. Types and breeds of farm animals . Livestock. 434 SHEEP The breeding qualities of the Leicester are only moderate. None of the largest breeds are strongly prolific, and no doubt the early policy of very close in-and-in breeding followed by Leicester breeders injured the fecundity of the breed. Careful management will no doubt secure fair results. Mr. Benedict, above referred to, reports 136 per cent increase in his Leicester flock. The Leicester as a graz- ing or range sheep ranks as only fair. Leicesters will not flock equal to the Merinos. They require better range and more abundant pastur
. Types and breeds of farm animals . Livestock. 434 SHEEP The breeding qualities of the Leicester are only moderate. None of the largest breeds are strongly prolific, and no doubt the early policy of very close in-and-in breeding followed by Leicester breeders injured the fecundity of the breed. Careful management will no doubt secure fair results. Mr. Benedict, above referred to, reports 136 per cent increase in his Leicester flock. The Leicester as a graz- ing or range sheep ranks as only fair. Leicesters will not flock equal to the Merinos. They require better range and more abundant pasture, are not suited to rough ground, and in winter lack the constitution to withstand roughing it without shel- ter. The open fleece is objectionable where much snow or cold rain prevails. In the so-called corn belt, where properly protected, with abun- dance of roughage, grain, and roots, this breed may do very well. The popularity of the Leicester in America to-day is quite secondary, although in the middle of the last century it was looked on with favor in the eastern states. Very few are now owned in the United States, notwithstanding the extended his- tory of the breed here. A few are kept for show purposes and some for cross-breeding, but this large type does not suit the modern demand for a hardy, smaller class of quick-feeding sheep, not too fat when finished. More Leicesters are fed in Canada than elsewhere in America. The distribution of the Leicester is wide. Since the days of Bakewell it has been more or less distributed over Europe, Aus- tralia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and North America. It is not a. Fig. 203. Grand-champion Leicester ewe (Bor- cier Leicester) at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904. Owned and exhibited by A. W. Smith, Maple Lodge, Ontario. Photo- graph by the author. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not p
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