ihtavii of §(in(\xt$$. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ANTIDOTE TO THE • MERINO =MANI A •* • XOW PROr.RESSIJCG THROUGH THE UNITED STATES J OR, THE VALUE OF THE MERINO BREED, PLACED -BY OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE, ^ UPON A PROPER BASIS. LOOK BEFORE YOU LEJP PRINTED AND SOLD BY J. & A. Y. HUMPHREYS, 't;HAXGE-WALK, \^ Corner. of Second and Walnut-streets. PHILJDELFJIL}. 1810. ADVERTISEMENT. THE objecl of the present pt4hUcation, is not to damp the ardour of the public in the extension of the Meritio breed of Sheep lateh intro- duced i\ito different parts of America from Spain // is a point' of too great importance to the manufaElures of our country^ to thwart the tide of successful experiment^ in nvhich so many are at present engaged....But assuredly) something is also due to those individuals^ ivho^ by suddenly taking vp a subject^ hitherto so little attended tOy and on nvhich so little, is consiquently, practically known amongst us, without the cautious in- formation of persons in other parts of the world, may risk unnecessarily their frtunes, without adequately benefitting the community at large Under these impressions, perceiving the Merino Mania that is spread- ing armnd, it must be of consequence to have a knoivledge of the real im- portance and value of the subjeB under consideration ; and the Editor cannot but think he is doing essential service to his country, in thus giving a detail of the experience of Dr. Parry and others, ivhose communications have received the sanBion of the British Board of Agriculture. We have heard it stated, that 500, 1000, and even 1 500 dollars, have been given for a Merino ram atid that cloth from the Merino nuool, has been sold at 14 and 15 dollars per yard. The present publi- cation will evince if these prices are not beyond all limits of propriety, and whether the business thus carried on, is not likely to degenerate into a mere system of speculation, which, ivhilst it benefits a few, will bring ruin to thousands. It is said that Gold itself may be bought too dear.... and experience will soon determine if the present prices of these animals, are not also beyond the mark.* * On this point, the reader may consult the very candid observations of Mv, Livingston, at p. 137'-147', he. of his Essay on Slieep. iV ADVERTISEMENT. It is not the inanufaBure of a few pieces of broad cloth of equal or superior quality to any imported, which is to benefit the country, f it is to be held out at a price far beyond the purses of the community. Where one person can, or, from a false pride of wishing to equal his far more affluent neighbour, at an evident injury to his family, chuses, to give such a price, which goes to benefit, not the public, but a few individuals hundreds must be content with an inferior texture. If we can sell broad cloth of the first quality, and of our own make, at a price considerably lower than that wjmh the English commands. ...then indeed we may hope to ste our Woollen Manufactures flourish through the Union but it is absurd to expecl, that patriotism will induce our citizens to give more for any thing than it is aclually worth.,..especially as none are hereb'j benefit- ted but speculators and monopolists. Dr. Parry's comrMnicalions are particularly valuable his long ac- quaintance with the suhjeB, and the extended view he has taken of it, certainly entitle him to every credit. The merit of his work, acquired for him the premium offered by the Society a Society formed of ever) class of persons, calculated to advance a perfeEl knowledge of the different subjeBs to -ivhich they call the public attention And it is more particularly use- ful at present, by proving that the first cross from the Merino -am, at least that produced with the Ryeland ewe, is equally or more proper for the extension ofthe fine woolled sheep, than the pure Merino itselj, which retards the period at which the fieece becomes of the utmost value If our own ewes, especially those of Smith's Island, so highly esteemed by Mr. Cnstis, are not deemed adequate to advance this importcnt end; certainly some of the Ryeland ewes might be introduced from the British fiocks. The Editor 'l?as introduced the different papers, without curtailing them as he conceives the observations both of the authors and of their re- viewers, will prove beneficial to the praElical reader A few facts, picked up in other parts of the same work, are added, from their impor- tance. And although the observations of Dr. Parry, ^c. are more peculiarly calculated for the meridian of Great Britain, yet they will serve greatly to enlighten our own citizens, who may chuse to engage in this particular obje£l'. AN ESSAY ox THE NATURE, PRODUCE, ORIGIN, * AND EXTENSION OF THE MERINO BREED OF SHEEP. P.Y CALEB fULLVR PARRY, M.D. F.R.S. &c. * Comminucutiuns to the Board of .Igrictdtitre, Vol. V. Part II. THE Board of Agriculture having offeree] a premium for "The best essay on the growth of wool from the Spanish breed of sheep, or from some cross between the Spanish and British breeds in Great Britain, which shall include a detail of experi- ments made, with a full explanation of the advantages which majr have attended them in respedt of wool, carcase, application of food, freedom from distempers, cross in the breed, &c. and which shall point out the most effective means of spreading this race of sheep;" the premium was adjudged to Dr. Parry for the present Essay. The author prefaces his subje£l by observing, that he is indebt- ed to many foreign publications for the greater part of the histo- * The following' Piquet's on the Nature, Produce, Origin, and Extension of the Merino Breed of Sheep, now fast introducing into this Country, are the siihstance^of several Communications hitely made to the British Board of Agri- culture ; and are extracted from a celehrated periodical publication, entitled, "Retrospect of Philosophical, Mechanical, Chemical and Ag-ricultural Disco- veries, &c. &.C." A ry of the Merino breed of sheep, and acknowledges his obliga- tions to the writings of Bourgoanne, Pidlet, andLasteyrie, in par- ticular; and he states, that by means of an apparatus obtained from Messrs. Jones, the opticians, he has been able to make a very accurate admeasurement of many specimens of wool, the result of which he has thrown into a supplement, annexed to the treatise. That the importance of the question, submitted by the Board, may be more fully estimated, he has devoted one chapter to the ^quantity and value of supertine wool imported into England from foreign countries. That the quantity may be ascertained from undoubted authority, he has availed himself of an account pre- sented to Parliament, of wool purchased in foreign countries in 180'2, 1803, and 1804. In these three years were imported from Spain 16,98b,644lbs. from Holland 4d3,400lbs. from Portugal 400,72Slbs. from Gibraltar 288,ii74lbs. from France 252,222lbs. from Germany 122,150lbs. from America 10,.567lbs. from Prus- sia 3,357ibs. and from Denmark 38 libs, making a total of nearly 18 millions and a half of pounds, of which nearly 15 millions and a half were ifnp:)rted in Spanish or neutral vessels, and the re- mainder in English vessels. His inquiries among the clothiers have enabled him to state the value of this quantity to be as fol- lows : Sheep's wool, marked R (finest lbs. £. sort) 12,000,000, at 6s. 3,600,009 Ditto, marked F (second sort) 2,000,000, at 5s. 500,000 Ditto, marked T (third sort) 1,127,020, at 4/. 6^. 25:^,579 Ditto, marked K (fourth sort) 14,920, at Ss, 2,238 Lamb's wool 165,778, at 4j. 3r/. 