ly the Spanish Mixture. 24i 



reasonable to ask, why I do not exhibit those best ? I answet. 

 Because I have not hitherto had a sufficient choice of fleecesi 

 It has already been stated, that, till the fourth cross, the 

 produce of Ryeland ewes cannot be made to equal the Me- 

 rino in fineness. On this principle, any one, who will give 

 himself the time to calculate, will find that, beginning with 

 one thousand ewes of the English blood, he will be eight 

 years, unless his lambs take the ram, before he has one 

 hundred and twenty-five sheep of that fourth cross. What 

 then must have been the case with me, who for some years 

 could not procure Spaniards to serve annually more thari 

 from five to twelve ewes ? In fact, exclusively of the best 

 fleeces, always reserved for exhibition and comparison, I 

 have not hitherto been able to appropriate to the manufactiire 

 of fine cloth more, in any one year, than about thirty-five 

 fleeces ; and of these several have been only of the second 

 rate. Of this class I consider the fleeces employed for the 

 cloths, and more especially the cassimere, now exhibited. 

 Having now much better rams, a further advance of time, 

 and more experience, I may reasonably hope to remedy this 

 deficiency. It will not however be till the year 1808, which 

 is seventeen years from the commencement of my experi- 

 ments, that I shall expect to have a flock of four or five 

 hundred sheep, all equal in fineness of fleece to Nos. 6 or 7. 



Before I conclude, I wish to call the attention of the 

 society to one more important point ; which is my 



IXth and last proposition; that though I have never 

 selected a breeding ram or ewe on account of any other 

 quality than the fineness of the fleece, this stock is already 

 much improved as to the form of its carcase, comparatively 

 with the Merinos originally imported. 



For this purpose, I exhibit three two-tooth rams, eight 

 ewes, two and four-tooths, and four chilver lambs. These 

 sheep have not been fed for exhibition. AH have eaten only 

 grass. They have been constantly together in great num- 

 bers; and notwithstanding any want of merit as to high con- 

 dition, an inconvenience very easily remedied by those who 

 attach importance to it, they will be found superior in car- 

 case to most of the pure Merinos which I have seen. I think; 

 9 4 they 



