, and then by careful selection.

32 SHEEP.

Shearling wethers are often sold to the butcher making
25 lbs. to over 30 lbs. per quarter. When disposed of at
thirty months old to Leinster graziers, they are kept until they
are three years old, and will then weigh 36 lbs. and upwards
per quarter. Draft ewes, fed after being cast for breeding,
weigh from 34 lbs. to 40 lbs. per quarter. The Ros-
common sheep are generally reared entirely upon grass,
with the aid of some hay during winter. The quality of
the mutton is good. The wool is soft, deep-grown, and
rich. The fleece from grass-fed wethers and hoggets
weighs about 10 lbs., but 8 lbs. may be taken as the
average, though occasionally higher weights are made ;
a prize ram gave a fleece of 24 lbs., a shearling ram 14 lbs.,
and ewes shorn while rearing lambs have clipped 14 lbs.
and even 16 lbs. of wool.

CHAPTER III.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP — THE MIDDLE-
WOOLS OR SHORTWOOLS.

The Long wool breeds of sheep, which have just been
noticed, are characterised, as we have seen, by their heavy
fleeces. Several of them have been bred chiefly with a
view to the production of high quality and wealth of wool ;
others have been cultivated more particularly with the
object of combining mutton and wool, though the former
occasionally possesses too much fat to suit modern tastes.
The Middlewool or Shortwool breeds, which will now
engage our attention, have been bred mainly with the aim
of developing the finest quality of mutton, and in this
purpose breeders have attained remarkable success. In
tracing the progress of the Longwool varieties we have seen
that the dominant factor in bringing about improvement
has been the Leicester. In the case of the Middle or Short-
wools we shall discover that the most powerful influence
has been

THE SOUTHDOWN.

The mountains, downs, forests, and less fertile districts
of Britain were in ancient times inhabited by races of sheep
differing greatly from those that formed the foundation of
the Leicester breed and its offshoots. There were two
leading descriptions of these mountain and down sheep,
one having been characterised by small size, white legs and

c

34 SHEEP.

faces, and by the absence of horns. The legs and faces of
the others were of a dark colour, and the sheep were pro-
vided with horns. These two parent races branched off into
numerous sub-varieties, their features being modified and
diversified by the situations in which they were placed
and the other external circumstances to which they were
exposed. As a rule the fleecy denizens of the mountains
and downs were distinguished by the excellence of their
mutton, their active habits, necessitated by long journeys
in search of the scanty food that was available, conducing
to the development of the finest possible quality of meat.

Among these splendid mutton sheep the Southdown —
tersely and accurately described on the Leicester monument
at Holkham as " small in size but great in value " — occu-
pied, and has for many years maintained, a foremost place.
The South Downs of Sussex, from which this favourite breed
derives its title, consist of a range of low, chalky hills,
five or six miles in breadth, stretching along the coast for
a distance of upwards of sixty miles and passing into the
chalky hills of Hampshire in the west. Youatt and other
authorities thought it probable thit the original Southdown
breed was horned as the Blackfaced Heath breed now is,
because it was not unusual in his day to find among ram
lambs specimens with small horns. He further believed
that the dusky or somewhat dark hue of the head and legs
of the Southdown not only proved what was the original
colour of the breed, and perhaps of all sheep, but the late
period at which it was seriously attempted to get rid of
this dingy tint. Mr. Alfey remarked in Arthur Young's
*• Annals of Agriculture," 1794, that he was convinced that
were the Southdown breed to be left in a wild state, it
would in a very few years become entirely black. He had
twelve or fourteen black lambs, although he never kept a
black ram or ewe. These statements are interesting as
indicative of the original derivation of the breed, but it is
now quite exceptional for any of the reversions mentioned
to occur.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 35

As to the ant'quity of the Southdown sheep Mr. T.
Ellman, son of the first improver of the breed, made some
remarks at a meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of
England in 1865. He said its natural character at once
showed that it was of a mountain race and was well
adapted for the South Downs. It might, he said, fairly be
inferred, in the absence of any authentic statement, that it
hardly existed in England before the Roman invasion.
In fact, little was heard of it before the Norman Conquest,
but from a very early time the South Down hills, with their
short, fragrant pasturage and dry and healthy situation,
must have been the most natural home for these sheep.
The first distinct record of the breed states that over two
hundred years ago sundry flocks feeding in the Downs were
annihilated by a disease called small-pox, which was im-
ported from Holland.

Mr. John Ellman began his experiments as an improver
of the breed about 1780, when he acquired possession of
the farm of Glynde, near Lewes, in the county of Sussex.
He remained on this farm for more than fifty years, and
during all that time diligently devoted his attention to in-
creasing the value of the Southdown sheep. His son says
that in several points his father's aim differed from that of
his distinguished contemporary, Bakewell. It was Bake-
well's desire to obtain the maximum of fat mutton with the
minimum of bone. As has already been shown, he dis-
regarded wool in comparison with fat. Mr. Ellman, on
the other hand, objected to forcing his young stock, and
was anxious to maintain strength of constitution; and
although at the outset he was driven to a little in-breeding,
from the difiiculty he experienced in obtaining good
animals from other flocks, yet as the work of improvement
advanced he acted otherwise. Unlike Bakewell, who
operated upon a variety of races of sheep, and who was
thus compelled to resort to in-breeding in order to impart
fixity of type, Ellman had a homogeneous breed with which
to deal. He selected the best individuals of that race, and

c 2

36 SHEEP.

retained only these for breeding. The Leicester might
thus be designated a breed of artificial creation, while the
Southdown was improved by selection conducted within
itself. The maintenance of a high standard of excellence
was consequently easier, the v^ork of improvement could
be continued with less skill, and there was not the same
danger of deterioration as in the case of the Leicester.
Arthur Young, writing in 1794, remarked that EUman's
flock was unquestionably the first in the country. There
was, he added, nothing that could be compared with it —
the wool the finest, and the carcase the best proportioned.
Mr. Ellman died in 1832, his flock having been sold in
1829. Among noteworthy private transactions were the
purchase of two rams by the Duke of Bedford for the
Emperor of Russia at 300 guineas, and two for himself at
the same rate.

The Southdowns then spread widely over the country.
The unsurpassed flavour of their mutton, their wonderful
hardiness, their regular breeding qualities, and their early
maturing properties caused them to be sought for main-
taining in a pure state and for crossing with other varieties.
In many counties they have enormously improved the
native races, while in others they have supplanted them.
As a pure breed they took a firm root in the counties of
Norfolk and Cambridge, where indeed some of their greatest
triumphs have been gained. Formerly 12 to 14 lbs. per
quarter was considered a fair weight for a two-year-old
wether, and the finished sheep was often four or five years
old, when it weighed perhaps 18 or 20 lbs. per quarter.
Now Southdowns are fit for the butcher at thirteen to
fifteen months old, and up to the weight formerly attained
by old sheep ; while the dead weight of two-shear wethers
is 20 to 22 lbs. and "up to 30 lbs. per quarter; some at
Christmas shows appearing with still greater weights — lambs
under twelve months averaging 147 lbs. live weight, and
wethers twelve to twenty-four months 206 lbs. The fleece
averages at least 3J lbs. in the hill and 4 lbs. to 6 Ibs^ in

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 37

the lowland districts, \\ lbs. being the general average.
The wool is very fine, close, and curled.

In Norfolk and Cambridge the breed was placed among
surroundings differing considerably from those that prevailed
in the South Downs. Instead of a country with short and
scanty herbage, compelling a great deal of exercise in order
to procure food, it found itself in one of the richest agri-
cultural districts of England. On these highly-farmed lands
the breed attains to larger size, has grander fore-quarters
and greater expansion of frame generally, with specially
well-formed shoulders, broad loins, full rumps, and heavy
legs of mutton. Thus a bigger variety of the Southdown
was produced. The Sussex breeders and the Norfolk and
Cambridge breeders have had different aims. The former
desired to retain the high quality and old features of the
race. Those residing in the more fertile localities, while
adhering as closely as possible to the old type, successfully
endeavoured to rear sheep of larger scale. In short, while
the Sussex men were quite content to preserve the breed as
one eminently adapted for the Downs, the other breeders
assumed an aggressive attitude towards the supporters of the
more massive types and breeds that, owing their improve-
ment to the Southdown, threatened to drive it out of the
markets. To these efforts to secure a wider area for the
breed no one contributed more valuable services than the
late Mr. Jonas Webb, of Babraham, who, after experimenting
with various breeds, selected the Southdown, and for nearly
forty years devoted much attention to its improvement. At
the Royal Show at Canterbury in i860 the Babraham flock
gained the w^hole six prizes offered for rams. The good
work begun by Mr. Jonas Webb was continued by his son,
Mr. Henry Webb, at Streetly Hall, and the names of many
other improvers might be given if space permitted. The
Babraham and Streetly strains have been infused into most
of the leading Sussex flocks. The breed is now in very able
hands, and increases in popularity" every year.

The points of the breed are thus given in the South-

38 SHEEP.

down Flock Book : " In a good Southdown we look for a
head wide and level between the ears, with no sign of slug
or dark poll ; eyes large, bright, and prominent ; ears of
medium size, covered with short wool; face full, not too
long from eyes to nose, and of one even mouse colour,
not approaching black nor speckled with white ; under-
jaw light ; neck wide at base, strong and good ; shoulders
well put in, the top level with the back ; chest wide and
deep, thick through the heart ; foreflanks fully developed ;
ribs wide-sprung and well ribbed up ; back level, with
wide and flat loin, the whole covered with firm flesh :
flanks deep and full; rump wide, long, and well turned;
tail large and set on almost level with chine ; thighs full
and well let down, with deep, wide twist, ensuring a good
leg of mutton ; legs a mouse colour, and ' outside the body,'
the whole of which should be covered with a fine, close,
and even fleece down to hocks and knees, and right up to
the cheeks, with full fore-top ; but there should be no
wool under the eyes or across the bridge of the nose.
The skin should be of a delicate and bright pink, the
carriage gentlemanly, and the walk that of a thoroughbred."
The breed possesses hardy constitution, adaptability to
almost any climate, and the habit of thriving on bare
pasture ; it gives a generous return for good feeding, and
enjoys comparative immunity from foot - rot ; and from
the density of its fleece there is less liability to " fly " than
in some other varieties.

SHROPSHIRE.

One of the most popular breeds of sheep in the United
Kingdom at the present moment is the Shropshire. It is
held in high estimation alike in England, Scotland, and
Ireland, and is found to be adapted to the varying climates
of all three countries, while in the United States, Canada,
on the Continent of Europe, and elsewhere abroad it is
almost as much appreciated as it is at home. The rapid

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 39

progress of the breed forms one of the most remarkable
circumstances connected with live stock history. Neither
Low nor Youatt mention it, as it now exists, in their
accounts of British sheep. It was not until 186 1 that it
was permanently placed upon the prize lists of the Royal
Agricultural Society's Shows, and it was only in 1848 that
it received its distinctive name of " Shropshire." The
materials upon which the breed was founded appear to
have comprised the native sheep of Shropshire and Stafford-
shire, such as the old Shropshire, the Morfe Common, the
Longmynd, the Clun Forest, and the Cannock Heath.
Some authorities, however, consider that the chief element
was the I^Iorfe Common, which, in 1792, the British Wool
Society reported as being " a black-faced, or brown, or
spotted faced horned kind, litde subject to rot or scab,
weighing, the wethers from 11 to 14 lbs., and the ewes
from 9 to II lbs. per quarter, after being fed with clover
and turnips, and clipping nearly 2 lbs. per fleece, exclusive
of the breaching, which might be taken at one-seventh or
one-eighth part of the wool. The fine wool sold at 2s.
per lb., and the breaching at \s. per lb., making the produce
of the fleece about ^s. zdy Youatt remarks that it was
probably the Morfe Common species of Shropshire wool
that in 1343 was the choicest and the dearest in England,
and in 1694 it was stated that "Shropshire wool was not
to be equalled in its kind by any part of the world, and was
suitable to almost any degree of quality."

It was upon this valuable type, then, that the improve-
ments began to be made by the judicious infusion of South-
down, Leicester, and Cotswold blood — especially the
first-named — and it has been contended that there was
also a Mering cross. The horns were bred out, a larger
frame was produced, and splendid quality of mutton was
developed. The Shropshire is indeed compounded of the
best materials that could be found, and is truly an epitome
of all that is excellent in British sheep as regards mutton,
wool, constitution, prolificacy, and early maturity. For

40 SHEEP.

many years no fresh blood has been introduced, the later
attempts to infuse more of the Southdown and Leicester
strains having signally failed. What breeders have accom-
pHshed during the last fifty years has been the fixing of
type, so that the breed is now uniform and true in
character.

The breed, in its improved form, may be thus described :
A well-developed head, with clear and striking expression
of countenance, a muscular neck, well set on, good
shoulders, the body symmetrical and deep, placed as
squarely as possible on short legs, due regard being paid
to grandeur of style, a well-covered head, and wool of the
best staple and most valuable kind, rejecting as much
as possible all animals showing an inclination to produce
black wool or dark skins ; the skin should be a nice cherry
colour, and the face and legs a soft black, not sooty nor a
rusty brown, and free from all \vhite specks. The belly
should be well wooUed, and a tendency for wool to peel at
the jaw and legs should, says Mr. Alfred Mansell, be
avoided. Shropshires are not only very prolific, but they
are capital nurses. The quality of the flesh is excellent,
carrying a large proportion of lean meat to fat. They are
light in offal, and with good farming come to market at eleven
to fourteen months old weighing 20 to 25 lbs. per quarter; in
some instances attaining greater weights. Wethers at eighteen
to twenty months old, at the Fat Stock Shows, frequently
make 50 lbs. per quarter, and ewes have been exhibited of
over 46 lbs. per quarter. The average clip for a fair
Shropshire flock — fleece and teg wool — is 7 lbs., but many
flocks average quite 7 J lbs., and the wool commands top
price. Individual fleeces often reach 14 lbs., which is
maintained for the second and third years. At the Smith -
field Club Shows the live weights have been on the
average, for lambs under twelve monihs, 153 lbs. j wethers,
twelve to t,venty-four months, 241 lbs.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. ^\

OXFORD DOWN.

This is one of the most recent examples of the success
of English breeders in creating a race of sheep that has
by its intrinsic merits, in a very brief period, attained to a
high position in public favour. The breeders who were
most closely associated with its formation were Mr. Druce,
of Eynsham; Mr. Gillett, of Southleigh; Mr. Blake, of
Stanton Harcourt ; and Mr. Twynham, Whitchurch Farm,
Hampshire. They made no concealment of the methods
by which they developed the breed, Mr. Twynham crossing
his Hampshire Down ewes with a Cotswold ram, and
subsequently infusing the cross into his flock. Mr. Druce
says the foundation of this class of sheep at his place was
begun about the year 1S33 by using a well-made and neat
Cotswold ram with Hampshire Down ewes. Others used
the Cotswold ram on Southdown ewes. The great point to
which breeders directed their attention, after they had
obtained, by crossing, a variety of special merit, was to
secure uniformity in type and character, and this they
have done by close breeding. The breed now possesses,
along with uniformity of character and hardiness of con-
stitution, a large frame, aptitude to fatten, mutton of
superior qualitj% and a heavy fleece of thickly-set wool.
The ewes are good mothers, and drop a large proportion
of twins. The following description of an Oxford Down
ram is taken from the Oxford Down Flock Book: He
has a bold, masculine head, well set on a strong neck;
the poll is well covered with wool and adorned by a top-
knot ; the ears are self-coloured and of good length ;
the face is a uniform dark-brown colour ; the legs are
short, dark-coloured (not spotted), and placed well outside
him; the barrel is deep, thick, and long, with straight
underhne; the chest wide; the back level; ribs well
sprung ; tail broad and well set on ; the mutton is firm,
lean, and of excellent quality; the fleece is heavy and
thick on the skin.

42 SHEEP.

At twelve to thirteen months old, when the hogs or
tegs are sold fat, they weigh 20 to 24 lbs. per quarter dead
weight, exhibition pens weighing nearly as much as Lincolns
or Cotswolds. Thus, at the Smithfield Club Shows, lambs
under twelve months give an average of 194 lbs. live weight,
and wethers between twelve and twenty-four months 248 lbs.
The average weight of fleece for a whole flock is about
7 lbs., but shearling rams have clipped up to 20 lbs. per
fleece. Mr. John Treadwell, a famous breeder, says that
if they are well kept Oxfords are fit to sell at any time
from ten to twelve weeks up to twenty-two to twenty-three
months old, and they keep on gaining in flesh from a fat
lamb at 40 or 50 lbs. dead (dressed) weight up to a
Christmas wether of 200 to 240 lbs. dead weight. Mr.
Treadwell has had ewes as heavy as 256 lbs. dead weight,
and once he had a ram of 337 lbs. dead weight.

HAMPSHIRE DOWN.

This breed was established by the crossing of the old
Wiltshire horned sheep and the old Berkshire Knot with
Southdowns, which were introduced into Wiltshire and
Hampshire early in the present century. The process of
improvement had been going on for a long time, but there
was a want of quality and uniformity. While the breed
was in this transition state, the late Mr. WilHam Humphrey,
Oak Ash, near Wantage, Berks, appeared on the scene.
Writing in 1858, Mr. Humphrey explained, that in form-
ing his flock, about twenty-five years before {i.e. about
1833), he purchased the best Hampshire Down ewes he
could procure, using the best rams he could find ; but the
result did not satisfy him, and he determined to introduce
Southdown blood, selecting for the purpose some of the
largest and best fleshed of Mr. Jonas Webb's rams. In the
subsequent management of the flock great ability was dis-
played, and no fresh blood was introduced for twenty years,
Mr. Humphrey said his aim had been to produce a Down

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 43

sheep of large size, with good quality of flesh, and
possessing sufficient strength and hardiness to retain its
condition when exposed in rough and bad weather to
consume the root crops on the cold hills.

The work so well begun by Mr. Humphrey has been
systematically continued by the breeders of this variety,
who have been remarkably successful in achieving their
object. It is now generally allowed that no breed of sheep
attains to such early maturity as the Hampshire Down lambs
in the months of March and April, as they then have a
dead weight of from 12 to 14 lbs. per quarter; and by the
month of October (at the age of nine months) they weigh as
much as 80 to 100 lbs. of mutton, whilst the ram lambs,
which are sold for service during the months of July and
August (at which age the sires of this breed are generally
worked)^ often reach a dead weight of 120 lbs. The sheep
possess hardiness of constitution and adaptability to
different soils and climates. They have especially dis-
tinguished themselves at the Fat Stock Shows.

The chief points of a true Hampshire Down sheep
have been thus given in the Flock Book of the breed :
A long, deep, and symmetrical carcase, with the ribs well
sprung, broad straight back, flat loins, full dock, wide
rump, deep and heavily developed legs of mutton and
breast, head and neck well placed on, gradually sloping
and closely fitting shoulders, the neck being particularly
of a strong, muscular growth, and not too long ; the ears
nicely set on, of fair length and whole-coloured ; prominent
inteUigent eye; the body as above described, standing on
strongly-jointed and powerful legs, with good feet, pre-
senting a smart and attractive appearance. The colour of
the face, cheeks, ears, and legs should be of a rich dark
brown, approaching to black, white specks or black bar
between the ears being specially avoided. The wool is
moderate in length, of close and fine texture, reaching well
over the forehead, the skin being ' of a delicate tint ; the
average weight of the fleece is 4J lbs. to 5 lbs.

44 SHEEP.

At the Smithfield Club Shows lambs under twelve
months old average 1 94 lbs. live weight, and wethers twelve
to twenty-four months old, 248 lbs.

Suffolk.

This breed has recently made great advances in public
favour on account of its practical usefulness. It was based
upon the original Norfolk horned breed, the ewes of which
were crossed with Southdown rams. Arthur Young,
writing in 1797, spoke of these Norfolk horned sheep as
furnishing mutton than which, as regards ''texture or grain,
flavour, quantity and colour of gravy, with fat enough, there
was no superior for the table of the curious." The wool,
too, was fine, and the sheep were remarkable for their
hardiness, their ability to bear hard driving, and for their
success as nurses. The best flocks were near Bury St.
Edmunds, so that Young naturally thought they would
more accurately have been described as the Suffolk rather
than as the Norfolk breed. As the result of the cross with
the Southdown the form and fattening properties were
improved; the black face and legs of the Norfolks were
retained, but the horns were got rid of. The breed as it now
exists is black-faced and hornless, with clean black legs,
closely resembling Southdowns in character and wool, but
being larger and proportionately longer in the leg. In an essay
by Mr. E. Prentice in the Suffolk Flock Book it is claimed
that they excel in the following points. Fecundity : thirty
lambs reared per score ewes is a frequent average. Early
maturity : if well grazed they are fit for the butcher at ten to
twelve months old, and the lambs are so forward at seven to
eight months that nineteen breeders out of twenty prefer them
as tups to older sheep. Hardihood : they will get a living
and thrive where other breeds would starve. Mutton :
the quality is super-excellent, with an exceptionally large
proportion of lean meat, and commands a ready sale at
top prices. Constitution : their robust, hardy character,

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 45

power of endurance, and conmparative freedom from attacks
of foot-rot during the past fifteen years caused them to dis-
place, to a great extent, the half-bred sheep formerly in
favour in marshland districts. We copy from the Flock
Book the annexed scale of points as descriptive of a
typical specimen of the breed : Head hornless ; face black
and long, and muzzle moderately fine, especially in ewes ;
a small quantity of clean, white wool on the forehead is
not objected to ; ears a medium length, black and of fine
texture ; eyes bright and full. Neck moderate length and
well set (in rams stronger, with a good crest) ; shoulder
broad and oblique ; chest deep and wide. Back and
loin long, level, and well covered with meat and muscle ;
tail broad and well set up ; the ribs long and well sprung,
with a full flank. Legs and feet straight and black, with
fine and flat bone ; woolled to knees and hocks, clean
below ; fore-legs set well apart ; hind-legs well filled with
mutton. Belly (also scrotum of rams) well covered with
wool; fleece moderately short, close, fine fibre, without
tendency to mat or felt together, and well defined — i.e.
not shading ofl" into dark wool or hair. Skin fine, soft, and
pink colour.

At the Smithfield Club Shows Suffolk wethers twelve
to twenty-four months old average 271 lbs. live weight ;
ewes over three years 275 lbs., and lambs under twelve
months 187 lbs. The fleece averages about 6 lbs.

DORSET HORN.