35,227 In foreign vessels quantity 1 5, 307, 7 18lbs. value ^4,39 1,044 In English vessels quantity 3,160,000lbs. vai lie according to the same proportions, for it could not be ascertained ------ ^^906, 449 These accounts give the annual average of Spanish wool import- ed as exceeding 6,i55,9061bs. weight, and the annual average va- lue as upwards of ^1,560,000 stetling. In the next succeeding chapter he proceeds to describe theMe- rin ' breed of sheep, which produce this valuable article of im- portation. Their native country is Spain: the number of them in that country is about five millions : they are divided into two sorts; those which travel from one part of the country to another, ■which are called " Trashumantes;" and those which remain al- ways in the same pastures, named '* Estantes." The animal is described below the middle size, in comparison with English breeds, not very unlike the Ryeland, or old Southdown breed, and by no means furnished with that form, which modern fashion has presumed to be inseparably connedled with a disposition to early maturity and fatness. And though individuals differ much in these respects, yet the Merino sheep have generally their heads large and their necks long, their chests contracted, and being sharp on the shoulders and flat sided, and narrow across the loins. Against these defeats, however, are to be adduced the pe- culiar quality of the skin, which is remarkably thin, soft, and loose, affording that evidence of a strong disposition to fatten, which many of our farmers call proof; the skin also differs from that of the native sheep of Britain, in being of a fairer hue, with a vivid tint of what is called carnation, or flesh colour, which tint is particularly conspicuous on those parts which are free from wool, as the eyelids and lips. With this peculiar condition of the skin he considers to be connected the peculiar characteristic of the Merino race; namely — its fir)eness and flexibility ; in which the Merino is superior to every other race of sheep in the world. This breed is literally buried in wool ; it exists on their fore- heads almost to the eyes, and on the cheeks, and entirely covers their bellies and legs. The length of the staple or fila- ments of the wool is from two to more than three inches; the wool of the ram coarsest and longest, of the ewe finest and short- est ; of the wedder, in both respe«Sts, between the two former. It is stated from the publication of M. Lasteyrie, that the ave- rage weight of the fleece, unwashed, is about 51bs. 7oz. English weight ; but in the Compte rendu a la Classe des Sciences of Pa- ris for 1802, 30 fleeces, recently imported, are said to have weighed, unwashed, 99 kilogrammes and a half, which is equal to 71b 5{ oz. English, for the weight of each. This wool, however, was of thirteen months growth. Dr Parry considers the weight, quoted from Lasteyrie, to be equal to the average of ewes' fleeces, and that it is probable the medium weight of rams' fleeces, in Spain, does not exceed seven pounds; though there is certainly great difference in the weight of particular fleeces. The principal Merino flocks are then enumerated, both those belonging to the grandees and to the different societies of monks, which compose the corporation of the Mesta. The size of the Nigrette is stated to be superior ; but it is said, that the race of the Escurial is supposed to have the finest wool of all. The difference between different flocks of Merino sheep, in Spain, and between different individuals of the same flock, is re- ferred to the proportion of the grease, or yolk, which imbues all wool, but pre-eminently that of the Merino. From its superabun- dance in this particular breed, the fleece contrails, near its sur- face, a quantity of dust, earth, and other matters, so as to give the animal a dirty appearance; which usually is most manifest on the finest fleeces, as they contain the greatest quantity of yolk, or grease; but notwithstanding this darkness on the surface, the wool when drawn asunder, nearer the skin, has a brilliant silky appearance, and, when scoured, is of the purest white. The fleece is not washed tor sale on the sheep's back, but after the wool is sorted ; and usually loses three fifths of its weight in the operation, and some authors assert that the loss is often two thirds; and afterwards, in scouring by the clothier, an additional loss is sustained of about three, or tliree and a half, in twenty; but as the quantity of the yolk is different not only in difi'erent individuals, but in the sanie indivitiual at different seasons, tlie loss in washing and scouring will proportionally vary. It is remarked that the yolk of v/ool, here spoken of, has not escaped the notice of the French chemists : by an analysis of this substance by Vauquelin, published in the Annales de Chimie, it is found to contain a large proportion of fatty matter united with potash, so as to form a natural soap; a smallt-r quantity of potash, combined partly with carbonic, partly wirh acetous, and partly with muriatic acid; a little lime, in a state of unknown comhina- tion ; a small quantity of uncombined fatty substance ; and a little animal matter which seems to produce the peculiar waxy smell : this yolk is supposed to be formed from the perspiration of the animal. The wool of Merino sheep is aho said to differ from that of all our native breeds, in bting nearly of an equal fineness on the shoulder and the rump, though it grows more thickly on the latter part; and the whole fleece is remarkably free from those coarse hairs, usually styled snitchel hairs, or cats' hairs; and the wool of the lambs is much coarser and harder than that of the sheep. The sheep themselves are longer in coming to maturity than most other breeds; they do not acquire their full growth till three years old, and the ewes rarely take the ram till they are eighteen or twenty months old, though the rams are fit for generation in a year: but the most striking particular in which the Merino race differs from every breed of short-woolled sheep, either in this or other countries, is, that while very few of the rams are polled, or have short snags, the majority have large spiral horns; and on the other hand, a horned Merino ewe is rarely to be found. The rams and ewes form separate flocks, in Spain, till the beginning of Ju- ly, from whence they are suffered to continue together till the middle of August; one ram is generally allotted to twenty or twen- ty-five ewes. The ewes seldom produce more than one lamb at a birth, and seldom more than a fourth of these are permitted to be raised; the remainder are killed immediately as they are drop- ped, and by transferring the skin to another lamb, the mother is induced to adopt it, so that each lamb has two and sometimes three nurses. As the ewe-lambs are mostly preserved, the ram- lambs are but few, and are very rarely castrated : the wedders are rams on whom this operation has been performed at six or seven years of age, when they are no longer fit for propagation. So lit- tle are these sheep considered an article of food, that though im- mense flocks of them pass through or near Madrid twice every year, the mutton of that capital is supplied from Africa, as the beef and pcvk are from the neat cattle and pigs of France. In the winter, the Merino flocks cover the plains of the fertile provinces of Valentia, Murcia, Arragon, Castile, La Mancha, An- dalusia, Estremadura, and the neighbourhood of Cadiz; but when the herbage is wasted by the increasing heat of the sun, which ge- nerally happens in April or the beginning of May, the flocks com- mence their journies to the mountains of Leon, Castile, Navarre, Arragon, Segovia, Burgos, the Asturias, and other elevated dis- tricts. These journies are conducted with much order, and are minutely described in the Essay. During this journey the shear- ing takes place : when the weather is fine, the sheep are condud:ed to the esquileos, or shearing- houses, which are usually on the mountains near the roads ; they are kept for a day previous in a sudadeos, or sweating-house, in which they are so crowded as to have scarce room to move, or even to breathe ; and though this practice has for its pretended object an increased facility of shear- ing, yet it is probably meant to augment by perspiration the weight, and consequently the price of the fleece. One with ano- ther each man shears fifteen sheep in a day ; and if by accident the skin is wounded, they drop on the part a little powdered char- coal to heal the wound and guard it against the fly. AVhen the 10 fleeces are shorn, they are put into a damp warehouse, all the doors and windows of which are closely shut, so as not to admit any