THE LEICESTER. 89 



breeding, and of skill in selection of materials first. The new 

 breed was marked by early maturity, a great disposition to 

 fatten, a carcass which, for its reduced size, had greater 

 value than the previously larger but coarser animal; a cor- 

 responding diminution of offal; and the largest return for the 

 food consumed than that of any other existing breed of 

 sheep. 



Mr. Bakewell made a profound secret of his methods of 

 procedure, and although well watched by those interested 

 in knowing his secret, so successfully guarded it that to this 

 day very little is known of it. One thing, going to show the 

 extent of his experiments, was discovered by one of his com- 

 petitors in former work in improving the Shorthorn cattle, 

 which was that Mr. Bakewell had a remarkably fine black- 

 ram in his stables, which wa,s supposed to have been used in 

 this improvement of his favorite sheep, and it is to this rani 

 that is attributed the occasional black spots which are some- 

 times still found on the best bred Leicesters. Indeed this 

 mark is thought to be an indication of strict purity in the 

 sheep that have descended from the original flock of Bake 

 well. 



It was well known that Mr. Bakewell was not particular 

 as to the means he used so that the result suited his purpose. 

 It is known that the best specimens of the old breed were 

 secured as the foundation for his work, and that while the 

 results were far beyond what might have been expected, yet 

 they were sufficient to establish a remarkable improvement 

 in the old breed and make of the new breed the best sheep 

 then existing. 



It had its faults, however. These were want of constitu- 

 tion, sterility, and inferiority of fleece. These have been 

 amended by Mr. Bakewell's successors in the same line, by 

 most careful selection of rams closely bred from the most 

 satisfactory specimens of the improved flocks. And while, 

 as the case now stands, there has been no breed of long 

 wools that has not been improved by a cross of the new 

 Leicesters, yet this breed with its most excellent qualifica- 

 tions has nothing to gain outside of itself, and have only 

 been retained by preserving this breed pure and unmixed. 



The special points of the Leicester are as follows: 



The head is hornless, long, small, tapering to the muzzle, 



