CHAPTER XVII 



THE LEICESTER 







Two Types of Leicester. There are two types of Leicester, 

 the English or Improved Leicester and the Border Leicester. In 

 England, Scotland, and New Zealand, the Border Leicester is re- 

 garded as a breed distinct from the English Leicester, but in the 

 United States and Canada no such distinction has been made. In 

 fact, American breeders have mingled the two types, and in so doing 

 some breeders think a better sheep has been secured than either 

 the English or Border Leicester (Fig. 101). 



The English Leicester. History. About 1760, Robert Bake- 

 well, who lived in central England near Loughborough in the county 

 of Leicestershire, began improving the old Leicester sheep. They 

 were large, coarse, ill-formed, slow maturing animals with long 

 coarse wool and flesh of poor quality. Nothing is known concerning 

 their origin, but probably they were gradually evolved into a type 

 considered suitable for a rather fertile country. By the middle of 

 the eighteenth century conditions surrounding agriculture had 

 changed to such extent that the old sheep were not sufficiently 

 profitable. No one was more fully aware of their faults than Bake- 

 well, and hence his objects in improvement were well-defined and 

 definite. He wanted earlier maturity, more propensity to fatten, 

 more carcass in proportion to the live weight, and better quality 

 of flesh. These objects necessarily involved improvement in body 

 conformation and general quality. In addition, Bakewell linked 

 utility of form with beauty of form, and unhesitatingly sought for 

 a more beautiful sheep than the old type. 



Bakewell's Method. For a man of his time and occupation, 

 Bakewell travelled extensively in search of specimens which he 

 believed would breed toward the type of sheep he wished to secure. 

 Just how far away he went for some of the animals he used is not 

 definitely known, but very likely most of his selections were made 

 in his home community and in nearby counties. He was a keen 

 observer of animals and skillful in mating them so as to make 

 progress toward the type he desired. So far as is known he was the 

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