The Dorset or Somerset Horn is one of the oldest breeds
in the country, and has possessed several of the more im-
portant features for which it is now celebrated for nearly two
hundred years, a writer in 1757 having stated in reference
to these sheep that "one of his tenants had ewes which
brought him lambs at Christmas : these he sold fat to the
butcher at Lady Day, 1707, and at the beginning of June,
thinking his ew^es to be mutton, they looked so big, he went

46 SHEEP.

to sell them to the butcher, who handled them and found
their udders springing with milk and near lambing, and
accordingly they did lamb the first week in June." The
valuable characteristics of the breed are its fecundity, the
excellence of the ewes as nurses, and especially the fact
that they take the ram at any desired period, so that they
are noted for the production of early lambs, which are, of
course, always in demand for the London market. Occa-
sionally two crops of lambs are taken from ewes in one
year, but in this case special precautions have to be observed
to guard against v/eakening the ewes. Towards the close of
the last century it would appear that this useful race was
nearly annihilated by crossing with the Hants, Wilts, and
other breeds ; and later the Southdown and Merino were
introduced to its districts. Gradually, however, the
Dorset Horn reasserted its supremacy, drove out its com-
petitors, and is now the predominant breed of the counties
of Dorset and Somerset. The breed has been greatly im-
proved, while retaining its specially valuable points. The
original sheep were much smaller than the present breed,
which is straight and deep in the body, with well-arched
ribs, broad loin, and well-set-on neck. ^Ir. J. T. Ensor,
in a paper written for the Dorset Horn Flock Book,
says: ''They are full in the shoulders, without coarseness,
and the hind limb is well let down towards the shank,
forming a good leg of mutton, with small bone. The
general features are pleasing ; the head standing well up,
the horns thin, with a symmetrical curl, the eye quick and
Hvely, the face rather long and thin, and the lips and nose
pink or flesh-coloured. They are excellent nurses, good
folding sheep, and the mutton is well-flavoured and has a
good proportion of lean." The wool is of very good quaHty.
The wethers come out fat at thirteen to fourteen months
old, the carcase weighing from 70 to 80 lbs. each. The
lambs go to the butcher at ten to twelve weeks old, when
they average 10 lbs. to 14 lbs. per quarter, and realise high

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 47

prices. The ewes clip 5 lbs. to 6 lbs. of wool, rams 10 to
12 lbs., and the lambs, which are usually shorn, about half
as much as the ewes. At the Smithfield Club Shows the
live weight of wethers twelve to twenty-four months old
averages 270 lbs., ewes over three years old 291 lbs., and
lambs under twelve months 193 lbs.

RYELAND.

Although this breed is now in very few hands, it at one
time occupied a very prominent and important position, being
unsurpassed for the quality of its wool. Professor Low
remarks that the wool of the Ryeland breed was long
regarded as the finest that the British Islands produced.
The ancient city of Leominster, he remarks, being sur-
rounded by a country producing this kind of wool, and being
the market to which it was brought for sale, gave its name
to the wool of the county, which was termed " Lemster
wool " or " Lemster ore." Drayton, who wrote in the reign
of Henry VIIL, when comparing the wool of the Cotswold
Hills with the lighter fleeces of Lemster, bears testimony to
the superior fineness of the latter. The genuine Ryeland
was a small polled sheep with white face, the wool growing
close around the eyes. The legs were small, the bone light,
and the carcase round and compact. The fleece averaged
I J lbs. to 2^ lbs., and the weight of the wethers per quarter
was from 14 to 16 lbs. This breed was extremely hardy,
patient of hunger, and capable of thriving on very scanty
fare. The breed was crossed with Southdowns and also
with Merinos, but without advantage. Latterly Hereford-
shire has been invaded by the Shropshires, and it was at one
time thought that the Ryeland had become extinct. This
was a mistake, however, as there are still some thirty flocks
in existence. In its present form the breed is compact and
hardy, and fattens readily, when liberally fed, up to 20 lbs,
per quarter at twelve to fourteen months old. Pure-bred

48 SHEEP.

lambs, and also crosses by a Ryeland ram on ewes of other
breeds, are liked by the butchers. The sheep have white
faces, are polled, and have a tuft of wool on the forehead.
The fleece, where the sheep are well kept, weighs 7 to 8 lbs.
on an average. The comparative immunity from foot-rot
which these sheep enjoy is also in their favour.

CHAPTER IV.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP — THE MOUNTAIN
AND FOREST BREEDS.

While many of the Longwool and Shortwool breeds
possess a certain amount of similarity of type, due to
the infusion of Leicester and Southdown blood which has
been incorporated with the local varieties to their great
advantage, the Mountain and Forest sheep as a rule show
well-defined variations of character. This is not because
attempts have not been made to improve them by crossing,
but because these hardy races have for many years been
bred with a view to their adaptation to the exacting
conditions of their surroundings, so that the amalgamation
of finer breeds has been effected only with loss of con-
stitutional vigour. The result is that where it has been
attempted it has, after a short lime, generally been aban-
doned, unless in districts that, though elevated, yet possess
a comparatively genial climate. The strong and robust
mountain sheep are of very great value, inasmuch as they
enable vast tracts of high-lying ground to be profitably
utilised. The breeders who have done their utmost to
preserve and to improve these mountain varieties of sheep
have rendered a service of no less importance than those
who have developed and ameliorated the finer breeds of the
lowlands and downs.

D

50 SHEEP.

SCOTCH BLACKFACED MOUNTAIN.

This grand-looking breed is cultivated very extensively
in Scotland, where ii: occupies a position of great im-
portance. Walker, in his " Hebrides," quoted in the
"General View of the Agriculture of S:otland," 1814,
states that it is uncertain whence the Blackfaced breed was
originally derived, but there was a tradition of its having
been first planted upon the farm of King James IV. in
the forest of Ettrick in 1503. We are, however, more
inclined to favour the theory that the breed resulted from
improvement of the ancient '' dun faces," which were at
one time the most prevalent sheep in Scotland. The
following is a description of a perfectly made ram of the
breed, as given by Mr. James Moffat, Jun., in a paper written
for the Glasgow and West of Scotland Agricultural Discus-
sion Society. He commences by referring to the animal
as " majestic, symmetrical, commanding, and picturesque,"
with lofty carriage and appearance, and then says :
He has a broad, slightly arched, deep face, with a
square muzzle, wide nostrils, a wild, piercing eye, and a
small tuft of fine wool on the forehead, called a snowlock.
The prevailing colour of his face is jet black, any white
marking being very distinct. The division between the
jaws, where it joins the neck, is extremely wide. His horns
go flat away from the crown, with a space of skin and hair
between the roots, tending slightly backwards and outward
with a wide, graceful spiral turn, wide enough that when
they grow round they will clear his cheeks ; they are long,
and of medium thickness. The formation of the head is
a pretty sure indication of the form of the body. His neck
is of medium length, joining strongly at the jaws, carrying
its thickness back and attached firmly on to broad and
massive shoulders. His ribs behind the shoulder-blades
biing well arched and deep, the breast-bone comes well
through between the fore-legs, giving a large space for
the vital organs, and making him have a round, barrel

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP, 51

appearance. His lumbar vertebrae must be short from the
last ribs to the loin bones, very broad and flat, quarters
long and level, with well-rounded, fleshy, wide gigots,
set squarely on strong, sinewy legs. His legs, which are
the same colour as the face, ought to be very powerful
above the knees and hocks, standing well back on the
pasterns, with large, wide feet. The hind-legs have a
covering on the outside of fine wool, of the same character
as that on the forehead. A ram with this feature will
always be well covered underneath, and have a good strong
fleece. One with a clean, bare face and legs is very liable
to have a weak coat with bare patches underneath, as
well as above the knees and hocks. He should be covered
with a very heavy fleece of long, thick wool of from 15
inches to 20 inches in length, of uniform strength over the
whole body, and free from black spots or hairs. The
chief points of the ewes are the same as those of the
ram, but they are of quite a feminine and refined character.
These sheep are muscular, of a hardy constitution, and
well adapted to endure the privations and severe climate
of the hilly districts in which they are kept. They have
also the important property of being able to find a sub-
sistence upon heather, with which the Highlands generally
abound, and which affords them food even when the
surface of the ground is covered with snow. Though a
pure mountain breed their habits are not so restless as
might be expected, and they are more docile than one
would suppose. The ewes, when fat, will weigh from 15
to 18 lbs. per quarter, and the wethers from 16 to 20 lbs.
per quarter. Sheep nineteen months old have been made
up for the Christmas shows to weigh 215 lbs. live weight,
and show sheep make as high as 120 lbs. of mutton. The
wool is long, and coarse in quaUty. The average clip
of a flock is 4^ to 5 lbs. per head. Tup hogs will clip up to
8 lbs. or 10 lbs. A show ram clipped 16 J lbs. of wool.
The Blackfaced sheep crosses well with Cheviot, Leicester,
and Down. The quahty of the mutton of the pure breed

D 2

52 SHEEP.

is exceedingly fine, especially that of three - year - old
wethers or young and tender lambs. In recent years the
breed has been much improved both in the symmetry
of its form and in early maturity, young sheep now coming
out fat at from nine to eighteen months old.

CHEVIOT.

This breed derives its name from the range of hills
on the English and Scotch borders, and is to be found
chiefly in the counties of Northumberland, Roxburghshire,
Peeblesshire, and Dumfriesshire, where it occupies a position
of much importance. The breed is also cultivated in the
counties of Sutherland and Caithness. The first improve-
ment was made about 1760, when, as Mr. Alton states in his
General View (18 14), the Cheviots were crossed with tups
brought from Lincolnshire ; and there were later instances
of an infusion, during the early part of the present century,
of the blood of the Dishley or Leicester. In the in-
spection conducted by Sir John Sinclair for the British
Wool Society in 1 791, he gave a favourable report on the
wool of the breed. The annexed description of a Cheviot
ram is taken from the first volume of the Cheviot Flock
Book : A Cheviot tup when arrived at maturity weighs,
when fat, at least 200 lbs. live weight. He should have a
lively carriage, bright eyes, and plenty of action. His
head should be of medium length, broad between the
eyes, well covered with short, fine white hair; his ears,
nicely rounded and not too long, should rise erect from
the head — low-set or dropping ones are a decided fault,
but at the same time they should not be what are called
" hare lugged " — that is, too near each other, as that
indicates a narrow face, which generally denotes a narrow
body. His nose and nostrils must be black, full,
and wide open ; his neck strong, and not too long ;
his breast broad and open, wiih the legs set well
apart. His ribs must be well sprung and carried well

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 53

back towards the hook bones, as a long, weak back is
about the worst fault a Cheviot can have. His back must
be broad, and well covered with mutton ; his hind- quarters
full, straight, and square ; the tail well hung, and nicely
fringed with wool. His legs must stand squarely from the
body (bent hocks either out or in, the latter especially,
are looked upon as a weakness) ; the bone must be broad
and flat, and all must be covered with short, hard, white
hair. He ought to grow a fleece weighing 10 or 12 lbs.
of fairly fine wool, densely grown and of equal quality.
Coarseness on the top of the hooks is a decided blemish ;
the wool should meet the hair at the ears and cheeks
in a decided ruffle ; bareness there or at the throat is
inadmissible, and it should grow nicely down to the hocks
and knees. The belly and breast should be well covered.
The same description, when modified, will also apply to
ewes, which will weigh 100 lbs. to 150 lbs. Cheviots, when
in a natural state, must grow finer wool, as hard feeding
inclines to make it stronger, but it must be stiff" and dense,
and not too short. A hill flock should clip on the average
4j lbs. each. If wedders are kept that average will be
increased. A lot of draft ewes when fed moderately fat
will weigh from 95 to 100 lbs., and old wethers 160 lbs.
live weight. It must always be remembered that along
with feeding qualities Cheviots must embody great hardi-
hood and milking properties, for they are expected to stand
privations in their native hills in hard winters and back-
ward springs ; for if once they are bred too soft to live
and bring lambs on their own ground, they either die off
and the cast cannot be kept up, or their owners have to incur
great expense in taking grass parks or other keep, which,
with wool at its present price, is a ruinous business. The
perfect Cheviot is one which will live and thrive well on
the hardest keep, and when taken to lower and better
ground prove itself equal to the occasion by growing larger
and becoming fat. The ewes are prolific and are good
nurses. The fleece, of soft wool of medium length, weighs

54 SHEEP.

on an average about 4I lbs. Ewes when fat generally weigh
from 14 to 18 lbs. per quarter dead weight; wethers 18 to
20 lbs. per quarter at three years old. The mutton is
of good quality, and the sheep cross well with other breeds.

HERDWICK.

This breed is chiefly maintained on the mountains of
Cumberland and Westmoreland, and there are also a few
flocks in Wales. It has been stated that about the tin^e
of the Spanish Armada, " forty small sheep managed to
save themselves from the wreck of a Spanish vessel stranded
on the sandy coast of Drigg, and were claimed as jetsam
and flotsam by the then lord of the manor," and it has
been alleged that from these the present breed is descended.
Mr. J. C. Bowstead gives the following description of the
points of the Herdwick : A heavy fleece of fairly strong
wool, disposed to be hairy on the top of the shoulder,
growing well down to the knees and hocks, pole and belly
well covered ; a broad, bushy tail, and a well defined
toppin, head broad, nose arched or Roman, nostrils and
mouth wide, teeth broad and short, jaws deep, eye promi-
nent and lively, and in the ram defiant, ears white, fine,
and erect, always moving. The body cylindrical, placed
well inside the legs, not on the top of them — i.e. the
body should be near the ground, back not too long, to be
ribbed up nearly to the hook. Chest broad and deep ;
shoulders sloping ; neck strong and carried well up, arms
and thighs thick and muscular, knees large, fore-legs
strong, but with fetlock well defined, feet large, hind-legs
thick and well covered with bristles pointing upwards. As
regards colour or markings of the face and legs, there
should be no spots or speckles nor any brown, as these
are considered sure tokens of a cross. When the lambs
are born their legs and heads should be perfectly black,
with the exception of a little white on the tips of the ears
and perhaps a few white hairs round the feet ; these white

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 55

hairs gradually increase, so that at six months old one-
third or half the ear will be " hoar-frosted " ; and there
will be distinct bands of the same round the feet shading
off to the black of the leg, and by this time also about
an inch of the muzzle will have become frosted too. This
change of colour goes on until some at the age of three
years are perfectly white, others remain a kind of steel-
grey. Horns in the ram are desirable but not essential,
and they undoubtedly add much to his appearance, but
otherwise they are not much valued. When present they
should rise out well at the back of the head, be smooth
and well curled. White hoofs are much preferred. The
wethers at three and four years old, and also the fat ewes,
may weigh from 12 to 18 lbs. per quarter, and the mutton
is of fine quality, while the small joints and lean character
of the meat are recommendations.

WELSH MOUNTAIN.

The breed of sheep kept in the higher mountains of
Wales are very much the same as they have been from
time immemorial, attempts at crossing with improved
varieties having failed. In the lowlands, however, including
the finer pastures, the type of sheep has been altered,
the size having increased and the quality of early maturity
having been imparted by the introduction of fresh blood.
The characteristics of the mountain sheep have been thus
described by Mr. ^Morgan Evans : They are principally
white-faced, but some have rusty brown faces, some
speckled and others grey. The males are horned and the
ewes usually hornless, though they sometimes have very
short horns and are occasionally found with horns equal in
size to those of the rams. The poll is generally clean,
but sometimes a tuft is found on the forehead of the ram.
The head is small and carried well up ; the neck is long
and the poll high. The shoulders' are low, the chest is
narrow, the girth small, and the ribs are fiat. The

56 SHEEP.

rump is high, and the tail long. The average weight of
the ewes is about 7 lbs. per quarter; the wethers weigh,
at three years old, 9 lbs. to 10 lbs. per quarter dead
weight. The mutton is famous for its delicacy, and is
held in high esteem in the London markets, taking rank
with Scotch Blackfaced and Southdown. The average clip
of wool is about 5 113s. per fleece ; the quality as a rule
is fine, but in some districts it is coarse and m.ixed with
long hairs about the neck and back. The ewes generally
produce only a single lamb, but are excellent nurses.
Crosses of Welsh sheep with Leicesters or Downs are found
valuable in the lowlands, and many Welsh sheep are sent
to English counties to breed fat lambs.

In the county of Radnor, on the hills of Brecon, and in
the western part of Montgomery and parts of Merioneth,
there is a breed of the native dark-faced sheep of Wales —
a hardy, active race, developed by good management and
selection into animals of larger size than the ordinary
mountain sheep, and carrying heavier fleeces. They have
been improved by the introduction of Shropshire and of
Leicester blood. They have black faces, but many are of
a tan, grimy, or grey colour, and some, of questionable
purity of strain, have faces partly white. The rams are
horned, and the ewes should be hornless. They are short-
legged, light in fore-quarter, and, though slow feeders, yield
mutton of excellent flavour. At three or four years old
the wethers make 14 lbs or 15 lbs. per quarter dead
weight; the wool, of fine quality, weighs 4 lbs. or 5 lbs.
per fleece. The ewes are prolific and very good nurses.

CLUN FOREST.

This breed is cultivated in the Clun district of Shrop-
shire, the south of Radnorshire, and the adjoining portions
of Montgomery. It is of mixed origin, the Ryeland,
Shropshire, and Welsh breeds having been used with the
native tan-face sheep to produce it, and there is no fixed

BRITISH BREEDS OE SHEEP. S7

idea as to the true type. Some breeders advocate a black
face, others a mottled face, while many prefer the tan or
fawn-coloured face, with an occasional white spot. The
mutton and wool are of excellent quality, while the sheep
have hardy constitutions. The ewes are good nurses,
and when crossed with a Shropshire ram they produce
Easter fat lamb which will weigh, i'^ kept till early summer,
17 lbs. to 18 lbs. per quarter. Ewes and two-year-old
vrethers weigh about 28 lbs. per quarter. In the best
flocks the fleece weighs 6 to 9 lbs. for ewes, and from
10 to II lbs. for rams.

EXMOOR.

This breed is native to the lofty hill region of West
Somerset, and it is conjectured that they are of the same
race as the old Mendip sheep, which were once prevalent
over the higher hill ranges of the south-western portion
of the island. They have white faces and legs, taper horns
curving downward and outward ; close-set, long-stapled
fleeces, with wool well up to their cheeks ; peculiarly
rounded instead of square - formed carcase; broad loins,
though with slack girth behind the shoulder, and high
necks ; they are celebrated for their fine-flavoured mutton,
and for their hardy constitution, which enables them to
endure great cold and privations during protracted falls of
snow. The ewes are prolific and excellent nurses, but
the breed feed slowly. The common sorts, fat at three or
four years old, weigh 12 to 15 lbs. per quarter; and the
fleece weighs 5 to 6 lbs. In the more carefully bred
flecks, eighteen - months - old wethers weigh 20 lbs. per
quarter, while older sheep make 28 lbs. per quarter. The
wool in the well-bred sheep also shows considerable
improvement.

DAE.TMOOR.

The Dartmoor, probably of the same original stock as
the Exmoor, has been more crossed, particularly with the

58 SHEEP.

South Devon sheep, and has attained to greater size. The
breed should have good bone, curly coat, rich skin, thick
ear, good top-knot, and speckled face. The ewes are
excellent mothers, and the lambs fatten rapidly. Like the
Exmoors they have hardy constitutions, and are well
adapted for the exposed situations which they occupy.
They carry a good fleece of wool.

LONK.

This mountain breed is of large size, and if less hardy
than the Black-faces, they are yet well adapted for the fells
of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and parts of Derbyshire,
where they have for long been cultivated. The face and
legs are streaked with black and white ; the yellow horns
are strong and curled, but finer than those of the Black-face.
They have long carcases, with somewhat light fore-quarter
and narrow loin. The wool is much superior to that of the
Black-face, and weighs on an average 4J lbs. to 5 lbs., but
better-fed animals clip 7 lbs. to 8 lbs., and even up to 11
lbs. is recorded for selected specimens. Three-year-old
wethers make 18 lbs. per quarter dead weight, but show
sheep will attain to double that weight. The mutton is
close-grained and well mixed.

LIMESTONE.

The home of this breed is in the lower districts of
Westmoreland and in some of the Derbyshire hills. The
males and females are horned, and the faces, legs, and wool
are white. The wool is very long. The sheep are hardy
and active, Shearling wethers on ordinary pasture will
weigh 18 lbs. to 21 lbs. per quarter, at nineteen to twenty-
one months old, and highly-fed ewes make up to 28 lbs.
per quarter. The quality of the mutton is choice. The
ewes come in season at any time, and can thus be used for
breeding Christmas fat lamb.

BRITISH BREEDS OF SHEEP. 59

PENISTONE.

This breed derives its name from a market town between
Sheffield and Huddersfield, and it is to be found on the
borders of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire, on a
heathy tract of land about twenty-six miles in length by
twenty in breadth. The wool is of medium length and of
a silky appearance, but rather harsh and wiry ; the fleece
weighs from 4 lbs. to 5 lbs. The wethers average in weight
15 lbs. to 16 lbs. per quarter. The faces and legs are
white, and the rams have horns, which lie close to the head
and project forward.

SHETLAND.

A hardy and active little breed of sheep is found in the
island from which it takes its name. The wool is fine and
soft, and the mutton is of good quality. These sheep
have backward -curving horns; fleece of a black, brown,
grey, or white colour, and considerably mixed with hair.
The fleece becomes detached from the skin at the
commencement of the summer, and the wool is pulled
off" by hand. The weight of the fleece is not often above
2 lbs., and the wool is much valued for the fabrication of
hosiery goods. When fattened the sheep make about
10 lbs. a quarter as an extreme weight.

CHAPTER V.
THE MERINO.

This book does not profess to deal with the sheep of the
world, and having described all the known British breeds,
we might now proceed to discuss the subjects of breeding,
rearing, and management, for the Merino is kept only by
a few breeders in these islands. But this remarkable
breed has played such a prominent part in foreign
countries and in our own colonies, in connection with
the development of the sheep industry, that it is necessary
to make a brief allusion to the most wonderful of all the
varieties of the domesticated ovine races. Nor can the
history of the Merino be disregarded by the British
breeder, inasmuch as it has exercised an enormous
indirect influence upon his position. By the aid of this
breed the flockmasters of new countries have been
enabled to flood the European manufacturing centres with
wool, so that the price of this article has been much
depreciated. On the other hand, as time goes on it is
found that, unless some return can also be made from the
carcase, the keeping of sheep will not pay. The IMerino
is a bad mutton sheep, and to improve its character in
that respect recourse is had to our long-wooUed breeds,
and the foreign trade for rams is in a large measure owing
to the poor character of the Merino as a mutton producer.
As to the origin of the Merino hardly anything is known.

