All our breeds of sheep, as they exist to-day, are vastly different animals to their ancestors of 100 years ago. Most counties at that time, boasted a breed or type of their own ; but, after the inception of Breed Societies, these breeds were somewhat reduced, or at any rate absorbed by other breeds. At the same time it must be freely admitted that in no other country in the world are there so many different breeds of sheep as there are in the British Isles.

In the process of improving British sheep, two breeds, the Leicester and the Southdown, stand out quite clearly, and in most of our present-day recognised breeds, the Leicester or the Southdown have at some time or other played no small part in bringing about that improvement.