Irish Agriculture. 
9 
in case of death, a proper certificate to be produced along with 
his skin, ear-marks, cScc, but without effect." Culley then shows 
that it was not the fault of Irish breeders that their sheep were 
not improved, as he states they were " exceedingly desirous to 
improve their breeds of stock by the help of those from this 
island (Great Britain), even at an expense that many of our 
breeders in Great Britain would grumble at ; " and in proof of 
this, he gives the following prices obtained for some English 
sheep which had been smuggled over, and which " were sold by 
auction in small lots at Ballinasloe fair, on the 5th of October, 
1770:"— 
£ s. d. 
66 Ewes 1094 5 5 
9 Rams 352 12 6 
5 Earn lambs 29 0 IJ 
He goes on to say that " one of these rams was sold to Colonel 
Persse at 52 guineas ; two ewes to John Bodkin at 46 guineas ; 
2 ditto to Colonel Persse at 40 guineas ; 2 ditto to JVIr. Blake at 
40 guineas." 
The breeders in Roscommon have long since completely 
altered the character of their sheep, from the description given of 
them by the acute and experienced Northumberland farmer, who 
visited Ballinasloe eighty years ago. This they have done, 
chiefly by the introduction of Leicester blood, and by careful 
selection, which after all is one of the main points to be observed 
in the improvement of any class of live stock. The English 
Leicester is still resorted to as a corrective, when a flock shows 
any tendency to breed back to the coarse original type. They 
have therefore succeeded in establishing what must be reckoned a 
distinct breed of sheep, which is now recognised by the Irish Royal 
Societies as such, and which called forth a warm eulogium from 
Air. Clare Sewell Read, M. P., on the occasion of that gentleman's 
visit to Roscommon, during the show of the Strokestown Farming 
Society, in September, 1869. On that occasion Mr. Read said 
— " I am edified by what I have this day seen and learned of Irish 
sheep and stock. I saw this day such sheep as I never saw before, 
distinct in their type from all sheep I ever saw before, with heavy 
fleeces of silky wool, large meat-producing frames, such as cannot 
be equalled without artificial feeding, and combining with these 
great perfections, very early maturity. In all these views I have 
the full concurrence of my friend j\Ir. Pell — an authority, I can 
assure you, of no small weight on such subjects. We might as 
well say in England that Lincolns are Leicesters, and not a pure 
and distinct type, as deny the splendid Roscommons their class 
in any show, honoured, I will say, by their exhibition." 