THE MERINO. 6i

But the wool of Spain has from the earliest times been
greatly celebrated. During the Middle Ages and the
Saracen occupation of Spain, the woollen manufactures of
that country were renowned throughout all Europe. After
the expulsion of the Moors from Spain its manufactures fell
into a state of decay ; and the introduction of the Merino
sheep into Saxony, France, Australia, and America, has de-
prived Spain of the monopoly which she once held.

Two varieties of sheep appear to have prevailed in
Spain, corresponding to our Longwools and Shortwools ;
but it is with the Merinos alone that we propose to deal.
These were called Stationary and Migratory. The
Stationary Merinos are chiefly found in the pastures
scattered amongst the Guadarrama mountains, the Somo
Sierra ranges, and the whole country of Segovia, and hence
they are sometimes called Segovia Merinos. They pro-
duce beautiful wool, but they have not the same reputation
as the Migratory Merinos, which, says Dr. Bowman,
in his valuable book on "The Structure of the Wool Fibre,"
are the most celebrated sheep in the world, and excel
all others in the fineness of the quaUty of the wool. We
follow Dr. Bowman's account of these sheep. They are,
he says, small in size, with flat sides, narrow chests, and
long legs. The first impression made by their appearance is
not, as a rule, favourable ; the wool lying closer and thicker
over the body than in most other breeds of sheep; and,
being abundant in yolk, which is an oily fatty secretion
mixed with the wool, is covered with a dirty crust, often
full of cracks. The legs are long, yet small in bone ; the
breast and back are narrow ; the fine shoulders and bosoms
are heavy \ and too much of their weight is carried on the
coarser parts. The horns of the male are comparatively
large, curved, and with more or less of a spiral form. The
head is large, but the forehead rather low. A few of the
females are horned, but as- a rule they are not. Both male
and female have a peculiar coarse and unsightly growth cf
hair on the forehead and cheeks, which is cut away before

62 SHEEP.

shearing time. The other part of the face has a pleasing
and characteristic velvety appearance. Under the throat
there is a singular looseness of skin, which gives a re-
markable appearance of throatiness or hoUowness in the
neck. The fleece when pressed upon is hard and, un-
yielding. This arises from the thickness of the yolk, which
retains all the dirt and gravel which fall upon it. The
wool, however, when examined, exceeds in fineness and
in the number of curves and serratures which it presents,
that of any other sheep in the world. The average weight
of the fleece in Spain is 8 lbs. from the ram, and 5 lbs.
from the ewe. The staple varies in length in different
provinces. The wool is usually white, but darker on the
legs, faces, and ears. These migratory sheep are divided
into two classes, the Leonese and the Sorians. The
former are the more valuable. For a long time the laws
of Spain were very strict in regard to the exportation of
these sheep, so as to prevent their introduction into
foreign countries, and indeed at one time they were
prohibitive, the penalty being death in case of discovery.
About 1723, however, they were introduced into Sweden,
but they have not flourished well in that country, probably
on account of the coldness of the climate, which is not
in favour of the growth of fine wool. Shortly afterwards
they were introduced into France. Subsequently in 1786
some three hundred were added. These became the
objects of Royal care, and through a system of care and
breeding assumed a change of type, and became the
source of the French Merino. The Elector of Saxony
introduced Merinos from Spain in 1765, and in 1775 they
were also taken into Austria, in both of which countries
they have flourished in a remarkable manner, so much so
that the German Merinos now more than rival the Spanish
in the quality of the wool. The two classes of sheep which
were introduced into Saxony and Austria are still perfectly
distinct. The Saxon breed is called the Escurial. These
sheep have longer legs than the Austrian, with a long,

THE MERINO. 63

spare neck and head, having very little wool upon it ; but
the wool is shorter, finer, and softer in the fleece, which
weighs from ij to 2 lbs. in the ewes, and 2 to 3 lbs. in
the wethers and rams. The Austrian Merinos are called
Infantado or Negretti, and have shorter legs than the
Saxon, with a comparatively short head and neck, and
short turned-up nose. The wool grows upon the head
as far as the eyes, and down to the feet upon the legs.
The wool is very thick in the fleece, and often very matted
and tangled, while the yolk upon the wool is so stiff as
to render washing difficult. When cleaned, however, the
wool is very fine and long. The weight of the fleece is
from 2\ to 3^ lbs., and 4 to 6 lbs. in wethers and rams.
These sheep, especially the Saxon, are very tender, and
require most careful attention, both in regard to the
pastures upon which they feed, and the nature of the
pasture ground. They are always housed at night, even
in the summer, except during the very finest weather, and
are never returned to the pasture till the dew is off the
grass. During the winter they are kept entirely within
doors, and fed with hay, straw, and corn. The Merino
sheep were in 17 91 introduced into England by George
III., although a few had been secured earfier, and the
breed is still retained by a few owners. Although the
quality of the wool on the English Merinos was quite equal
to that obtained in their native country, it was found that
they did not possess one of the qualifications which in
this country is essential, viz., the principle of early
maturity, and the general propensity to fatten. No doubt,
however, crosses with the Merino have much improved
the quality of the wool of several of our native breeds.

The shipment of Spanish Merinos to the United States,
remarks Mr. J. H. Sanders in his book on " The Breeds of
Live Stock," began in 180 1-2, and between that date and the
year 181 2, large numbers, probably as many as twenty thou-
sand, were landed and scattered, chiefly through the New
England and Atlantic States. A large proportion of the

•64 SHEEP.

Merino flocks of the United States, descendants of the
importations from Spain, were subsequently interbred
with the Saxon and French varieties, until many of the
characteristics of these were engrafted upon American
flocks. By far the largest number of sheep in the
Australian Colonies, in the Argentine Republic, in the
United States of America, and at the Cape of Good Hope,
are of this breed. " The fineness of the wool-fibre, the
lustre of the hair, the unrivalled felting properties, and the
great strength of the fibre in proportion to its diameter, all
combine to render the Merino a typical wool ; and the
fact that admixture with almost all other races of sheep
introduces many of its characteristics into their wool, as
well as renders them capable of extension over a very
wide geographical range, has made the Merino sheep one
of the most valuable of all domesticated animals, and one
which has rendered the very greatest service to the cause
of human civilisation."

CHAPTER VI.

DISTRIBUTION OF BREEDS AND CROSSES.

The localities in which the various breeds of sheep are
chiefly maintained are, to some extent, indicated by their
names, which in the majority of cases are derived from the
districts in which they originated. But in addition to the
pure breeds there are numerous crosses ; some farmers find-
ing it to be more economical and profitable in breeding for
the market to combine the merits of two distinct varieties.
However, by far the largest number of the sheep population
of the British Islands consist of specimens of pure breeds.
It may be interesting to note here that the following counties
possess the greatest number of sheep : York, 1,983,763 ;
Lincoln, 1,341,672; Northumberland, 1,042,693; Kent,
1,027,684; Devon, 995,899; Wilts, 626,659; Dorset,
43 1 J 75 7 i Cornwall, 477>55i ; Cumberland, 561,604; Hants,
464,904; Norfolk, 613,418; Salop, 523,689; Somerset,
624,448; Suffolk, 474,747 ; Sussex, 515,985 ; Northampton,
477,770; Brecon, 460,888; Merioneth, 406,310; Argyll,
1,042,043; Dumfries, 516,106; Inverness, 677,672; Perth,
764,739; Roxburgh, 504,642.

To indicate roughly the localities of the breeds we may
begin with the northern division of the Island. In the
north of Scotland the Blackfaced variety predominates, with,
however, a number of flocks of Cheviots and a sprinkling of
other breeds, such as the Border Leicester and Shropshire.

£

66 SHEEP.

In the Lowlands of Scotland the Cheviots, Border Leicesters,
and Blackfaced are the principal breeds; certain districts
crossing the Cheviot and Border Leicester rather extensively.
In Norihumberland and Cumberland, Cheviots and Border
Leicesters, with their crosses, prevail. The Herdwicks are
found on the hills of Cumberland and Westmoreland. South
Northumberland, Durham, and the Yorkshire moors, together
with the Peak district of Derbyshire, have Blackfaced sheep ;
the hills of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire are occupied
by the Limestone sheep, while the Lonks are found in the
valleys. There are crosses of the Blackfaced and Leicester
in the poorer arable districts of Durham and North Yorkshire.
In East Yorkshire and other parts of the broad-acred county
there are Leicesters, and the Wensleydales are also a favourite
variety. In parts of Notts, Hants, Rutland, Northampton,
South Derbyshire, and Leicestershire, the Leicester is chiefly
found. The Lincoln sheep is cultivated to perfection in
Lincolnshire, and extends to some of the adjoining counties.
The Shropshire is the great breed of the Western ]\Iidlands ;
the Cotswold leads in Gloucestershire and parts of Hereford-
shire, Oxfordshire, and Monmouth; the Oxford Down in
Oxfordshire, Berks, Bedford, Bucks, and Herts ; the Hamp-
shire Down in Wiltshire and Hampshire; the Southdown
in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent; the Romney Marsh in the
rich pastures of that name in Kent ; the Suffolk in Suffolk,
Essex, and Norfolk; the Dorset Horn in Dorset and Somerset;
the Devon Longwool in Devonshire, with the Exmcor and
Dartmoor in their own regions. In Wales there are the
various breeds peculiar to the principaHty. There is only
one special breed in Ireland, the Roscommon ; the other
sorts kept being Lincolns, Border Leicesters, Shropshires,
and their crosses.

It is hardly necessary to explain that although we have,
in the foregoing, given a very general indication as to the
districts in which the various breeds are found, yet there
are flocks of the more popular varieties scattered all over the
country — thus the Shropshire is now found in many places

DISTRIBUTION OF BREEDS AND CROSSES. 67

outside the West Midlands, and even in Scotland and
Ireland there are a number of very fine flocks. The South-
down has extended to Cambridgeshire (where the celebrated
Babraham and Streetly Hall flocks were maintained) and to
Norfolk, where the Merton flock made a great mark in the
show-yards. Then in Norfolk also we find good flocks of
Cotswolds, and representatives of one or other classes will
be met with all over the country.

£ 2

CHAPTER VII.

SELECTION AND MATING.

It has already been mentioned that breeders of sheep
have devoted the greatest attention to selection. In no
variety of domesticated animals, indeed, have more re-
markable results been achieved by the application of
scientific principles of breeding than has been the case with
sheep. The notices of the various breeds prove this very
distinctly, for many of them have been developed in
comparatively recent times. Occasionally we meet with
the statement that all the Longwool breeds are simply
modified Leicesters, and that all the Shortwool races are
equally indebted to the Southdown ; but nothing could be
more misleading than this sweeping rendering of the facts,
because, while, as has been shown, the Leicester and the
Southdown have unquestionably exercised a powerful in-
fluence, they certainly have not obliterated all the character-
istics of the original breeds. Thus we find in the newer breeds
not only the mark of the Leicesters or the Southdowns, but
also the best features of the old races with which they have
been incorporated. Only so much of the Leicester or
Southdown blood has been infused as has been found desir-
able, in order to impart the special qualities of early maturity,
or choice mutton, or fine wool, according as either of
these properties was desired. Breeders of sheep, while they
have thus displayed their capacity to adapt their flocks to the

SELECTION AND MA TING. 69

requirements of the day, have carefully husbanded the best
points of the old races. They have always kept steadily in
view the needs of the market, whether in reference to mutton,
to size, or to wool. If the public became tired of having fat
mutton, flock-masters at once set about rearing for lean flesh ;
if foreign competition flooded the markets with large joints,
and the best prices were consequently paid for smaller
carcases, then the breeders adapted their stock accordingly ;
and if fashion brought into vogue a new description of
fabric, the wool has been altered to meet the demand. We
therefore see in the cultivation of sheep the most in-
telligent adaptation of the principles of breeding to the
necessities of the tim.e. It is this close touch ^\ith
market needs that has led to the production of so many
varieties and to the rapid charges in their character. It
will probably be found that these alterations will still go on,
as there is very little chance that sheep-breeding will ever
be merely the working out of a stereotyped plan. Doubtless,
as in the past, the owners of flocks will respond as quickly
as ever to the call of the market. In short, the breeders of
sheep have been the masters of the laws of breeding, and
have steadfastly resisted any attempts to be placed in the
fetters of custom ; they have used the principles of breeding
to further their own ends, and, as we have said, are likely
to continue to do so. At the time of writing (1893) the
importations of foreign mutton are very large, as they have
been for some years. In this way there is an abundant
supply of cheap wholesom.e food, \Ahich however lacks the
flavour and quality of the home-bred mutton, and those who
can afford it will always give a higher price for the latter.
The object, therefore, of the home breeder is to produce the
very best description of mutton, for which there is an in-
creasing demand. At the same time foreign nations resort
to the United Kingdom for home-bred rams and ewes of
the mutton and wool producing varieties, and this trade is
also extending, so that despite the severe pressure of com-
petition the flock-masters in this country have still encourage-

7c SHEEP.

ment to persevere in the work of improvement, and to
maintain and enhance the reputation of our breeds of sheep.

In the selection and mating of sheep, the same rules
of course apply as in the case of other domesticated animals.
An elaborate discussion of these principles is unnecessary
in this treatise, but it may be briefly stated that the law
of heredity and its various modifying circumstances, such
as atavism or "throwing back" to remote ancestors, must
always be kept in view. The merit of a flock can be
maintained and increased by a rigorous drafting of ewes
that do not reach a high standard of merit in respect of
robust constitution, perfection of form, or excellence of
quality, and by the selection of rams suited to the character
of the flock. A great deal can be done in the direction of
obliterating undesirable qualities by introducing rams that
are strong in the points in which the ewes may be defective.
The gradual building up of a high-class flock necessitates
constant care, and affords an opportunity for the display
of the breeder's art in all its branches. Time, trouble, and
money are necessarily involved, but the return, if there is
no ruinous outbreak of disease, is as certain as it can be
as regards any class of stock.

In his "Observations on Live Siock," written at the
end of the last century, George CuUey, with the Dishley
Leicester in his eye, gave the following description of what
he regarded as a perfect male specimen of the breed : his
head should be fine and small; his nostrils wide and ex-
panded ; his eyes prominent, or rather bold and daring ;
his ears thin ; his collar full from his breast to his shoulders
but tapering gradually all the way to where the neck and
head join, which should be very fine and graceful, and
perfectly free from any coarse leather hanging down; the
shoulders should be broad and full, and at the same time
joining so imperceptibly to the collar forward and the chine
backward as not to leave the least hollow in either place.
The muscular development (or mutton as it is called) upon
the arm and fore-thigh must come quite to the knee; the

SELECTION AND MATING. 71

legs should be upright with a clean, fine bone, and from
the knee and hough downwards equally clear from super-
fluous skin and coarse hairy wool ; the breast should be
broad and advanced well forward, separating widely between
the fore-limbs ; the chest should be full and deep, with
no falling in behind the shoulders ; the back and loins
should be straight, flat, and broad; the ribs rising from
the spine, with a fine circular arch ; the belly should be
straight, not bagging ; the quarters long and full, well fleshed
down to the hough; the houghs should stand parallel,
neither in nor out ; the twist or junction of the inside
of the thighs wide and proportionate to the distance of
the fore-arms ; so that the pillars of support accord in due
symmetry with each other, well supporting a rounded
and developed volume of carcase. The pelt should be
moderately thin, and the wool fine, bright, and soft. The
nearer any breed of sheep, added Mr, Culley, comes up
to this description, the nearer it approaches towards
excellence of form.

The author of the first edition of this book furnished a
similar description of a typical Southdown, "which so far
as mutton is concerned, to our taste at least is almost
unrivalled." The head is small, compact, and hornless ;
the face of moderate length, and, to use a sculptor's phrase,
neatly outlined and chiselled; the lips being thin and
definite, and the space between the nostrils narrow but
sharp. The face should be dashed with brownish gray ;
the forehead, the ears, and the space between the ears well
covered with wool. The eye should be clear and bright,
but not prominent. The neck should have a graceful
tourfiure, thin at its junction with the head, but enlargening
towards the shoulders and chest. The breast should be
prominent, wide, and deep. The set-on of the shoulder-
blades should be oblique, and the ribs should arch boldly,
so as to produce a well-barrelled carcase. The loin should
be broad and flat, the rump long and broad, the tail set-on
high, that is, on a level with the back, the hips wide, and

72 SHEEP.

close up to the last rib on each side. The belly should
be well supported and straight, and also covered with wool.
The limbs should be far apart, muscular, and full; the
shanks clean, fine-boned, well-knit, and covered with short
woolly hair of a rusty grey or brown tint. The fleece
should be short, close, fine, curled, and free from kemps
or projecting hairs.

We may quote another remark of Culley's which is of
general application : *' In all animals, of whatsoever kind,
those which have the smallest, cleanest, finest bones are in
general the best proportioned, and covered with the best
and finest grained meat. I believe they are also the
hardiest, healthiest, and most inclinable to feed, able to
bear the most fatigue while living, and worth the most per
pound when dead."

In the starting and building up of a breeding flock, the
soil will exercise a great influence. There are, of course,
exceptions, but generally light soils, where these are derived
from the limestone strata, as the chalk, oolite, etc., are the
most suitable for breeding. " Sandy or gravelly land is also
healthy, but the natural food, probably from the insufficiency
of lime, is less suitable for young stock, and care must be
exercised to keep up the fertility by a sufficient addition of
such elements as are deficient. Strong land, though growing
under good management the best of food, is not, even when
thoroughly drained, suitable for a breeding farm. It is the
nature of the soil, as to texture and the presence or absence
of lime and phosphoric acid, rather than climate that
determines suitability or otherwise for breeding. Climate
is also an important element, but a suitable breed can be
found for the differences that exist in the British Islands."
It is always safest to adopt the breed or class of sheep that
prevails in a particular district, as these have been acclima-
tised, and there is a smaller amount of risk than when a new
breed is imported. Some varieties are now, however,
rendered suitable for widely varying situations, but the
farmer who introduces an untried breed must — as experi-

SELECTION AND MATING, y^

menters generally have to do — buy his experience, which is
sometimes a rather costly acquisition.

As this little book will probably fall into the hands of
beginners, they will find some useful hints in the following
from a paper that was contributed to the Live Stock Jour?ial
Almanac, by Mr. Edwin Ellis, Summersbury, Guildford, a
successful breeder and exhibitor of Southdowns : " Let the
beginner first visit the principal summer shows, watch the
judging, and examine the sheep for himself, taking notes as
he does so for future reference. Let him compare the
judgments at various shows and form his own opinion?,
irrespective of the prize-taking. If he is unable to come to
the same conclusions as the judges do, let him get some
practical, experienced, and unprejudiced man to go through
the pens with him, and reconsider the decisions in a fresh
light. He must not be afraid of holding to his own opinions
— if he has any worthy of the name — against 'a world in arras,'
nor must he forget that the decisions of the best men are not
infallible, to say nothing of the decisions of men who have
their special fads, or who 'love a title,' or always, if possible,
favour the district from which they come. After visiting
the summer shows, noting the peculiarities of different
flocks, and hearing the comments of experienced men, our
friend ought to have formed a clear notion of what the
model sheep should be. If he does not get this clearly
fixed in his mind, bad luck to him ; he will flounder about
in his future selections and purchases, and will be as unstable
as water. He should be able to say to himself, ' Now, I
have thoroughly made up my mind what my ideal ram is,
and what my ideal ewe is, and I am going to breed with my
eye firmly fixed on this.' This being done, if he has skill,
the eye of the breeder, and good fortune, he may hope to
realise his ideal, and to fix it in a permanent type. After
the above experience, some notion will have been obtained
of the special characteristics of the principal flocks in the
country, in so far as they are represented in the show-yards,
and if money were no object to the young aspirant, I say,

74 SHEEP.

'■ Go to the best flock you can find, and at any cost get the
best young ewes it contains if the owner will sell them.' But
this is not the way for the ordinary agriculturist. He
should feel that the usual autumn ewe and ram sales are the
best possible opportunities for him to get what he requires,
and at a very moderate price. As to the ewes, let him go
to such flocks as nearest approach his model, and select
such pens as he may consider best, bearing in mind form of
carcase, type, style, colour, and quality of wool. Asa rule,
he will find the best quality in the oldest draft ewes, and
these are the ones he should buy. Sometimes pens are
very badly drawn, and he may find himself obliged to buy
three indifferent ewes in order to get two good ones ; but if he
will make up his mind to get rid of the indifferent ones,
even at a small sacrifice, this does not matter much, such
ewes going generally at a very reasonable price. Neverthe-
less, it is a great mistake on the seller's part not to put
together well-matching pens, carefully assorted, as they
righdy attract attention and competition. In four cases out
of five, as I have previously said, the oldest ewes are the
best in the sale. They would not have been kept in the
flock so long had they not been considered first-class, and
consequently their age is in some respects their highest
recommendation. By attending some of the principal sales
a large number of good old ewes may be picked up for
very little money, and although they will vary more or less
in type and colour, yet this will soon be overcome in their
offspring by careful mating. Now, if judgment has been
exercised, there are collected together some of the finest
bred ewes in the country — capable of breeding lambs of the
best possible type — at a trifle over their value as mutton.
If there is now and then a broken mouth amongst them, a
little trouble in chopping the food will be amply repaid, and
even if the ewe only brings one lamb, that one may be
equal to the best of those left in the flock from which the
ewe came, provided it has been properly sired. As to rams,
the best possible animals should be obtained. As to

SELECTION AND MATING. 75

whether they are hired or bought signifies but little.
It will often be found cheaper to hire than to buy, as a
breeder may be able to spare an animal for one season
that he would be very reluctant to part with altogether.
In selecting a ram, always if possible see his mother.
I have known cases where a grand ram got poor progeny,
but never in those cases where the mother was perfect.
It is desirable to have a ram to every fifty ewes, and
the greatest skill is required in properly selecting the ewes
for each individual ram. To set oif the deficiencies of
one by the excellences of the other is the most responsible
task, but if carefully and cleverly done a uniformity of type
may soon be obtained which will not be surpassed in the
oldest of flocks."

