AGRICULTURAL ZOOLOGY. 357 



9 New Oxford ewes will shear 63 pounds wool, at 30 cents per pound $18.90 



14 lambs, at $3 each 42.00 



$60.90 



In this statement I have given the highest figures we have been able to realize from Merino 

 ewes that have been carefully bred for a long course of years. Few sheep in this country 

 will come up to it. 



In figuring up the profits from the Oxford ewes and lambs, I have endeavored to set the 

 amount low enough to insure equal results to any farmer who possesses a soil of medium 

 quality. In the richest grazing districts, the profits would greatly exceed the sum I have set. 

 There are many instances of these lambs attaining to over one hundred pounds' weight on 

 nothing but the milk which the dam afforded and common grass pasture. The largest lamb 

 in our flock last season (which was very dry) weighed 104 pounds at 7 months of age. 



The scarcity of these sheep in this country, and the high prices at which they are held, 

 prevents the possibility of stocking our farms very plentifully with them at present. The 

 best way for a general introduction of this blood, at a cheap rate, is to cross them on to our 

 Merino ewes. This cross produces lambs but very little larger than the Merino. The experi- 

 ment with farmers in this section has proved very satisfactory. The lambs are extremely 

 hardy. They will thrive on less milk, are more quiet in their habits, the size is greatly in- 

 creased, and the mutton is superior in quality. 



These half-blood ewe lambs should all be saved, and when old enough, coupied again with 

 a full-blood buck, having no relationship ; and by repeating this process, always breeding 

 towards the thorough-bred Oxford, a beautiful flock of sheep can be obtained at a moderate 

 cost. 



These sheep possess qualities and attractions which entitle them to the highest rank among 

 our domestic animals. They are just suited to farms of moderate extent. The owner can 

 realize from a few of them a very handsome income, nearly all ewes of good size bearing 

 twins. Their great square forms and snow-white fleeces form a pleasing contrast with the 

 green pastures on which they feed. 



They are orderly to a fault, never having caused me the least trouble. They are always 

 found in the pasture, if the fence is passable. They can be managed by any young child, being 

 fond of society and the caresses of the master. I had supposed, before I commenced breed- 

 ing these sheep, that they were rather dainty in their feeding habits, and would require the 

 best of keeping in order to make them thrive. This, however, is not the case. They rather 

 choose the coarser weeds and brakes, a part of the time, to the best of hay. 



Introduction of the Angora Goat into England. 



In 1852, Mr. Salt, the eminent English manufacturer, imported into England a number of 

 Angora goats, with the intention of naturalizing the same in that country. The experiment 

 has been highly successful, and at the present time Mr. Salt has a numerous flock of angoras, 

 ^Yhich have been bred in the vicinity of Bradford. The animals only require to be kept from 

 wet, and cold does not seem to injure them. The hair is of a beautiful quality, and thus far 

 has not degenerated. It is known in commerce as the " mohair." 



i/ 6 v 



Mules. 



Mr. R. Cookrell, an extensive planter in Tennessee, in a communication to the Nashville 

 Banner, gives the following information respecting the mule : — 



" The mule is the great field-laborer in the commanding staples of the South — cotton, 

 sugar, and rice ; and as he is one of the annual exports of Tennessee, and as he will continue 

 to be so, he is destined to hold even a higher position than heretofore among the live-stock of 

 the State. The large, heavy-boned mule, produced from overgrown jacks of excessive heavy 

 bone or improper tampering, are generally lazy, or soon become so by labor, and become 

 very slow ; their driver may force them on, but in a few steps they take their slow, natural 

 gait again. Such mules are therefore almost worthless, and should not be bred if it can be 



