even though I've been sheep-raising all my life."

"Surelye, missus."

"Now I'll tell you something about sheep-raising that has never been
done here, all the hundreds of years there's been sheep on the Marsh.
And that's the proper crossing of sheep. My book tells me that there's
been useful new breeds started that way and lots of money made. Now,
would you believe it, they've never tried crossing down here on the
Marsh, except just once or twice with Southdowns?--And that's silly,
seeing as the Southdown is a smaller sheep than ours, and I don't see
any sense in bringing down our fine big sheep that can stand all waters
and weathers. If I was to cross 'em, I'd sooner cross 'em with rams
bigger than themselves. I know they say that small joints of mutton are
all the style nowadays, but I like a fine big animal--besides, think of
the fleeces."

Socknersh apparently thought of them so profoundly that he was choked of
utterance, but Joanna could tell that he was going to speak by the
restless moving of his eyes under their strangely long dark lashes, and
by the little husky sounds he made in his throat. She stood watching him
with a smile on her face.

"Well, Socknersh--you were going to say ..."

"I wur going to say, missus, as my mäaster up at Garlinge Green, whur I
wur afore I took to the Marsh at Botolph's Bridge--my mäaster, Mus'
Pebsham, had a valiant set of Spanish ship, as big as liddle cattle; you
shud ought to have seen them."