It should be noted that a number of Sheep Societies
have been formed and Flock Books published. The
latter, however, in most cases register the pedigrees only
of rams — a wholly different system to that carried out in
reference to pure breeds of horses and cattle, in which
cases both sides of the pedigree are fully recorded.

CHAPTER VIII.

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING.

In the management and feeding of sheep such wide varia-
tions prevail in practice that it would be useless to lay
down rules that would profess to apply to all cases. We
shall therefore mention a number of facts of a general
character as regards breeding flocks, and then introduce a
description of the actual operations in a few typical
establishments.

The period of gestation of the sheep varies from 143 to
156 days, the usual period being 150 days. A table of
lambing is given below :

EWE

Will

S3, --r

When
Served.

Will
Produce

on 1

W>,<.n Will

on

Jan. I May 29
„ 14 June II

Feb. i| „ 29
„ 14 July 12

Mar. I ,,28
„ 14 Aug. 10

Apr. I

„ 14
May I

» 14
June I

», 14

Ang. 28
Sept. 10

Oct. 10

„ 28

Nov. 10

1

July I Nov. 27 Oct. i|Feb. 27
,, 14 Dec. 10 „ 14 Mar. i

Aug. i| „ 28 Nov. I „ 30
,, 14 Jan. 10 ,, 14 Apr. 12

Sept. I ,, 28 Dec. i „ 29
,, 14 Feb. 10 „ 14! May 12

The working year in a flock may, however, be said to
commence before the rams are put to the ewes. As soon as
the previous crop of lambs have been weaned in summer,
the ewes are carefully inspected, and imperfect specimens

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. yj

are drafted to be fattened for sale. Ewes are not usually
retained for breeding purposes after they are five years old,
even in pure-bred flocks, although, of course, there are
instances in which they are kept longer. As regards the
young ewes, they should not be put to the ram until they
reach the age of eighteen months, when they will have
attained a state of healthy maturity. In some flocks ewe
lambs are bred from, but the practice is not as a rule de-
sirable. The general plan is to use the rams when they are
shearlings, but in many flocks ram lambs are employed
with good results; and favourite rams, especially prize-
winners, are kept for several seasons. WheH the ewe flock
has thus been assorted by the feeding off of those that have
through age or infirmity become unfit, they are liberally fed
upon rich pasturage, or are supplied with turnips, or
cabbages, or kale. A run in a field of rape is recommended,
and also a bite of white mustard, while if green food cannot
be obtained, J lb. of oats or \ lb. of cake daily to each ewe
will effect the object which is desired — that is, to '-'flush"
the ewes and make them in such condition as that they will
readily take the ram. If the ewes, having been kept in
fairly good condition previously, are thus generously dealt
with for about ten days or a fortnight before the admission
of the ram, it is considered probable that the crop of lambs
will be more abundant, and doubles and triplets more
frequent than if the ewes were in poor condition at tupping
time. Of course, too, if treatment has been liberal all along
this extra stimulation will be unneeded.

The time when the rams are admitted to the ewes varies
according to the climate and system of husbandry in the
district. In some parts the first week in September is
chosen, but the season goes on in the late hilly districts
up to the last week in November, or early in December.
The guiding consideration is the conditions that will
prevail at lambing time. Thus, where the climate is
favourable, where there is good shelter and early food, the
breeding is arranged so that the Umbs are dropped in

j^ SHEEP.

February and early in ^larch. In the south and west of
England, in the case of the Southdown and Hampshire
Down flocks, the rams are admitted to the ewes at the end
of August and in September ; but in the northern counties
October is the usual month. The Dorset ewes lamb in
December, so that their tupping season is not later than
July. For raising early house lambs which will be fat
before Christmas, the ewes are put to the ram in May and
June. In hilly, moorland, and mountain districts, the season
is from the latter part of October to the end of November,
while upon the Welsh mountains, the Lake district, and the
Yorkshire fells, the month of December is begun before
the tupping has been completed.

One ram to sixty ewes is the usual proportion, if the
male animal is young, vigorous, and robust, while an older
ram will be allowed from thirty to forty ewes. The ewes
selected for each ram should be placed in a separate
enclosure to which the ram is admitted. The ram is dressed
underneath with dry red ochre, so that progress or want of
activity may be noticed by the marks left upon the ewes.
Calculation as to the date of the fall of lambs, whether
early or late in the season, is assisted by using upon the ram
red ochre for one week, blue ochre for the next, and another
colour for the following week. As the ewes are served they
should be marked with a small spot of paint, as this helps to
identify those that will lamb early.

The subsequent treatment of the ewes after the rams
have been removed, is the next matter. They should be
spread thinly over the clover leys and the pastures. The
object at this stage is to avoid the extremes, either of
allowing them to get into too high condition, or of stinting
them of proper nourishment. Fat ewes produce small
lambs, and are more liable to inflammation in lambing
than those that have bsen moderately kept. If, however,
the ewes should get into a weak state, owing to severe
weather or scarcity of food, they should be assisted before
lambing by the provision of a moderate supply of cut

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. 79

swedes, and a ration of one pound of oil-cake daily, by
which means condition will be maintained, and a more
abundant flow of milk will be promoted. The great aim
in managing in-lamb ewes should be, as has been indicated,
to keep them in fairly good condition all along. To allow
the ewes to run over the land to pick up the decaying
mangel or swede tops is very dangerous, and is frequently
the cause of abortion.

As the time for lambing approaches, a moderate
supply of pulped roots, mixed with straw chaff, with hay
accessible in cribs, forms a good food. Some give a daily
allowance of a mixture of crushed oats, beans, malt
coombs, and oil-cake ; but this is not generally considered
to be expedient, as the artificial food should be postponed
until after lambing. It is scarcely necessary to add that
ewes heavy in lamb should be gently treated, and that all
violent excitement, such as is frequently caused by over-
driving, or " dogging," should be prevented. Nor should
they be exposed to the inclemency of the weather,
especially to a combination of cold and wet. It is most
important to provide a firm and dry lair for the sheep.
Cold alone will not harm them if they are healthy.
Professor Wrightson very neatly summarises the rules for
the management of ewes in lamb, as follows : (i) a firm
and dry lair; (2) plenty of dry fodder, and (3) care,
gentleness, and regularity in treatment.

Where there is no permanent lambing-yard, a temporary
erection should be made, and in it the ewes can be
sheltered during the cold, rainy weather, or during heavy
snow-storms. These temporary lambing-pens, in the case
of large sheep-farms, are situated in convenient places with
regard to the subsequent feeding arrangements for the
flock. It is desirable to have the pens constructed on
a gentle slope towards the south, and the enclosure should
be of a simple and inexpensiv^e character, the materials
being a few poles and hurdles lined with straw. A portable
house should also be provided for the shepherd, as the

8o SHEEP.

time has now come for the exercise of his best abiUties, and
the property of the fiock-master is in a special manner
under his control.

If the ewes have been well managed from the time
when they were put to the ram, and are now in good
condition, the parturition will probably proceed without
much trouble ; but if the sheep have been neglected, this
is the time when the owner is likely to receive a severe
punishment for errors that may have been committed much
earlier in the season. Of course "bad luck" often visits
a flock in spite of the best management, and a calamitous
lambing season may be experienced among ewes that have
never known privation, and that have not been subjected
to carelessness. In any case there may be unavoidable
accidents. One of these results from false presentations.
The fcetus, if in the natural position, should be found with
the head resting upon the two fore-legs, and in that case
assistance is not required. The abnormal presentations
are as follows : (r) One fore-leg bent back; (2) Both fore-
legs bent back ; (3) Head fallen down between the fore-
legs ; (4) Head bent on one side, and laid along the side \
(5) Breech presentation ; (6) Lamb with legs upwards and
back downwards; (7) Back presentation; (8) Side pre-
sentation. In these cases assistance will have to be given
in delivering the ewe. Inflammation is another cause of
considerable loss, and there is also the plague of abortion.
After a bad time of lambing, oil, either castor or linseed,
should be given to the ewes, as, if the ewe is costive, it
often causes straining.

When the lamb has been born, the shepherd should clear
its rnouth of mucus. It is a general custom for shepherds
to blow into the lamb's mouth, as it is supposed that this
assists the youngster to draw its breath. The lamb is taken
to a crib in the lambing-pen, and will be followed by its dam.
The lamb will then get on its feet and suck the ewe, which
may receive a few swedes, or a mangel, or one or two white
or yellow turnips with a little hay. When a ewx has not a

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. 8l

sufficient supply of milk for her offspring, cow's milk may be
used; but it must be supplied with prudence, as it has a
tendency to upset the young animal. If the lamb is weak it
should be placed near a fire, and a teaspoonful of gin in a
little warm water, sweetened with moist sugar, may be given
with good results. Lambs are frequently affected with
diarrhoea, and in this case a teaspoonful of castor oil will be
beneficial.

Losses of ewes from inflammation after lambing are
frequent, these occurring as the result of difficult parturition.
Before assisting a ewe in lambing, when this is necessary,
the shepherd should anoint his hand with fresh lard or oil \
the hand should be scrupulously clean, and the finger-nails
short. Then when the lamb has been removed, about two
tablespoonfuls of carbolic acid and oil should be poured
into the womb, while any of the external parts which seem
to be inflamed should be smeared with the same mixture.
This treatment should be repeated every three or four
hours as may be found to be necessary. The strength of
the carbolic mixture should be regulated thus : from five to
twenty parts of Gallipoli oil to one of Calvert's best carbolic
acid, according to the symptoms of the case.

During the first fortnight lambs subsist entirely upon m.ilk,
but they very soon begin to nibble at food. The ewe should
be liberally fed in order that her milk may be both plentiful
and rich, and an allowance of one pound of cake per head per
day may be given in addition to hay and turnips. In the Hamp-
shire district the ewes after lambing get mangels with hay
chaff for about ten days in the lambing pen, and in addition
to this food the ewes having tup lambs or couples receive
either one pint of oats or one pound of cake ; but unless
roots are scarce the remaining ewes are denied artificial food.
At the expiration of ten days or a fortnight the ewes and
lambs go on turnips, and remain there until March 20th.
About this date the ewes and lambs go into the water
meadows by day and are folded at night on swedes for the
first fortnight or so, and afterwards on Italian rye grass or

82 SHEEP.

occasionally on rye and winter oats which have been sown
where rye grass has failed. This treatment is continued until
the middle of May, when the lambs are weaned. Vetches
are also a valuable food for sheep on arable land. Care
should be taken that the food is not too luxuriant. The
sudden transfer of lambs from bare to rich pasturage is a
great error in management, and causes much loss.

The period for weaning the lambs varies. The improved
breeds remain with the ewes for the shortest time, and with
mountain sheep a longer period is given. The time ranges
generally from May to July.

The male lambs that are intended for feeding for the
butcher, are castrated when they are from two to three
weeks old. Sometimes these, as well as the other lambs,
are docked or tailed at the same time, but it is held
that this treatment is too severe, and it certainly seems
to be desirable that there should be an interval between
the two operations.

Shearing takes place in May or June, and in flocks
that have been on arable land the clipping of the fleece
is usually preceded by washing the sheep, but this practice,
which involves a certain amount of cruelty and a good
deal of trouble, is not increasing in popularity, and there is
no apparent reason why it should do so. It has been
the custom for wool buyers to offer a very low price for
unwashed wool, but recent discoveries in the manu-
facture of woollen fabrics have tended to remove the
difficulties of dealing with the article that has not been
washed on the sheep's back. Moreover, the bulk of the
enormous imports of foreign and colonial wools reaches
the market in the grease. It is very important that wool
which has not been washed on the sheep's back should
be carefully sorted, and defective and dirty pieces removed.
With Scotch mountain sheep the practice of washing
is not carried out, but it may be necessary when sheep
have been turnip-fed on the land to wash at least a portion
of the flock. When the sheep are washed, an interval

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. 83

of eight or ten days should be allowed to elapse before
shearing, as the yolk will then to some extent rise again.
It is a curious circumstance that it is chiefly a valuable
constituent like the yolk which is washed away in the cold
bath into which the unfortunate sheep have been plunged.
The introduction of shearing machines will greatly lessen
the labour of removing the fleeces from sheep.

Dipping is resorted to in order to prevent the attacks of
parasites, and it is usually done twice a year, summer and
winter dips being prepared for the purpose. The first
dipping should take place in early summer soon after shear-
ing, and the second after the flock has been made up for
the winter. The dips are poisonous and non-poisonous, and
it must be left to the flock-master to decide as to which of
the numerous preparations that are in the market he will
select. It is important that the printed directions should
be strictly observed in using purchased dips.

In the foregoing notes we have given a general account
of the management of a breeding flock, but as we have
already explained, the details of practice vary so much that
it is impossible thus to describe the several methods
in a manner that would be likely to help the young breeder.
We therefore furnish a few notices by experienced breeders
of the methods of flock management as pursued in different
parts of the country, and here we avail ourselves of contri-
butions that have from time to time appeared in the Live
Stjck Journal.

Mr. Charles Howard, Biddenham, Bedford, a breeder
of Oxford Downs, says: The ewes are generally put to the
rams about the second week in August, and are from that
time, with the run of the stubbles, the scavengers of the
farm. I usually grow some white peas for the use of the
rams ; immediately these are harvested the stubble is
either ploughed or dragged, and mustard sown, which is
ready at the latter end of September,, and upon it the ewes
are folded at night. After this is disposed of, they run
on the grasses, and are folded at night upon the land where

F 2

84 SHEEP.

the mangels have been drawn. A few kohl rabi are
generally sown with the mangels, and are left for con-
sumption by the ewes. After this they generally consume
the cabbage sprouts, and are then supplied with some dry
food. Approaching lambing time they are placed in
comfortable yards at night, and have a supply of chaff and
straw, with some bran, oats, and mixed cake. Previous to
lambing I give them as few roots as possible. After
lambing they run upon grass adjoining the yards, and when
the lambs are strong enough they are placed upon the
roots, with lamb hurdles for the lambs to run forward on
the tops, and have a supply of bran, oats, and cake crushed
very small. I think it desirable to get them out of the
yards as soon as possible ; this of course depends upon the
weather and the strength of the lambs. After the turnips
are consumed they are placed upon winter oats and tares,
or the grasses, until the clovers are ready, the ewes being
plentifully supplied with wurzels. The lambs are weaned
in June, and are placed as soon as possible on the after-
maths of clovers and grasses, when a supply of cabbages
is drawn to them, which generally lasts until September,
when a few white turnips of an early variety are ready for
them, upon which they are folded at night. The feeding
tegs get permanently settled about the middle or latter
end of October upon roots, which are sliced for them, and
have a supply of clover chaff, and ^ to f lb. mixed cake
and split-peas, which is increased as the season advances
to I lb., being then composed of mixed cake, split-peas,
beans, peas, maize, and a little malt. The ram tegs are
somewhat more generously treated. The breeding ewe
tegs get a good supply of clover chaff, and about \ lb. of
mixed corn and cake. The feeding tegs are ready for
market between February and April, being between twelve
and fourteen months old. Those sold in the former month
are in the wool ; those in April are shorn, and weigh from
lo to 12 stone, and as they are of excellent quality they
command a good sale for the London market.

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. 85

The system of management in the flock of Hampshire
Downs that belonged to the late Mr. William Parsons,
West Stratton, Micheldever, was as follows : On the ist of
August the rams were turned with the ewes, care being
exercised as to suitable mating. At that time the ewes were
on late vetches, or rape, or aftermath clover, following the
ewe lambs, and they ran in the stubbles, but they did not
enter the young seeds. The lambs were fed on the seeds
during the day, and when the tares and clover were gone
they got, at night, a fold of rape and turnips, sown to-
gether. When the ewes had fed by day in the stubbles,
they followed the lambs at night and cleared up their
folds for them. At the end of September the whole flock
was folded on the lattermath sainfoin in the day-time (the
young animals going before), and on turnips at night.
This food often lasted until Christmas. When the sain-
foin was finished the lambs received turnips, and \ lb.
of cotton-cake. When lambing time approached, a little
before New Year's Day, the forward ewes were separated
from the others, lot by lot as they came on, and were placed
in a straw fold at night. As they lambed their places
were taken by others, and in about a week after lambing
the couples were put on turnips, with a straw fold at hand
for shelter in bad weather. Those ewes which had pro-
duced twins got T lb. of cake, and this quantity was in-
creased to 1 2 lbs. daily in the course of a month or six
weeks. The other ewes received \ lb. of cotton-cake, and
they all had in addition pea chaff, at the rate of two
bushels of 16 lbs. per bushel per hundred ewes. The twins
got corn as soon as they would eat it, with cake and
split -peas. The usual weaning time was the second or
third week in April. Until weaning, the ewes received as
many turnips as they would eat, with chaff in addition,
and swedes when the turnips were over.

Mr. Alfred Mansell, College Hill, Shrewsbury, thus
describes the management in a first-class flock of Shrop-
shires : The ewes are put to the ram early in September,

86 SHEEP,

so as to drop their lambs at the end of January or February.
The ewes at this period are kept on the second year's seeds,
or a fresh pasture is preferred, as the ewes go faster to the
ram. If any of the rams show inabiUty to perform their
work a teaser is used, and the ewes as they come on are brought
up to the ram. Should any of the ewes turn again several
tim.es and the season get far advanced, a ram lamb is re-
sorted to as a last resource and generally with success. The
breeding ewes run on old grass seeds or grass land in winter,
and receive daily a few whole turnips, about lo lbs. each.
When lambing commences they are folded at night. The
ewes and lambs are kept in for a day or so and receive a
few oats, bran, cut roots, and a little hay, and then go to the
young seeds, the twins as a rule getting the best pastures
and about half a pound of oats and bran per diem, and the
singles none. The lambs' ears are all punched numerically
for the purpose of keeping correct pedigrees, and when any
of these are passed into the breeding flocks metallic numbers
are used. The castration of the ram lambs takes place
when the lambs are six weeks to two months old, and con-
siderable care and judgment have to be used to select the
best lambs for breeding purposes. This seems to be a very
early period to select the rams, but if kept later the risk of
loss is much greater. The lambs are usually shorn, as it is
considered they grow faster, are freer from the fly, and do
better on turnips in winter as they do not carry so much dirt.
The shepherd, as an encouragement to do his best, gets a
bounty for every lamb over the number of ewes that are alive
on May ist. The lambs are usually weaned in May or June,
and divided into their respective classes, viz. rams, wethers,
and ewes ; and have a small allowance of peas and linseed-
cake cr aftermath seeds, and then go to the young seeds as
soon as cleared. This usually carries them to September,
and they then go on to rape or common turnips, and latterly
to swedes. The ram lambs, which are never close folded,
as it tends to fatten and not to develop muscular strength,

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. 87

only have at this period turnips cut, but subsequently the
turnips are cut for all, and as winter advances, the cake
and corn are gradually increased and clover is given in the
racks at night. These are the cheapest and best racks I
have ever seen, being very light and durable. They simply
consist of 9 inch by i inch deal boards, with about 2 feet
6 inches upright spars of i|- inch by i inch deal, with
a light rail on top, both of which are carried round at the
ends to join the two sides together, and should not cost
more than ten shillings each. The wethers are sold off by
February, and usually weigh about 20 lbs. per quarter. The
shearling ewes and rams are kept on turnips until the land is
wanted for barley sowing, and the rams intended for show
purposes are shorn as soon as April comes in and housed,
the remainder running out a month or so longer. The
rams then get mangels, hay, and a daily allowance of corn,
and as the year advances vetches and cabbages come in, and
the allowance of corn is, if possible, lessened.

Mr. Edwin EUis, Summersbury, Guildford, in his
Southdown flock, finds that the ewes do not begin to
take the ram until the latter part of August, so that lambing
commences early in February and is completed by the end
of March. When the ewes have gone half their time, they
are well fed, receiving a little hay, and sometimes a few
oats, but no roots if they can be avoided. After lambing
they are very liberally fed — good hay, swedes, and swede tops
if there are any, and sometimes a few mangels being given.
It is considered that mangels are better than swedes for
milk. The ewes are driven into a fold if the weather is
bad, otherwise they do better in the open field. Directly
the lambs begin to feed, they have a pen into which they
can run, and sliced swedes, corn, and cake are given them.
If there is a large proportion of twins, a separate flock
is made, and the ewes have some corn in addition to their
other food. The lambs are generally about twelve or
fourteen weeks eld when they are weaned. When the

88 SHEEP,

lambs are taken away, careful attention is given to the
ewes' udders for the next few days, otherwise great pain
and possibly inflammation may be caused by the milk.
The lambs are kept on tares, trifolium, thousand-headed
kale, and clover, each in its turn ; and if it is found
practicable to give a change of food to the ram lambs it
is beneficial — the greater variety the better. Directly the
wool is off the ewes they run on the commons, and come on
to the meadows when the crop of hay has been harvested.

Islx. T. S. Minton, Montford, Shrewsbury, has the lambs
in his Shropshire flock in February and March. During
March, April, and May the ewes and lambs are on seeds
one and two years old, the ewes receiving a few mangels
at first, and the lambs a few split-peas (in a pen made on
purpose in the centre of the field) during the latter part.
In June the lambs are weaned and put on a sweet pasture,
receiving a small allowance (two or three ounces) of corn,
where they remain until the clover aftermath is ready, which
generally lasts them until July and August. During the last
few years the custom has been to shear the lambs in June,
as it is considered they grow better, are not troubled much
with the fly, and keep much cleaner when on the turnip
land in winter. In September the lambs go on to the
young seeds on the cleared barley stubbles, still receiving
their corn, and here they remain until the middle of October,
when they are gradually moved on to white turnips, where
in the course of a week they remain altogether, and receive
a quarter of a pound of corn and some clover hay in racks.
The hurdles are moved daily, and they bite their own turnips
for the first month, when they are then cut into fingers.
White turnips generally last till Christmas, and then swedes
commence. The allowance of corn is then gradually in-
creased to half a pound. When on turnips they receive
their corn the first thing, then a feed of turnips. During
the morning the clover is put in racks^ and there is another
feed of turnips in the afternoon.

MANAGEMEXT AND FEEDLXG. 89

Air. Henry Dudding, Riby Grove, Grimsby, has a
large flock of Lincolns. The greatest attention is paid to
the lambs after taking them from the ewes in July. As a
rule, they have all got to eat well from the troughs a mixture
of linseed-cake, crushed oats, and locust beans, a litde bran,
malt coombs, and a little cut clover, which make a very
healthy food. The most critical time is before getting them
on turnips in October. They are especially liable to suffer
from the throat worm, which in many cases shrinks them so
that they are reduced in value ten shillings a head. After
the hoggs, as they are now called, have got a good hold of
turnips they improve rapidly without much loss. The great
aim in ordinary flocks is to get these sheep fresh or fat
for sale in March or April, about a year old. The majority
are sold in their wool for grazing in the marshes. The best
run, that are clipped and sold fat to the butcher, weigh
about 20 lbs. per quarter, and shear about 15 lbs. of wool
each.

