276 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



Sept. 



Leicester, England, who was justly considered in 

 his day the most profound breeder in the kingdom. 

 £ike all men of true genius, he marked out a course 

 entirely new to the world and peculiar to himself, 

 and having discovered principles hitherto un- 

 known, by which nuture properly directed can be 

 made to produce almost any given form in the 

 animal creation, he had the firmness of character 

 and indomitable courage to persevere against envy, 

 prejudice and persecution, until he had vindicated 

 his superior judgment and sound philosophy in the 

 product on of this invaluable breed. His triumph- 

 ant success made him famous throughout the 

 world, and he was counted fit to be classed with 

 such benefactors as Arkwright, Bolton, Watt and 

 Stephenson — men who left their impression upon 

 the age in which they lived, and did more to in- 

 crease the material wealth of England than all her 

 statesmen and heroes. 



He it was who originated the system of breeding 

 rams for hire, and to illustrate the soundness of 

 his judgment, and the value of this breed, it may 

 be stated that in 1760 his price for rams for the 

 season was 17s, 6d. sterling, or |4 37 of our cur- 

 rency, and gradually advancing ; in 1780 it was 

 100 guineas, or $500. In 1789 he made 1,2()0 guin- 

 eas, or $6,000 by the hiring of three rams, and 

 2,100 guineas, or|10,000 for the use of seven. For 

 the balance of his rams for the season from the 

 Dishley society, then just instituted, he received 

 8,000 guineas, or |15.000. It is much to be re- 

 gretted that one so distinguished for his riire judg- 

 ment and capacity as a breeder, should have left 

 the record of the system by which he produced 

 such marvelous results, but for some unexplained 

 cause he chose to carry with him into the grave 

 the knowledge which had enabled him to so en- 

 rich himself and his country. It is known, how- 

 ever, that he selected the best animals of their 

 kind, and by coupling them together, developed 

 the qualities which he regarded as most valuable. 

 He held rigidly to the doctrine that "like begets 

 like," and sought as far as possible to confine his 

 experiments to animals that were the descendants 

 of approved qualities. It has been frequently as- 

 serted that he was in the constant habit of ''breed- 

 ing in," but this is purely conjecture, as it is a mat- 

 ter of history that he trusted no one with the se- 

 crets of experiments. His only confidante was an 

 old shepherd who alone knew what animals were 

 coupled, and he was pledged to profound secrecy. 



The new Leicester breed comes to maturity 

 much earlier than any other, making the lambs 

 exceedingly valuable for market. They are reared 

 in all the better agricultural counties of England, 

 and especially in Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Cam- 

 bridge, where the "fens" and marshes correspond 

 in soil and character very nearly to the prairies 

 and rich pastures of the West. — Ex. 



— In this county, (Champaign,) is one of the best 

 flocks of the above sheep to be found in the West, 

 from which ram lambs can be had at ten dollars 

 a head. If the owners would advertise them they 

 would soon find buyers, for they are second to no 

 long wool sheep in the State. As a mutton sheep 

 they cannot be easily beaten anywhere. 



Wool Growers' Meeting. 



Notice has been given to the wool growers of 



Illinois that a convention of those interested in 



sheep and wool raising will be held at Decatur, 



during the time of the Illinois State Fair. 



It may not be untimely now to remind the sheep 

 men of Ohio, that the Wool Growers' Convention, 

 which met here last April, adjourned to meet again 

 in this city on the evening of the second day of the 

 Ohio State Fair; and that in the resolution for this 

 second meeting an invitation was extei^ded to all 

 wool growers, manufacturers, and dealers in wool, 

 to attend and take part in the discussion and pro- 

 ceedings of the meeting. This meeting will, un- 

 doubtedly, be largely attended by the flock mas- 

 ters of Ohio. The wool question has this summer, 

 been second only to the question of putting down 

 the rebellion, and by the middle of next month, 

 the wool market will probably have a-sumed such 

 a shape as to make it profitable to compare notes. 

 And then upon the original question which led to 

 the calling of the first meeting — that of sheep 

 washing — sheep men will be better prepared than 

 thej' were last spring to take a positive position. 

 The question has led to considerable discussion 

 through the columns of the Ohio Farmer, as well 

 as in private circles, and wool growers will come 

 to this meeting prepared to act. We hope that 

 the manufacturers will frankly accept the invita- 

 tion extended to them. They have not been re- 

 markably free in telling what their experience has 

 taught them with regard to the difference between 

 washed and unwashed wools — satisfied, apparently, 

 with the advantage which a deduction of one-third 

 from all unwashed wools gives them. We say ad- 

 vantage, because there can be no question of the 

 fact that in deducting all wools — all grades and all 

 clips — alike, there is an advantage gained over the 

 growers. Let the manufacturers come up to this 

 meeting, and meet the wool growers face to face — 

 give their reasons and arguments for discriminat- 

 ing so heavily against the unwashed wool. They 

 will find the Ohio flockmasters reasonable men, 

 open to conviction where the arguments and facts 

 are against them — but at the same time, more 

 alive now than they ever were before to the impor- 

 tance of the interest which they represent. In the 

 wool market, Ohio now takes the front rank. The 

 wools from no other State are quoted so high nor 

 so eagerly sought after by the leading manufactur- 

 ers ; and our woolgrowers are disposed to remain 

 in the front rank. So let the manufacturers and 

 their agents come forward to this meeting and 

 help them to determine the question under discuss- ■ 

 ion. Remember that it is to be held on the 6th 

 of September. — Ohio Farmer. 



How to Catch Rats. 



In answer to an inquiry in the London Field, 

 several correspondents of that paper give their ex- 

 perience as follows : 



"For the benefit of your readers, I will give, by 

 your permission, my experience on the subject. I 

 was very much troubled with rats, and tried every 

 known dodge for catching them, without success, 

 until I adopted the following plan : I set an ordin- 

 ary steel trap in their run, and covered it over, 

 with a duster or cloth, and within a few hours I 

 caught every rat on my premises. A clean cloth 

 is necessary every time the trap is set. I found a 



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