FARMING IN LEICESTERSHIRE 55 
SHEEP. 
Sheep have been steadily declining in the county for many years and 
between 1915 and 1923 there was a decrease of 59,798, but the following 
figures for the last ten years indicate that a steady recovery is taking place. 
Year: No. of Sheep. 
LOSS ts . P +n ihQ2,102 
TO ar : : wn BBA 570 
1020) . 2 - 253,485 
to gy a é : . 312,490 
Whilst there have been great changes from the plough to grass, the 
increase in the number of dairy cows limits the grazing area available for 
sheep, and for many years a steady decline in the numbers of sheep has 
been experienced. In 1923 the figures for sheep were the lowest ever 
recorded in the county. 
Since that year there has been a steady increase up to the end of 1929, 
when sheep made reasonably good prices ; then came a sudden and serious 
depression in the price of wool as well as mutton. At the present time, 
however, the price of mutton shows a gradually improving tendency, 
though wool remains at a very poor price. The favourite breeds of sheep 
for a long period included Leicesters, Lincolns, and occasional flocks of 
Down sheep, such as the Oxfords, Suffolks, Dorset Horn, Hampshires, 
etc. The heavier breeds are gradually giving way to breeds of sheep 
which are more suitable for grassland conditions and recent years have 
seen considerable introductions of the half-bred, Border-Leicester, and 
Cheviot cross, pure Cheviots, Kerry Hills, Cluns, Mashams, and many 
crosses with Suffolk, Oxford, and Hampshire rams. There has been a 
tendency to concentrate upon the production of fat lambs, which have 
yielded, under good management, fairly satisfactory results. Recent 
prices of wool have not been encouraging, but should an era of better 
prices set in, it may be safely prophesied that the sheep population will 
continue to increase, but it is extremely probable that any such extension 
will be almost entirely amongst breeds suitable for grass feeding. 
Pics. 
The variation in the numbers of pigs in Leicestershire is shown in the 
following table : 
1923 . . - 23,547 
TOAG Ys : ‘ » ene OZ 
1926. : j Pies iO 9 
TO32" *"s 4 : 26,7770 
The pig population of Leicestershire was much greater in the years 
when larger quantities of Stilton and Leicester cheese were made. ‘The 
whey, a by-product in cheese making, is a very useful addition to the 
usual meals used for pig feeding, but with the decline of this by-product 
pig feeding became a less attractive section of farming, and the increase 
of imported bacon was also a powerful factor in steadily limiting the 
