276 History of the English Landed Interest. 



butcher's point of view eclipsed this Scotchman's feat, for 

 though its live weight was only 286 lbs., its carcase scaled 

 198 lbs. ^ Far behind such successes as these was a crossed 

 Lincoln and New Leicester four-shear wether, killed the same 

 year as the last mentioned, which weighed, alive, 212 lbs., and 

 was found when butchered to possess a carcase of 121 Ibs.^ 

 The year preceding a pure bred three-shear Lincoln wether was 

 killed whose four quarters totaled 204 Ibs.^ In the same year 

 Coke, of Holkham,* bred a Southdown whose live weight was 

 14 St. 6 lbs., and carcase 9st. 6 lbs. \^ and Culley tells of a Tees- 

 water wether which averaged 62 lbs. 10 ozs. per quarter.^ The 

 New Leicesters seem to have had more meat in proportion to 

 fat and offal than any other variety. A Dorset was killed in 

 1798 which weighed 23^ lbs. a quarter, and had 15 lbs. of loose 

 fat, while a New Leicester slaughtered at the same time and 

 place had, though it averaged 40 lbs. per quarter, only 12| lbs. 

 of fat.7 



The management of the Dishley flock was briefly as follows : — 

 Lambs were weaned from the middle of July to the beginning 

 of August, put upon clover-aftermath until November, and 

 then folded upon the hulls of turnips which had been first fed 

 off by the feeding flock. The ram lambs had every indulgence 

 from weaning time to shearing, and were let out on hire the 

 first season. After the lambs left the ewes, the latter were 

 kept moderately well till winter, when they had turnips, etc. 



The Dishley breed had been crossed with the famous Cots- 

 wold variet}'^, by which the latter obtained the former's fineness 

 of fore-quarter without losing its own excellence of wool. A 

 second cross was, however, found to damage both its size and 

 fleece. 



The now famous Shropshire sheep was not as yet known. 



* Annals of Agriciiltitre, vol. xxix. p. 605. 

 ^ Id. Ihid., vol. xxviii. p. 275. 



3 Id. Ihld., vol. xxvii. p. 105. 

 " Id. Ibid., vol. xxvi. p. 184. 

 5 The present Lord Walsingham has had them over 17 stone. 



* Observations on Live Stock. G. Culley, 1786. 

 ' Annals of Agriculture, vol. xxx. p. 71. 



