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460 
{hire; and the late Robert Bakewell, of Diffiley, acquired 
for himfelf and the county much popularity, by the ex¬ 
periments and improvements he made in the breed of cat¬ 
tle and (heep., Among the different breeds of (heep in 
the county, the Old Leicefter, the Foreff, and the New 
Leicefter, or Dilhley, conftitute the principal forts, and of 
them the latter is in the higheft repute. The extraordi¬ 
nary price for which many of the New-Leiceffer {heep 
have been fold at public auctions, and the large l'ums for 
which fome of the rams and bulls have been let out for 
the feafon, ferveatonce to (how their eflimation in public 
opinion, and the laudable zeal that prevails for improving 
tiie breeds of cattle, &c. 
It will be difficult to define the foils of the whole county. 
Very little of the land can with propriety be called a mere 
fand or gravelly foil; nor is there any great quantity that 
may properly be called clay. The belt foil is upon the 
hills; and the vvorft, or neareft approaching to the clay 
or cold lands, in the valleys ; though there are many ex¬ 
ceptions to this rule. The foil, or what the farmers ge¬ 
nerally call mould, is commonly deep, which makes it very 
proper for grafs; fuch deep foils not being very foon af¬ 
fected by dry weather. About Lutterworth, fome part 
Ls a light rich loam, excellent for turnips and barley ; a 
•part ftiff, inclining to marl, or rich clay ; the remainder, 
•chiefly a fort of medium between both, with a fubfoil in¬ 
clining to marl, bearing excellent crops of oats and 
wheat, and good turnips alio, though not fo well adapted 
for being eaten off' the land by (heep. Moll of the land 
round Hinckley is a good mixed foil, bearing large crops 
of grafs. A(hby-de-la-Zoucb, and the northern parts of 
the county, exhibit various foils, fand, gravel, loam, and 
clay. In Melton Mowbray the foil is in general a heavy 
loam ; and immediately underneath a very (tiff impervious 
clay, mixed with fmall pieces of lime-ftone. Thefe lands 
are very wet in winter, and the turf fo tender as fcarcely 
to be able to bear the treading of (heep without injury. 
At Market Harborough the foil is in general a very llrong 
clay, chiefly in grafs. Mr. Bakewell, who has been en¬ 
gaged in a mineralogical examination of the inexhauitible 
mineral wealth of Charnwood Foreff, in Leicelterfiiire, 
for earl Moira, has lately difeovered, amongft the granite 
rocks of the dittriCt, a variety of feenite, of lingular beauty, 
furpaffing that from Egypt, or the continent of Europe : 
like other ffones of this lpecies, it confifts principally of 
hernblende and felfpar : the latter is of a pale red colour; 
the former is cryffalline, and of a beautiful green, refem- 
bling fmaragdolite. It exilts in large blocks, and might 
be applied to purpofes of ornamental or fepulchral archi¬ 
tecture and fculpture. It is from this kind of (lone that 
the durable monuments of antiquity were conftruCted. 
Since the commencement of the laft century, cheefe 
has become an article of fome importance to the Leicef- 
terffiire farmers ; and a large cheefe-fair is annually held 
in the county-town. Among the different forts manu¬ 
factured in the county, that called Stilton cheefe is deemed 
the fineit, and conlcquently obtains the higheft price. It 
acquired the title of Stilton from a place of that name, 
on the great north road in Huntingdonffiire, where it is 
well known to have been firft publicly fold by retail; but 
it is manufactured in the parilh of Little Dalby. It firft 
began to be made there by Mrs. Orton, about the year 
1730, in fmall quantities; for it was then fuppofed that 
it could only be made from the milk of the cows which 
fed in one clofe, now called Orton’s Clofe ; but this was 
afterwards found to be an error. In 1756 it was made 
only by three perl'ons, and that in fmall quantities; but 
it is now made from almotl every clofe in this parilh, and 
in many of the neighbouring ones. It is well known that 
this,fort of cheefe is made in the ffiape, and of (he fize, 
of a collar of brawn. It is extremely rich, becaufe they 
mix among the new milk as much cream as it will bear. 
It requires much care and attendance; and, being in 
great requeff, it fetches a high price. 