transmission of vapour ; and this warehouse is not opened till the merchant comes to weigh the fleeces. The Spanish flocks occasionally suffer much from shearing ; and that of the Count del Campo Alange is reported to have lost five or six thousand in a sin- gle night. The shearing lasts three or four weeks, after which the sheep proceed on their journey, and remain on the mountains till the return of winter, when they are driven back again to the plains. It is customary to give all the sheep in Spain, whether Trashumantes or Estantes, a small quantity of salt, but the former have it only when in the mountains. The wool in sorting is divided into four parts : the first, which is called by the Spaniards refina, or floreta, and which is marked R, is taken from the flanks, the back as far as the tail, the shoul- ders,^ and sides of the neck; — the second, or fina, marked F, com- prises the wool of the top of the neck, the haunches as far as the line of the belly, and the belly itself; — the third, tercera, marked T, is that of the jaws, the throat, the breast, the fore legs to the knees, and the hinder thighs from the line of the belly down to the hocks ; — the fourth, or cahidas, marked K or C, is that below the hocks, between the thighs, the tail, the buttocks, the pole, and behind the ears, and all that which shakes out of the fleece in shearing or in washing. A set of bags, containing the whole of the first three sorts, is called a pile, the proportion of which many years ago was R 1 5 parts, F 4, and T I ; the profit arising from the sale of the cahidas, or fourth sort, is said to be allotted for the consolation of souls in purgatory. When the wool is sorted it is reduced by washing in hot water to the state in which it is import- ed into this country. Of the five millions of sheep in Spain, the estantes, or station- ary part, are said to be about one tenth; and though there is in Spain, as in England, a prepossession in favour of the effect of tra- velling on the fleece, which the great proprietors encourage, yet it is asserted, on the authority of Bourgoanne and Lasteyrie, that several of the stationary flocks yield wool equal in excellence to the best of the Trashumantes ; in Estreuiadura and Segovia there are flocks which never travel, the wool of which is not inferior to that of the other sort. The diseases to which the Merino breed is chiefly subject, in Spain, are said to be the scab, giddiness, and an eruptive infect us disorder, like the small-pox, fortunately unknown in England, and 11 ♦ for which we have no name. The Spanish shepherds do not em- ploy any remedies worthy of notice for the cure of these maladies, unless it be of importance to announce, that, when other means fail, they have recourse to magic. Every thing respedling the maintenance of the flocks of Spain, as well Merinos as others, is directed by a code of laws called the Mesta, which first received the sanftion of government about the year 145(). The author proceeds to state, that he has looked in vain into writers for any plausible explanation of the name Merino, or any authentic history of the origin or introdudlion of the race itself. By some, he observes, it is attributed to England, and supposed to be derived from the Cotswold breed ; but from an inquiry into the quality of English wool, cloth, and sheep, from the earliest times to the latter end of the seventeenth century, which is extend- ed over a considerable number of pages, he is of opinion that the Merino breed was not derived from Britain. It is also given as the opinion of the best informed writers, in which Dr. Parry him- self concurs, that they were not originally brought from Africa, though this is strongly maintained by a writer in the French Ency- clopedic, who boldly asserts that this race was formed about the time of the Emperor Claudius, from importntions of African rams, by Columella, uncle to the celebrated agriculturist of that name. That the Encyclopedist was evidently mistaken is proved by a quo- tation from the seventh book of Columella's Treatise De Re Rus- tics ; it appears, however, that the Roman agriculturist tried ma- ny experiments to obtain fine-wooUed coloured lambs, by coupling coarse-coloured rams, which he obtained from Africa, with white fine-wooUed ewes ; but it does not follow from his words (in agros transtulit) that Columella placed those rams on any lands of his in Spain. Dr, Parry thinks it much more probable, even from the words themselves, as well as from the nature of his objeft, that he brought them into the Roman territories inltiilv, where there was abundance of the •• oves molles," the " oves teniae," which were chiefly valued for fine white wool. For among the Romans all ranks oi people, oi both sexes, wore chiefly wooiien garments, a pound of silk, even in the reign of Aurelian, at the close of the third century of the Christian era, being, according to Vopiscus, equal in value to a pound of gold. And when the pre eminence in wealth, and the prevailing vanity of the Romans are consider- ed, and since the heat of Italy is so great at certain seasons of the year, as scarcely to aduiit the use of a woollen dress, the Do^Stor is 12 of opinion, that the quality of the wool must have been a matter especially important, since, during the Augustan age, and for a considerable time afterwards, it was the fashion to wear cloth fur- nished with a nap or pile. It is recalled to the recollection of the reader, that Varro, Columella, Pliny, Martial, Palladius, Petro- nius, and Calpurnius Siculus, agree in stating that the sheep which produced the finest wool in the Roman dominions, were those of Apulia and Calabria. A pound avoirdupois of this wool is stated to have cost about 1/. Is. Id. of our money. And even at this time, according to Pliny, and some other ancient authors, Spain was not without valuable breeds of sheep, which were memorable for bearing fleeces naturally of different tints. Columella speaks of them as bearing blackish or tawny coloured fleeces \ Pliny, who lived somewhat after him, adds, that they were occasionally of a reddish or gold colour, like those of Asia, and Martial compares them with the golden or red hair of women. The opinion of Strabo, with respedl to the Portuguese sheep, is then examined, and it is clearly made out, that the wool of them was more like hair, and incapable of being manufa6lured into cloth with a nap or pile. The historians of Spain, who had been diligently con- sulted for the purpose, afforded him no information on the sub- jea From all these circumstances he concludes, that however the notion of the English origin of the Merino breed of sheep may serve to flatter the national pride, yet that it falls to the ground as soon as it is investigated ; and also that it is not more probable that tlie race was introduced into Spain from Barbary, as asserted by the French Encyclopedists: but, adverting again to the attention which the Romans paid to their sheep, and particularly to the breed, which, from producing the fine short \vool, was much va- lued, and the objedl of peculiar care on that account, he thinks it probable that the race of short-woolled sheep of the ancient Ro- mans, and the present race of Merino sheep of Spain, are the same. For the perfection of both these breeds, he observes, seems to have consisted in certain common qualities. " The favourite ewe of ancient Italy was to have a large carcase, capacious belly, short legs ; and the ram a wide breast, shoulders and buttocks, a long and deep body, and a broad and long tail. The fleece was to be thick, soft, and deep, especially about the neck and shoul- ders. It seems to have been with a view to the increase of wool, on this finest part of the animal, that the Romans thought along neck valuable in the ewes : the ears and forehead of the rams were 13 to be involved in wool, and no individual of either sex was tole- rated of which the wool did not clothe the whole belly. Regard •was also had to the horns : it is a niemorab'e circumstance in these sheep, that the rams had generally horns, and the ewes none; still however the polled rams were most esteemed." — "It is