“The breed has been at Tabley for nearly two hundred years, as shown by an old painting of the house at a certain date. Lord de Tabley has, I think, no special name for them but ‘spotted.’ The Tabley rams had straight horns—nearly all had four, and very long; but when he had a ram from me many came with the twisted horns, and Lord de Tabley complained that I had spoilt the beauty of his flock. At Tabley they kept all the rams for ornament, and never ate any of the mutton. These gentry were let live as long as they could, and amused themselves by continual fighting. I treat my flock as other flocks are treated, and have no other mutton.

“An officer told me he had seen such in the Basque Provinces, and there are many in Shetland more or less spotted, and Shetland has great trade with Spain. The Shetland people don't like the spotted ones, so the marking is not distinct, not being desired—that is, the spotted ones are got rid of.

“The size of the Tabley horns has much decreased—from, I suppose, breeding in-and-in. Many years ago a Spanish beggar-woman came here carrying a child on her back. I told her I could not speak Spanish; but she said, ‘There are many of my countrymen here.’ I made out that it was the sheep, and she explained that when the child saw the sheep it cried out that it recognised countrymen. I asked her more, and she said there were numbers of them where she lived; but I forget what part of Spain. The merino sheep are totally distinct.

“We have had some curious facts in breeding. When Lord de Tabley had a curly-horned ram from here, the rams had curly horns almost exclusively; when. by an accident, our spotted rams got to white ewes, the lambs were all black; when a white tup has got to our spotted ewes, the lambs were all white and very white. I always kill any crossbred lambs, so I can't say what their progeny would be.

“You may observe that the black wool is harsher and more curly than the white on the same sheep. This, years ago, made our wool less valuable than the white, but now the buyers make no difference, and I believe for some Scotch manufactures the mixture is liked, as it makes an undyed brown.

“Early in summer I always observe that the spots of black are below the level of the white ground. It is odd that I have never seen a black ground with white spots, except sometimes a white cap, never on the body.

“

Yours faithfully

H. Dryden