Professor Wrightson, College of Agriculture, Downton,
describing Hampshire Down management at lambing time,
says : The forward ewes should be brought into the
lambing-pen every night and lie upon the straw. A good-
sized heap of swedes should also have been provided, and
hay-racks or cribs should be placed around so that the
animals may receive a foddering when they come into
shelter at about four o'clock in the afternoon. During the
height of the lambing the shepherd remains night and day
with his flock, and, provided with a good lantern, makes
periodical visits, carefully looking at every ewe. As soon
as the lamb is born, it and its dam should be removed into
one of the coops, or cells, there to remain for three or four
days until the lamb is able to follow its mother without
difficulty, and until the two thoroughly know each other.
When this is judged to be accomplished the cell is vacated
for other occupants, and the ewe and her lamb or lambs
are transferred to one of the larger divisions of the pen.

90 SHEEP.

As lambing proceeds the various lots of ewes are separated

as follows :

1. A yard of ewes heavy in lamb.

2. ,, ,, wirh single lambs.

3. ,, ,, with twins.

4. ,, „ and very young Iambs.

The older lambs with their dams are, when from four to
seven days old, allowed to go out upon the turnips, and it
is interesting to watch these young creatures learning to
fend for themselves, and imitating their mothers in their
eating, choosing the soft parts of the turnips, nibbling at
the rape or turnip greens, or sorting out the choicer portions
of the hay.

Mr. Herbert V. Sheringham, South Creake, Fakenham,
Norfolk, writes : The breeding ewes during lambing time
have a pen of turnips every day and a mixture of cut
hay and either malt dust or bran, and some of the weaker
ones get a little linseed cake in addition to the other food.
As soon as the lambs are able to eat, they have a small
allowance of lamb food in troughs placed outside the fold
(so that the ewes are not able to get it), and the quantity is
increased as they are able to stand it. I usually take the
lambs off the ewes about the end of May or beginning
of June, and rim them on trefoil and rye grass until after the
hays are off, when they are put on clover and sainfoin
eddish, and I like, if possible, to have mangel to throw
them until I have some turnips fit for use about the middle
or end of August. At this time the lamb food has been
increased to about half a pound each. About the 20th
of September the lambs begin feeding off the early turnips,
having a fresh fold every day, and cut hay and a small
quantity of linseed-cake added to the lamb food. This
method of feeding continues until the beginning of
November, when the sheep go on to swedes, which are
put through a turnip-cutter and given them in troughs,
the swedes having been previously thrown up into heaps,
and the allowance of artificial food is increased to about

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. ■ 91

three-quarters of a pound each until the last two months,
when they get one pound each of cake and corn. These
sheep are fit for the butcher at a year old, and the best of
them at that age will weigh from 84 lbs. to 90 lbs. each
dead weight, and will clip a fleece of from 9 lbs. to 10 lbs.
wool. The sheep referred to are cross-breds : Hampshire
Down, or Oxford Down, or Cotswold and Hampshire
Down.

Mr. J. B. Ellis, West Barsham, Norfolk, keeps a flock of
Hampshire Down ewes, and crosses with the Cotswold ram.
The ram, he says, is turned to the ewes about the first week
in September, and we begin lambing in the first week
in February. By getting lambs early, I do not think the
fall of lambs is so great as it would be by having the lambs
dropped in the beginning of March, but the lambs being
forward, they are more able to stand forcing than younger
lambs would be. The ewes get turnips, and about half a
pound of linseed and cotton-cake per day. About a month
before lambing, and after the lamb is dropped, the ewe has
I lb. of cake per day, with turnips, and hay, and little bits
of grass (if any) for an hour or two every evening. This
goes on until the turnips are finished, which generally
happens about the second week in May ; after that the ewes
and lambs are put on to grass, having a fresh pen every
day, and the lambs are allowed to run forward, and cabbage
or mangels thrown them with what cake and corn they will
eat, which would be about one-third of a pound per day ;
this goes on till about the first week in June, when the
iambs are weaned. And now comes a time when great care
must be taken, or very likely much loss will follow. When
lambs are weaned, they never ought to be put on grass that
has been fed down by sheep before. What I mean by this
is, where ewes or other sheep have been. I always try to
have a supply of mangel or cabbages all the year round, so
that as soon as the lamb can eat roots it has them all
through the summer until it goes to turnips in the autumn,
though artificial food is gradually increased until it gets to

92 SHEEP.

I lb. per head, and I seldom give a lamb more. The greater
variety of food the better. I therefore always use a prepared
lamb food which consists of a mixture of different cakes
and corn. In the autumn the lambs are put on turnips,
but this must be done gradually, only letting them have
a few at first, and they should be on the turnip ground only
for an hour or two a day. I always find that when lambs
are first put on turnips it is best to cut the tops off the
turnips a day or two before the sheep have them ; by doing
this, much loss is avoided. After the lambs have been
about a month on turnips, we begin grinding or cutting
the turnips for them. By this means there is less waste,
the sheep grow much faster, and in that way they are kept
till fit for the London market about the last week in
January, being then about a year old and weighing 84 to
90 lbs. dead.

Mr. George Scoby, Beadlam Grange, Nawton, Yorks,
breeds Border Leicesters. Lambs are always dropped in
March and April according to climate. The ewes and
lambs get cake until June. The last week in July the
lambs are taken from the ewes and sent to the best
pastures, and the ewes to the worst. The hoggs, as we
call them after they are weaned, are changed about from
grass fogg, clover fogg, and on to rape in September, when
I give cake, \ lb. each. They go to cut white turnips in
November ; after Christmas they get t lb. of cake, and
hay is always in the racks. I always contrive to have
turnips until the first week in May, when I pick my sheep
for summer keep, the best gimmers for ewes and twenty
good wethers. The twenty kept until Christmas I clip
in May. As soon as they come off turnips they run on
clover grass. I change them about, first one field and then
another, as they do better thus. If it be a bad pasture they
get I lb. of cake, and a little corn, barley, oats, or wheat,
as most convenient. In September they go on rape, and
the last Week in October they have turnips, hay, and a
little more cake, \\ lbs, even, until the Christmas market.

MANAGEMEXT AND FEEDING. 93

]\Ir. H. H. Farthing, Thurloxton, Taunton, manages
his Dorset Horn flock as follows : The rams are usually
put with the ewes the first week in July, and the lambs
are dropped between the 15th December and 15th
January. The ewes are kept on the pastures during
tupping time, and until they lamb. After lambing they
are put into some fresh grass, and have a few mangels or
turnips thrown about the grass. When the lambs are
about a month old the double couples are generally put
on to cut swedes, and the single couples on to turnips which
are fed on the ground. The lambs are weaned about
Lady Day, and turned into the young grass and vetches,
and the ewes go to the pastures. It is very essential to
give sheep plenty of hay or some corn whilst they are
feeding on turnips. Lambs have the best of the keep
during the summer, and they require a change every two
or three days to be kept healthy. The off-going ewes are
generally sold either for breeding purposes or death in
May or June ; but some breeders prefer to sell them in-
lamb about Michaelmas. The ewe lambs are not generally
bred from until they are two years old, when they take the
place of the off-going ewes. The wether lambs usually
have a little corn all the summer, and about the ist
November they are put on to common turnips for about
a month, and then on to cut swedes until about the middle
of February, when they are sold to the butcher, and they
weigh about 10 stone per head.

The management of a flock of Kent or Romney Marsh
sheep is as follows : About November ist the rams are
turned with the ewes, which are generally selected to each
ram in different fields, the usual number allowed being forty
or fifty ; the rams are changed every fortnight or three
weeks, and are removed altogether at the end of five or six
weeks. Then the ewes are spread over the pastures accord-
ing to acreage, two or one and a half to the acre, till lamb-
ing time about the end of March, when they are collected
into the most sheltered pasture obtainable, and swedes or

94 SHEEP.

wurzel supplied them ; lambing-psns are rarely used, but a
few thatched gates, called lews, are set up about the field. As
the ewes lamb they are moved out of the lambing field,
twins to the best pastures, singles to those of inferior
quality ; the former usually get a litde corn all the summer,
a practice which is found to pay well, as after weaning the
twin lambs soon teach the others to trough. The lambs to
be saved for rams are stocked soon after birth and treated
as the twins are, having the best grass as well as corn or
cake ; the remainder are cut at about a fortnight old. If
any roots remain after the lambing field is emptied they are
given till the grass affords a good bite, when the pastures
are stocked with three, four, or five ewes to the acre accord-
ing to quality, and the remainder of the grass fields are
stocked with tegs, or lambs of the previous year, which
usually come off turnips about May ist. About the middle
of May the sheep are washed, and shearing begins about
the end of the month ; the ram tegs are washed and shorn
first, to get them a good fleece of wool for the sales in
October. In a moderate-sized flock the shepherd does all
the shearing. Soon after he has finished the ewes and
tegs about the middle of July he shears the lambs, which
average perhaps about 2 lbs. of wool each ; this operation is
done mostly for the benefit of the lambs themselves, as, if
they are not shorn, their long wool gets dirty in winter in the
turnips in wet weather. After the wool has started growing
again the sheep are marked with the owner's pitch mark •
there is a special part of the body for marking each class
of sheep. The lambs are weaned between July 20th and
August I St, and go on to clover or sainfoin which has
previously been cut for hay, with some corn or cake ; at
this stage they are allowed as large a run as possible, as
close folding is considered injurious. About September
some cabbage or rape is ready, and they gradually get on
to the turnips and swedes, which keep them till next year's
grass is ready ; while on turnips they receive fodder of some
sort besides corn ; pea-straw cut into chaff is the most

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING.

95

generally used. With October comes the time for reducing
the flock to its winter level, and for reaping the profits
of the year's work.

Mr. Jas. C. Bowstead, describing the management of
a Herdwick flock, says : The rams and ewes go together
from about November 20th until Christmas. The best
rams are taken up when they have been with the ewes
a month, and are replaced by less valuable ones. The
rams are " sullied " red the first fortnight, blue the second
fortnight, and black for the remainder of the time. When
the rams are taken up the ewes are sent back to the fell
until a day or two before the first lamb is expected, when
those marked red are brought into the meadows, the blue
ones a fortnight after, and the black in another fortnight.
This is to avoid crowding, as in the best provided farms
the enclosed land becomes very bare before the last ewe
and lamb are turned out. The lambs are marked and
sent to the fell at about a week old ; the sooner the better
when they are strong enough, as except when there are
very violent storms, the deaths are fewer on the fell than
inside. The ram lambs are castrated at washing time.
The lambs are all dipped or sprinkled at clipping time,
from 7th to 20th July, to guard against fly, so there is no
special gathering on account of the lambs until they have
to be weaned, which generally takes place the last week
in August. The usual plan is to keep the lambs in the
enclosures for about a fortnight, and then send them back
to the fell.

Professor M'Cracken gives the following description
of the management of Blackfaced sheep : According to
the altitude of the run, lambing commences some time in
the second or third week of April. Before it is over,,
about the middle of May, the success of the year can
be predicted with tolerable certainty, for should it be
stormy or barren, a full crop of lambs is out of the
question. The lambs have a close covering of the warmest
description when dropped ; but though they can stand

96 SHEEP.

almost any degree of dry cold without flinching much,
rain or sleet, particularly when accompanied by scarcity
of milk, is sure to occasion severe losses. Cow's milk
is supplied when necessary, but those to which much of
it is given rarely do well afterwards. Stells, plantations,
and other artificial shelters become invaluable at this
season. Mortality amongst ewes at lambing, if they be
sound, is not usually great, and the practice which many
shepherds have adopted of thoroughly disinfecting the
hands, together with the free use of carbolic oil in severe
cases, tends to reduce it still farther. Towards the end
of May the lambs are usually marked, all the males which
are not required as rams being castrated at the same time.
From this time onwards till the end of June the work of
the shepherd is comparatively light, being directed chiefly
to preventing the loss of ewes or hoggs which may become
" cast " — a danger which is greatest when " Keds " are
plentiful, and which is not usually of frequent occurrence
when dipping has been carefally done. Barren ewes and
hoggs are commonly shorn before the rest of the flock.
Washing is omitted in the majority of cases, and in Black-
faced flocks the wisdom of the practice is more than
doubtful ; but it is still common towards the southern
limits of the breed. Between washing and shearing an
interval of ten days is commonly allowed, to permit of
the wool regaining something of its lustre and weight.
In rolling up the wool a distinction is made between
w^ashed and unwashed; the former being wrapped up to
show the inside of the fleece, the latter to show the staple.
In a fortnight after shearing, the whole of the parasites with
which the ewes may be infested will have left them to take
up their quarters in the lambs; so that by dipping the lambs
in a light carbolic or arsenical dip, the whole of these pests
may be got rid of at once. This is an excellent practice
which should never be omitted. Careful herding, guiding
the flock down to the grassy hollows in the early morning,
and as regularly returning them to the dry ridge-tops in the

MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING. 97

afternoon, so as to secure the uniform grazing of their
pastures and the necessary variety of diet, will constitute
most of the work until the time for weaning. From the
best farms the wether lambs find their way directly to the
butcher ; from the poorer grounds to the store markets. On
many Highland farms the wethers are kept in separate
hirsels till they are two or three years old. Immense
numbers of the wether lambs are consumed in our large
towns, usually, on account of their small size, in the poorer
quarters, although the mutton is at this season the finest
grained and the most delicately flavoured in the market.
About half the lambs are available for sale ; the other half,
always the tops, are retained to keep up the stock. The
draft ewes form an important item in the year's receipts.
They are sent off in the end of September or beginning of
October at the age of five or six, after having had four or five
crops of lambs. As soon as possible after the draft ewes
have been removed the whole flock is dipped. This treat-
ment has now almost universally taken the place of " salv-
ing " or " smearing," a laborious operation which had the
effect of waterproofing' the fleece, often, however, at the
expense of the health of the sheep. Shortly after dipping
the sheep are again gathered to receive the stock mark in
tar or " keel " mixed with oil ; a mark of the latter kind
is so conspicuous that should any of the sheep stray they
can be easily recognised amongst others, even at a great
distance. The numbers of the different kinds of sheep are
also ascertained and booked at this 'time. The dipping of
the ewes should be over at least three weeks before the
tupping season begins, otherwise the poison upon their
wool may have an injurious effect upon the rams. The
rams themselves may not be dipped with safety within two
months of this time. The dates at which the rams are put
to the ewes vary, according to the situation of the farm, from
the lothto the 25th of November. In ram-breeding flocks
the best of the ewes are carefully mated, so that the
pedigrees of the lambs may be registered in a flock book.

G

98 SHEEP.

Sixty ewes may be safely allotted to a ram, provided each
lot be turned together twice daily. It is customary to
change the rams after the first three weeks, and by the end
of the year they may all be gathered in. A second dipping
of the whole flock frequently takes place in the month of
February, but the risk incurred in handling ewes so heavy
in lamb is an almost insuperable objection.

CHAPTER IX.

MUTTON, WOOL, ETC.

In the notices of the various breeds, some particulars have
been given as to the average weights of sheep, the quality
of their mutton, and the quantity of wool clipped. It has
also been indicated that, as a rule, the Down varieties give
the finest quality of mutton, while the Lincolns and others
of that type are more distinguished for the amount and
quality of their wool.

The following summary of the results of feeding experi-
ments carried out by Sir John B. Lawes at Rothamsted,
and recorded in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society
of England, will be useful.

Consumption of I'ood. — Sheep of different breeds consume
quantities of food in proportion to their respective weights
when at an equal age, stage of feeding, etc. ; that is to say,
three sheep weighing loo lbs. each will consume the same
quantity of food as two sheep of 150 lbs. each. Sheep on
good fattening food — such as cake or corn, with chaff and
roots — will consume weekly about 4^ lbs. of cake, 4^ lbs
of hay, and about 70 lbs. of roots for every 100 lbs. of their
live weight. When fed as above, they will consume every
week about one-seventh of their own weight of the dry
substance of the food— that is, after deducting the moisture
it contains.

G 2

lOO

SHEEP.

Rate of Increase. — Sheep well fed and under cover will
increase about two per cent, per week upon their weight i
that is to say, loo lbs. live weight will increase from i^
lbs. to 2 lbs. per week. To increase loo lbs. in live weight,
sheep will consume about 2 }{ cwts. of cake or corn, 2 y{
cwts. of hay chaff, and i ^ to 1 3^ tons of roots. The in-
crease of a fattening sheep is at the rate of about i lb. live
weight to 8 lbs. or 9 lbs. of the dry substance of the food
consumed.

Live and Dead Weights^ etc. — Hoggets or tegs, under
twelve months old and in a lean or store condition,
will contain about one-half of their weight carcase and about
one-half offal. Shorn sheep, sufficiently fat for the market,
will contain about 56 lbs. of carcase to every 100 lbs. of
the unfasted live weight. Sheep in an ordinary state of
fatness yield from 7 lbs. to 14 lbs. of offal or loose fat
per head according to breed and size, the Longwools giving
the least, and the Downs the most.

The following table was given by Mr. Henry Stephens
in the " Book of the Farm," and is believed to be a tolerably
close approximation to the truth in a majority of cases to
which it may be applied :

Live Weight in
lbs.
280 to 3CX)
260 ,, 280
240 ,, 260
220 „ 240
200 „ 220
180 ,, 200
160 „ 180
140 ,, 160
120 „ 140
100 ,, 120

80 ,, 100

60 „ 80

Per cent.

of Mutton.

In Wool.

Newly Shorn

71 to 72

74 to 75

...

69 „ 70

73 » 74

67 „ 68

71 n 73

65 n (^(^

69 „ 70

...

63 „ 64

67 „ 68

61 „ 62

65 » 66

....

59 „ 60

64 „ 65

...

58 „ 59

63 » 64

...

56 „ 57

62 „ ^z

...

55 » 56

60 „ 61

...

53 » 54

58 M 59

.«

50 „ 52

56 M 57

In the above table, the column headed '* in wool " applies

MUTTON, WOOL, ETC. loi

only to long-wooUed sheep ; when Southdown and other
short-woolled sheep are weighed in the fleece, two or three
per cent, must be added to the tabular proportion of their
mutton. The column headed " newly shorn " will apply
to all breeds of sheep, without material inaccuracy in
the result, except to such as have very large heads and
feet.

Another rule is — AVeigh the sheep alive, to ascertain
weight in stones (14 lbs.); double the number of stones
which the sheep weighs will give pounds weight per quarter
if the sheep is fairly fat. Thus, a sheep weighs alive 9
stones; 9 multiplied by 2 = 18, or 18 lbs. per quarter.
Again : reckon the dead weight to be four-sevenths of live
weight. Thus, as above, 9 stones = 126 lbs. ; four-sevenths
of which, or 72 lbs. = 18 lbs. per quarter.

The offals of sheep weigh, in ordinary cases, as
follows :

Skin, without fleece, from

... 6 to

10 lbs

Tallow ... ...

... 5 »

14 M

Head ...

..

- 4 »

6 ,,

Feet

..

T ■^•

3 ,,

Pluck

t.

... 4*»

6 „

Stomach and Entrails

,%.,

... 9 „

18 „

Blood

..

... 4 ,,

6 „

Loss by killing . . .

... i^,,

3 ,,

Fleece

... 2 „

6 „

Horns

^

... 2 „

5 .,

In some instances the weight of tallow in sheep is as
much as 20 lbs. or 21 lbs., and the fleece of some sheep will
weigh as much as 10 lbs. or 12 lbs. The total weight of
the offals of sheep may be considered to vary from 40 lbs.
to 90 lbs.

WOOL.

The fall in the value of wool has in mayy districts
resulted in a considerable, amount of neglect of this im-
portant portion of the produce of the sheep. In 1864 the

I02 SHEEP.

average value of the fleece was 2s. i\d. per pound, whereas
now it rarely exceeds \s. But notwithstanding this lessened
value, the wool forms a substantial item in the returns
from sheep-keeping, and it will amply repay any attention
that is bestowed upon it. The quality of the fleece depends
to a large extent upon soil and climate, but both the breed
and the food exercise a considerable influence on the growth
of wool. We have already seen that in ancient times
British wool enjoyed a high reputation, and although it
cannot now compete with the choicer descriptions grown in
sunny climes and freely imported into this country, there is
no reason why it should not generally be better than in too
many cases it has been allowed to become.

The subject of the composition and growth of wool is
a very attractive one from a scientific point of view, and the
volume in which Dr. F. H. Bowman deals with it will be
found well worthy of perusal. This book is entitled " The
Structure of the Wool Fibre," and is pubUshed by Simpkin,
Marshall, & Co., London.

A fibre of wool is composed of a very large number of
complex chemical compounds which are very readily acted
upon by various co-agents, and which depend for their
best qualities and stabihty very largely upon the health of
the sheep. " When attached to the animal each fibre is
implanted in a cutaneous depression or follicle which is an
involution of the epidermis, and corresponds with the
epidermis in structure layer by layer.

*' The fibre is fixed into this follicle and attached to the
bottom by a dilation called the bulb or knob of the fibre,
which encloses the papilla or pulp from which the fibre is
generated. In structure the fibre is built up of a series of
cells which undergo modification so as to constitute the
different parts during the process of growth. Thus, the
fibre is in living connection with the fibrous sheath of the
follicle. The fibre itself forms a long more or less cylin-
drical body, part of which is imbedded within the follicle.

MUTTON, WOOL, ETC. 103

but the larger part is external to it and outside the skin.
This portion is termed the shaft or stem of the fibre, and it
usually decreases in diameter from the base towards the
unattached extremity, where, when uncut, it terminates in a
point of more or less fineness.