impossible for any one who reads this description," says Dr. Parry, " and who is acquainted with the improved Merino race of the present day, not to suspecl that they are one and the same breed." He then proceeds to investigate evidence as to this fact : he observes, that throughout Europe, as far as he knows, there is not any short-woolled breed besides the Merinos existing, except in Italy, of which the males are horned and the females not : that in former times the sheep of Apulia and Calabria had their difl'erent summer and winter quarters, the same as the Merinos now have in Spain; It was also the universal practice among the Romans to give salt to their sheep, with a view to promote appetite and thirst, to increase milk, and to improve digestion ; and he can hardly believe that this practice, which still subsists in Italy, should, from time immemorial have found its way into Spain, and into that country only, except by immediate communication ; and as the Spanish flocks are frequently led by goats in the present day, so it appears, from 'fibuUus, this was a common usage among the Romans. Dogs follow the flocks in Spain as well as in most other countries; they are however not intended, as in England, France, and most other European districts, to assist the shepherd in guiding and regulating the sheep, but are of a strong and fierce kind, serving to guard and protect both against the depredations of robbers and beasts of prey : so also dogs were kept by the Ro- mans for the same purposes, the qualities, uses, and treatment of which are minutely described by Varro and Columella. Many of these instances, it may be said, may have been coincidences of practice, suggested by similarity of circumstances, but could not have been the reason why, in order to avoid variegated fleeces in the offspring, both nations should exclude ram.s with spotted mouths or tongues from the privilege of breeding; a practice which is stated to have prevailed among the Romans, upon the authority of Varro and Columella, and to be adhered to by the modern Merino shepherds, on the authority of Lasteyrie. A still more remarkable coincidence is noticed, which is the practice of killing a considerable number of lambs very shortly after they are dropped. This custom prevailed equallv with the Romans as it B does with the present Spaniards, and precisely from the same motives : — that as the wool only was the valuable produce of the flock, each lamb might acquire more strength by having two nurses. This agreement then in so many important particulars of form, fleece, constitution, and general treatment, satisfies the author of the essay beyond all reasonable doubt, that the present Merinos are the same race as the ancient Tarentme sheep of Apulia; yet he can find no evidence of the tia:ie v.hea thty wtrt' first introdu- ced into Spain. For though the union of Italy and Spain first took place under Frederick, king of Arragon and Sicily, about the beginning of the fourteenth century, yet it is not in Arragon that the best Merino sheep are now found ; and the author conceives that the circumstances of the history of Spain would rather in- duce a belief that their introduction took place at a more remote period than 1300: he leans to the idea of their having existed in that country during the dominion of the rich, industrious, and luxuri- ous Moors, if not in still earlier times, when Spain was under sub- jection to Rome. Dr. Parry, having thus completed his observations on the nature, produce, and origin of the Merino breed of sheep, concludes the first part of his essay by remarks on the extension of the race to various parts of the world. The Swedes are stated to be the first nation in Europe, who im- ported Merino sheep with a view to naturalize them ; though the most northern part of this country is burnt up during a short summer by a sun which never sets fur many days, and the whole is desolated by a winter of seven or eight months, during which the ground is covered with uninterrupted snow. Notwithstand- ing this it is stated, that M. Alstroemer introduced a flock of Merino shelp into Sweden in 1723, and that under his direction the government instituted a school of shepherds in 1739, and granted bounties of 25 per cent, to the sellers of fine and good wool; these, however, were reduced to 15 per cent, in I7bl, to 19 per cent, in 1786, and in 1792 were wholly discontinued. The Merino Sheep now in Sweden are estimated at 100,000, or about one twenty fifth part of the sheep of the country, and the wool is in every resjject equal to that in Spain ; the size of the animal has in tnany cases degenerated, but the wool produce has proporiionaily increased ; and the Swedes raise at present in their own country nearly as much fine wool as is sufficient for their manufactures. The more attentive cultivators lodge their sheep during the whole year in large airy buildings, the windows of 15 which are always open, and the doors made of hurdles; and thcr are driven out twice in the day ; the daily allowance of food given to each is two English pounds of hay, with an addition of dried leaves of trees, stalks of the hop, pe^ise haulm, and oar and barley straw ; but many only house them at night for security against the wolf and the lynx. The sheep are allowed *alt in damp or rainy weather; and the shearing takes place in July, the sheep having been p/cvionsly washed : the average weight of well washed ewes' fleeces is given at full three pounds, and of lambs' fleeces at one pound. The Danes first carried Merino sheep from Sweden in 1789, a few descendants of which remain ; and in 1797 the government of Denmark imported 300 sheep from Spain, from the celebrated breeds of the Escurial, Gaudaloupe, Paular, Infantado, Montano, and Negrette : these were placed at Esserum, eight leagues from Copenhagen, and were all alive, except two, eighteen months afterwards, when they were seen by M. Lasteyrie. They are kept in airy houses, and ied with hay, or rye and oat straw cut into chafF; they arc fed three times a day with an allowance in the whole of 3 i pounds of dry food, and in warm weather are sent out into enclosed pastures without a shepherd : salt is given them in wet weather, and some persons give them the heads of salt her- rings, or the brine which has been used for pickling meat or fish ; the lambs are weaned at three months, and are then allowed the best pastures. Augustus Frederick, Elector of Saxony, introduced Merino sheep into his dominions in ] 765 : the number was three hundred, divided into four establishments; and at the end often years they were found to have had all possible success; the sheep of the pure blood preserving every valuable quality, and the ultimate crosses having wool fully equal to the pure Merinos. The winter food of this race in Saxony consists of hay, lattermath, clover, oat or rye straw, pease- haulm, vetches, &c. which are given twice or thrice in the day in large buildings, but in summer the sheep are only housed at night, and kept from the pastures till the dew is dissipated. Salt is very generally distributed to them by the Saxons, from an idea that it contributes to their health and to the fineness of their fleeces. The lambs fall before March, and are weaned in June ; the sheep are washed before shearing in running water two successive days, suffered to dry for two days, and are shorn on the third which generally takes place in May. Saxony no longer imports Spanish wool ; and much of that grown 16 there has been sent for some years to the fairs at Lelpsic, and part of it i'Tiported into England. It is said to be allowed by manu- facturers, who have tried this wool, that it makes cloth superior in softness and fineness to any obtaintd from the best Spanish piles, The Merino breed of sheep was first introduced into Prusisa by M. Finck in 1768, who obtained his original stock from Saxony; but in 1779 he imported three rams and twenty ewes directly from Spain. Though he has carefully niaiatained the pure race, yet he has chiefly employed his rams in improving the native breeds. The Count de Magnis also possesses, at Eckersdorff in Silesia, a flock of nine thousand