The domestic sheep its The domestic sheep : its culture and general management domesticsheepits01stew Year: 1900 CROSS BREEDING FOR WOOL. 251 Then we go on to the new Leicester, bred from the mam- moth coarse-wooletl Lincoln.' Fig. 17 sliows the character of this wool, which measured 14 to 10 inches in length, and had so little tendency to the felting quality as to be made into the loosest kinds of fabrics, such as fringes, braids and bindings. This monstrous slieep was out of date 100 years ago, when Mr. Bal^ewell had progressed somewhat in building up his favorite sheep, known at that tim
The domestic sheep its The domestic sheep : its culture and general management domesticsheepits01stew Year: 1900 CROSS BREEDING FOR WOOL. 251 Then we go on to the new Leicester, bred from the mam- moth coarse-wooletl Lincoln.' Fig. 17 sliows the character of this wool, which measured 14 to 10 inches in length, and had so little tendency to the felting quality as to be made into the loosest kinds of fabrics, such as fringes, braids and bindings. This monstrous slieep was out of date 100 years ago, when Mr. Bal^ewell had progressed somewhat in building up his favorite sheep, known at that time as the Bakewell, but afterwards as the improved Leicester, and considered as the very acme of skillful breeding. This suc- cessful breeder told few of his secrets, but it is known that he started with the Lincoln and used the Southdown as the sire, to remodel the coarse ewe into a smooth, silk\'-fleeced sheep that should make the finest mutton in the world; a quick feeder, having a good, smooth carcass, much fat, and as it happened as the result of this special character of the animal, a producer of fine, soft, silky wool, of which the best fabrics could be manufactured. It should be no- ticed that every improvement in the carcass and in aptitude for feeding and for early maturity told equally on the wool, and by study of the Leicester fiber (fig, 18) we see the result —a wool almost of the Merino character, but 8 or 10 inches long, suitable for the fleeciest fabrics, as the soft nubias, and especially dear to the patriotic heart, as the material Fig. 18.—Leicester. Fig. 17.—Lincoln. Fig. 19.—Shropshire, of the emblem of freedom that waves over the American capitol. This wool is the material of which the dress bunt- ings are made and the soft head dresses of the farmer's wives and daughters, when they make their evening visits.
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Photo credit: © Bookworm / Alamy / Afripics
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