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AGRICULTURE
the Hampshire Down, from which it differs in the rather darker face, head less covered with wool, and the nose of a less pronounced Koman type. The Cheviot takes its name from the range of hills extending along the boundary between England and Scotland, on both sides of which the breed now extends, though its origin has to be sought in Northumberland. The Cheviot is a hardy sheep with straight wool, of moderate length and very close-set, whilst wiry white hair covers the face and legs. The Black-faced Mountain breed is chiefly reared in Scotland, but it is doubtful whether its origin is English or Scottish. Their greater hardiness, as compared with the Cheviots, has brought them into favour upon the higher grounds of the north of England and of Scotland, where they thrive upon coarse and exposed grazing lands. The colour of face and legs in this hardy mountain breed is well-defined black and white, the black predominating. The horns are low at the crown, with a clear space between the roots, and sweep away in a wide curve, sloping slightly backwards, and quite clear of the cheek. The fashionable fleece is deep, hairy, and strong, and of uniform quality throughout. The Lonk has its home amongst the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and it is the largest of the mountain breeds. It bears most resemblance to the Black-faced Mountain sheep, but carries a finer, heavier fleece, and is larger in head and body. Its face and legs are mottled white and black, and its horns are handsome. The tail is long and rough. The Herdwick is a hardy breed thriving upon the poor mountain land in Cumberland and Westmorland. The rams sometimes have curved horns. The colour of these sheep is white, with a few darkish spots here and there; the faces and legs are often speckled. The wool is strong, coarse, and open, and inclined to be hairy about the neck. The forehead has a top-knot, and the tail is broad and bushy. The Wensleydale takes its name from the Yorkshire dale (Yoredale) of which Thirsk is the centre. The Wensleydales are longwool sheep, derived from the old Teeswater breed by crossing with Leicester rams. They are dark-faced, and the head is broad and flat, with a tuft of wool on the forehead. The skin is blue, fine, and soft, whilst the wool has a bright lustre, is curled in all parts of the body, and is of uniform staple. The fore-legs are set well apart, and the hind-legs have a little fine wool below the hock. The Limestone is a breed of which little is heard. It is almost restricted to the fells of Westmorland, and is probably nearly related to the Black-faced Mountain breed. The so-called “Limestones” of the Derbyshire hills are really Leicesters. The Welsh Mountain is a small, active, soft-woolled, white-faced breed of hardy character. The legs are often brownish, and this colour may extend to the face. Horns may or may not be present. The mutton is of excellent quality. The Clun Forest is a local breed in West Shropshire and the adjacent part of Wales. It is descended from the old tan-faced sheep that once occupied the district, and has been much crossed with the Shropshire sheep, but its wool is rather coarser than that of the latter. The first cross with the Shropshire is a favourite with butchers. The Ryeland breed is so named from the Ryelands, a poor upland district in Herefordshire. It is a very old breed, against which the Shropshires have made substantial headway. The Ryeland sheep are small, hornless, have white faces and legs, and remarkably fine short wool, with a topknot on the forehead.
[united The Somerset and Dorset Horned is an old west-country breed of sheep. The fleece is of close texture, and the wool is intermediate between long and short, whilst the head carries a forelock. Both sexes have horns, which are very much coiled in the ram. The muzzle, legs, and hoofs are white ; the nostrils are pink. This is a hardy breed, in size somewhat exceeding the Southdown. Two crops of lambs in a year are sometimes obtained from the ewes, the winter lambs being dropped from October onwards. The Devon Longwool is a breed locally developed in the valleys of West Somerset, North and East Devon, and parts of Cornwall. It originated in a strong infusion of Leicester blood amongst the old Bampton stock of Devonshire. The Devon Longwool is not unlike the Lincoln, but is coarser. It is white-faced, with a lock of wool on the forehead. The South Devon or South Hams are, like the cattle of that name, a strictly local breed, which likewise exemplify the good results of crossing with the Leicesters. The South Devons have a fairly fine silky fleece of long staple. The Dartmoor is a hornless, longwool, white-fleeced sheep, with a long whitish face like that of the Leicester. It is a hardy local Devonshire breed, and is much larger than the Exmoor. The Exmoor is a horned breed of Devonshire moorland sheep, probably of direct descent from the old forest or mountain breeds of England. They have white legs and faces and black nostrils. The horns curl more closely against the head than in the Somerset and Dorset breed. The Exmoors are delicately formed about the head and neck, and they have a close, fine fleece of short wool. They are very hardy, and yield mutton of choice flavour. The Roscommon—the one breed of modern sheep native to Ireland—is indebted for its good qualities largely to the use of Leicester blood. It is a big-bodied sheep, carrying a long, wavy, silky fleece. It ranges mainly from the middle of Ireland westwards. Pigs. The classification of the native breeds of pigs compares unfavourably with that of either cattle or sheep, and in many parts of England there are nondescript animals which it would be difficult to assign to any of the recognized breeds. The latter include the Large White, Middle White, and Small White, which were all formerly embraced under the general term of Yorkshires, and are still so called in other countries. The Berkshire and the so-called Black breeds (Suffolk or Essex) are black, and the Tamworths are red. The Large Whites often have a few blue spots in the skin. The head is of fair length, light in the jowls, and wide between the eyes, with somewhat drooping ears. The neck is long, but not coarse, the ribs are deep, the loin is wide and level, the tail is set high, and the legs are straight and set well outside the carcase. The whole body is covered with straight silky hair, which denotes quality and lean meat. Pigs of this breed are very prolific, and they may be grown to enormous weights. The Middle Whites are built on a smaller scale than the Large Whites. They are shorter in the heads and legs, thicker and more compact in the body, and have a denser clothing of silky hair. The sows are quite as prolific as those of the Large White breed, and, as their produce matures earlier, they are much in demand for breeding porkers. The Small White pigs are much smaller than the Middle Whites. * The head and legs are very short, and the body, which is short, thick, and wide, is close to the ground. The jowls are heavy, the ears are pricked, and the thin skin
