C *44 ) 



would be full of gravy, and the befl in the" 

 world; as they are remarkably juicy and fine- 

 grained. Many gentlemen have obferved to 

 me that fheep of this kind are liable to get 

 over- fat; and that the flavour of the mutton is 

 not fo delicate as that of fome other forts. My 

 anfwer is, that fheep of this kind are at prefent 

 in the hands of the bed feeders, as well as 

 breeders ; and as the price of the ram is very 

 high, great care is in general taken of the off- 

 fpring — fuch care that they are frequently kept 

 fat the whole time they live, fometimes too 

 muchfo; which caufcs their flefli to become 

 ilrong: and this I believe to be the cafe in all 

 animals when they attain a certain age. I had a 

 ftriking proof of this, in regard to the flavour 

 of flefli, in a very poor pig which my father 

 bought of one of his labourers. The pig had 

 been given very young to the man by my fa- 

 ther and was of the fame litter With fome we 

 were then fatting: they were all fed in the 

 fame ftye, and with the fame food : the poor pig 

 fattened aftonifhingly fail, and was afterwards 

 found to be as iuperior in flavour to the others, 

 as Scarborough mutton b to the large Lin- 



colnffiirc or Tees water iheep, 



1c 



