British Breeds of Sheep 51 



usefulness in some conditions. The success attend- 

 ing the keeping of sheep on any farm will depend in 

 large part upon the adaptability of the stock used to 

 the soil conditions and farming system. These are 

 usually fixed, and a knowledge of the origin and pe- 

 culiarities of the breeds is necessary in the determin- 

 ing which one is best adapted to any specific condi- 

 tions. 



The Leicester Sheep 



The Leicester as a breed dates its origin from the 

 time of Robert Bakewell (1726-1795), and from his 

 flock the CuUey brothers selected the material that 

 they made into the Border Leicester, which has now 

 attained the status of a breed. 



The old Leicester. — There are no authentic records 

 of the source from which Bakewell secured the foun- 

 dation for the new Leicester, though the character 

 and qualities of the sheep that he started with are 

 known. A chronicler states that the Leicestershire 

 and adjoining districts "beareth a large boned sheep, 

 of the best shape and deepest staple, chiefly they be 

 pasture sheep, yet is their wool coarser than that of 

 Costal " (Cotswold) . Another authority enumerates 

 among the deflciencies of the old Leicester that they 

 were coarse-wooled, large-framed, heavy-boned, with 

 sharp chine, mean rump, loose skin, and that they 

 were seldom ready for the butcher before three 

 years old. 