sheep by the Merino cross. His attention has been directed to uniting size with fineness of wool ; he has therefore mixed the best Merino rams with the large breed of Hungary, and in this respe£t has made great progress, one sheep with another giving three pounds of washed wool, on a carcase larger, stronger, and better formed than any other fine- wooUed sheep on the Continent. The times of yeaning, and the treatment of these flocks in Prussia and Silesia, are so nearly the same as what prevails in Saxony, as not to deserve a separate no- tice -, most of the farmers in Prussia allow their sheep to go out during the day in the severest weather, and give them dry food during the night. The Count de Magnis gives his sheep corn, but considers it as too expensive; he regards potatoes as equally beneficial with oats, and certainly much cheaper ; and during the winter his sheep eat as much salt as they choose. The war with Austria prevented M. Lasteyrie from visiting that country and some other parts of Germany; the information there- fore v/hich Dr. Parry is able to give, concerning their Spanish flocks, is very limited and imperfect. He relates however, from Lasteyrie, that the Empress Oueen Maria Theresa imported Me- rino sheep from Spain in 1775, and placed them at Mercopoil in Hungary ; and that subsequently to that period two other flocks have been brought from Alicant to Trieste ; and in 1 802 a person was employed by the Emperor to purchase sheep in Spain. In Anspach and Bayreuth attempts are noticed to improve the native sheep by the introdudion of Merinos ; and in Mecklenburgh, Zell, Brunswic, Baden, and Hanover, this race has been long enough introduced to improve the wool of those countries in a considera- ble degree. It is remarked, that few countries appear less adapted to the support of sheep than the rich and marshy soil of Holland ; yet ir^ 17 1789 M. Trent imported from Spain two rams and four ewes, and placed them on an estate between Leyden and the Hague ; in 1793 he imported three new rams and four ewes ; and in 1802 his flock amounted to one hundred. His rams' fleeces weighed from 10 to 1 4' pounds, and his ewes' fleeces from 6 to 10 pounds, in an unwashed state. To prove the fineness of his wool, he placed on a piece of black cloth nine specimens of his own wool by the side of the best specimens of superfine Spanish which he could procure, and sent them to a clothier, who pronounced five of Mr. Trent's specimens to be superior to the superfine Spanish. In 1793 M. Cuperus, near Leyden, also imported some Merinos from Spain into Holland, and his crosses of the native breeds were in 1802 nearly equal to the unmixed Spaniards in fineness of fleece. Piedmont appears to Dr. Parry to have first obtained the Spa- nish breed of sheep in 1793, when Prince Masserino chose 150 ewes from the best flocks of Segovia. Notwithstanding the war which existed at the time, they increased considerably, and many crosses were obtained from the ewes of Germany, Rome, Naples, and Padua. The greater part of the proprietors agreed to fora. a society, and in 1801 obtained from the government of France, to which Piedmont was then annexed, a grant to improve under certain conditions, the plains of La Mandria : the laws for the regulation of the flocks of this society are given by M. Lastey- rie. The management of the Merino flocks of Piedmont ap- pears to vary but in few particulars from the modes which have been previously described. The cultivators of the plains of La Mandria drive their flocks to the Alps from the middle of June to the end of 06lober: they are seldom folded except in the moun- tains, experience having shewn that their dung in the house is more profitable, provided they are supplied with a proper quantity of straw. »« There is, however," says Dr. Parry, " no country in Europe, which of late years has taken such laudable pains in cultiva- ting the Merino breed of sheep as France." For though it appears that Spanish sheep had been imported into France at an early pe- riod, yet the first person that paid any systematic attention to the wools of that country, by this method, is said to have been Dau- benton, who in 1776 obtained part of 200 Merinos imported by M. Trudaine, intendant of the finances. The flock of Dauben- ton, is now in the possession of M. Thevenin of Tanlay, and pro- tluces wool of the very first quality. In 1786 about 400 Merino 18 sheep were presented by the king of Spain to Louis XVI. but 60 of them died on their journey, and a greater number fell a sacri- fice to the febrile disease before mentioned, similar to the small- pox, after their arrival at Rambouillet. This royal present, ha- ving been chosen for their form and fleece from various Spanish flocks, differed much both in size and shape ; but having been better assorted after their arrival in France, produced a race un- like any of the original breeds, but equal to the best of them in mould and fineness of wool, and superior in weight of carcase and of fleece. A particular account is given of this flock, which was placed under the dire£lion of an agricultural committee at the commencement of the French revolution, who made an annual re- port to the National Institute on the subject. From h'he report of the year J 802 it is stated, on the authority of Lasteyrie, that the medium weight of the fleeces of full grown nursing ewes was about 8 lb, 7 oz. ; of the ewes of three years old, which had no lambs, about 9 1b. 13 oz.; of the two-tooth ewes about 10|lb.; and oi the rams of three or four years old about IJ lb, 5ioz.: each fleece selling on an average at the price of about 1/. 3^. W. sreriing. Dr. Parry has seen several specimens of the Rambouil- let wool of 1802, and indeed is in possession of some of it ; and, as far as he can judge of their quality by the naked eye, he coh- siders them to be equal to the Ryeland wool of the Spanish piles. It is stated that by a secret article in the treaty of Basil, the French Direftory had stipulated for itself the privilege of purcha- sing in Spain 1000 ewes and 100 rams in ea^h of the five succeed- ing years. From the Rambouillet flock many others have been established in France and its dependencies, none of which is said to be more justly entitled to general notice than that of M, C. Pidlet, of Geneva, who established a Merino flock in 1800 •, and besides these pure Spanish flocks, there are many others of a mixed breed, which have originated from experiments made by indivi- duals, the result of which is said to be, that, with due care, the wool in every breed of sheep is capable of arriving at a degree of fineness equal to that of the Merino, and that the eflVct is produ- ced by constantly crossing with the finest woolled rams, and is generally obtained sooner or later according to the fineness of the fleece of the ewe, but in no breed later than the fourth cross. From the account which he has given, it appears to the author of the Essay that the Spanish breed of sheep iias been much im- proved in weight, and probably fineness of fleece, and has con- siderably increased in size, by having been naturalized in France ; 19 and he thinks these valuable points have been accomplished in the four following ways : 1, By choosing for breeding the finest and best wooiled rams and ewes-, — 2, By never allowing them to pro- pagate till they have attained their full growth, which, at the ear- liest, is not till nearly three years of age ; — 3, By separating the weak from the strong ; — -i, By giving them good food and plenty of air and exercise. A particular account of the mode of feeding and treating them is subjoined in illustration of this opinion, which is too extended to be comprised in this analysis. it is next remarked on the authority of Count Alexis OrloiF, that Merino sheep have been imported into Russia, but no infor- mation is given of the result. With respect to this breed at the Cape of Goo ' Hope, some particulars are communicated from the information of Sir George Yonge, who was governor there; and the author having once had a ratn of the native Cape breed, speaks from his own knowledge that the wool chiefly consists of