10 
Irish Agriculture. 
Mr. Read's description of the Roscommon sheep is very 
different from that j^iven by Culley, but the latter only saw the 
ungainly, unimproved animal, while Mr. Read saw the breed in 
its improved state. ^Ir. Read's remarks refer, of course, to the 
best form of Roscommon sheep, for there are still many sheep 
bred in Connaught, and shown annually at Ballinasloe Fair, 
which do not come up to it, notwithstanding the improvement 
which has undoubtedlv been made in the breed of late vears. 
The Leicester was the first great improver of Irish sheep. 
There are not many flocks in the country which, strictlv speaking, 
can be called pure, but Leicesters have been long and extensively- 
used for crossing the native breeds, and it is in this way that 
improvement has been chiefly effected. Air. William Owen, 
County VVicklow ; Air. Aleade, County Cork ; Mr. Alassev, 
County Cork ; Sir Allan Walsh, and Mr. Seymour Mowbray, 
Queen's County, are among the leading breeders in Ireland who 
have pure Leicester flocks, founded chiefly on Pawlett, Sand ay, 
and Inge blood. English breeders, such as Air. Turner and others, 
send over annually a number of rams, which are either sold by 
auction at the great ram sales in September, or privately by agents. 
Of late years a large number of rams of the Lincoln breed 
have been imported into Ireland ; but latterly, Lincolns appear 
rather to have fallen off in public favour. Air. Caleb Going, 
County Tipperarv, is the principal breeder of this class of sheep, 
the blood being derived direct from some of the best flocks of 
the kind in England. 
Another breed which has been introduced at a comparatively 
recent date is the Border Leicester, or that type of Leicester 
which prevails in Northumberland and the Border counties of 
Scotland. These sheep are longer in the body than the English 
Leicester, and have generally better quarters and thighs, but 
many of them are deficient in the neck. Their wool is good, 
but frequently inclined to be bare underneath. They are hardy, 
prolific, and answer well for crossing, imparting to the crosses 
early maturity and good quality of flesh. From the demand 
which has existed for sheep of this kind, it frequently* occurs 
that the first cross of them with ordinary ewes are put forward 
under the name of Border Leicesters, and sold as such : but those 
crosses are easily distinguished by any one who knows the 
characteristics of a true Border sheep. The district where those 
sheep are chiefly bred in Ireland are Queen's County, Kildare, 
and County Kilkenny. The Rov.al Agricultural Society of 
Ireland, and the Royal Dublin Society, have assigned separate 
classes at their shows for the I'higlish Leicester and the Border 
Leicester, which lias prevented the confusion, and, jx-rhaps, a 
