THE LEICESTER 627 



The distribution of the Leicester is world-wide. Since the days 

 of Bakewell it has been more or less distributed over Europe, 

 Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and North America. It is 

 not a common breed to-day, however, in any part of the world, 

 even in England, its native home. Referring to present-day flocks 

 in England W. A. Brown states ^ that the flocks of the members 

 of the English society " are scattered over six counties as widely 

 separated as Leicester and Cumberland, but the major portion of 

 Leicesters are located in Yorkshire." The lambing season in 1916 

 in England was not a good one, but it was estimated there would 

 be about 10,000 living lambs of the breed. There are numerous 

 flocks in Canada, and in 1908, of the nearly 20,000 pure-bred sheep 

 in that country, 6000 were listed as Leicesters. In the United 

 States there are but few of these sheep, the breed being mainly 

 represented in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Oregon. 



Organizations in behalf of Leicester sheep date back consider- 

 ably over a century. In the time of Bakewell the Dishley Society 

 was organized to support this great breeder in establishing a new 

 breed. This society had various meetings and adopted different 

 resolutions. No. 4, passed in 1790, provided that "secrecy be 

 kept by all members respecting the business of these meetings, 

 except to absent members." Resolution No. 13 provided that "' no 

 member shall let a ram, share or part of a ram, to any ram breeder 

 residing within thirty miles of Leicester, not being a member, who 

 hired a ram of Mr. Bakewell last season, 1789." This society 

 existed many years and was very influential. At the present time 

 there is a Leicester Sheep Breeders' Society in England, which 

 up to 191 8 had published twenty-six volumes of flock books. 

 In this country we have the American Leicester Breeders' Asso- 

 ciation, established in 1888, which has issued ten volumes of 

 flock books up to 191 8. 



The Society of Border Leicester Sheep Breeders has an organ- 

 ization in Britain, with headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

 This society up to 19 18 had published twenty volumes of flock 

 books. In America the Border type is registered in the American 

 Leicester flock book, no distinction being drawn in the registra- 

 tion of the two types. 



'^ Live Stock Journal Almanac (London), 1917. 

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