THE CULTIVATOR. 
301 
1848 . 
<asa 
appear to have resulted from his efforts to improve his 
breed of sheep,or from prosecuting his other operations; 
but, according to the authority we have referred to, his 
embarrassments arose principally from another source. 
From the distinction he acquired, his house became the 
resort of great numbers of visitors from various parts 
of the world. His expenses were great, as u his hos¬ 
pitality was unlimited.” i1 Several of the principal of 
the nobility were frequently his guests, and Mr. Baee- 
well, whose disposition was as liberal as his mind was 
amble, entertained them in the same expensive style as 
they were accustomed to live in themselves when at 
home.” 
That it required a length of time to fix and establish 
the improvements which Bakewell made in sheep and 
other animals is admitted; but considering the nature 
of the work, it has been well remarked, that the time 
he took to accomplish it, 11 was incredibly short.” He 
began his farming operations about 1750. At what 
period he commenced the improvement of sheep, we are 
not exactly informed. It is said that in 1760 his rams 
did not sell for more than two or three guineas per head. 
From this time he gradually advanced in terms, and in 
1770 he let some for twenty-five guineas a head for the 
season. Marshall states that in 1786 Bakewell let 
two-thirds of a ram, (reserving a third for himself,) to 
two breeders, for a hundred guineas each, the entire 
services of the ram being rated at three hundred gui¬ 
neas the season. It is also stated that he made that 
year by letting rams, more than one thousand pounds. 
In 1789 he made twelve hundred guineas by three 
u ram-brothers,” and two thousand guineas from seven, 
and from his whole letting, u full three thousand gui¬ 
neas.” Six or seven other breeders made from five 
hundred to a thousand guineas each, and the whole 
amount of ram-letting of Bakewell’s breed is said to 
have been not less, that year, than ten thousand 
pounds . 
We presume it will not be doubted that this breed 
of sheep was 11 established ,” in public opinion, at the 
time these prices were obtained. Bakewell died in 
1795, at the age of 69. 
It is true that still more extraordinary prices were 
obtained for the use of rams of this breed after Bake- 
well’s death. Pitt, in his “ Survey of Leicester¬ 
shire ,” mentions that in 1795, Mr. Astley gave three 
hundred guineas for the use of a ram of this breed, en- 
gaging at the same time, that he should serve gratis 
twenty ewes owned by the man of whom the ram was 
hired—making for the entire use of the ram that sea¬ 
son, four hundred and twenty guineas. In 1796 Mr. 
Astley gave for the use of the same ram, three hun¬ 
dred guineas, and took forty ewes to be served gratis. 
At the price charged for the service of the ram to each 
ewe, the whole value for the season was five hundred 
guineas. He served one hundred ewes. In 1797 the 
same ram was let to another person at three hundred 
guineas, and twenty ewes sent with him—the serving 
of which was reckoned at a hundred guineas, and the 
ram was restricted to sixty more; which brought his 
value for the season to four hundred guineas. Thus 
the ram made in three seasons, the enormous sum of 
thirteen hundred guineas . 
We have nothing to do, at present, with the question 
whether the value of these animals was not exag¬ 
gerated. The actual superiority of the breed over the 
stock of the country, must have been obvious, and this 
point we wish kept in mind. 
This breed of sheep is continued to the present day, 
and it has been remarked by a respected writer, that 
they will u remain a lasting monument of Bakewell’s 
skill.” As to their origin, the testimony shows them 
to have been of mixed blood ; though no breed is more 
distinct in its characters, or transmits its qualities with 
more certainty; and if we were without any other ex¬ 
ample of successful crossing, the advocates of the sys¬ 
tem might still point triumphantly to the Leicester or 
Bakewell sheep. 
But what are the opinions of our best modern breed¬ 
ers in regard to the practicability of producing distinct 
breeds by crossing ? Robert Smith, of Burley, Rut¬ 
landshire, an eminent sheep-breeder, in an essay on the 
“ Breeding and Management of Sheep,” for which he 
received a prise from the Royal Agricultural Society, 
(1847,) makes the following remarks;—■‘•The crossing 
of pure breeds has been a subject of great interest 
amongst every class of breeders. While all agree that 
the first cross may be attended with good results, there 
exists a diversity of opinion upon the future movements, 
or putting the crosses together. Having tried experi¬ 
ments, (and I am now pursuing them for confirmation,) 
in every way possible, I do not hesitate to express my 
opinion, that by proper and judicious crossing through 
several generations, a most valuable breed of sheep 
may be raised and established; in support of which I 
may mention the career of the celebrated Bakewell, 
who raised a new variety from other long-wooled 
breeds by dint of perseverance and propagation, and 
which have subsequently corrected all other long-wool- 
ed breeds. 
We might cite other evidence to show that, Bakewell 
derived the originals of his flock from various breeds; 
but for our present purpose, it is not necessary to enter 
more into this part of the subject. 
It will be admitted that the general principles which 
govern the propagation of animals are the same in all 
races, and, therefore, a system that has produced the 
improvement of one species may, of course be relied on 
for others. The writer by no means advocates indiscri¬ 
minate crossing; to become a good breeder, by the 
practice of any system, requires a degree of judgment 
and skill in the selection and management of animals, 
rarely attained; and hence it results that of the many 
attempts which are made for the improvement of stock, 
few, comparatively are successful, and many are pro¬ 
ductive of injury rather than benefit. 
But as new breeds have originated by crossing, in al¬ 
most every species of domestic animals, a brief notice 
of some of them may be useful. We will begin with 
horses. 
The Arabian breed, the most eminent in the world, 
and the acknowledged source of improvement in most 
other existing breeds, was in its origin, according to 
Col. Charles Hamilton Smith, (see Naturalists Li¬ 
brary,) u arace of great intermixture .” The English 
Race-horse is admitted to have been derived from a 
mixture of the blood of the Turk, Barb, Arab, Persian 
and Spanish, with more or less of the ancient British 
stock. (See Low, Youatt and Smith.) The Hunt¬ 
ers, says Low, u have been mixed not only with one 
another, but with every other race which seemed fitted 
to give the conformation and characters required. The 
horses of Spain, Italy, and Turkey, nay of Barbary and 
Arabia, have been resorted to.” The Suffolk Punch, 
according to the authorities above quoted, was descend¬ 
ed from a cross of the Norman stallion and Suffolk cart 
mare. The Clydesdale breed is said to have originated 
from a cross with stallions brought from Flanders and 
the best Lanark mares. The Andalusian, (the parents 
of the celebrated cahalos of California,) were derived 
from a mixture of the Barbary and Spanish blood; and 
the highly esteemed Norman, is a cross from the Anda¬ 
lusian with the old Norman draught horse. 
All these may be claimed as examples of the good 
results of judicious crossing in horses, and yet the pro¬ 
position to preserve some valuable stocks which origi¬ 
nated in a similar way, has been discouraged, on the 
supposition that breeding them together “ would be on- 
