"This is a breed which is characterized by Mr. Culley as having no
horns, and the face and legs being speckled; the larger portion of
white, with fewer black spots, the purer the breed; legs fine, small,
clean; the lambs well covered when dropped; the wool, short, thick, and
matted in the fleece. It is a breed peculiar to the elevated,
mountainous tract of country at the head of the River Esk, and Duddon in
Cumberland, where they are let in herds, at an annual sum; whence the
name. At present, they are said to possess the property of being
extremely hardy in constitution, and capable of supporting themselves on
the rocky, bare mountains, with the trifling support of a little hay in
the winter season.