SHEEP. 



superior in size, but it is at an ex- 

 pense of time and oC food, and, event- 

 ually, a palpahle deterioration of flesh 

 and duninution of profit. The new 

 Leicesters, on fair keep, will yield a 

 greater (juantity of meat, for the same 

 quantity of food, than any other breed 

 of sheep. The meat is of a peculiar 

 character. It is disliked by some on 

 account of a supposed insipidness. 

 The fatly matter is too much intro- 

 duced between the muscular fibres, 

 and there may be the appearance and 

 the taste of a mass of fat. This, how- 

 ever, is the fault of the breeder, and 

 not of the animal : it marks the point 

 to which the fattening process should 

 be carried, and where it should stop. 

 It is the fault of th# grazier if he con- 

 verts that which is an excellence into 

 a fault. 



" There are accounts of the Lei- 

 cester sheep attaining a very great 

 weight. Two prime wethers exhib- 

 ited by Mr. Painter at the Smithfield 

 cattle show, in 1835, weighed 165 

 and 155 pounds. It should, howev- 

 er, be remarked that the new Leices- 

 ter sheep has a smaller quantity of 

 bone, in proportion to its weight, than 

 any other sheep. 



" The deficiency of the fleece was 

 formerly objected to in the new Lei- 

 cester sheep. The truth of the mat- 

 ter was, that with the early breeders 

 the fleece was a perfectly secondary 

 consideration, and comparatively dis- 

 regarded. There is now little cause 

 for complaint on this head. The wool 

 has considerably increased in length, 

 and it has improved both in lineness 

 and strength of fibre. It averages 

 from six to seven pounds the fleece, 

 and the fibre varies from five to more 

 than twelve inches in length. Like 

 all other British wools, it is applied 

 to a purpose different from that to 

 which it was formerly devoted, and 

 is mostly used in the manufacture of 

 serges and carpels. 



" The chief value of the new Lei- 

 cester breed consists in the improve- 

 ment which it has effected in almost 

 every variety of sheep with which it 

 has been crossed. .Most of the breed- 

 ers of the South Downs were at first 



averse to admit a cross with the Lei- 

 cesters ; but when the wool of the 

 South Downs betran to be applied to 

 purposes very different from those to 

 which it had been formerly devoted, 

 a cross with the Leicesters was reluc- 

 tantly attempted. A sheep was pro- 

 duced, probably not so hardy, but 

 coming earlier to the market, yield- 

 ing a longer and a finer fleece, of 

 nearly double the weight, and with a 

 combing wool adapted for many val- 

 uable purposes. 



" A short account must be given 

 of the other breeds of long-wooUed 

 sheep, although some of them are 

 rapidly passing away. The Tecswa- 

 tcr, inhabiting the southern districts 

 of Durham and the north of York- 

 shire, was once in considerable re- 

 quest on account of the weight of its 

 carcass, the goodness of its flesh, 

 and the remarkable degree in which 

 the ewes were prolific. Its greatest 

 fault was that it was too heavy for 

 the lowlands in which it was j)laced, 

 and i\\e pasture was trodden down 

 and destroyed. Some of the Leices- 

 ters found their way to the banks of 

 the Tees, and the old breed was 

 crossed by them. The carcass be- 

 came somewhat smaller, but it was 

 more compact and profitable. More 

 mutton was produced on the same 

 quantity of land ; and, after a consid- 

 erable time, for the improvement was 

 always slower with regard to the wool 

 than the flesh, the fleece became finer 

 and closer. The old breed gradually 

 diminished and almost disappeared. 



"The largest and most ungainly 

 breed of sheep was the Lmcolns, 

 ' hornless, with long, thin, and weak 

 carcasses, large bones, weighing from 

 twenty to thirty pounds a quarter ; 

 the wool averaging from eight to 

 twelve pounds the fleece ; the sheep 

 a slow feeder, and the flesh coarse- 

 grained.' This is the account given 

 of them by a good but a prejudiced 

 observer, Mr. CuUey. In fact, while 

 Bakewell and his admirers were al- 

 most neglecting the fleece, the Lin- 

 colnshire farmer was quite as inat- 

 tentive with regard to the carcass. 

 Both parties were wrong. The old 



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