BREEDS, CROSSES, &C; 44^ 



knowledge of different breeds, to be better adapted to the 

 soil, situation, and system of management of the county at 

 large, than any other breed at present existing in the 

 island." 



I proceed to the minutes I have taken in the countv at 

 different periods ; in all such cases the opinion of strangers 

 must fall before the experiments of the natives: their prac- 

 tice, their opinion, are what County Reports should con- 

 tain. 



BREEDS, CROSSES, AND VARIOUS CIRCUM- 

 STANCES. 



Tlie South Down breed is getting rapidly in possession 

 of all the country from Swafham to Holkham ; but from 

 Brandon to Swafham many Norfolks remained : I ob- 

 served, however, some mixture even in that distridl. 



\n 1784, being at Holkliam, I was informed and re- 

 gistered, that Mr. Coke " last April twelvemonth sold 

 sixty Norfolk shearling wethers at Smirhfield for 35s. 

 each : he has killed them at two years old of 3olb. a 

 qi>arter." At that time these were thought extraordinary 

 circumstances. 



1784, with one of the finest flocks in Norfolk, Mr. 

 Coke is not so devoted to the black-face and leg as to he- 

 sitate at any experiment calculated to compare it with 

 another breed. He purchased a number of Leicester 

 ewes of Mr. Walker's breed, to whom he put one of 

 Mr. Bakewell's tups : he is v^-ell satisfied of the advan- 

 tnec attending; this breed. 



Mr. Coke's flock of 160 New Leicester ewes, pro- 

 duced in i8q2, 100 lambs ; his flock of 630 South 

 Downs produced 830 lambs living in June. The same 

 farm yields a most interesting comparison between Nor- 



KORFOLK.] eg folks 