long coarse filaments like hair ; this has been very much improved by a cross of Merino rams ; and Dr. Parry speaks of a specimen of wool from the fourth cross of the native Cape sheep, which he had obtained from Sir George Yonge since his return to England, as having a filament so fine, as that the next cross would produce wool fully equal to good Spanish. From these Cape Merinos sprung a race of sheep, which were carried from thence in 1797, by Captain M'xA.rthur, to the English settlement on the coast of New Holland ; and a memorial pre- sented by that gentleman to the English government in 1783 is added, to evince his sanguine expectations that wool might be pro- duced there from the Merinos which would be sujjerior to Spanish wool, and some samples which he brought over and gave to Mr. Joyce, of Freshford near Bath, were equal in fineness to any he had ever manufactured. Though it is admitted that Merino sheep have been at various times imported into Great Britain, yet the plausible tales of the French Encyclopedists on this point are shewn to have no foun- dation in truth ; and the sheep of this breed, which have been imported in modern times, are believed to be very few, till the King obtained some Merino sheep in 1792 ; in which year he pur- chased five rams and thirty-five ewes from the flock of the Coun- tess del Campo Alange, which is called Negrette. The manage- ment and distribution of this flock through the country by perio- dical sales, are then amply detailed ; but these are circumstances too generally known to make their insertion necessary in this place. 20 The most ample information of the progress of the royal Merino flock of England, may be obtained from the Reports of Sir Jo- seph Banks, under whose care the flock is placed, and through whose judicious management, it is asserted, the form has been con- siderably improved, and the fleece rendered finer than the Ne- grette pile, the wool of the parent stock in Spain. The exertions of Lord Somerville to introduce Merino sheep are next noticed, with appropriate commendations of hys judgment and zealous a^livity in all agricultural pursuits ; and he 1s said to have treated his flock so successfully, that the cloth manufactured from his wool is superior to the greater part of that manufactured from Spanish, and the carcase at the same time is fast approaching to best Ryelands or South downs. The Merino flocks of Lord Portchester and Mr. Toilet, which have been formed from those of the king and Lord Somerville, are also mentioned; and it is added, that, besides these larger flocks, there are in the kingdom many smaller ones of Merino sheep, which the author cannot par- ticularize; but it appears to him that the principal mode in which the utility of the Merino race has been extended in England, has been by crossing our native breeds with Merino rams. The cross with Ryeland ewes is supposed to be that most frequently resorted to, and several gentlemen are named, who are zealously employed in promoting the cross with the Ryeland, the South-down and the Wiltshire breeds. The nobility and gentry of Ireland are stated to be engaged in an attempt to introduce the Merino race of sheep into that coun- try. In 1804 premiums were offered for both sheep and wool, to be exhibited at the great cattle fair at Ballinasloe. For the pre- miums for Merino Sheep there was that year no claimant ; but the premium of 20/. for the best ram's fleece grown in Ireland, was obtained by the Earl of Farnham, for a Merino-Ryeland fleece. 21 IlIS'l ORY OF THE MERINO-RYELAND BREED OF SHEEP, BY CAI,EB HILLAR PARRY, M. D. F. R. S. &c. C'amniiniications to the Board of .IgTiculture, Vol. V. Part II. THE history of the author's own breed of sheep is introduced by an account of his first turning to agriculture, and particularly the care and improvement of sheep in the year 1788 j but as he was not able to procure a Merino ram till 1797, it is only necessa- ry to notice his detail from that time. From 1797 he has been enabled regularly to employ rams of the pure blood in his own flock, and had obtained in 1805 a total of 382 fine-wooUed sheep and lambs, besides nearly 100 of mixed breeds. Dr. Parry seemed to have long reasoned upon the project of producing fine wool in England, which should be fully equal to the best Spanish, and to have entertained an almost certainty of success. For though ge- neral opinion had long decided that it was impracticable to raise in this country wool equal to that of Spain, yet it appeared to him that this opinion, whether as referable to clitnate, food or habits of travelling, was founded on nothing better than mere prejudice. He had remarked that the skin and the hair of the Negro and Gipsey in England remained unchanged, from what they original- ly were in Africa, Hindostan, or Malacca ; those of" the North American, of West Indian and of European descent, continuing similar to those of their native country ; tliat the form and fea- thers of the turkey and domestic fowl, continue similar to those of their native country, whether in North America or Asia ; and that the Arabian stallion delivered down his most boastei excel- lencies through our native mares. When he considered tha: these circumstances took place in spite of all the changes of climate, food, C 2ii iincl general habits of life, he concluded fi'om analogy, what has been since verified by experience, that Merino sheep would pro- duce wool equally fine in this country as in Spain : his opinion was strengthened by the circumstance, that the Finlander and the Laplander, contiguous inhabitants of the northern parts of Swe- den, continue to this day two distiniSl varieties of the human race. When he turned his refleiSlions from other animals to the race of sheep, it struck him forcibly that the Portland sheep, though one of the smallest races in Britain, and living on a bare natural pasture in a temperate climate, produced a small fleece of the coarsest clothing wool ; and that the same circumstance took place in regard to the sheep on the cold mountains of Wales ; and on the other hand that the Merino breed inhabiting Spain had the linest fleece in the world in all the different situations of that country, he felt a conviclion therefore that the fineness and weight of fleece are by no means relative to the climate, soil, quantity or quality of food, size or habits of life of the sheep them- selves. To these arguments from analogy, he adds the decisive test of dire; from the poney of Wales, or the galloway of Scotland; and though two centuries ago the breed was sufficiently increased in size and strength, yet it was not till the middle of the last century, that, on observation of the fleetness, wind, and strength, which were combined in the Turkish and Saracenic breeds, the eiTefl was tried of coupling males of these races with mares of our own country. Breeders continued for many years to cross the female descendants with pure males, till the actual acquirement of the excellencies which were sought for, rendered unnecessary all further inter- mixture of the pure blood. Yet in horses of this kind there is no degeneracy; they are, on the cojitrary, superior to the race from which they sprung, and in a constant state of improvement; for while the horses of the Arabs in their own country can scarce- ly trot or canter 8 or JO miles without being exhausted, there is hardly a race horse in England, that will not, with little fatigue, run 20 miles in an hour, almost at full speed. Dr. Parry is there- fore decidedly of opinion that this principle, which the experience of half a century has established, on the subjedl: of horses, will be found equally true on that of sheep. " Mr. Bakewell," he says, whom we must justly consider as one of the most enlightened of farmers, would have laughed to scorn any one who would have told him, that in order to preserve certain points of form or con- stitution in a breed, it was necessary to revert to animals posses- sing those points in a less degree than the sheep of his own flock; the observation of his whole life confirmed him in the truth of the contrary principle." That rule then, which holds good