Are wherever the pastures are sweet and dry; the climate not excessively hot; and the land not too valuable for other purposes. Wool is generally the great object in the sheep husbandry of this country, and when sheep farms are remote from the large markets, the Merino will make much the most profitable returns. In the neighborhood of cities, where large and fat sheep and early lambs bear a high price, the mutton sheep may be substituted. The South Down. This valuable sheep has been known and bred for a long time on the chalky downs of England, where it has always maintained the character of a hardy animal, yielding a medium quality of wool, and furnishing mutton of a superior flavor. It was not, however, till within the last 70 years, that any considerable attention was devoted to its improvement. Since that period, its fine points have been remarkably developed, which is shown in its improved size and form, and its early maturity and productiveness. The late Mr. John Ellman, of England, was the first who took them thoroughly in hand; and so eminent was his success, that he founded a flock which has been the source whence all the best blood has been since derived. [Illustration: Fig. 23. South Down Buck.] The form and characteristics of the South Downs. His criteria of a good South Down, are as follows:--"The head small and hornless; the face speckled or gray, and neither too long nor too short. The lips thin, and the space between the nose and the eyes narrow. The under jaw, or chap, fine and thin; the ears tolerably wide, and well covered with wool, and the forehead also, and the whole space between the ears well protected by it, as a defence against the fly. The eye full and bright, but not prominent. The orbits of the eye--the eye-cap, or bone,--not too projecting, that it may not form a fatal obstacle in lambing. The neck of a medium length, thin towards the head, but enlarging towards the shoulders, where it should be broad and high, and straight in its whole course above and below. The breast should be wide, deep, and projecting forwards between the fore-legs, indicating a good constitution, and a disposition to thrive. Corresponding with this, the shoulders should be on a level with the back, and not too wide above; they should bow outward from the top to the breast, indicating a springing rib beneath, and leaving room for it. The ribs coming out horizontally from the spine, and extending far backward, and the last rib projecting more than the others; the back flat from the shoulders to the setting on of the tail; the loin broad and flat; the rump long and broad, and the tail set on high and nearly on a level with the spine. The hips wide; the space between them and the last rib on either side as narrow as possible, and the ribs, generally, presenting a circular form like a barrel. The belly as straight as the back. The legs neither too long nor too short. The fore-legs straight from the breast