ENGLAND. 



727 



In Cm- 

 brUgeshire. 



In Hunt- 

 ingdonshire. 



a Essex. 



."nut!, Div-n 



la SUMO. 



! Kent. 



Hun 



sheep, which at 52 sheep upon 59 acres of land, and at 

 the average weight per fleece of 2 Ibs. will give 5700 

 packs of wool. In Suffolk, where rich loams and clays 

 abound more than in Norfolk, the sheep afford rather a 

 heavier fleece, weighing probably nearly 2^ Ibs. The 

 stock is about 490,000, and the quantity of wool amounts 

 to nearly 5000 packs. The Norfolk breed was formerly 

 confined to the eastern part of Cambridgeshire, while 

 the southern and central parts were occupied by the 

 Wiltshire breed ; but at present the Norfolk sheep are 

 gaining ground in that county. The average fleece is 

 rather less than 4 Ibs. and the number of sheep is esti- 

 mated at 47,000 ; these, with the sheep in the fens, 

 which produce short wool, will make the entire quantity 

 about 1120 packs. A very small proportion of Hunt- 

 ingdonshire is devoted to the grazing of short-woolled 

 sheep, and on the ground where they are kept, there is 

 hot n heavier stock than three-fourths of a sheep per 

 acre; so that the whole number is not more than 

 108,000, producing about 2000 packs of wool. In Bed- 

 fordshire, the most careful and accurate observations 

 make the stock of sheep to be at the rate of 92 sheep 

 upon 97 acres ; the average fleece is about 5 Ibs. ; the 

 number of sheep 204,000; and the produce of wool 

 about 4000 packs. 



In Essex there was formerly a breed of sheep (proba- 

 bly native) which produced a fleece of long and coarse 

 wool, usually weighing about 4 Ibs. At present, the 

 Norfolk, South Downs, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and 

 Welsh sheep, are kept in the centre of the county, while 

 the Dishley breed are found along the coast. The Nor- 

 folk occupy the borders of Suffolk, and the Wiltshire the 

 north-western part of the county. The Welsh, or at 

 least sheep resembling the Welsh, are kept on Epping 

 Forest. The number of sheep kept in Essex, (reckon- 

 ing all the kinds which produce short wool,) may be at 

 the rate of two upon three acres of land, and the ave- 

 rage fleece at 3 Ibs. ; the whole number of sheep at 

 5 1 9,000, and the quantity of wool at C500 packs. 



The next breed of short-woolled sheep which claim 

 our notice, are the South Down, which were first culti- 

 vated with success on that part of Sussex from which 

 they derive their name. In this district it is usual to 

 shear lambs : the quantity obtained from each being 

 about 8 ounces ; the sheep producing about 2 Ibs. The 

 whole stock, on their native soil, may be estimated at 

 316,800, and the wool which they produce at 2640 

 packs. If the rest of the county of Sussex is taken into 

 the account, where the South Down sheep are kept, the 

 whole number will probably reach 547,000, and the 

 fleece 6800 packs. Most of the wool goes into York- 

 shire, and a small part into the west of England. In 

 the county of Kent, the fleeces of short wool amount 

 to about 7000 packs, shorn from almost 524,500 sheep; 

 each full grown sheep being estimated to produce 3| Ibs. of 

 wool, and the Iambs about 8 ounces. The manufacturers 

 in the north of England take off most of the produce. 

 The native breed of Hampshire are something between 

 the sheep of Dorsetshire and those of Wiltshire, produ- 

 cing a fleece better than the former and worse than the 

 latter ; but the South Down have gained a considerable 

 footing in this county. The stock is estimated at two 

 sheep upon three acres ; the weight of the fleece is about 

 3 Ibs. and the total produce of wool is about 6500 packs, 

 from nearly 517,000 sheep. In the isle of Wight are 

 the Hampshire, Wiltshire, mid Dorsetshire breeds, in- 



termingled with the South Downs. The whole island 

 is supposed to support about 61,000 sheep, producing 

 nearly 800 packs of wool. 



Surry is the last county in the south-eastern district 

 of short wool : it maintains the Dorset, Wiltshire, South 

 Down, and a few Hampshire and heath sheep. On the 

 strong lands, the stock is nearly five sheep on six acres, 

 which gives 273,000 sheep. If to these bo added the 

 stock of the heaths, which may amount to about 10,000 

 sheep, and take the average fleece at 3 Ibs. the produce 

 of the county will be somewhat more than 3500 packs 

 of wool, which is manufactured principally in Yorkshire 

 and Lancashire. 



In Wiltshire we enter on a new district of short wool. 

 The management of the flock is well understood here, 

 and the fold is the chief object for which it is kept ; for 

 this purpose the Wiltshire sheep are peculiarly well 

 adapted. On the chalky division of this county their 

 numbers are very great, the South Down sheep having, 

 within these few years, gained admission along with the 

 native breed. This district of Wiltshire is supposed to 

 support 583,500 sheep, which yield, at 2| Ibs. each, a 

 produce of nearly 6700 packs of wool. In the north- 

 western part of the county a much lighter stock is kept, 

 generally about three sheep to four acres, or perhaps, on 

 an average, not more than one sheep to two acres. The 

 number of sheep is estimated at 11 7,500; which yield, 

 at three pounds of wool each fleece, 1460 packs. Near- 

 ly the whole of the wool is wrought in the western ma- 

 nufactures. 



In Berkshire, the Bagshot-heath, Wiltshire, Dorset, 

 and South Down breeds are kept. The average weight 

 of wool produced by those different breeds, is about 

 3 Ibs. The stock about three sheep upon four acres ; 

 the total number 306,600; the whole produce 4150 

 packs of wool, part of which is wrought by the western 

 manufactures, and the remainder used by those in the 

 north of England. 



In the southern division of Oxfordshirej the Wiltshire 

 sheep are kept ; about four on five acres; the fleece ave- 

 raging 3 Ibs. while in the northern division it averages 

 4| Ibs. In the whole county there are probably 304,600 

 sheep, and 5300 packs of wool. Of this quantity one 

 portion is used at home, in the manufacture of blankets at 

 Witney, and of worsted shags at Banbury; a second por- 

 tion is employed at Leicester, in the stocking trade; and 

 a third is sent to the Yorkshire clothiers. 



The wool of Buckinghamshire, with the exception of 

 that which is produced on the chalk hills of that county, 

 is fit for the use of the clothier. It is derived princi- 

 pally from sheep of the Dorset and Wiltshire breed, 

 though in some parts the Dishley breed has been intro- 

 duced. The stock in this county is about six sheep to 

 eleven acres ; the total number 223,000 ; the fleece, on 

 an average, 3 Ibs. and the whole wool produced 2800 

 packs : a small proportion of which is used in Leicester, 

 by far the greater part going into the Yorkshire clothing 

 country. 



The sheep in Hertfordshire are chiefly of the Wilt- 

 shire breed, though the South Down are rapidly making 

 progress in that county. The fleece of both kinds may 

 be averaged at 4^ Ibs. ; the total number of sheep at up- 

 wards of 277,000 ; and the whole produce of wool at 

 5300 packs. Nearly the whole of it is wrought up in 

 the north of England, some little at Leicester, and some 

 in Suffolk, at Bury St Edmunds. 



Statistic. 



Sheep and 

 wool in Sur- 

 T- 



In Wilt- 

 shire. 



In Berk- 

 shire. 



In Oxford- 

 shire. 



In Bucking 

 hamshiie. 



In Herts. 



