The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-11 00:00:00

SIR JOSHUA JEBB'S PEN OF PRIZE

LAMBS.

(At the Metropolitan Fat-Cattle Show, Dec. 1862.)

What Ellman of Clynde was as an improver of our
short-woolled Southdowns, Bakewell of Ditchley as an im-
prover of the long-woolled Leicesters, and Culley of Fenton,
or Jonas Webb, of Brabaham, as crossers of the long and
short-woolled strains, Sir Joshua Jebb may claim to be in
the case of his favourites, known as the Dartmoor or Port-
land variety of the old black-legged, coarse-featured, bull-
headed, thick-necked, Newgate breed.
A pen of Sir Joshua's lambs just now on exhibition in
the Metropolis (and delineated on the opposite page by our
artist), are considered by all the judges as the most perfect
examples yet seen of what may be done to develope the ani-
mal by careful selection of the stock in the first instance,
and then by cultivating the natural qualities to the utmost by
high feeding, the greatest attention to warm and well-aired
housing, cleanliness, and every other condition of health
and comfort. In order to be able perfectly to estimate what
Sir Joshua Jebb has done for his favourite Portland Dart-
moor breed, we have only to contrast his pen, either with
one of the old Newgate breeds, scantily fed, miserably
housed, and harshly used in every way, or with one of the
native stock of the district about Portland and Dartmoor
unkempt, unwashed, faring hard, ill-lodged, and generally
uncared for. Sir Joshua's lambs are the very perfection of
development : the somewhat coarse and heavy face and
bull-neck run in the blood, but the fine clear skins and short
wool, the fat well laid on to the ribs, loins, and quarters,
but not in excess of what is required for perfect health and
symmetry, the sleek, round legs and forearms, and the
general air of content and well-being, are entirely due to
Joshua's admirable system of diet and housing. Sir Joshua's
lambs are very free feeders, and fatten very quickly, in spite
of their heavy bone : they carry a short fleece, but the pre-
sent pen being shearlings, must be judged rather by their
symmetry than their wool.
They are, however, a very costly breed,- and this, with
their confirmed tendency to break bounds and run wild, at
present militates much against their popularity. Sir Joshua
has completely dissipated the notion formerly prevalent
that lambs of this class ought to be kept hard, and would
improve most rapidly on coarse and scanty fare, rough
lodging, and generally severe treatment. On this system
we rarely saw the qualities of the animal developed to any-
thing like the perfection to which Sir Joshua has succeeded
in bringing them. The Portland or Dartmoor lamb re-
mained a stunted, poor, meagre specimen of his race, ragged
in coat, low in flesh, dull and spiritless in eye, carriage and
demeanour. The best proof how highly Sir Joshua's im-
proved breed is appreciated is the number he is annually
enabled to let (loose), the figure they cut in the (police) re-
ports, and before the moat eminent judges, and the num-
ber that are annually sent abroad, which would be much
greater if our colonies had not somehow contracted a preju-
dice against the breed, which has thrown a great deal too
many on the home market of late. Sir G. W. Bramwell
has lately borne striking testimony to the merits of a sample
pen of Sir Joshua's lambs, which came under that excellent
judge's eye, and stood A 1 at the last show in Newgate
market.

In a word, it may be aaid'of Sir Joshua's lambs, that
wherever they enter the field they floor everything that
comes in their way. Nothing can stand against them. Sir
Joshua's great secret after all is feeding and lodging. In•
stead of the coarse and carelessly prepared " skilly" which
with bread and water constituted the food of the old.
Dartmoor and Portland breeds, Sir Joshua's improved
lambs have a diet table varying daily, which includes a
great variety of carefully prepared mashes, and all the roots
in season, to say nothing of other and more substantial ail-
ments. Then for the dark, damp, cold, and gloomy quar-
ters, once thought good enough for these animals, Sir
Joshua has substituted clean, dry, spacious, airy and warm
houses, in which his lambs are, as a rule, far better lodged
than the labourer who are employed about them. It is i
wonder, if under this costly and careful system Sir Joshua's
lambs lay on meat freely, and exhibit the very perfection of
highly developed animal cendition.
At how many pounds every one of these lambs stands we
should not like to guess, but it is certain they must come
very heavy. The only danger is, that such very high feed-
ing may developo inflammatory tendencies. Sir Joshua
declares, however, that this high feeding is necessary for
the health of the animal when kept under cover, and fat-
tened in the house. He would not advocate it for animals
left to run at large. In short: ilvfiathsketdhetoempopihnattt: twhoexmdso—st
consummate animals in this show we should turn to Sir
Joshua's pen of prize lambs
That's the ticket I " Punch.

A letter from Munich of the 4th says that the
ex-Queen of Greece is seen every day at noon on horseback,
in the suburbs with a lady of honour and some personages
of the oourt,