58 ExpcrimoUs on the Comj)arative Fattening Qualities 
Upon the whole, then, comparing the new Leicester sheep 
Avith the cross between the Leicester ram and the Southdown 
ewe, when fed under cover upon a liberal supply of good food, 
the results, so far as the relation of gross increase to food con- 
sumed is concerned, are very nearly identical ; but if there be a 
difl'erence sufficiently marked in these experiments, it is certainly 
in several points somewhat in favour of the cross-breds ; whilst, 
among the latter, the ewes would seem to make mutton rather 
faster than the wethers. 
The circumstances of these experiments were certainly all in 
favour of the requirements of the pure Leicester breed ; or 
rather tlie hardier qualities of the cross with the Southdown were 
not put to the test. Nine of the Leicester lambs purchased 
were, however, wintered with the ordinary flock on the farm ; 
and it should be remarked that they none of them stood the 
winter so well as the main flock — a cross between the Hamp- 
shire and Sussex Down : several of these 9 Leicesters in- 
deed died ; and none of them did Avell. It is to be regretted 
that an equal number of the cross-bred wethers and ewes (Lei- 
cester and Southdown) were not at command to turn out by the 
side of the pure Leicesters, two only of the cross-breds being 
wintered in the field ; these two, however, stood the winter well. 
Such a result is, in the general, much what we should have ex- 
pected. But it is only fair to say that the 9 Leicesters which 
were turned out were the worst of the 50 lambs purchased ; and 
it is not improbable, therefore, that they were somewhat bad 
representatives of their race. 
The next point of comparison is as to the wool ; the amounts 
of which are given in Table X., which follows. 
Table X. 
Average Wool 
per Head. 
Proportion of Wool 
in 100 lbs. Live 
Weight of Animal at 
the time of being 
Shorn. 
.. April 7, 1853 
lbs. ozs. 
8 2i 
5-58 
Cross-bred Wethers shorn 
• • } > 
6 7 
4-60 
Cross-bred Ewes shorn 
> J 
7 31 
5-40 
The three lots of sheep were shorn on April 7th, 1853, having 
been washed a week previously. The average yield of wool 
per head is seen to be 8 lbs. 2j ozs. for the Leicesters, 
7 lbs. 3^ ozs. for the cross-bred ewes, and 6 lbs. 7 ozs. for the 
