ii6 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



valuable breed, specially characterised by its great 

 bodily size ; a ram referred to by Low having 

 attained the enormous weight of 430 lbs. 



The big and coarse, leggy, narrow-backed, long- 

 woolled sheep, reared from time immemorial in the 

 county from which they take their name, are the 

 parent stock of the modern Leicester breed (pi. vi. 

 fig. 2), which is one of the finest and most valuable 

 of the long-woolled group, although the smallest in 

 point of size. As represented by the true or Bake- 

 well strain, these sheep are characterised by the 

 great width and flatness of the back, the moderately 

 long and often Roman-nosed face, which, unless 

 artificially trimmed, usually carries a forelock, and 

 has a faint bluish tinge, owing to the colour of the 

 skin showing through the white hairs. There are 

 also often dark spots on the face and ears ; the ears 

 themselves being thin, delicate, rather large, and 

 more or less nearly erect. The naked part of the 

 nostrils is black. The long and fine legs frequently 

 carry some short wool on the shanks. The wool, 

 which attains a length of about 6 inches, hangs in 

 fine curly locks. In weight, ordinary rams range 

 from 225 to 250 lbs., and ewes from 175 to 200 lbs. 

 As a mutton-sheep the Leicester does not rank high, 

 being too large when full-grown, and, unless killed 

 early, yielding a superfluity of fat. 



The credit of establishing the modern type of 

 true Leicester is due to Robert Bakewell, of Dishley 



