Appendix CASE ONE - Collection Point® | The Total Digital Asset ...

184 Legal History in the Making
one primitive characteristic it would, at least in some measure, retain the
other.
These are obviously useful animals. The value of the breed is demonstrated
by the fact that is has spread over much of England. Although in Kent they
were known as Romney Marsh sheep, outside Kent, and particularly in
Smithfield, they were known as Kent sheep. But when they started being
exported they were usually known as Romneys, not Kents. Because of the
vast numbers of them that were exported all over the world the National
Sheep Association refer to them as 'the best known sheep in the world'.
The case of New Zealand is particularly striking. The first sale of Romneys
to New Zealand was in 1851. Now 80 per cent of the sheep in the North
Island are Romneys and 40 per cent of those in the South Island are Romneys.
Around Canterbury in the South Island Romney ewes were crossed with
Southdown rams to produce fat lambs, the sliced up bits of which are known
as Canterbury lamb. Most of the New Zealand lamb now eaten in this country
is predominantly Romney.
The characteristics of Romneys would have been particularly attractive to
sheep herders of Wyoming or Utah. Clearly Romneys are good wool and
meat sheep and would meet all but very specialized requirements on those
scores. Their particular hardiness and ability to withstand extremes of climatic
conditions would also be useful in the hot wastes of Utah. But their grazing
characteristics were also important: their habit of spreading out to graze both
met the objections of the cattle men and also ensured that they made the best
use of the poorer pastures which would be found in Utah. It seems unfortunate
for the case that their resistance to salt cannot be proved; and it also has to
be pointed out that not all of Utah is a salt desert. Nevertheless a prospective
purchaser from Utah would know that some Utah land was salt affected and
would be persuaded, by looking at Romney Marsh, that the sheep must be
salt resistant. Having examined the characteristics of many other breeds of
sheep, we cannot find one that would clearly be a more attractive prospect
for sheep herders recently thrust into Utah. Yet it has to be said that the
export records show that there has only ever been a small and occasional
sale to the States. 14
It will be remembered that the story to be tested is that Butch Cassidy shot
up the sheep herders of Wyoming so badly that they departed into Utah,
where the land was so salty that salt resistant sheep were needed; therefore
the sheep they wanted were Romneys and, for the chance of good sales to
14 This section is based on private communications to the authors and on: British Wool Marketing
Board, Sheep Breeds: Their Wool and Its Uses (1983); E.H. Carrier, The Pastoral Heritage of Britain
(1936); Lord Ernie, English Farming, Past and Present, 5th ed. (1936); Elizabeth Henson, British Sheep
Breeds (Princes Risborough, 1986); National Sheep Association, British Sheep (1987 ed.); Kenneth
A. Ponting, Sheep of the World (1980); R. Trow-Smith, A History of British Livestock Husbandry,
1700-1900 (1959); M.L. Ryder, op. cit.