" The wool fibre is a wonderful structure, being built up of
hundreds — nay, even thousands — of individual cells, which
are wonderfully co-related to each other and to the general
structure of the whole fibre. Some idea of the comphcated
nature of this structure may be obtained when we state
that in a single fibre of Lincoln wool it has been estimated
there are no less than 500 to 700 cells in cross section, and
250 in every linear inch, so that there are about
125,000 or more in every inch of length in the staple.
These cells differ in form and density in the various parts
of the fibre, and it is impossible to injure any of these with-
out impairing the organic unity of the whole and deteriorat-
ing its quality as material for use in textile fabrics. The
wool fibre consists really of two principal parts, an inner or
cortical substance which is composed of long spindle-shaped
cells upon which the density and elasticity of the wool
depends. This comprises the larger part of the fibre. Out-
side this cortical substance there is an outer sheath or case
composed of flattened horny cells, which bind together the
cortical cells, and to this outer or epidermal sheath the
lustre and firmness of the fibre are due. This outer sheath
is built up in a regular manner, all the scales having free
margins or edges which overlap each other, like the
scales on a fish's back, or the tiles on a house-top,
the free margins always pointing in the direction of the
point of the fibre. These scales are always most numerous
in fine wool, and they differ in character in every variety of
wool ; so much so that we are enabled to distinguish all the
specific varieties of wool by the arrangement of the scales,
and are thus frequently enabled to detect mixtures of
different wools in cloth and other fabrics. In the natural

104 SHEEP.

condition these scales are laid down close to the shaft of
the fibre, and are covered all over the surface with a fine
gelatinous enamel ; and nature secures that they shall not
be disturbed or injured by providing a natural unguent or
grease, which is termed suint or yolk. This suiiit is a very
fatty potash soap, largely soluble in water; and, by its
covering the whole surface of the fibres, it prevents the
scales from coming into juxtaposition, and thus all felting
action is prevented ; for the felting property of wool is
due to the interlockinsr of these scales."

DENTITION.

The age of a sheep may be pretty clearly ascertained by
its incisor teeth. There are eight incisors, central, lateral,
middle, and corner teeth, these being found in front of the
lower jaw only, the corresponding part of the upper jaw
being provided with an elastic pad. Molar teeth are
designated by numbers to indicate their position, and for
the purpose of judging the age. Though the number of
incisor teeth in the sheep are the same as in the ox, they
differ in certain points much as there is a difference in the
manner in which the two animals respectively crop the grass.
In the sheep they are expressly formed for close feeding, and
for nipping off the wiry stalks close to the roots, or even for
nibbling harder food, as the shoots of the heath or broom.
Not only are the teeth well covered with hard enamel, but
this enamel rises on the edge of the tooth for nearly ' a
quarter of an inch, presenting a convex surface outwardly
on a concave surface within, so as to form a sort of gouge
or chisel, capable of cutting a tough or wiry substance with
admirable facility, and also of biting off the grass of the
pasture grounds from the very root. The sheep may be
said to nibble the herbage, the ox to graze.

The following table, from Bennet's Agriculturist's Pocket

MUTTON, WOOL, ETC.

105

Book (Crosby, Lockwood, & Co.), shows the periods at
which the teeth are cut :

Temporary
Incisors.

Age when cut.

Temporary
Molars.

Age when cut.

Central ... \
Intermediates J
Lateral ...
Corner ...

At or soon after
birth.

3-4 weeks. |

1st, 2nd, & 3rd.

At birth, or a few
weeks after.

Permanent

Incisors.

Age when cut.

Permanent
Molars.

^go. when cut.

Central ... ...

Intermediates .
Lateral ^ ...
Corner ... ...

1 yr. 3 mths.

2 years

2 yrs. 9 mths.

3 » 3 „

'4th ... ..
5th

6th ... ...

1st and 2nd...
3rd .. ...

-6 months.
9-12 months.

1 year 6 months.

2 years,

2 yrs. 3-6 months.

In examining the teeth of the sheep, the mouth should
be fairly opened and the teeth counted, and not left to the
glance of the eye alone, however practised, for it often
happens that at four years old the mouth is apparently full
with broad teeth, no small external corner teeth being
visible ; but in fact these teeth do exist, but being small or
reduced, are displaced by their neighbour on each side,
which starting up before them, prevents their being readily
seen. Now unless the teeth are counted and fairly examined,
the six visible teeth may be taken for eighty and the animal
be estimated at five years of age.

When the mouth of the sheep is completed, it is difficult
to judge the age of the animal afterwards. The teeth wear
down at a different ratio on various pasture grounds, and
according to different modes of feeding. Often they
become broken, at other times they loosen and fall out, not
perhaps from age so much as from constitutional predisposi-

io6 SHEEP.

tion, or delicacy of constitution, or from what is called close
feeding on scanty and short pasturage, and sometimes
perhaps from the influence of locality. One, two, or three
years, according to circumstances, may elapse before the
decline and fall of the teeth commence ; but when the
teeth exhibit these signs of disintegration, the sheep has
passed its grand climacteric, unless, indeed, accidental
causes have greatly contributed to their destruction. Yet,
supposing this to be the case, the loss of incisors to the
sheep would in itself be the cause of decline, for on these
incisors depends the power of procuring food. In the dog,
on the contrary, which often loses its small incisors at an
early age, as long as the canines and molars are sound their
loss is not materially felt.

How long the farmer may deem it necessary to keep a
sheep when, after the sixth or seventh year, its incisors show
symptoms of decay, will depend upon many contingencies,
and upon motives alien to the common order of affairs ; but
neither in wool nor in mutton can he expect much re-
muneration.

NAMES OF SHEEP.

The sheep acquires different names at different periods
of its life, and the same names are not alike applicable to
both sexes.

The male is usually denominated a "ram" or ''tup."
The term lamb is applicable to the suckling young of both
sexes ; but the male, until weaned, is distinguished as a
''tup-lamb," a "ram-lamb," a "pur-lamb," or a "heeder.'"
When weaned, until shorn (supposing him not shorn while
a lamb), he is called a "hog," a "hogget," a "haggerel," a
"teg," a "lamb-hog," or a "tup-hog"; and if castrated,
a " wether-hog." After shearing, say when a year and a
half old, he is called a " shearing " or " shearling," a " shear-
hog," a " diamond " or " dinmont ram," or " tup " ; and if
castrated, a "shearling wether." "Hogget-wool" is the
wool of the first shearing, supposing the " lamb " was not

MUTTON, WOOL, ETC. 107

shorn while it retained that title. After the second shearing
he is called a " two-shear ram, tup, or wether " ; next, a
"three-shear ram," etc., the appellation indicating the
number of shearings. In the north of England, and in
Scotland, he is called, until his first shearing, a "tup-lamb,''
then a •* tup-hog," after that a "tup"; or if castrated, a
"dinmont" or a "wedder."

The female, while suckling, is a " ewe-lamb, " or *' gim-
mer-lamb," or " chilver " ; and when weaned, a " gimmer-
hog," a " ewe-hog," a " teg," a '• sheeder-ewe." After the
first shearing she is called a " shearling-ewe," or " gimmer " ;
sometimes a " theave," or a "double-toothed ewe," or
"teg."

Afterwards she is called a two-shear or three-shear,
or a " four-tooth," or a " six-tooth " ewe or theave. In
some of the northern districts, ewes not in lamb, or that
have weaned their lambs, are termed " eild " or " yeld "
ewes.

There are besides these, other terms not in general use,
but restricted to certain localities, which must be regarded
in the sense of provinciaHsms.

CHAPTER X.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP.

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

STURDY, TURNSICK, GID (HYDATIDS IN THE BRAIN).

This peculiar disease of sheep is caused by the presence
in some part of the brain of a watery cyst, which cyst or bag
is of a parasitic nature, it really being one stage of the life
cycle of a tapeworm, which in its mature worm state infests
the bowels of a dog. It is more common in the north
of England and in Scotland than in the southern counties.
Young sheep are much more liable to be attacked than
old ones, it being rare in the latter.

The symptoms are as follows: The lamb or sheep
attacked is at first dull, its step is unsteady and reeling ;
when standing still it has a vacant, unconscious stare, from
which state it will start suddenly as if frightened, and will
then run into a hedge, ditch, or elsewhere, or it may stop
and again assume the stupid, staring condition. Especially
does water seem to have a peculiar effect upon sheep
suffering in this way, for they will stand and stare at it for
a long time, and often fall into it. As the disease advances,
these symptoms increase, and the sufferer commences a
rotatory movement, moving around in one direction, often
for an hour or more at a time. The appetite fails, and the
eyesight becomes very imperfect, or is altogether lost. The

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 109

poor animal wastes rapidly, and dies from exhaustion and
inanition, unless it is destroyed, or killed by falling into water
or over a steep place, or becoming cast and so dying from
suffocation. More than one hydatid or bladder may be
present in the brain of a sheep, and these attain such
a size that in bad cases they cause by their presence
the absorption of the greater part of the brain; indeed,
this takes, place to such an extent that often on opening
the skull of a victim to this disease, one marvels that
an animal could live with such a structural alteration going
on in so vital an organ as the brain, and it is only because
it is a very gradual process that the sheep continues to live.
Treatment, although often attempted, is not on the
whole very satisfactory; therefore when an animal is
attacked, it is better to let the butcher have it at once,
if it be at all in a condition fit for human food. When
treatment is attempted, the only chance of making a cure
is to either trephine the skull where the cyst is supposed
to be (and this can be done fairly accurately by the bone
becoming thin and soft at the particular spot), and re-
moving the cyst with forceps, or the cyst may be punctured
with an awl several times at intervals of three or four days,
each time allowing as much fluid to escape as possible.

To properly understand the development of this disease
it is necessary to know the life history of the parasite
which is the one and only cause of it, and it must also
be borne in mind that this is a totally distinct disease from
Hydrocephalus, or water ox the brain, although often
confounded with it because some of the symptoms are very
similar. To start, then, with the mature tapeworm which
is located in the bowels of a dog. Joints or segments
containing eggs are detached from this worm and pass
away from the dog with the faeces, and so are deposited
on pastures, etc., where they are taken up with the food
by the sheep. From each egg that is not destroyed during
mastication, etc., issues a very small living object provided
with a boring apparatus, by means of which it bores its

no SHEEP.

way into a blood-vessel and is carried by the blood stream
to the brain of the sheep, where it again bores through
the wall of the blood-vessel into the brain substance (at
which time it is known as a scolex), where it undergoes a
change and forms a cyst or bladder composed of a cyst wall,
with which are connected numerous small white bodies,
these in reality being the heads of future tapeworms, and
a watery fluid. When a sheep containing one of these
cysts is dead and a dog eats the brain, he also swallows the
whole or some part of the cyst, and having done so the
*' heads " on the cyst wall, on gaining access to the bowels
of the dog, at once commence to develop into mature
tapeworms (which worms are known as Taenia Canui7-us)^
and thus the life cycle is complete. Of course it is only a
few in many thousands of eggs or young that ever meet
with circumstances favourable to their development.

WATER ON THE BRAIN (HYDROCEPHALUS).

This is a totally distinct disease from the preceding
(" Gid "), although it is sometimes confounded with it. It is
usually congenital, that is, the lamb is born in this diseased
condition, or it may be the result of some injury or disease
of the head.

The symptoms are a dull, stupid appearance, with a
greater or less amount of unconsciousness, but the circular
motion so common in " Gid " is not usually present, and
the head is nearly always enlarged.

Treatment is not often attended with success, and
cannot therefore be recommended. When attempted, the
fluid must be liberated by trephining, and this operation
followed by the administration of iodide of potassium and
tonics, such as dialysed iron or sulphate of iron.

In some debilitating diseases an abnormal quantity of
water is found on the brain, as a result of the extreme
debility.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. in

APOPLEXY

Is a very common disease in young sheep that are thriving
rapidly, a sudden change of diet or of the weather often
causing a number of animals to be attacked in a short space
of time. It consists of a sudden engorgement of the vessels
of the brain with blood, causing unconsciousness, the eyes
and nostrils being dilated, the mucous membranes are of a
dark red or purple colour, and the sight is lost. Soon the
animal reels, falls, and quickly dies, or inflammation of the
brain may set in.

Treatment, when attempted, must consist of bleeding,
followed by several doses of bromide of potassium and
tincture of aconite. Careful nursing is an essential to the
ultimate recovery of an animal from an attack of this kind.
Apoplexy is known in some parts of the country by the
indefinite term of " Dropping." It is also sometimes
confounded with and mistaken for Anthrax, which is,
however, a much more serious disease, and will be described
under the head of Blood Diseases.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, OR PHRENITIS.

As mentioned above, this is sometimes a sequel to
Apoplexy, or it may make its appearance as a disease
produced by over-stimulating food, or an injury to the head
may cause it.

Symptoms : At first the animal is rather dull and
listless, but soon becomes excited and frantic; it runs
wildly about, pushes its head against some resisting
object, and then sooner or later, if not relieved, it staggers,
falls, and dies, the immediate cause of death in the rapidly
fatal cases generally being rupture of a blood-vessel in
or connected with the brain.

Treatment : Bleeding in the early stages often gives
great relief; this should be immediately followed by a
purgative dose of Epsom salts, and after this bromide of

112 SHEEP.

potassium and potassio-tartarate of antimony (tartar emetic)
should be given alternately every twelve hours as long as
any violent symptoms remain.

Phrenitis is not unfrequently mistaken for Rabies.

RABIES (erroneously CALLED HYDROPHOBIA), OR MADNESS.

This distressing and fatal disease is always due to inocu-
lation from a previously diseased animal (generally by the
bite of a dog), but the time between the introduction of
the virus into the system and its manifestation, varies from
two to twelve weeks, or even longer.

The symptoms are : Loss of appetite, the sheep chase
and ride each other, butt each other or some lifeless object
with great vigour, the breath is quicker than is natural,
and the muscles twitch, but there is no dread of water.
Soon the victim becomes drowsy, saliva flows from the
mouth, and there is inability to swallow. The disease
usually proves fatal in from two days to a week.

Rabies is among those diseases which come within the
operation of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, so
that it is necessary for a person having an animal with this
malady, or displaying suspicious symptoms of it, to give
notice of the fact to the police, and the owner of the
animal or animals must strictly follow the directions laid
down by the authorities.

TETANUS, OR LOCKJAW.

Although this disease was formerly considered to be a
strictly nervous disorder, recently it has been proved that
it is due to micro-organisms in the system, these gaining
entrance either through an external wound or abrasion, or
through the internal organs, for although severe chills some-
times appear to produce Tetanus, it is probable that it is
owing to an altered state of the blood that the organisms

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 113

which gain entrance to the system through some internal
organ are enabled to develop and multiply.

The chief and characteristic symptom of Tetanus is the
peculiar rigidity of the muscles of the whole body, the stiff-
ness of the muscles of the face, etc , causing the inabihty of
the animal to open the mouth which gives this disease the
common name of Lockjaw.

Treatment is seldom of any avail, owing to the great
difficulty experienced in administering any medicine by the
mouth in a well-pronounced case. Should treatment be
attempted, a purgative should first be given, followed by
sedatives such as belladonna, tincture of aconite, hydrate
of chloral, prussic acid, nitrate of amy], and bromide of
potassium. Nourishing gruel, eggs, and new milk must be
given to support the patient's strength.

EPILEPSY, OR EPILEPTIC FITS.

This disease is generally brought on by some dietetic
errors or the presence of worms in the stomach or bowels.
The fits come on suddenly, often when an animal gets up
after lying down. Daring an attack the sheep suddenly
staggers, falls, and struggles convulsively for a short period,
then remains comparatively quiet, and soon gets up again,
and with the exception of being somewhat dazed for a time
appears but little the worse for the attack.

Treatment : Change of diet, and the administration of
bromide of potassium twice daily for several days, are
about the best curative measures that can be adopted.

DISEASES OF THE BLOOD.

During health the internal temperature of sheep is very
high, and this accounts for the fact that these animals are
both very subject to inflammatory diseases, and are also
difficult to cure when so attacked ; indeed, this is so

H

114 SHEEP.

well known by practical sheep-breeders that when a
sheep shows symptoms of inflammation of any internal
organ/ they prefer to immediately send it to the butcher
rather than run the risk of treatment, except in the cases of
valuable breeding animals.

SIMPLE FEVER

Is an altered condition of the blood, generally brought
on by a chill or bad food.

The symptoms are : Dulness, shivering, loss of appetite,
panting, dryness of the mouth, and redness of the mucous
membranes.

Treatment : Put the patient in a dry, warm place, and
give a dose of Epsom salts and nitrate of potash in water.
Follow this with sweet spirits of nitre, solution of acetate of
ammonia, and tincture of aconite, given in oatmeal gruel
two or three times each day, and allow a little water contain-
ing a drachm or two of chlorate of potash to drink. The food
must be digestible and nourishing, such as bran, crushed
oats, and hay.

INFLAMMATORY FEVER, OR BLOODSTRIKING (aNTHRAX).

True Inflammatory Fever is really a form of Anthrax,
but it is often mistaken for and confused with ordinary
Apoplexy, and this error is easily committed, for in both
diseases death takes place in a very short time after the
commencement of the attack, and the post-mortem appear-
ances, if the '"carcase be examined soon after death, are very
similar; but there is this important and distinctive difference,
namely, that by examining with a microscope the blood of
an animal'that has died from Anthrax, the organism known
as the Bacillus Anthracis can be discerned, whereas this
parasite is not present in the blood of an animal which has
died from ordinary Apoplexy. It is important that a correct

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 115

diagnosis be made of these cases, because Anthrax is in-
cluded among those diseases which come under the opera-
tion of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, and a person
having, or suspicious of having, a case of this malady among
his stock is bound under a heavy penalty to report it to
the pohce, and these, with the veterinary inspector of the
district, deal with it as the law directs.

VARIOLA OVINA, OR SMALL-POX,

Is another highly infectious and contagious blood disease,
which comes under the operation of the Contagious Diseases
(Animals) Act, but fortunately it has been so controlled
in this country that cases of it are very rare, and when
they are met with it is in sheep that have recently been
imported from abroad ; and as these all undergo a searching
examination by a veterinary inspector at the port where
they are landed, a detailed description of symptoms would
be of little use to an ordinary stock-owner.

The characteristic symptoms are the presence of eruptions
on the skin, which are first detected as small hard lumps,
the skin over them having a reddish hue : the redness in-
creases, giving them the appearance of large flea-bites. The
lumps then are visible to the eye, and soon a liquid forms
in their centre which is at first of a watery nature. Then
the centre of the lump becomes depressed, the vesicles then
rupture and a scab is formed, which, if the sheep survives,
becorhes detached after a time and falls, or is rubbed off,
leaving a depression or pit. It is a very fatal disease.

ERAXY,

Like murrain as applied to cattle, is a name given to a
variety of diseases, and the term is often used as a cloak
for ignorance. It is, however, to a fever of a low typhoid
nature which sometimes attacks sheep, that it is perhaps
most commonly and suitably applied.

H 2

ii6 SHEEP.

This diseased condition is generally brought on by
improper food, or is a sequel to some other disease. When
suffering from this ailment the sheep is dull, has not much
appetite, sometimes purges, and at others the bowels are
constipated, the wool becomes loose, and there is general
feverishness to a greater or lesser extent.

Repeated doses of quinine and tincture of aconite, with
an occasional dose of Epsom salts if the bowels are consti-
pated, accompanied by the administration of milk, eggs, and
gruel, is the line of treatment to be adopted in these cases.

RHEUMATISM.

This is another disease in which the blood undergoes
a considerable change. It is most commonly seen in young
lambs, when they are lying on damp ground in cold weather.

The symptoms are stiffness, swelling, and tenderness of
the joints, which shift from one joint to another. In some
cases the neck and loins are the chief seats of the disorder.
Considerable fever is always present.

Treatment. — Give a dose of Epsom salts and saltpetre,
followed by salicylate of soda, or salicylic acid (dissolved in
solution of acetate of ammonia), tincture of colchicum, and
tincture of aconite, for several days. Bicarbonate of soda
may also be given in the food with advantage. Keep the
patients dry and warm, and if the appetite fails, drench with
oatmeal and linseed gruel. The swelHngs should also be
rubbed with white oils or opodeldoc.

EPIDEMIC CATARRH, OR INFLUENZA.

This disease, which attacks the air passages, causing
inflammation of the mucous membranes of these parts, is in
all probability, in sheep as in the horse, due to the presence
of micro-organisms; hence I class it among the diseases
of the blood.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 117

The symptoms are general feverishness, sneezing, cough-
ing, more or less dulness, eyes bloodshot, and discharge
from nostrils, which is at first watery, but afterwards becomes
purulent.

Treatment should consist of protection from inclement
weather, and the administration of febrifuge medicines,
followed by tonics such as sulphate of iron and gentian
given daily in the food.

If the animals are not sufficiently ill to require drenching
in the earlier stages of the affection, chlorate of potash may
be given in their food twice daily.

SCROFULA.

Sheep are subject to a scrofulous condition of the
system which manifests itself in different ways, the most
common being the formation of strumous abscesses about
the head, neck, and face, constituting the so-called '' Hog-
pox," and a peculiar diseased condition of the nasal
cavities from which a profuse discharge issues, and which
in some cases extends to the throat, threatening suffocation.
Sheep that are highly bred are those most subject to this
latter disease, especially when they are bred in-and-in.
Treatment of scrofulous subjects is not as a rule satis-
factory, and when a sheep is known to be suffering in
this way, it is far better to at once send it to the
butcher, than to attempt to cure it.

TUBERCULOSIS, OR CONSUMPTION,

Is at present an incurable disease when once fully
developed, and whenever a sheep is noticed to have a
persistent cough, wastes, (and especially if diarrhoea sets in,)
tuberculosis may be suspected, and, immediate slaughter
is to be recommended.

Ii8 SHEEP.

FOOT-AND-xMOUTH DISEASE {Eczema Contagiosa).

This is a very contagious and infectious disease, which
never arises spontaneously in this country, but has re-
peatedly been introduced from abroad. It is due to a
specific virus or germ, the virulence of which is owing to
the presence of a micro-organism having the power of rapid
multiphcation, when introduced into a suitable medium
such as the blood of sheep and many other animals.

The symptoms are, a sudden rise of temperature,
feverishness, lameness, refusal of food through soreness of
the mouth, which is caused by fairly large white vesicles on
the tongue and dental pad. These soon rupture, leaving a
raw, ragged ulcer. Similar vesicles appear between the
claws and around the coronet, causing intense lameness.

This disease is another which comes under the Contagious
Diseases (Animals) Act, and consequently must be reported
to the police of the district.

Treatment is not allowed except under supervision, and
by order of the local authorities.

