

THE LEICESTER 



431 



breeding. About 1799 or 1800 the first pure-breds brought 

 to America were imported to Quebec, Canada, by Reverend 

 Mr. Toofy. In 1806 John Hart of Cheshire, Massachusetts, 

 secured a ram, and about 1805 or 1806 Captain Beanes of New 

 Jersey brought some pure-bred rams and ewes from England 

 and disposed of them to a retired ship captain, George Farmer, 

 living near New Brunswick, New Jersey. These Beanes Leices- 

 ters were carefully and successfully bred and attained a wide 

 reputation, Captain Farmer selling some rams for as much as 

 $1000 per head. From New Jersey and other states came a 

 large demand for sheep 

 from the Farmer flock. 

 Miles Smith, a neighbor 

 of Farmer, and Joseph 

 Cooper of Flemington, 

 New Jersey, also became 

 prominent breeders. The 

 craze for Merino sheep, 

 however, was on in 

 America, and by 1818, 

 when Farmer died, there 

 were no pure Leicesters 

 on his or Smith's farms. 

 During the War of 1812 

 Christopher Dunn estab- 

 lished the first pure-bred 

 flock of this breed in New York, near Albany, they being stock 

 destined for Canada, but captured by an American privateer. 

 There were importations to New York in 1826 by J. S. Skinner, in 

 1831 by D. Stockdale, and in 1835 by John Baker. The first 

 Leicesters which found their way to Ohio were brought here in 

 1834 by Isaac Maynard of Coshocton County, who also brought 

 other breeds for trial. Henry Parsons of Massillon in 1840 had a 

 large flock of breeding ewes. 



There are two types of Leicester sheep, the Bakewell or true 

 Leicester and the Border Leicester. 



The Bakewell type of Leicester in general appearance is white 

 in color, large, long-wooled, very wide of back, and tends to be long 



FIG. 201. A Border Leicester ram owned by 

 Alexander Cross, Knockdon, Kilmarnock, 

 Scotland. Photograph by the author 



