290 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



the ribs arched, the belly carried very light, so that they present nearly as straight a line 

 below as above ; the chest is wide, the skin very mellow, and covered with a beautiful fleece 

 of long, soft wool, which weighs, on the average, from six to seven pounds. On good soils, 

 and under careful treatment, these sheep are currently brought to weigh from eighteen to 

 twenty pounds a quarter at fourteen months old, at which age they are now generally 

 slaughtered. At this age their flesh is tender and juicy, but when carried on until they are 

 older and heavier, fat accumulates so unduly in proportion to the lean meat as to detract 

 from its palatableness and market value.&quot; 



LINCOLNS. 



THIS breed was originally from Lewes, Lincolnshire, England, and was formerly 

 characterized by very large size, coarse and ungainly forms, with an immense fleece 

 of very long wool, it often weighing from ten to twelve pounds. It has, however, 

 been greatly changed for the better by crossing with the Leicesters, and is now, in fact, a 

 sub-variety of that breed, the wool retaining mostly its original characteristics, which are 

 length of staple, and a peculiar lustre which adds much to its value. They do not mature as 

 early as the Leicesters, but are considered a valuable breed. The mutton contains less fat 

 and a greater proportion of lean flesh than the Leicesters. 



Mr. Richard Gibson, of Ilderton, Ontario, Canada, who has had many years experience 

 in breeding this variety, says: 



&amp;lt; Lincolns have always been noted for producing the heaviest fleeces of combing wool of 

 the very finest quality, but at the same time were a large, coarse, slow-maturing sheep, 

 requiring rich pastures and from three to four years to fully develop, but were then monsters 

 in size. But within the past seventy-five years there has been a great improvement in all 

 varieties of sheep, but with none of the long-wool varieties perhaps as much during the last 

 thirty years as with the Lincolns, and no variety of long-wooled sheep in England has made 

 more rapid strides, in the general estimation of the tenant farmer, or extended their territory 

 farther. They are now to be found in nearly every portion of the globe, and especially in the 

 colonies of Australia and New Zealand are they in favor, no cross answering as well on the 

 common flocks of the country. 



When we consider the great advance that has taken place in all branches of agriculture 

 of late years, and the prominent position that sheep have occupied in the general economy of 

 Lincolnshire farming, we can readily understand the incentive and, in fact, the necessity of 

 improvement in the sheep which might be called indigenous to that part of England. As the 

 general aspect of the country changed, and what was formerly barren wastes and rabbit 

 warrens gradually became one of the most productive and best cultivated portions of Britain, 

 and as this great change has been due to the cultivation of green crops, and feeding them off 

 by sheep, we can readily see that the old Lincoln, requiring three years to mature, was not 

 suitable for the purpose. 



There can be no doubt but that to the Leicesters, in a great measure, must be given the 

 credit of having been instrumental in remodeling a variety that now beat their improvers in 

 all points of practical value. &quot;We find that ninety years ago Mr. Dudding, of Panton (grand 

 father of the present eminent breeder of that name), was one of four Lincolnshire farmers to 

 pay the Bakewell Club one thousand guineas ($5,000) for the use of a ram one season. It is 

 also recorded of another Lincolnshire farmer paying Mr. Bakewell one thousand guineas for 

 the hire of two rams one year. 