with re- gard to the carcase, may likewise be received as true with respect to the fleece. The Do(5lor then relates to the Society what he has learned from sixteen years experience, and the detail may be considered as a proof of the principles which he has advanced, and is far from leading to the conclusion that, when the fineness of the wool of a cross-bred ram is fully established, there is a necessity of recur- ring to the pure stock; having found no deterioration occur in a whole race of sheep after three or four generations bred in and in, but that the greater part of the progeny appeared to be in an improving state, he thinks we have no right to presume the con- trary from supposition only. The greatest stumbling-block ap- pears to him to have originated from observing a sort of gross connexion between the food and the quality of the fleece ; it was concluded that the fine herbage of the downs necessarily produced fine wool, and that none but coarse wool could spring from gross luxuriant food ; but neither of these conclusions is true, for the fineness of a sheep's fleece, of a given breed, is inversely as its fat- 40 ness, and the very same sheep may, at different times, according to these circumstances, have fleeces of all the intermediate quali- ties from extreme fineness to comparative coarseness. This is gi- ven as the true cause of the error, which has prevailed universally, that a Spanish sheep cut of Spain cannot yield a fine fleece ; but the falsity of this prepossession has been proved by experiment, and experience authorizes the decision that when a race of animals liave preserved their peculiar qualities for three or four descents, those qualities may by proper care be preserved to the latest gene- rations, and that those animals are best for breeding which possess those qualities in the highest degree, however they may be deno- minated, or from whatever country derived. OBSERVATIONS. The question respedling the fineness of wool degenerating after repeated crosses, without a fresh intermixture with the pure Meri- no blocd, may be considered as set at rest by Dr. Parry's argu- ments, confirmed by his experience; and no apprehensions of that kind need disturb the tranquillity of the breeder from the Merino-Ryeland race of sheep. On a Polled Merino Ram, &V. BY SIR GEORCiE STUART MACKENZIE. Dh-ksoii's .JgricuUural ^Mo^azine, J\o. 7. On a Ram of the Merino or Spanish Breed without Horns * BY A NORFOLK FARMER. Dickson s S'grlcuJlural Jifagazine, J\'o. 7. It having been doubted by a former correspondent of the Maga- zine, whether or not a ram of this breed ever existed without horns, Sir George Mackenzie relates, in the first of these papers, that he purchased one without horns from his Majesty's flock, which is a very fine animal of the kind ; and it is stated in the lat- ter, that Mr, Toilet of Staffordshire, produced one without horns at the Holkham sheep- shearing of 1806, which is believed to be still in the possession of Thomas William Coke, Esquire. * Retrospect, V. IV. p. 89. 4i ON TPIE WOOL OF SPANISH SIIEEP. p,Y T . * Sick-soli's .'Ig'riculluraJ ^Ivgazine, J\'o. 12. AS the wools of Spain enjoy so distinguished a reputation, the writer conceives he shall give information to some readers by de- tailing the various sorts into which Spanish wool is divided. He states that the wool of the travelling flocks is divided into three classes; the first of these is called Segovian Leonese, because it is the produce of the flocks which feed in the neighbourhond of Se- govia, Madrid, &c. in Castile, and those of the kingdom of Leon, which pass the winter in Estraniadura ; the second class is knowa under the name of Soria, a town in Old Castile, and of Saragossa or Arragon, which province lies adjacent to the preceding one : the third class is the wool of Seville. The Segovia Leonese is distinguished by piles or heaps, com- posed of the wools of difterent flocks, of which the piles of Paular, or the Escurial, of Infantado, and Negrette (formerly that of the Jesuits) are the three most considerable ; by these the prices of the others are usually regulated. The second sort, or quality, is named Segovia, and its piles are denominated Marques, Avila, Armendes, Hospital of Burgos, &c. and this is inferior to the Leonese ; and the small Segovia is less fine, and is the medium between tho?e two kinds of wool. The Soria is inferior to the first kind ; the most noted flocks are those of Villa Real, Badillo, Naros, Castelfrio, &c. and this wool is seldom divided into piles. The different kinds are distinguished by the marks on the bales to which are added the initials of the different flocks. Most of the wools are white ; but Spain produces yellow, black, and brown wool, but this is not picked for exportation. Those wools are stated to be of the best sort, which are long, strong, soft, silky, finf , slender, and glossy, entirely divested of grease, well picked, without mixture and new; the last point is determined by the wool not having a rancid smell, which it contracts by age, and by its dilating or swelling speedily, when compressed in the hand : the strength and pliability are discovered by drawing it with the fore-finger and thumb of each hand ; if it be new, it will stretch, not easily be broken, but when it is, will sound neither * Retrospect, Y. lY. p. 254. 42' dry nor sharp. The duty upon Spanish wool imported is given at two-pence halfpenny per pound, and the markets in January last, are quoted at — Seville, Sj-. W. to 5f. 3d. — Segovia, 6s. to 6s. 6d. — - Leonese, 6s. 6d. to 6s. 9d. per pound. OBSERVATIONS. This short account of the different v?ools of Spain is a valuable appendage to Dr. Parry's various publications on the subject of wool in the communications to the Board of Agriculture, and among the papers of the Bath Society, where these terms are fre- quently mentioned wifhout any explanation, to the great disap- pointment of the readers. But the mode of sorting, washing, and packing the wool of Spain, as well as the manner of conducting the sales, is much better explained in Dr. Parry's Essay, published by the Agricultural Board, than in this article. On the coarse Wool of a Spanish, or Merino Lamb. BY SIR GEORGE S. MACKENZIE, BART. * Dickson's Jlgricidtural JMagazine, JN'o. 10. Sir George Mackenzie, having communicated to the editor of the Magazine, a circumstance of a Spanish lamb having been dropped, with a covering more resembling hair than wool, ob- serves, that after a lapse of three months, the hair had entirely disappeared from the neck of the anim.al, and had given place to wool, but that the rest of the body continued as before. Having had a second lamb dropped in the same hairy state, though got by a verv fine ram, he expresses his conviction that the second fleeces of these lambs will be perfedt wool, notwithstanding the deviation in the first fleece. The remainder of the paper con- tains only miscellaneous observations, which have no relation to the subjeCl:. OBSERVATIONS. The removing the suspence into which the worthy Baronet had fallen, respedling the future fleece of his hairy Merino lamb, may prevent uneasiness to other breeders, who may chance to have lambs dropped in the same predicament. The occurrence is not peculiar to the Merino breed, but sometimes happens in other kinds nearly allied to it, and most commonly in flocks which ex- perience hard keeping during the winter, though by no means exclusively so. * Retrospect, V. IV. p. 148. 