SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. J 4,^ 



It is exceedingly unfortunate that this eminent breeder has left us sc 

 raucli in the dark in relation to those principles of breeding, adopted by 

 him, which led to such signal success in his efforts to improve both the 

 cattle and sheep of the region in England in which he resided. All of hia 

 measures we7-e veiled in impenetrable secrecy even from his most intimate 

 friends, and he died without voluntarily throwing the least light on the 

 Buhject. The whole inception and management of his famous " Dishley 

 Society"* betrays selfishness the most intense, and, in plain English, mean' 

 ftess the most unalloyed. Should a man claiming to be a gentleman, ir 

 this country, make valuable discoveries in breeding, or in any other de- 

 partment of husbandry, and closely conceal them from the public, his con- 

 duct would meet with universal reprehension and contempt ;t yet the thing 

 seems to be considered a matter of course, or is at least passed over with- 

 out censure, in Youatt, Spooner, Bischoft* and a host of earlier writers, 

 all of whom laud INIr. Bake well to the echo ! 



" The improved Leicester is of large size, but somewhat smaller than 

 the original stock, and in this respect falls considerably below the coarser 

 varieties of Cotswold, Lincoln, &c. Where there is a sufficiency of feed, 

 the New Leicester is unrivaled for its fattening properties, but it will not 

 bear hard stocking, nor must it be compelled to travel far in search of its 

 food. It is, in fact, properly and exclusively a lowland sheep. In its ap- 

 pnjpriate situation, on the luxuriant herbage of the highly cultivated lands 

 of England, it possesses unrivaled earliness of maturity ; and its mutton, 

 when not too fat, is of a good quality, but is usually coarse, and compara- 

 tively deficient in flavor, owing to that unnatural state of fatness which it 

 so readily assumes, and which the breeder, to gain weight, so generally 

 feeds for. The wethers, having reached their second year, are turned off 

 in the succeeding February or March, and weigh at that age from thirty 

 to thirty-five pounds to the quarter. The wool of the New Leicester is 

 long — averaging, after the first shearing, about six inches ; and the fleece 

 of the American animal weighs about six pounds. It is of coarse quality, 

 and little used in the manufacture of cloths, on account of its length, and 

 that deficiency of felting properties common, in a greater or less extent, to 

 all the English breeds. As a combing wool, however, it stands first, and 

 is used in the manufacture of the finest worsteds, &c. 



" The high bred Leicesters of Mr. Bakewell's stock became shy breed- 

 ers and poor nurses, but crosses subsequently adopted " have, to some ex- 

 tent, obviated these defects. So far as my experience has extended in this 

 country, however, the lambs are not very hardy, and require considerable 

 attention at the time of yeaning, particularly if the weather is even moder- 

 ately cold or stormy. Neither can the grown sheep be considered, in nr 

 opinion, i-erjf hardy. They are much affected by sudden changes in the 

 weather, and a sudden change to cold is pretty sure to be registered on 

 their noses by unmistakable indications of catarrh or ' snuffles.' 



"In England, wiiere mutton is generally eaten by the laboring classes, 

 the meat of this variety is in very great demand ; and the consequent re- 

 turn which a sheep possessing such fine feeding qualities is enabled to 

 make, renders it a general favorite with the breeder. Instances are je- 

 cor led of the most extraordinary prices having been paid for these aiii- 



* For the Regulations of this Society, see Youatt, p. 317. 



\ Of course I do not include in this cntegorj- those nameless venders of recipes for killing Canada This 

 ties, rat", &c. &c. ; and men who spend their time and property in inventing improved implements, etc., 

 sre entitled lo the pay ofl'ered by the Patent laws. Btit, among our agiiculfuri.'-ts of Ftanding, who has evei 

 known of a single instance of a valuable discovery in the operntions of husbandry being concealed or with 

 held from the public ? VVho has known a breeder of rank wheedle a panner out of one-half of a valuabll 

 hull, and then refu'e the quondam partner the services of that bull at any price, lest he should prove 

 Inngerou* rival in breeding ? Yet, what English writer has expressed any contotnpl for such i 

 These things would net '•• go down"' among us " rtvudiaUn-g" ! 



