882 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Leicester. The general style and appearance is good and attractive, and indicative 

 of a vigorous, active and hardy animal, and a prime mutton sheep. They are ac- 

 tive and well fitted for gathering a living upon a pasture in which a Leicester 

 would hardly thrive. The lambs are active and hardy, and the ewes good mothers. 

 The fleece is closer upon the back than that of the Leicester (on this point, Mr. 

 Navin and Stewart disagree.) The wool some times reaches a length of nine inches, 

 and, although coarse, is soft and mellow. In many of these sheep, the fleece is 

 beautifully waved. No breed is more valuable for crossing than this. It has helped 

 to establish several permanent and valuable cross breeds — the Oxford Downs and 

 the Shropshires in England; a Cotswold Merino in Germany and another of this 

 cross which is well under way in this country, and last, though not least, a very 

 promising cross-breed, originated on the Beacon Farm, Long Lsland,by Mr. William 

 Crozier, called the Beacon Downs. It has, moreover, been used to produce many 

 crossbred market sheep in various parts of England, and is extensively used by 

 our fiheep-raisers in the production of market lambs. Being capable of adaptation 

 to almost any locality, and producing a wool which, both in its pure state and is 

 its grades, is of wide availability in the woolen manufacture, it may justly claim 

 to be the most valuable sheep we have acquired, and to promise a more extended 

 usefulness than any other we at this time possess, or can probably procure. 



Mr. Stewart's work was published eight years ago, and there has been a great 

 improvement in this sheep, in quality and quantity of wool, brought about by 

 careful and intelligent bretders of England, Canada, and the United States, Had 

 Mr. Stewart written his book four years later, we could with pride and pleasure 

 have given him much heavier weights in fleeces, and in length of staple than any 

 thing he has recorded. I feel no little modesty in saying (as it may savor ot 

 egotism) that in 1879, if I remember right, I sold Mr. Farquhar, our present sec- 

 retary, a ram, sired by old Gray Prince, that clipped 21 1 pounds at thirteen 

 months old, and what was very remarkable, he clipped about the same amount the 

 second year, which I presume was about one year's growth, and we have wool on 

 exhibition in this room that we clipped from another son of Gray Prince, that 

 measures 19} inches, clipped at fourteen months old, the fleece weighing 19 

 pounds. Two years ago this coming spring, one whole flock of 180 head of Cots- 

 wolds averaged 10} jjounds. This is good, considering the number, but many 

 flocks of less number have far surpassed this. It seems almo;-t incredible, when we 

 consider the wonderful change wrought by the art and ingenuity of man with 

 many breeds of sheep, and perhaps one of the grandest triumphs of genius was ac- 

 complished during the seventeenth century in the production of the improved 

 Leicester sheep. It has been nearly a century and a half since the old Leicester 

 sheeiD fell into the hands of Mr. Eobert Bakewell, of Leicestershire, England. 

 They were then large, heavy, coarse animals, having meat of a poor flavor, a long 

 and thin carcass, with flat sides, large bones, and thick, rough legs ; were poor 

 feeders, and at two or three years old made about one hundred pounds of mutton, 

 the wool was long and coarse, and of only moderate value. By a course of breed- 

 ing, about which he was very reticent even t© his best friends, and which he kept 

 secret from other breeders, he totally changed the character of these sheep, and 

 built up a reputation for himself as a successful breeder, which is second to that of 



