SHEEP. 19 



be found in England, except among amateurs, as objects 

 more of curiosity than of profit. 



The greatest promoter of this preference was the cele- 

 brated Bakewell, a man of genius in his way, who has 

 done as much towards enriching his country as his con- 

 temporaries Arkwright and Watt. Before his day the 

 English sheep was not fit for the butcher till the age at 

 which ours are now slaughtered ; that is to say, about 

 four or five years old. Bakewell thought, very justly, 

 that if it were possible to bring sheep to their full 

 development before that age to make them fit for being 

 killed at two years old, for example the produce of the 

 flocks by this single means would be doubled. With 

 that perseverance which characterises his nation, he suc- 

 cessfully carried out this idea at his farm of Dishley 

 Grange, in Leicestershire, after many years of labour and 

 expense. 



The breed thus obtained by Bakewell is called the new 

 Leicester, from the county, or Dishley, from the name 

 of the farm, where it took its rise. This extraordinary 

 breed, unrivalled in the world for precocity, produces 

 animals which may be fattened as early as one year old, 

 and in every case have reached their full growth before 

 the end of the second year. To this invaluable quality 

 is added a perfection of shape, which renders them more 

 fleshy and heavier for their size than any known breed. 

 They give on an average 100 Ib. of meat net, and some- 

 times more. 



The means adopted by Bakewell for obtaining such a 

 marvellous result, is known to all breeders by the name 

 of selection. It consists in choosing individuals of a breed 

 exhibiting in the greatest degree the qualities desired to 

 be perpetuated, and to make use of such only for repro- 

 ducing. At the end of a certain number of generations, 