An ancient cultom fubfilts at Hallaton, in this 
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county, which has not been noticed under that word in 
our ninth volume. It is thus related in Nichols’s Hiftory 
of Leicefterfhire, vol. ii. “ A piece of land was many 
years ago given, the rents and profits of which the reCtor 
for the time being was to receive for his own ufe, on con¬ 
dition of providing two hare-pies, a quantity of ale, and 
two dozen of penny-loaves, to be fcrambled for on Eafter 
Monday annually, after divine fervice and a fermon 
preached. The land, during the open-field ftate, was 
called Hare-crop-Lcys ; and, when the inclofure took place 
in 1770, land was allotted to the reftor in his allotment in 
lieu of the faid Hare-crop-Leys. The manner of feram- 
bling is thus : Two large pies (which, inftead of hares, are 
how made of vea! and bacon) are made in railed crults at 
the rettor’s houfe; and, when baked, are cut into quar¬ 
ters or parts, and put into a fack ; the ale (now about 
two gallons) is put into two wooden bottles, without 
handles or firings to hold them by, the corks well thruft 
in, and cut off clofe to the bottle-mouths, and put into 
a lack alfo; the loaves are quartered, and put into a baf- 
ket, which a man carries ; as do two others the facks ; 
when the proceffion begins, confifting of men, women, 
and children. The fpot appropriated for the fcrambling 
for the pies and ale is about a quarter of a mile fouth of 
the town, a fmall oblong bank, ten yards long and fix 
wide; with a fmall old trench round it, and a circular 
hole in the centre ; and is called Hare-Pie Bank. After 
they have left the town, the man with the bread walks 
towards the bank ; and, as he proceeds, at times throws 
the pieces of bread before him, which is eagerly caught 
by the boys which furround him, the bread being all dif- 
tributed before they arrive at the fpot deftined for the 
fcrambling for the pies and ale. As foon as the men with 
the facks arrive at the bank, the pies and ale are tumbled 
promifeuoufiy out of the facks into the hole in the centre, 
when a feene of nolle and confufion takes place, and 
bloody nofes and bruifed fingers are often the confequence ; 
one will feize a piece of the pie, or a bottle of the ale ; a 
fecond will trip up his heels, and fall upon him ; and a 
third perhaps ieize and keep pofleflion of the prize, until 
a fourth ferves him the fame ; and fo on, until four or 
five fellows agree to form a party, and affifl each other in 
bearing away the vviffied-for bottle to a convenient place, 
and there divide the fpoil. The afternoon is fpent in fef- 
tivity, ringing of bells, fighting of cocks, quoits and 
fuch like exercifes, by Hallaton and the neighbouring 
youth.” Hallaton is fifteen miles l'outh-eaft of Leicefter. 
LEI'CHAU, a town of Germany, in the principality 
of Culmbach : four miles fourh-eait of Cuimbach. 
LEICHLIN'GEN, a town of the grand duchy of Berg : 
four miles fouth of Solingen. 
LEID, f. A*lath, a principal divifion of a county. 
LEI'DENDORFF, a town of Aullria : four miles eaft 
of St. Polten. 
LEI'DENSDORF, a town of Bohemia, in Leitmeritz: 
twenty miles weft of Leitmeritz. 
LEI'DGRAVE, f. [from kid.'} An officer, under the 
Saxon government, who had juriididtion over a lath. 
LEI'ESBACH, a river of Silefia, which runs into the 
Oder three miles eaft of Parchwitz. 
LEJEU'NE (Claude), the moll renowned French mufi- 
cian of his time, was a native of Valenciennes. He was 
an early follower of Calvin ; but flouriffied fomewhat la¬ 
ter than Goudimel, with whom he is often confounded ; 
both having the name of Claude, both being Hugonots, 
both great muficians, and both in high favour with the 
Calvinilts for fetting Clement Marot’s tranflation of the 
Pfalms to mufic for their temple-worihip, which rendered 
both io obnoxious to the Catholics, that one of them was 
maflacred on St. Bartholomew’s day, 1572, and the other 
narrowly efcaped. 
Concerning the miftaken identity of thefe muficians. 
Bayle has cleared up that point with his ufual accuracy ; 
and proved, from indifputable authority, that Lejeunc 
was living, and in the higheft public favour, even at court, 
though' 
