596 THE HOME, FARM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA. 



wardly, and is uniformly accompanied by a tendency to quickness of im- 

 provement." In this latter quality the new Leicesters are unrivalled. 



The new Leicesters, with all their good qualities, are not a hardy race, 

 neither are they so prolific as many other breeds. The ewes seldom pro- 

 duce twins, nor indeed did the founders of this stock deem the production 

 of twins desirable. They aimed at bringing forward the lamb as early as 

 possible, and rightly considered that few ewes could produce two such 

 lambs as would meet with their wishes and realize their object. The 

 fact, moreover, is, that the exclusive attention paid to the establishment 

 of a race, the vital energies of which were to be exhibited in the attain- 

 ment of early maturity and in the quick accumulation of fat, while pro- 

 ductive of the results aimed at, necessarily entailed counterbalancing de- 

 ficiencies. A tendency to rapid fattening and early ripeness is not co- 

 existent, as a general rule, with great fertility. In this point, then, the 

 new Leicesters are defective, but less so than formerly. Still the ewes do 

 not yield any great abundance of milk, and the lambs are tender, delicate, 

 and unfitted to endure any great inclemency of weather. 



Such, then, are the new Leicesters, to which so many other breeds owe 

 their improvement by crossing : indeed, if we limit our attention to this 

 part alone of their history, the benefits resulting from them will be found 

 as important as they are extensive. It would be folly to attempt to na- 

 turalize the Leicesters on coarse, lean pastures, on wilds, heaths, and 

 mountains, they would rapidly degenerate, and few of their lambs, with 

 the best care, would survive the winter ; but, as in the instances of the 

 Cheviots, the hardy mountain sheep may derive no trifling improvement 

 from a cross, and that too without a loss of hardiness. 



The true type of the breed is as follows : The head should be horn- 

 less, long, small, tapering towards the muzzle, and projecting horizon- 

 tally forward. The eyes prominent, but with a quiet expression. The 

 ears thin, rather long, and directed backward. The neck full and broad 

 at its base, where it proceeds from the chest, so that there is, with the 

 slightest possible elevation, one continued horizontal line from the rump 

 to the poll. The breast broad and round, and no uneven or angular for- 

 mation where the shoulders join either the neck or the back ; particularly 

 no rising of the withers, or hollow behind the situation of the bones, 

 The arm fleshy through its whole extent, and even down to the knee. 

 The bones of the leg small, standing wide apart ; no looseness of skin 

 about them, and comparatively bare of wool. The chest and barrel at 

 once deep and round, the ribs forming a considereble arch from the spine 

 so as in some cases, and especially when the animal is in good condition, 



