8 



invention and manufacture, and astonished every body b}' hoe- 

 ing all his crops with his horse and no other help, while the men 

 sat on the fence. Thus ended the first strike of farm laborers 

 of which I find any record. A little later he invented a thresh- 

 ing machine which was successfully used and remained as he 

 constructed it for many j^ears. These two inventions greatly 

 advanced farming interests by reducing the cost of producing 

 and preparing crops for market. 



The next great movement after Trull was made by Bakewell 

 and his associates in improving the stock of the country. By 

 careful selection of the best cattle and sheep from many herds 

 and flocks, putting together those that resembled each other 

 and breeding to secure definite points, he succeeded in estab- 

 lishing breeds, some of which exist to this day. For instance 

 the black face on white sheep is said to date from his time. It 

 is also claimed that the Durham cattle are a breed which he 

 founded. He professed to have a secret power over animals to 

 produce such results as he chose ; this claim increased his popu- 

 larit}' and aided him in selling for high prices the results of his 

 skill in breeding, the explanation of this fact being that he was 

 a natural judge of cattle and could tell at a glance of what they 

 were capable. An amusing story is told of an attempt to im- 

 pose upon him and his skill in detecting the fraud. 



At the time he was establishing his breed of black face sheep, 

 he was very anxious to obtain a large black face ram that 

 should yield a certain amount of wool, weigh so many pounds, 

 and possess the vigor and power desirable. His search had 

 been for a long time fruitless ; at length a man came with a 

 sheep that appeared to fill the bill. Mr. Bakewell was delighted 

 till he noticed that although the ram's face was as black as a 

 coal, his legs were perfectly white. He however said nothing 

 of his suspicions to the owner, but asking him to mark the 

 sheep so it could be identified, it was turned into the flock, and 

 the owner told to call the next da}- for his pay. Immediately 

 the sheep were let into wet grass. The ram, feeding with the 



