The old breed of Lincolnshire sheep was hornless, had white faces, and
long, thin, and weak carcasses; the ewes weighed from fourteen to twenty
pounds a quarter; the three-year old wethers from twenty to thirty
pounds; legs thick, rough and white; pelts thick; wool long--from ten to
eighteen inches--and covering a slow-feeding, coarse-grained carcass of
mutton.
A judicious system of breeding, which avoided Bakewell's errors, has
wrought a decided improvement in this breed. The improved Lincolns
possess a rather more desirable robustness, approaching, in some few
specimens, almost to coarseness, as compared with the finest Leicesters;
but they are more hardy, and less liable to disease. They attain as
large a size, and yield as great an amount of wool, of about the same
value. This breed, indeed, scarcely differs more from the Cotswold than
do flocks of a similar variety, which have been separately bred for
several generations, from each other. They are prolific, and when
well-fed, the ewes will frequently produce two lambs at a birth, for
which they provide liberally from their udders till the time for
weaning. The weight of the fleece varies from four to eight pounds per
head.
Having alluded to the principal points of interest connected with the
various breeds of sheep in the United States, our next business is with