626 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



fully impresssed with the value of 

 Merino wool. No other wool, 

 within my knowledge, can com- 

 pete with it. Nor do I mean in 

 any way to lessen the estimation 

 in which the Spanish sheep of 

 this breed are held. I say, of 

 this breed (in which there are va- 

 rieties, some whereof are much 

 inferior to others) because in 

 Spain there are sheep of as coarse 

 carcase and wool as any of tlie 

 worst we have. And it is very 

 well known, that the mutton of 

 all breeds there is so indifferent, 

 that the tables of the wealthy are 

 supplied from Barbary : wool of 

 valuable breeds being the primary 

 object, is, no doubt, the cause of 

 inattention to the other uses of 

 sheep, added to other circum- 

 stances. 



Our country is ex tensive enough 

 for many different races ; and 

 some, in parts of this, as in all 

 other countries, may thrive where 

 others will not. In South Caro- 

 lina the Tunis sheep, obtained 

 from my stock, are preferred to 

 all others. In England, and other 

 sheep-countries, that some breeds 

 are better adapted to local circum- 

 stances than others, is verified in- 

 disputably, as will be seen in the 

 accounts of their best writers ; 

 though sheep may be indigenated, 

 with proper care, in any country. 

 In England I have never heard of 

 the Tunis mountain sheep. Their 

 writers do not mention it, though 

 they have broad-tailed sheep ; 

 and I am persuaded this species 

 is there unknown. I therefore 

 wish that the Tunisian broad- 

 tailed mountain sheep may have 

 its share of attention, without 

 interfering with the views of 

 those who prefer others. I have 



mentioned emphatically their 

 specific distinction, because the 

 broad-tailed African sheep in ge- 

 neral, so far as my knowledge ex- 

 tends, are much inferior to these. 

 All I have known (except some 

 Persian sheep with broad tails,) 

 have been an unprofitable race ; 

 though, no doubt, as they occupy 

 so great a portion of the habitable 

 globe, there must be among them 

 many valuable kinds. 



My experience and observations 

 as to the Tunis sheep, are founded 

 on a knowledge of them for a 

 period of thirteen years. The be- 

 nefits arising from their propaga- 

 tion have accrued in the greatest 

 degree to others. For it may be 

 seen, that my advantages — except 

 in the real pleasure and solid satis- 

 faction I derive to myself from 

 even the partial success of my ef- 

 forts — have been small indeed. I 

 see no cause to claim any merit 

 over others on this account. Rea- 

 sonable emolument is the just re- 

 ward of all who risk or labour in 

 laudable pursuits. I do not aim at 

 establishing this on the depre- 

 ciation of other good breeds; being 

 only desirous that it should take 

 its proper rank among them. 



There should be varieties of 

 races and kinds, to suit not only 

 local circumstances, but also dif- 

 ferent objects for which they are 

 intended. I believe with Cully ( on 

 live stock, p. 153), " that breed is 

 the best that brings the most pro- 

 fit in fleece and carcase together 

 from the same ground, in equal 

 times." I do not hesitate to avow 

 my persuasion, that the Tunis 

 mountain sheep will, in the long 

 run, compete with any, in this 

 view of the subject. The tem- 

 porary price of better wool, with 