SEPTIC METRITIS, OR BLOOD POISONING FROM THE WOMB,

Often makes its appearance in flocks, causing great
inconvenience and loss. It occurs from a few hours to
three days after lambing, and is due to the entrance of a
specific virus or poison into the genital organs of the ewe,
which being in a congested and lax state from the recent
act of parturition, generally accompanied by a rupture
(even if slight) of some of the vessels by laceration or
otherwise, a ready means of access to the system is made,
and the virus, whose activity is due to living organisms,
having gained entrance to the system through the blood,
rapidly increases in quantity, and so kills the unfortunate
ewe. This disease is very contagious. When, therefore,
one case happens in a flock, the shepherd or attendant
should take every precaution to prevent it spreading. No

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 119

person who has attended a ewe suffering from this fatal
disorder should go near other in-lamb ewes before under-
going thorough disinfection, both of his person and his
clothes; neither should healthy sheep be allowed to go
near a sick one, nor come in contact with any litter,
discharge, or other material that has been near a case of
Septic Metritis.

The symptoms are, great dejection, shivering, total loss
of appetite, straining, accompanied by the expulsion of a
dirty brownish and badly smelling fluid. Loss of power
in the hind-quarters follows, and death takes place in a
period varying from a few hours to three days.

Treatment should consist of the administration of a
dose of Epsom salts, followed by salicylic acid (dissolved
in solution of acetate of ammonia), quinine, tincture of
aconite, chlorate of potash and laudanum, or chloral
hydrate, to check the straining.

The womb should be syringed out two or three times
each day with a solution of carbolic acid or Nocard's
solution of bichloride of mercury, to either of which two
or three tablespoonfuls of laudanum may be added each
time to reduce the irritability of the womb.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS.
INFLUENZA, OR CATARRH,

Is brought on by sudden changes of temperature, exposure
to wet, etc. It often attacks a number of sheep about one
time, and consists of inflammation of the nasal cavities,
which in severe cases extends to the windpipe (trachea)
and bronchial tubes. It is attended by feverishness, and
discharge from eyes and nostrils.

It is not a very fatal disorder if the cases are attended
to as soon as they are observed, and the patients protected
from inclement weather. A few doses of sweet spirits of

I20 SHEEP.

nitre, tincture of aconite, and chlorate of potash, administered
in a Httle oatmeal gruel, should be given.

GADFLY.

The nasal cavities of sheep are infested by parasites,
the most common of these being the larv^ of the CEstrus
Ovis, which are of a similar shape to the "warbles" seen in
the backs of cattle.

The CEstrus Ovis or sheep gadfly lays its eggs in the
nostrils of sheep in the summer months, and it is in
their attempts to avoid this fly that sheep run together
with their noses close to the ground, shake their heads
and stamp. The fly, however, in a good number of instances
succeeds in depositing one or two eggs, which soon hatch
and so liberate the chrysalis-like larvae, which attach them-
selves to the mucous membrane of the nasal cavities,
and there remain until the following spring or early summer,
when they pass from this situation and drop on to the
ground, where they undergo a change, and soon emerge
as the mature gadfly, to again worry their victims, the
sheep.

It has been supposed by some old writers that these
larvce have in some instances produced damage to the
brain of their host, the sheep, but these statements were
made after badly conducted or misdirected examination
of the parts.

LARYNGITIS, INFLAMMATION OF THE UPPER PART OF
^ THE WINDPIPE OR TRACHEA,

Is not a very common disease in sheep, and when it does
occur it may be greatly relieved by steaming with hot water
containing some extract of belladonna, and rubbing the
throat with hartshorn and oil.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 121

BRONCHITIS, INFLAMMATION OF THE SMALLER AIR TUBES,

May be relieved by steaming in a similar manner, and by the
administration of tincture of belladonna or digitalis, solution
of acetate of ammonia, and sweet spirits of nitre in linseed
tea or gruel. A frequent dry, short cough is the chief
symptom, accompanied by difficult breathing.

CONSUMPTION, PHTHISIS, OR TUBERCULOSIS OF THE LUNGS,

Is an incurable disease, and an animal suspected of being
so affected had better be at once killed.

The symptoms are wasting, and the presence of a
peculiar hollow cough, quite unlike the short, dry cough
of bronchitis, or the painful cough of pleurisy.

" HOOSE " OR ^' husk" (PARASITIC BRONCHITIS),

Is caused by small thread-like worms in the windpipe and
bronchial tubes. The name of the worm is Siroiigylus
filaria. It chiefly affects young animals under two years
old, causing many deaths in some seasons.

The symptoms are general unthriftiness, the presence
of a short, hacking cough when the animals affected are
made to move quickly, or on first getting up after lying
down, and in advanced stages diarrhoea or scouring.

Treatment must consist of removal from the field or
pasture where the disease has been contracted. Liberal
feeding with dry food, bran, crushed oats, cake, etc., and
a dose of sulphate of iron, gentian, and common salt for
each patient mixed with these daily. This treatment, with
the administration of turpentine and assafoetida in linseed
oil twice each week, and given when the affected sheep
or lambs have been kept without food for eight or ten hours
previously, will soon effect a cure, and save great loss, if
the cases are taken in hand as soon as observed.

122 SHEEP.

PNEUMONIA, INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.

This disease is brought on by sudden climatic changes,
exposure to wet, etc., especially if the food is at the same
time bad or over-stimulating.

The symptoms are, feverishness, increase of temperature,
quick, hard, or full pulse, and accelerated and laborious
breathing.

Treatment : Bleed from jugular vein ; give a dose of
Epsom salts, and follow this with nitrate of potash, i
drachm; digitalis (powdered), i scruple; tartarised
antimony or tartar emetic, i scruple ; and tincture of
aconite, B.P., 15 minims, in linseed or oatmeal gruel,
two or three times each day. Keep up the patient's
strength with good nursing, and by giving new-laid eggs,
milk, and gruel in small quantities frequently. If possible
the sides should be rubbed with turpentine, or a mustard
poultice applied.

PLEURISY OR PLEURITI3, INFLAMMATION OF THE LINING
MEMBRANE OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS.

This disease is produced by the same causes as Pneu-
monia, viz. sudden changes of temperature, and exposure to
damp and cold (especially afcer shearing).

Pleurisy may be treated internally in the same way as
Pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs), and in this also a
good mustard plaster applied to the sides if the wool has
lately been clipped, or if it is long, the wool parted and
some turpentine rubbed on the skin of the sides, will have
a beneficial effect in the early stages of this disease. If an
attack of Pleurisy is not cut short at its commencement,
lymph is thrown out from the inflamed parts causing
adhesions to take place between the lungs and sides,
constituting the condition known as "light-grown."

In some forms of blood poisoning the lungs undergo

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 123

marked changes, and this fact is misleading to a novice or
a careless investigator, as the diseased state of the lungs is
apt to be taken as the cause of all the trouble, whereas in
such cases it is only the result of a changed state of the
blood.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS.
GLOSS-ANTHRAX.

It sometimes happens that the blood disease, known as
Anthrax, becomes localised in the tongue and its adjacent
structures, when it is known by the term Gloss-anthrax. It
must be dealt with in the same way as when this disease
attacks any other part of the body, instructions with
regard to which are given when treating specially of Anthrax.
The disease is liable to be confounded with simple Glossitis
or inflammation of the tongue, which is generally due to
the application of some irritant, or to injury, and readily
yields to suitable treatment, which should consist of hot
fomentations to the part, gargles of weak solutions of chlorate
of potash and extract of belladonna.

APHTHA, OR THRUSH.

This disease of the mouth is characterised by the appear-
ance of small pointed vesicles, which rupture, and leave
ragged ulcers.

It is due to stomach derangement, the result of improper
or indigestible food, and may ba easily cured by the ad-
ministration of a dose of Epsom salts, and chlorate of
potash gargles, with a little tincture of myrrh added.

Another disease of the gums and lips is of a fungoid
nature, and is sometimes very prevalent in certain districts,
not only causing great loss of the sucking lambs, but the
diseased condition of the lambs' mouths affects the teats

124 SHEEP.

and udders of the ewes, making them very sore and inflamed,
which induces the ewes to refuse letting the lambs suck.
Garget or inflammation of the udder is the result, sometimes
ending in the loss of the ewe.

It may be cured by a daily application of the following:
sulphate of iron, i ounce ; alum, 4 ounces ; treacle,
\ pound ; water, i pint.

There is yet another disease of the lips of sheep, which
is very common in certain seasons, especially among sheep
under two years old, and which seems to be very contagious,
it being of an eczematous nature.

It, too, can be cured by the lotion prescribed for the
last disease, but in these cases it is well to substitute \ pound
of glycerine for the treacle. This disease is sometimes
called " Black Muzzle," from the scabby condition of the
lips, etc.

CHOKING.

It sometimes happens that a sheep gets a piece of turnip
or some other hard material impacted in the gullet
(oesophagus). This must be removed either by passing
a proper probang made for the purpose down the gullet,
and so forcing by steady but firm pressure the mass down
into the rumen, or if no such instrument be at hand, a
piece of cane, whalebone, or other flexible material may
be employed for the purpose.

If the offending material cannot be removed in this way,
an operation may be performed by cutting down on to the
impaction, removing the substance, and then stitching
up the wound, but this operation is attended with consider-
able risk, and should never be attempted by any one except
an expert \ therefore its performance in the case of a sheep
is very rare, and would not be likely to be attempted unless
the patient was a valuable stock animal.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 125

HOVE, HOVEN, OR BLOWN; DISTENSION OF THE RUMEN
WITH GAS.

This usually occurs when hungry sheep are turned into
young clover, or some other succulent grass, or rape, etc.,
especially when these are wet and an east wind is blowing.

It is due to the fermentation of the green food in the
rumen or paunch, and in severe cases is rapidly fatal,
causing death by suffocation, unless relief be afforded.
The best means of liberating the gas in urgent cases, is
either by passing a probang down the gullet into the paunch
or by the introduction of a trocar and cannula (or even
an ordinary pocket-knife having a long blade), by plunging
it into the hollow between the last rib, the point of the hip,
and the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae, and
so allowing the gas to escape through the hole thus made.

In less severe cases a dose or two of aromatic spirits of
ammonia, hyposulphite of soda, chloride of lime,
chlorate of potash, or common salt will relieve the
Tympany or hoven condition of the sheep.

MECHANICAL DISTENSION OF THE RUMEN (pAUNCH-BOUND).

This is not a very common affection in sheep, except
when it occurs from a flock being allowed to run over
wheat or barley stubbles where there is a large quantity of
shed grain.

In cases occurring when the sheep are getting only
ordinary food, a good brisk purgative such as Epsom salts
and linseed oil containing some croton oil, or a solution of
aloes, linseed oil, and treacle, followed by two or three
doses of tincture of nux vomica and solution of carbonate
of ammonia, will generally give relief.

In the case of a valuable animal, if medicines fail to
have the desired effect, the paunch may be opened on the
left side, and the food removed through the opening

126 SHEEP,

afterwards, first stitching together with carbolised catgut
the wound in the coats of the paunch, and then the skin
should be wound with suture wire. Of course this opera-
tion is attended with considerable risk.

In cases of distension of the rumen from eating large
quantities of wheat or barley, the first object must be to
prevent so far as possible fermentation being set up by the
grain, and this may be done by giving a full dose of
carbolic acid (dissolved in glycerine and warm water), and
aromatic spirits of ammonia. This should be followed in
two or three hours by a good dose of linseed oil, and after
this a dose of hyposulphite of soda should be administered
every twelve hours for two or three days, and a second dose
of Unseed oil may, if it is thought necessary, be given twenty-
four hours after the first.

Whenever sheep have eaten wheat or barley to excess,
they must not be allowed access to water for two or three
days at least, as a large draught of water causes rapid
swelling of the grain, producing fatal results in a short
time.

Cases of poisoning by yew may be treated in a similar
manner, except that the aromatic spirits of ammonia should
be repeated for several times at intervals of two or three
hours only, in place of the hyposulphite of soda.

COLIC, OR GRIPE,

Is rather rarely seen in sheep. It is caused by some
irritant in the stomach and bowels, such as frozen roots,
the presence of worms, especially tapeworms, etc.

The symptoms are : pain, as shown by the animal being
very restless, striking the belly with the hind limbs, moaning,
and grating the teeth.

A draught composed of turpentine, laudanum, and
linseed oil, will almost invariably give relief. Should it not
do so, give a second dose of laudanum with aromatic
spirits of ammonia, in some warm oatmeal gruel.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 127

Tapeworms may be expelled by a mixture of turpentine,
oil of male fern, and linseed oil, given on an empty
stomach for three or four times at intervals of four or five
days.

ENTERITIS. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS.

This is a very common and very fatal disease affecting
sheep, for although it does not run such a rapid course, in
many cases, as in the horse and some other animals, it does
not readily yield to treatment.

It is caused by exposure to cold, mouldy and other
improper food, and the presence of worms, both round and
tapeworms, in the bowels.

The symptoms are shivering, fever, a quick, hard pulse,
the bowels do not act, the sufferer paws the ground, breathes
laboriously, staggers, becomes very dull and often semi-
conscious, usually dying in two or three days.

Treatment : Bleed in the early stages, give a dose of
linseed oil, but do not repeat it, at least not for twenty-four
hours ; avoid all powerful purgatives, but give laudanum,
subnitrate of bismuth, and tincture of aconite in a little
oatmeal gruel or new milk, every four or six hours. A dose
or two of hydrate of chloral may be given if the pain is very
acute.

Mustard stirred with warm water and some turpentine
added, should be rubbed on the abdomen.

Good careful nursing and the avoidance for several days
of any indigestible food, are essentials in the successful
treatment of Enteritis.

PERITONITIS. INFLAMMATION OF THE LINING MEMBRANE
OF THE ABDOMEN.

Peritonitis is caused either by cold and damp or injury,
and is very common after sheep have been shorn, when the
weather is wet and cold, and when they are not provided
with proper shelter.

izS SHEEP.

Symptoms : Dudness. stiffness, loss of appetite, painful
breatiiing, high temperature, and quick, hard, but small
pulse-
Treatment : Bleed in early stages, and give sweet
spirits of nitre, tincture of aconite, and tartarised antimony,
every six hours until the acute symptoms abate, then omit
the antimony, but give the nitre and aconite with some
solution of acetate of ammonia twice daily in linseed or
oatmeal gniel. A mustard plaster to the abdomen is useful
in the very early stages, but it must not be repeated, nor
applied in the advanced stages of this disorder, but hot
moist rugs should be kept constantly applied to the
abdomen until the patient shows signs of recovery, and then
dry rugs must take the place of the wet ones.

Peritonitis, unless checked early in the attack, results
in effusion of serum (water) into the abdomen, and is one
of the causes of what is commonly known as '"Red water "'
{Sanguineous Ascites); another cause being a disordered
state of the hver.

DIARRHCEA AND DYSENTERY.

Diarrhcea, or Scour, is due either to a relaxed state of
the mucojs membrane of the bowels, or it is caused by the
presence of an irritant in some part of the intestines.

It is brought on by sudden changes in the weather, by
partaking of food of an irritating or very succulent nature,
such as rape, pastures containing plants of the ranunculus
order, frozen swedes, excess of unripe marigolds ; and above
aU, pastures or green field crops which have been previously
eaten off with sheep at a recent date.

In simple Diarrhcea there is very little or no fever
present, there is no straining when the fazes are evacuated
and the dung passed is simply more liquid than natural, not
being stained with blood.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 129

Treatment : The first and chief thing to be attended to
is a change of food. Sainfoin is an excellent green food
to give sheep or lambs suffering from Diarrhoea, Cotton-
cake is also sometimes given. A dose of castor oil or lin-
seed oil and tincture of rhubarb should first be given when
treating medicinally, and this should be followed by pre-
pared chalk 2 ounces, powdered opium i drachm, powdered
catechu i ounce, peppermint water i pint. ^lix these and
give two table^poonfuls in some cold flour gniel two or three
times each day according to the severity of the symptoms.
The patient's strength must be supported with raw eggs,
milk, gruel, and a little elder-wine is a very useful stimu-
lant in this disorder.

When lambs that are sucking their mothers become
attacked w.th Diarrhoea the first step towards checking it is
to attend to the diet of the dams, and it is also frequently
of great advantage to give them a few doses either of hypo-
sulphite of soda or bicarbonate of soda or potash. The
lamb should be drenched with linseed oil and rhubarb,
followed by the mixture prescribed for sheep, or sometimes
lime water and laudanum given at intervals of a few hours
has a very beneficial effect.

In Dysentery there is always considerable feverishness.
Straining accompanies the evacuation of faeces, which are
streaked with blood and mucus, and are passed very
frequently, or rather, the attempt is made frequently. The
same treatment as that employed in Diarrhoea may be tried ;
but if the disease is not checked with this, subnitrate of
bismuth and opium, acetate of lead and opium, or a few
doses of tannic acid may be tried.

As the weakness caused by an attack of Dysentery is
often extreme, it is important that the patient receives good
nursing and shelter in addition to medicinal treatment If
the patient is very feverish, tincture of aconite may be given
with any of the above medicines.

I30 SHEEP.

DISEASES OF THE LIVER.
ROT, OR FLUKE-ROT.

Although a sheep dying with its Hver in a soft, friable,
or rotten condition is often said to have died of " Rot," yet
the only cause of true Rot is the presence in the bile ducts
of the liver of that parasite known as Fluke {Fasciola
Hepaticd).

Because Rot usually makes its appearance in sheep which
have been feeding in damp, marshy places (except those
near the sea) it was formerly supposed that vapours, etc.,
arising from such places had a miasmatic influence, and Rot
was the outcome of this. It is now well known that the
reason why damp land is favourable to Rot is because during
one stage of its life the fluke, which is the sole cause of this
mischief, inhabits the body of a certain kind or kinds of
mollusc, and as this latter can only live in damp places, so
Rot can only be propagated in such situations.

The symptoms in the early stages of this disorder are :
rapid fattening, after which the affected animals begin to
waste, the wool comes out easily, the eye has a watery ap-
pearance, there is a peculiar flaccid condition of the muscles
of the loin, and often swellings appear about the head and
throat.

The best way to determine whether or not a flock is
attacked by Rot is to carefully examine the dung of some of
the most suspicious-looking animals for the eggs of the
fluke, which can be readily detected with an ordinary mag-
nifying lens, or to kill one or two sheep and examine the
liver for flukes.

Various remedies for Rot have been published ; but
when the disease has become sufficiently advanced to pro-
duce rapid wasting no medicinal agent, either internally or
externally, has yet been discovered that will destroy the
flukes without causing the death of the sheep, and as the

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 131

flukes are the actual and only cause of this affection, there
is at present no known cure for the disease.

The best preventatives are : keeping sheep off suspicious
ground, a liberal allowance of salt and tonics, such as
sulphate of iron, gentian, and common salt given daily in
some dry food of a nutritious character.

Like all other parasitic diseases it is the number of
parasites which cause the mischief; many sheep may and
-do harbour a few flukes and are apparently none the worse
for them, and it is by reason of this that so-called cures are
effected. Sheep having some flukes in their livers but not
sufficient to kill them, if liberally fed on good food and
tonics, often survive and even get fat.

ACUTE HEPATITIS. INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER.

This disease is generally met with in sheep that are
being fed on highly nutritious food, especially if located at
the time on low marshy ground.

The symptoms are dulness, loss of appetite, costiveness,
feverishness, yellowness of the skin and membranes of the
€ye ; there is tenderness on pressure on the right side, and
sometimes lameness of the right fore-leg.

Treatment : Bleeding is very beneficial in the early
stages ; purgatives of Epsom salts, taraxacum, tincture of
aconite, and gentian, accompanied by mustard and turpen-
tine poultice on the right side behind the chest. It is also
necessary to keep the patient from exposure to inclement
weather or excessive heat.

Rock-salt placed within reach of sheep tends to prevent
this disorder, and it is also useful as assisting in effecting a
cure.

CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER.

Chronic disease of the , liver, commencing with a sub-
acute form of inflammation, and ending in complete dis-
organisation (rotting) of this organ, often accompanied by

132 SHEEP.

or causing an accumulation of serum (water) in the abdomen,,
and so producing one form of the so-called Redwater, is very-
common among sheep. One of the chief causes of this
affection is feeding on stained or stale ground, that is,
ground which has previously been run over by sheep at a
recent date. Another cause is poor, watery food, especially
during bad weather, and it is sometimes a sequel to an
attack of Acute Hepatitis.

The symptoms are loss of appetite, wasting, listlessness,.
and yellowness of the membranes of the eye, etc.

The treatment must consist of a change of food, the
allowance of rock-salt to lick, the administration of a dose or
two of Epsom salts, followed by gentian, taraxacum, and
carbonate of iron, given once or twice each day, and some
sweet spirits of nitre and nitro-hydrochloric acid (dilute) given
once daily in a little oatmeal gruel. An occasional dose of
calomel (subchloride of mercury) and opium is also very
useful in cases of this character.

INFLAMMATION OF THE SPLEEN OR MILT.

This is said sometimes to occur as a distinct disease, but
it is very rare, and when this organ is the object of an
apparently inflammatory attack, it is nearly always as an
accompaniment to some other disease, such as some form
of blood poisoning.

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS.

The most frequent and important of these is Cystitis
or Inflammation of the Bladder.

This disease is somewhat common in the male sex,,
but rare in the female; the reason of this being that
Cystitis is in most cases brought on by some obstruction
in the urine passage, and this being longer and smaller
in the male than in the female, it becomes more readily
the starting-point of this disease.

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 133

It is generally met with in sheep that are receiving
a rather large supply of artificial food, and especially such
as are getting fully ripe mangels at the same time ; con-
sequently it is more common in the late spring and early
summer months than at other seasons.

The actual cause in these cases is the accumulation
of crystalline material in the vermiform appendage to
the penis, commonly called "the worm"; and this, besides
actually blocking the passage, so irritates the mucous
membrane that acute inflammation of the urine passage
is set up, which rapidly extends to the bladder, and this,
owing to the retention of the urine, becomes distended,
and in some cases actually ruptures.

The symptoms are those of acute suffering, the animal
constantly shifts his hind legs, strains, attempts to urinate,
the abdomen is tense and hard, breathing quick and
painful, and the back is arched suddenly for a few
•seconds.

Treatment : The removal of the offending agent by
cutting down on it, and taking it out, then washing the
parts with warm water containing a little Condy's Fluid,
to remove any gritty matter that may remain. After this
operation a dose of castor oil and aloes in solution
should be given, followed by a dose, night and morning
for a few days, of sweet spirits of nitre, solution of acetate
of ammonia, and tincture of aconite, in a solution of gum
arabic and linseed tea. The food must be of a digestible
nature, of course avoiding all roots ; and while the appetite
is much impaired, oatmeal and linseed gruel must be given
two or three times daily.

