About the middle of the last century, Robert Bakewell, of Dishley, in Leicestershire, first applied himself to the improvement of the sheep in that country. Before his improvements, aptitude to fatten and symmetry of shape—that is, such shape as should increase as much as possible the most valuable parts of the animal, and diminish the offal in the same proportion—were entirely disregarded. Perceiving that smaller animals increased in weight more rapidly than the very large ones, that they consumed less food, that the same quantity of herbage, applied to feeding a large number of small sheep, would produce more meat than when applied to feeding the smaller number of large sheep, which alone it would support, and that sheep carrying a heavy fleece of wool possessed less propensity to fatten than those which carried one of a more moderate weight, he selected from the different flocks in his neighborhood, without regard to size, the sheep which appeared to him to have the greatest propensity to fatten, and whose shape possessed the peculiarities which, in his judgment, would produce the largest proportion of valuable meat, and the smallest quantity of bone and offal.
He was also of opinion that the first object to be attended to in breeding sheep is the value of the carcass, and that the fleece ought always to be a secondary consideration; and this for the obvious reason that, while the addition of two or three pounds of wool to the weight of a sheep’s fleece is a difference of great amount, yet if this increase is obtained at the expense of the animal’s propensity to fatten, the farmer may lose by it ten or twelve pounds of mutton.
The sort of sheep, therefore, which he selected were those possessed of the most perfect symmetry, with the greatest aptitude to fatten, and rather smaller in size than the sheep generally bred at that time. Having formed his stock from sheep so selected, he carefully attended to the peculiarities of the individuals from which he bred, and, so far as can be ascertained—for all of Mr. Bakewell’s measures were kept secret, even from his most intimate friends, and he died without throwing, voluntarily, the least light on the subject—did not object to breeding from near relations, when, by so doing, he brought together animals likely to produce a progeny possessing the characteristics which he wished to obtain.
Having thus established his flock, he adopted the practice—which has since been constantly followed by the most eminent breeders of sheep—of letting rams for the season, instead of selling them to those who wished for their use. By this means the ram-breeder is enabled to keep a much larger number of rams in his possession; and, consequently, his power of selecting those most suitable to his flock, or which may be required to correct any faults in shape or quality which may occur in it, is greatly increased. By cautiously using a ram for one season, or by observing the produce of a ram let to some other breeder, he can ascertain the probable qualities of the lambs which such ram will get, and thus avoid the danger of making mistakes which would deteriorate the value of his stock. The farmers, likewise, who hire the rams, have an opportunity of varying the rams from which they breed much more than they otherwise could do; and they are also enabled to select from sheep of the best quality, and from those best calculated to effect the greatest improvement in their flocks.
The idea, when first introduced by him, was so novel that he had great difficulty in inducing the farmers to act upon it; and his first ram was let for sixteen shillings. So eminent, however, was his success, that, in 1787, he let three rams, for a single season, for twelve hundred and fifty pounds (about six thousand two hundred dollars), and was offered ten hundred and fifty pounds (about five thousand two hundred dollars) for twenty ewes. Soon afterwards he received the enormous price of eight hundred guineas (or four thousand dollars) for two-thirds of the services of a ram for a single season, reserving the other third for himself.
The improved Leicester is of large size, but somewhat smaller than the original stock, and in this respect falls considerably below the coarser varieties of Cotswold, Lincoln, etc. Where there is a sufficiency of feed, the New Leicester is unrivalled for its fattening propensities; but it will not bear hard stocking, nor must it be compelled to travel far in search of its food. It is, in fact, properly and exclusively a lowland sheep. In its appropriate situation—on the luxuriant herbage of the highly cultivated lands of England—it possesses unequalled earliness of maturity; and its mutton, when not too fat, is of a good quality, but is usually coarse, and comparatively deficient in flavor, owing to that unnatural state of fatness which it so readily assumes, and which the breeder, to gain weight, so generally feeds for. The wethers, having reached their second year, are turned off in the succeeding February or March, and weigh at that age from thirty to thirty-five pounds to the quarter. The wool of the New Leicester is long, averaging, after the first shearing, about six inches; and the fleece of the American animal weighs about six pounds. It is of coarse quality, and little used in the manufacture of cloth, on account of its length, and that deficiency of felting properties common, in a greater or less extent, to all English breeds. As a combing wool, however, it stands first, and is used in the manufacture of the finest worsteds, and the like textures.
The high-bred Leicesters of Mr. Bakewell’s stock became shy breeders and poor nurses; but crosses subsequently adopted have, to some extent, obviated these defects. The lambs are not, however, generally regarded as very hardy, and they require considerable attention at the time of yeaning, particularly if the weather is even moderately cold or stormy. The grown sheep, too, are much affected by sudden changes in the weather; an abrupt change to cold being pretty certain to be registered on their noses by unmistakable indications of catarrh or “snuffles.”
In England, where mutton is generally eaten by the laboring classes, the meat of this variety is in very great demand; and the consequent return which a sheep possessing such fine feeding qualities is enabled to make renders it a general favorite with the breeder. Instances are recorded of the most extraordinary prices having been paid for these animals. They have spread into all parts of the British dominions, and been imported into the other countries of Europe and into the United States.
They were first introduced into our own country, some forty years since, by Christopher Dunn, of Albany, N.Y. Subsequent importations have been made by Mr. Powel, of Philadelphia, and various other gentlemen. The breed, however, has never proved a favorite with any large class of American farmers. Our long, cold winters—but, more especially, our dry, scorching summers, when it is often difficult to obtain the rich, green, tender feed in which the Leicester delights—together with the general deprivation of green feed in the winter, rob it of its early maturity, and even of the ultimate size which it attains in England. Its mutton is too fat, and the fat and lean are too little intermixed to suit American taste. Its wool is not very salable, owing to the dearth of worsted manufactures in our country. Its early decay and loss of wool constitute an objection to it, in a country where it is often so difficult to advantageously turn off sheep, particularly ewes. But, notwithstanding all these disadvantages, on rich lowland farms, in the vicinity of considerable markets, it will always in all probability make a profitable return.
The head of the New Leicester should be hornless, long, small, tapering towards the muzzle, and projecting horizontally forward; the eyes prominent, but with a quiet expression; the ears thin, rather long, and directed backward; the neck full and broad at its base, where it proceeds from the chest, so that there is, with the slightest possible deviation, one continued horizontal line from the rump to the poll; the breast broad and full; the shoulders also broad and round, and no uneven or angular formation where the shoulders join either the neck or the back—particularly no rising of the withers, or hollow behind the situation of these bones; the arm fleshy throughout its whole extent, and even down to the knee; the bones of the leg small, standing wide apart; no looseness of skin about them, and comparatively void of wool; the chest and barrel at once deep and round; the ribs forming a considerable arch from the spine, so as, in some cases—and especially when the animal is in good condition—to make the apparent width of the chest even greater than the depth; the barrel ribbed well home; no irregularity of line on the back or belly, but on the sides; the carcass very gradually diminishing in width towards the rump; the quarters long and full, and, as with the fore-legs, the muscles extending down to the hock; the thighs also wide and full; the legs of a moderate length; and the pelt also moderately thin, but soft and elastic, and covered with a good quantity of white wool, not so long as in some breeds, but considerably finer.