40 BULLETIN 9i, U. S. DEPABTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
prehensible. Their improvement is noteworthy, not only because 
they were later able to directly impart their superiorities to other 
breeds, but also because principles were established in their develop- 
ment that have since been of inestimable value in establishing and 
improving other breeds. 
To Robert Bake well, of Dishley Hall, near Loughborough, Leices- 
tershire, belongs the honor of establishing this breed, and he has 
fittingly been called the " father" of improved live stock. Bake-well 
was a rather quiet man, and there are stories about a "black ram" 
that he used in his breeding operations and of other secretive proceed- 
ings that he resorted to. It is much more likely that he used the 
long-wool sheep of his district, and especially the Old Leic esters, which 
have been described as being a long, thin, flat-sided, slow-maturing 
sheep possessing large bones and rough legs and generally lacking in 
quality. Their fleece was from 12 to 15 inches long and heavy, and 
this had been the chief consideration in their development. Bake- 
well began breeding in 1755 for improved form, better feedhig qual- 
ities, earlier maturity, and reduction of bone and offal. In other 
words, he bred for more mutton and paid little or no attention to 
wool. He bred the "best to the best," to use his own expression, and 
practiced inbreeding whenever he deemed it necessary. He was an 
exceptional judge of live stock, and he constantly mated animals 
together of his approved type until he had succeeded in establishing 
a breed that would almost invariably hand down then characteristics 
to their offspring. To be brief, he fixed the type. 
However, with the improvements there were also some weaknesses 
that manifested themselves in the Xew Leicester. These were 
more delicacy of constitution, impaired milking qualities, a lighter 
fleece, and decreased prolificacy. At this time, however, these were 
not regarded as of very great importance. 
For a time Bakewell had trouble in convincing the public of the 
desirability of his breeding stock, but later these sheep became very 
popular and spread all over England. The Dishley Society was 
founded about 1790 for advancing the interests of the breed, and it 
greatly aided in further establishing the Leicester. This society 
preferred to rent their rams. After they were established the 
Leicester became very popular for crossing upon the other breeds, as 
they were prepotent to such an extent that the cross usually pos- 
- ssed most of the good qualities of the breed. 
The mutton was never of the highest quality. It was coarse- 
grained and contained too much fat, which was deposited externally 
instead of being mixed with the lean. As the demand at that time 
was for quantity rather than quality, this had little effect upon the 
popularity and distribution of the breed. Since then the importance 