Those cases of Cystitis which occur independently of
an obstruction and as a result of diseased kidneys, or an
excessively irritating condition of the urine, or from the
presence of calculi (stones) in the bladder, may also be
treated in the same way as above described, except, of
course, the cutting into the " worm.".

134 SHEEP.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN.

SCAB

Is about the only skin disease of sheep of great
importance to the flock-owner, besides Variola Ovis, which
has been already dealt with, and those which are due to
the larger parasites, such as ticks, lice, etc., and which
are so well known as to need no description.

Scab is due to another minute parasite, which burrows
under the skin, and causes intense itching.

The symptoms are, constant rubbing against hurdles,
posts, trees, fences, etc., the sheep biting itself, and the
presence of pustules, which are soon ruptured, leaving a
dry, brownish scab, the part being denuded of wool.

The existence or supposed existence of Scab in sheep
must be at once reported to the police, this disease being
within the operation of the Contagious Diseases (Animals)
Act, and their inspector's instructions as to method of
cure, etc., must be strictly carried out.

DISEASES OF THE FEET.

FOOT-ROT.

This troublesome disease is the source of great loss every
year to flock-owners, and for some time past investigations
as to its real nature have been going on, which have re-
sulted in the discovery (for years asserted by many practical
men) that true Foot-Rot is a contagious disease, some soils
being more suitable to the development of the disease-
producing virus than others, this accounting for the fact
that sheep suffering from true Foot-Rot will frequently re-
cover when put on soil that is unsuitable to the development
of the disease-producing germ or virus.

The symptoms of Foot-Rot are well known to flock-
owners and shepherds ; nevertheless other diseases and in-

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 135

juries to the feet are too frequently, through carelessness in
examining the feet, confounded with, and spoken of as Foot-
Rot.

The treatment, too, of Foot-Rot is generally entrusted to
shepherds, each of whom has his pet cure, and indeed, the
effectual eradication of this pest from a flock depends more
upon the mode in which the dressing is employed than
which of the many agents employed is selected for the
purpose, nearly all the curative materials used being caustics
or powerful astringents, such as carbolic acid, solution of
chloride of zinc, butyr of antimony (alone or mixed with
tar), sulphuric acid and tar, sulphate of copper (blue vitriol),
sulphate of zinc, preparations of mercury, alum, and many
others, most of these (besides numerous patent remedies)
being effectual when properly applied. One great essential
in dressing diseased feet is the careful but not ruthless
removal of all diseased parts that can be readily cut away
with a knife.

In mild attacks of Foot-Rot, and where a great number
of sheep are suffering at one time, a convenient method of
dressing is that known as "driving" ; that is, the sheep are
driven through a trough containing some powerful curative
agent, such as a strong solution of sulphate of copper, or
carbolic acid in solution, the trough being shallow, but just
sufficiently deep to allow the contained liquid to come up
to the top, but not over the hoofs of the sheep.

INFLAMMATION OF THE INTERDIGITAL CANAL.

It sometimes happens that the blind tube or canal which
exists at the front of each sheep's foot, having an opening
about the size of a crow's quill between the hoofs or digits
at the front, becomes filled with sharp grit or sand, which
sets up such an amount of inflammation, lameness, tender-
ness, and swelling that it is mistaken for Foot-Rot. Careful
examination will, however, soon reveal the true nature of
the affection, and, unless it is a long-standing case, careful

136 SHEEP.

removal of the offending material, followed by a few appli-
cations of some cooling ointment, such as oxide of zinc
ointment, or some lead lotion, will soon effect a cure.

In bad cases of long standing it is necessary to poultice
the feet, and use an astringent dressing, such as a weak
solution of sulphate of zinc, or sulphate of copper, to check
the granulations (proud flesh) which appear.

There is also an eczematous eruption which takes place
around the coronet and between the digits which is some-
times called Foot-Rot, although it really is totally different
from that disease. It generally occurs in fattening sheep
that are getting a large supply of stimulating food, and it is
attended with a considerable amount of fever.

A few doses of Epsom salts, nitrate of potash, and
tincture of aconite internally, and the sores dressed with
an ointment composed of equal parts of oxide of zinc
ointment and carbolic acid ointment, will quickly give
relief. Of course it is necessary also to lower the quality
of the food.

SPURIOUS FOOT-ROT

Is a name sometimes given to a diseased condition of
sheep's feet, caused by the introduction of sand and grit
through cracks in the walls of the hoofs, or worn and
damaged places in the sole.

The symptoms are very similar to those present in true
Foot-Rot, but the presence of the sand or grit in the
sensitive parts of the foot reveals its true nature and cause,
removal of which, followed by the application of tincture of
myrrh containing a small quantity of carbolic acid, and the
prevention of the recurrence of this state of things, restore
the patients to a normal condition.

After an attack of Foot-and-Mouth Disease sheep's feet
are liable to suffer very considerably, the hoofs in some
cases coming quite off; it is wise, therefore, after an attack
of this disease to give the feet careful attention, by which a

DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 137

great loss from permanently lame sheep may often be
averted.

GARGET. INFLAMMATION OF THE UDDER.

There are two chief causes of Inflammation of the Udder
in ewes, the nrst being severe chill from lying on damp,
cold ground ; the other is sore teats brought on by cold
east winds, or by soreness of the mouths of the lambs,
which induces the ewe to prevent the lamb sucking as much
as possible, whereby the blood-vessels in the udder become
congested, and inflammation follows.

In this, as in all other diseases, our first aim should be
to remove the cause of mischief, or, where this is impossible,
to protect the sufferers from its influence.

The symptoms of Garget are a swollen, hot, and
tender condition of one or both sides of the udder, the ewe
is dull and does not feed well, is stiff" in her movements and
feverish.

Treatment must commence with protection of the
patient from climatic and other influences that are aggra-
vating the disease ; the administration of a dose of Epsom
salts, followed by bicarbonate of soda and tincture of
aconite, once or twice each day according to the severity
of the symptoms.

The udder should be well bathed twice each day with
warm water, wiped dry each time, and the following, ap-
plied with gentle friction : laudanum, i ounce ; cam-
phorated oil, 5 ounces. Mix thoroughly. When the
inflammation has subsided half an ounce of hartshorn may
be added to the above, or the udder may be rubbed once
daily with compound soap liniment and once with the cam-
phorated oil and laudanum.

Garget sometimes runs to a gangrenous state, when it
is commonly known as "' Black Garget," owing to the dark
purple colour which the affected part of the udder assumes,
which also becomes cold and insensible to teeling ; the

138 SHEEP.

constitutional symptoms are increased, and often death
takes place by the gangrenous material so affecting the
blood that blood poisoning takes place.

When " Black Garget " sets in, the affected udder, or
part of udder, should be freely cut into and then well
bathed with hot water, the wounds being dressed with
white oils. Hyposulphite of soda, chlorate of potash,
and quinine should be given three or four times each day,
and the patient's strength kept up with linseed and oatmeal
gruel, milk, eggs, etc., to which a little whisky (about half
a wineglassful) may be added with advantage, two or three
times daily.

DISEASES OF YOUNG SHEEP.

Young lambs are sometimes affected with a scrofulous
disease known as joint-evil, so called because the joints are
stiff, swell, and contain a straw-coloured fluid. The liver
also is affected, and becomes much disorganised, producing
death in many instances.

It is an hereditary disease, often aggravated by climatic
influences, treatment being of but Uttle avail.

Young sheep are often infested with worms in the
alimentary canal, which when present in any considerable
number cause emaciation and ultimately death.

The round worms, of which there are several varieties,
can be got rid of by a few doses of santonine, turpentine,
and linseed oil given after the sheep have been kept with-
out food for several hours previously, and the administration
of sulphate of iron and common salt in some dry food such
as bran, crushed oats, and hay-chaff, each day.

When tape-worms are present, which can easily be
detected by the segments or joints passing away with the
dung, some powdered areca nut or liquid extract of male
fern should be given instead of santonine, with turpentine
and linseed oil, and in the same manner.

DOSES OF DRUGS.

139

DOSES OF DRUGS PRESCRIBED IN THIS WORK.

The doses here given are for a full-grown sheep of
average size and stamina.

Name of Drug.
Iodide of Potassium ... ... ..^ .«

Dialysed Iron

Sulphate of Iron ... ... ... .„ .«

Bromide of Potassium
Tincture of Aconite, B. P.
Epsom Salts, as a Purgative
,, ,, ,, Febrifuge

Potassio-Tartrats of Antimony (Tartar Emetic)
Tincture of Belladonna ...
Extract ,, ,, ... ...

Hydrate of Chloral ... ... .-

Hydrocyanic Acid (Prussic Acid), B.P.

Nitrate of Amyl

Nitrate of Potash (Saltpetre)

Spirit of Nitrous Ether (Sweet Spirits of Nitre)

Solution of Acetate of Ammonia

Chlorate of Potash

Sulphate of Quinine ... .«

Salicylate of Soda

Salicylic Acid

Tincture of Colchicum

Bicarbonate of Soda

Gentian (in powder)

Tincture of Gentian

Tinciure of Opium (Laudanum)

Tincture of Digitalis

Tm-pentine

Assafoetida

Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia ...

Hyposulphite of Soda ...

Chloride of Lime .. .

Common Salt (Chloride of Sodium) as a Tonic,
„ ,, as a Purgative ..,

Linseed Oil

Croton Oil

Tincture of Nux Vomica

Carbonate of Ammonia ...

Carbolic Acid, dissolved in Glycerine ...

Liquid Extract of Male Fern

Dose.

i-

drachm.

I

>>

20 to 30 grains.

I

,, 2 drachms.

10

,,15 minims.

I

,, 2 oz.

About ^ oz.

10 to 12 grains,
i ,, I drachm.

10

,,15 grains.
„ I drachm.

10

„ 15 minims.

5

» 10 „

,, I drachm.

4

,, 6 drachms.

I

„ 3 oz.

, 20

„ 40 grains.

10

„ 15 ».

. 20

„ 40 ,,

10
I

„ 30 „
,, 2 drachms.

I
I

drachm.

2

drachms.

. *

to I oz.

. *

„ I drachm.

. I

oz.

I

drachm.

2 to 4 drachms.

2

„6 „

I

>> 2 ,,

etc. I

>» 3 >>

I
• 3

» 3 oz-
„6„

2

„ 5 minims.

I

,, 2 drachms.

. *

,, I drachm.

. 5

2

,,15 grains,
drachms.

S40

SHEEP,

Name of Drug.
Subnitrate of Bismuth ...
Castor Oil....
Tincture of Rhubarb
Acetate of Lead .-,
Opium (powdered) ,«

Tannic Acid

Taraxacum (Extract of) ...

Carbonate of Iron

Nitro- Hydrochloric Acid (dilute

Calomel (Subchloride of Mercury)

Solution of Aloes ...

Quinine

Santonine .►

Dose.

1 to 2 drachms.

2 „ 4 oz.

2 ,, 6 drachms,
lo ,, 20 grains.
20 ,, 40 „
10 „ 20 „
20 „ 40 „
20 „ 30 ,,
20 ,, 30 minims.
ID ,,20 grains.

I ,, 6 oz.
10 „ 15 grains.
10 „ 15 „

A good antiseptic liquid for injection in the womb, and
for the disinfection of hands, instruments, etc., or for
washing out foul wounds, is made as follows :

Bichloride of mercury, 2 J drachms ; hydrochloric acid,
1} ounces; rain water, 10 pints. Dissolve the mercury
in the acid and water.

INDEX.

Abnormal Presentations, 80.
Acute Hepatitis, 131.
Admission of Rams, 'jj.
Advice to Beginners, 73.
Aims of Breeders, 69.
Ancient Races of Sheep, 7.
Anthrax, 114.
Aphtha, or Thrush, 123.
Apoplexy, iii.

Babraham Flock of Southdowns, 37.
Bakevvell and Leicesters, i6.
Bakewell's Methods, 17.
Blackfaced Breed, 50.
Blood, Diseases of, 113.
Bloodstriking, 114.
Border Leicesters, 21,
Bowman on Merino Sheep, 60.
,, Origin of Sheep, 8.

,, Wool Fibre, 102.

Braxy, 115.

Breeds, Distribution of, 66.
British Breeds of Sheep :

Border Leicester, 21.

Cheviot, 52.

Cotswold, 25.

Clun Forest, 56.

Dartmoor, 57.

Devon Longwool, 30.

Dorset Horn, 45.

Exmoor, 57.

Hampshire Down, 42.

Herdwick, 54.

Leicester, 16.

Limestone, 58.

Lincoln, 23.

Lonk, 58.

Oxford Down, 41.

Penistone, 59.

Romney Marsh, 28.

Roscommon, 31.

British Breeds of Sheep (contimied) :

Ryeland, 47.

Scotch Blackfaced, 50.

Shetland, 59.

Shropshire, 38.

South Devon, 31.

Southdown, 33.

Suffolk, 44.

Welsh Mountain, 55.

Wensleydale, 29.
Bronchitis, 121.

Brown on Physical Influences, 11.
Building up a Flock, 72.

Care of In-lamb Ewes, 79.
Castrating Lambs, 82.
Changes in Sheep Husbandry, 13.
Chai'acteristics of Border Leicester, 22.

,, Cheviot, 52.

,, Clun Forest, 56.

,, Cotswold, 26.

,, Dartmoor, 58.

, , Devon Longwool,

3°-
,, Dorset Horn, 46.

,, Hampshire Down,

43-
,, Herdwick, 54.

,, Leicester, 19.

Limestone, 58.
,, Lincoln, 24.

Lonk, 58.
,, Oxford Down, 41.

,, Penistone, 59,

„ Romney Marsh, 28.

,, Roscommon, 31.

,, Ryeland, 47.

Scotch Blackfaced,

5°-
Shetland, 59.
,, Shropshire, 40.

142

INDEX.

Characteristics of South Devon, 31.
,, Southdown, 38.

,, Suffolk, 44.

,, Welsh Mountain,

55-
Wensleydale, 29.
Cheviot Breed, 52.
Choking, 124.
-Classification of Sheep, 7.
Clun Forest Breed, 56.
Colic, or Gripe, 126.
Composition of Leicester Breed, 16.
Consumption, 121.
Cotswold Breed, 25.
Crosses, Distribution of, 66.
Culley's Description of Typical Sheep,

70.
Cultivation of Sheep in Britain, 8.

Dartmoor Breed, 57.
Darwin on Origin of Sheep, 7.

,, Selection, 11.

Dead Weights, 100.
Dentition, 104.
Devon Longwool Breed, 30.
Diarrhoea, 128.

Digestive Organs, Diseases of, 123.
Dipping, 83.
Diseases of Sheep :

Acute Hepatitis, 131.

Aphtha, or Thrush, 123.

Apoplexy, iii.

Braxy, 115.

Bronchitis, 121.

Choking, 124.

Chronic Inflammation of the Liver,

131-
Colic, or Gripe, 126.
Consumption, 121.
Cystitis, or Inflammation of the

Bladder, 132.
Diarrhoea, 128,
Distension of Rumen, 125.
Enteritis, 127.

Epidemic Catarrh, or Influenza, 116.
Epilepsy, 113.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease, 118.
Foot-Rot, 134.
Gadfly, 120.
Garget, 137.
Gloss- Anthrax, 123.
Hoose, or Husk, 121.
Hove, 125.

Inflammation of the Brain, iii.
>i ,, Interdigital

Canal, 135.
,, ,, Spleen, 132.

Infiammatory Fever (Anthrax), 114.

Diseases of Sheep [coiiti?tued) :

Influenza, 119.

Laryngitis, 120.

Peritonitis, 127.

Pleurisy, 122.

Pneumonia, 122.

Rabies, 112.

Rheumatism, 116.

Rot, or Fluke-Rot, 129.

Scab, 134.

Scrofula, 117.

Septic Metritis, 118.

Simple Fever, 114.

Spurious Foot-Rot, 136.

Sturdy, Turnsick, Gid, 109.

Tetanus, or Lockjaw, 112.

Tuberculosis, or Consumption, 117.

Variola Ovina, or Small-pox, 115.

Water on the Brain, no.
Diseases of Young Sheep, 138.
Dishley Society, 18.
Distension of Rumen, 125.
Distribution of Breeds and Crosses, 65.
Domestication of Sheep, 7.
Dorset Horn Breed, 45.
Doses of Drugs, 139.
Drafting the Flock, 77.

Early Celebrity of English Wool, 9.

, , References to Sheep, 8.
Ellman, John, and Southdowns, 35.
Enteritis, 127.
Epidemic Catarrh, 116.
Epilepsy, 113.
Ewes, Treatment of, 78,
Exmoor Breed, 57.

Feeding, 76.

Experiments, 99.
Feet, Diseases of, 134.
Fever, 114.

Fibre, Structure of Wool, 101.
Flock Books, 75.
Food for Lambs, 81.
Foot-and-Mouth Disease, 118.
Foot-Rot, 134.
Forest Breeds, 49.
French Merinos, 63.

Gadfly, 120.

Garget, 137.

Gestation, 76.

Gid, 109.

Gloss- Anthrax, 123.

Glynde Southdowns ( Ellman' s), 36.

Hampshire Down Breed, 42.
Herdwick Breed, 54.
Hove, 125.
Husk, or Hoose, 121.

INDEX.

143

Inflammation in Ewes, 84.

,, of the Brain, iii.

of the Spleen, 132.
Inflammatory Fever, 114.
Influence of Climate, 12.
Influenza, 119.

Kentish Sheep, 28.

Lambing Season, 79.

,, Yard, 79.
Lambs, Treatment of, 80,
Laryngitis, 120.

Lawes', Sir J. B., Experiments, 99.
Leicester Breed, 15.
Limestone Breed, 58.
Lincoln Breed, 24.
Liver, Diseases of, 130.
Liver Fluke, 129.
Live Weight, 100.
Lockjaw, 112.
Long-wooUed Breeds, 15.
Lonk Breed, 58.

Management and Feeding, 76.

,, Systems of, 83.

Marking the Flock, 78.
Marshall on Bakewell's work, 18.
Merino Sheep, 60.
Mertoun Border Leicesters, 22.
Middle or Shortwool Breeds, 33.
Milk for Lambs, 81.
Mountain and Forest Breeds, 49.
Mutton, 99.

Names of Sheep, 106.
Negretti Merinos, 63.
Nervous System, Diseases of, 109.
Number of Rams to Ewes, 78.
Numbers and Value in United Kinj
dom, 10,

Offal Percentage, loi.
Origin of Sheep, 7, 8.
Ovis Amnion, 7.

,, aries, 8.

,, montana, 7.

,, musmon, 7.

,, tragelaphus, 7.
Oxford Down Breed, 41.

Penistone Breed, 59.
Period of Gestation, 76.
Peritonitis, 127.
Pleurisy, 122.
■ Pneumonia, 122.
Points of Border Leicester, 22.
„ Cheviot, 52.

Points of Clun Forest, 56.
,, Cotswold, 26.

Dartmoor, 58.

Dorset Horn, 46.
,, Devon Longwool, 30.
,, Exmoor, 57.

Hampshire Down, 43.
,, Herdwick, 54.
,, Leicester, 19.

Limestone, 58.
,, Lincoln, 24.
,, Lonk, 58.
,, Oxford Down, 41.
,, Penistone, 59.

Romney Marsh, 28.
,, Roscommon, 31.
,, Ryeland, 47.

Scotch Blackfaced, 50.

Shetland, 59,
,, Shropshire, 40.

South Devon, 31.

Southdown, 38.

Suff"olk, 44.
,, Welsh Mountain, 55.
,, Wensleydale, 29.

Rabies, 112.

Rate of Increase, 100.

Respiratory Organs, Diseases of, 119.

Rheumatism, 116.

Romney Marsh Breed, 28.

Roscommon Breed, 31.

Rot, 129.

Rothamsted Feeding Experiments, 99.

Ryeland Breed, 47.

Saxon Merinos, 62.

Scab, 134.

Scotch Blackfaced Mountain Breed,

50-
Scott, Hon. H. J. .onBorder Leicesters,

22.
Scrofula, 117.
Selecting a Flock, 73.
Selection and Mating, 68,
Septic Metritis, 118.
Shearing, 82.
Sheep Societies, 75.
Shetland Breed, 59.
Shortwool Breeds, 33.
Shropshire Breed, 38.
Skin, Diseases of, 134.
Small-pox, 115.
South Devon Breed, 31.
Southdown Sheep, 33.
Spanish Merinos, 62.
Starting a Flock, 72.
Statistics as to Sheep, 10.

144

INDEX.

Sturdy, io8.
Suffolk Breed, 44.
Systems of Management :

Mr. J, C. Bowstead, 95.

Professor M'Cracken, 95.

Mr. H. Dudding, 89.

Mr. E. Ellis, 87.

Mr. J. B. Ellis, 90.

Mr. H. H. Farthing, 93.

Mr. C. Howard, 83.

Kentish Breeder, 93.

Mr. A. Mansell, 85.

Mr. T. S. Minton, 88.

Mr. W. Parsons, 85.

Mr. G, Scoby, 92.

Mr, H. V. Sheringhara, 90.

Professor Wrightson, 89.

Tanner on Climatic Influence, 12.

Taste for Fat Mutton, 17.

Tetanus, 112.

Time for Admission of Rams, jt.

Treatment of Ewes, 78.

Tuberculosis, 117,

Tup Letting, 18.

Urinary Organs, Diseases of, 132.

Value of Sheep, 11.
,, Wool, 10.
Varieties in Great Britain, 11.
Variola Ovina, 11 s.

Washing Sheep, 82.
Water on the Brain, no.
Webb, Jonas, and Southdowns, 37.
Weights of Blackfaced, 51.

Border Leicesters, 23.

Cheviots, 54.

Cotswolds, 27.

Devon Longwools, 31.

Dorset Horns, 47.

Ex mo or, 57.

Hampshire Downs, 44.

Herd wicks, 55.

Leicesters, 20.

Lincolns, 24.

Lonk, 58.

Oxford Downs, 42.

Romney Marsh, 29.

Roscommons, 32.

Ryelands, 47.

Shropshires, 40.

Southdowns, 36.

Suffolks, 45.

Welsh, 56.

Wensleydales, 30.
Wel^h Mountain Breeds, 55.
Wensleydale Breed, 29.
Winchester Woollen Fabrics, 9.
Wool, loi.

Young, A,, on Southdowns, 36.

THE END.

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