43 EXPERIMENTS REGARDING THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE FINE-WOOLLED BREED OF SHEEP IN THIS KINGDOM ; IN A LETTER TO SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, BART. EY EDWARD SHEPPARD, Esc^. of Uley, Gloucestershire. * Commwiicaiions to the Board of .Agriculture, Vol. FI. Ft. I. THIS gentleman, being anxious to ascertain to what degree of perfedion wool might be brought in this country by means of the Spanish cross on fine-wooiled English sheep; and wishing to be satisfied whether, under the common circumstances of the hus- bandry of the country, such wool would retain its fineness: and from being at the same time largely engaged in the manufadure of superfine cloth, and in the pradlice of buying and working up considerable quantities of Spanish wool yearly, conceiving himself entitled to form with some accuracy an estimate of the relative quality and value of such wools as might be produced in this country m competition with the wools of Spain, he determined upon commencing a series of experiments; and with this view Lord Bathurst s, which had been obtained from the King's Merino tiock. In the produce of the first cross he found a considerable improvenient of the wool, which so much resembled Spanish, that It might be considered as approaching half-way ; the weight of the fleece was also increased one-half ; of this iool he prierved a inTthr.?"'"' f ^" '\' ^°i^°"'"^ 5^^^'- (^ ^«^)' ^'^ obtained a ram fofivP ..'pT '^/ ^^'"S's flock, and purchased from four InT RnT K '^''P^'^'"'^" best Herefordshire flocks: in 1803 ana 1804, he also purchased a considerable number of a reputed * Retrospect, V. IV. p, 35H. 44. Spanish flock in Herefordshire, from a Mr. Ridgeway, who had been many years in possession of part of His Majesty's sheep, on which he had engrafted his own Ryeland flock, but the produce was a mixed and unequal breed ; he hkewise availed himself of other opportunities of purchasing sheep of the same breed to such an extent, that, in 1S05, he was enabled from the increase of his flock to dispose of all his Ryeland ewes , and at this year's shear- ing, the average weight of his fleeces washed on the sheep's backs was 2Albs. In 1806, his Spanish and mixed flocks amoujned to 986, ex- clusive of lambs, and the average v/eigbt of his lleeces was 31bs. washed as above ; the value of the mixed wool being 4j. 6iJ. and of the Spanish 6s. Aid. per lb. while the price of Spanish wool im- ported was at 6s. 9d. He found it exoedient to wash the wool on the siieep's backs in the common mode ot this country, because the dirtier part of the fleece near the surface, 'was considerably cleansed thereby, though the wool is too closely compared to admit of much impression in the grease at the root of the fibre, which, however, yields easily to the common process of the manufacturer ; for, in proportion as the cress from the English approaches the Spanish breed, it acquires the same property of yolk. And it is stated, that the shearing is much facilitated by the wool being washed on the back of the animal-, besides, the attempt to wash the wool after it has been shorn, as is the praflice in Spain, would be attended with ma- ny difiiculties to the grower, and be very disadvantageous to the manufacturer, as in the process of scowering the wool would be much injured by the soiling of the liquor used in the operation ; he conceives also the wool washed from the sheep's backs is in the most merchantable state, since it is sufficiently free from ex- cessive grease to enable the manufafturer to judge of its probable waste, which experience will soon teach-, while the attempt to produce the wool scowered clean, would be much more objeClion- able; because, from the inexperience of the party, it would most probably be injured in its softness and quality. His lambs he has not sheared, because he found them meet the winter better with their coats on, and the produce of wool was greater at the next shearing. The first refleclion which occurred to Mr. Sheppard, on the adoption of these sheep, was, whether it is likely to be advanta- geous to the community, and he is decidedly of opinion, that a ju- dicious culture of fine wool must be produdtive of the greatest be- 45 nefit to the agricultural, as well as to the commercial interests &f the country; since, in the variety of soil and situation which Eng- land affords, there are many districts where this breed of sheep might be cultivated with success, to the exclusion of the wretched and unprofitable flocks, which are now depastured there, for he thinks there is not a breed of clothing-wooUed sheep in England, which would not produce a fleece frum four or five repeated cros- ses with the Spanish, worth at least four shillings the pound, washed on the sheep's backs ; and consequently it must be to the interest both of the farmer and the community, that poor and, mountainous trails of land should be applied to the growth of this sort of sheep ; but a different opinion is acknowledged with re- spetSt to the rich and highly-cultivated parts of the kingdom. The comparison of four years' successive produce from the same sheep, has satisfied him, that without extraordinary care to guard against the efl^efts of climate, and a stri6l abstinence from the more nutritious and succulent kinds of food, the wool of the mixed breeds will materially deqenerare. At the time of writing, he had before him samples of the v^^ool of his first crosses from Lord Bathurst's ram in 1802, and the wool from the same sheep in 1806, and he found the quality so much degenerated in the course of that time, that he conceived the lapse of another equal period, would reduce it to the coarseness of the maternal stock; at the same time he observes, that this is the first cross from the Spanish, which he does not consider as possessing equal preven- tives with those of higher blood against the causes of degeneracy. He has also found the wool of His Majesty's ram much degenera- ted by a comparison of the wool of 18U3 with that of ISOG, which is attributed to his being kept in the best pastures in the summer, and fed with corn in the winter, and being worked very hard; but the same depreciation has not been found in the females, which have not been kept in such high condition. It is remarked that in the pure Spanish there is a wonderful capacity for resisting the effects of climate on the quality of the wool, for the great exuda- tion from the body of the animal, yields a yolky consistence at the interior of the fleece, which by its mixture with the soil forms a kind of coat of mail on the surface almost impervious to wet, and protects the sheep exceedingly from the injuries of climate ; and the same quality attends the mixed breed in the proportion of its approximation to the Spanish. The faft of deterioration, how- ever, under the common circumstances of the husbandry of th^ Gcuntrv, is not deemed as affording cause in any serious degree, to F 46 affeftthe value of fine-woolled sheep, for the preventive is always at hand — a frequent recurrence to the Spanish ram, which will, at all tiaies, remedy the evil. It is thought to be very pradlicable to grow wool of the value of 5s. 6d. per pound, while Spanish wool reaches 6s. 9d. ; by which means we should rival two-thirds of the import from Spain ; but in order to keep up the means of perpe- tuating the fine-wooled mixed breed, and of supplying the growers with the pure blood, there should be a flock of the real Spanish race carefully preserved from mixture, and protected from dege- neracy ; and the writer considers the flock now in His Majesty's possession, as eminently fitted for the purpose, and is satisfied that a breed of sheep as pure as those are, with stridl caution both to the nature of their food, and to their complete proteir-T^T>n;rlrc;nn'j ^jtoi-if^iStU*..,! ^T.p-4-/«n.. \,i 13., is well calculated td ro^v*? :ip[<^ehcnsiQiu> {^(HpH k'^ feyife i^' youii^- ^w,, ijicxperiencfcl bi'ctdi^rs. Ed. pfnrjaS^Sini .> - ■"*'^' X ^ The observations in the preceding pages,' in conjunfllc.i with those of Mr. Livinjjston and those of Dr. Mease recently published in the first number of his excellent work, entitled "Ar- chives of Useful Knowledge," are deemed sufficient to establish the importance of the Merino breed of Sheep crossed on our own native flocks And whilst the Editor warmly wishes the fuilert success to thoso who have thus by their exertions conferred so valuable a benefit on our country he ardently hopes, that no ig-i- pediment may arise to its extensive diffusion, by unnecessarily aQgmenting the prices of either the sheep themselves, nor th? cloth manufactured from their fleeces-, which, by concentring th*? busiiiess in the hands of a few capitalists, must eventually tcTid to depress the a«rtivity of the community at large. Retrospect, \. IV,