Ron wrote, "As I read it the Southdown sheep breed comes from the South
Down, the Hampshire Down sheep breed from the Hampshire Down - and so
forth.Collectively the breeds of sheep from the various Downs are called
Downs breeds."
Aw, Ron, Can't you share your sources? I gave mine. LOL. And these.
http://www.sheepcentre.co.uk/sheep_breeds.htm
"The Oxford is the largest of the Down breeds and evolved in the 1800s
when several breeders used Hampshire Down and Southdown ewes with
Cotswold rams to produce a large sheep with quality mutton."
http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/breeds/oxford_down.htm
The Oxford Down is the largest heaviest of our Down breeds, with a
capacity for fast growing and early maturity, it is an ideal crossing
ram, producing light carcases in early lambing flocks earlier than its
contemporaries catching the market whilst prices are good.
Nice photo of a Clun Forest at
http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/breeds/clun_forest.htm
And http://www.clun.org.uk/clunsheep.htm
Somehow I always thought the Clun was considered a 'hill breed.' Maybe
Mary Gloster know. In a couple of references from the UK,
http://british.history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22845 From a history of
Shropshire.
"For the most part the upland sheep were either the Clun Forest or the
Kerry Hill breed...."
Same reference, seems to be about Shropshire, "Sheep were mainly Cluns
crossed with Down rams; much of their winter was spent on beet tops and
kale and the summer on rape and turnips."
" On the arable farms, where it was formerly common to keep a resident
flock of ewes for crossing with a Down ram to produce fat lambs, the
ewes gave way to feeding tegs."
However, whatever the Clun is, upland or down, it is in the US
considered a black faced sheep for scrapie purposes, as are apparently
all natural colored sheep, because they have black faces. Hmmmm, wonder
what the (USDA) consider Tunis, Calif. Red, or moorit sheep.
Mary
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