7->S 



r \<;LAND. 



InDortW. 



la Devon. 



InCornwalL 



In Somei- 



In Gluures- 



vicinity uf the iiu-tinpohs, and the peculiar de- 

 mands on agricultural produce which i: < mli v 



Middlesex by mi mean* remarkable, cither tor the num- 

 ber of sheep which it supports, or for the judirons na- 

 ture of their management, or the quality of their wool. 

 The stock here is extremely light, not being moie than 

 19 sheep upon 32 acres; and as not half the ground 

 supports this animal, the total number cannot be reckon- 

 ed at more than 45,000; die average weight of whose 

 fleeces being 4 Ibs. the whole wool produced in this coun- 

 ty is 750 packs. 



The sheep of Dorsetshire, it has been already re- 

 marked, resemble those of Wiltshire; in one re^;i-i't, 

 however, they are more valuable, at least to the sheep 

 farmers in the vicinity of the metropolis, as they lamb 

 very early in the season, and dius supply the London 

 market, at a time when this kind of food is in great re- 

 quest, and consequently very dear. In die county from 

 which they derive their name, they are, however, in 

 some measure driven out by the introduction of the 

 South Down. In the isles of Portland and Purbeck, and 

 about Wareham and Pool, a small kind of sheep prevails 

 different from the native breed, and resembling the 

 Welsh sheep. The stock of Dorsetshire is about 632,300, 

 or 28 sheep to 31 acres. The average fleece is 3f Ibs. 

 and die whole produce of wool is 9900 packs. In this 

 county the lambs are shorn, and the wool from them is 

 about one-diird of the quantity obtained from the dams. 

 Most of the wool is employed in die manufactures of the 

 west of England. 



In Devonshire, besides the long-woolled sheep already 

 noticed, there are several kinds which carry short wool ; 

 the average fleece of which may be estimated at 4 Ibs. 

 According to which, from 437,000 sheep, there will be 

 produced about 7300 packs of wool, which is manufac- 

 tured within the county. 



Cornwall, bodi on account of die moisture of its cli- 

 mate and the nature of its soil, is ill adapted to sheep- 

 husbandry. It is extremely difficult to form an estimate 

 of the stock kept in dlis county : it is very light, proba- 

 bly not more dian one sheep to four acres ; the weight 

 of the fleece is about 4 Ibs. ; the number of sheep about 

 230,000 ; die quantity of wool they afford, nearly 3400 

 packs. The yarn produced from it is partly wrought 

 into the common serge of die county, and partly sent to 

 Devonshire. 



In the east of Somersetshire die Wiltshire sheep are 

 kept, and in die west the Dorsetshire breed. Besides 

 these, there is a peculiar breed in Exmoor, and a sheep 

 of very small size on the Mendip Hills. The weight of 

 the fleece in this county varies very much ; some not 

 being more than 2 Ibs. while odiers rise to 14 Ibs. ; the 

 average, perhaps, is about 4 Ibs. The stock is light, 

 not more than 10 sheep upon 17 acres; the number, 

 500,700 sheep ; the produce about 9400 packs of wool : 

 a small quantity of which is sent into Yorkshire, and 

 the principal part manufactured within the county. 



The sheep on the Cotswold Hills have already been 

 noticed. On the hills in the eastern parts of Gloucester- 

 shire the Wiltshire breed are kept; in the vale of Glou- 

 cester, the same kind as on the Cotswold Hills ; and to 

 the west of die Severn the Herefordshire breed. The 

 fleece of the first kind is about 3 Ibs. ; that procured 

 from the vale 5 Ibs. ; and that from the Herefordshire 

 about 2 Ib. The whole stock is about 355,000 ; tin; 

 produce in wool above 5400 packs; part of which is 



wrought in Yoikahire, and part in the home mamifncto- StKhrtM. 

 ry. The limits of the western district of short wool are ""^"Y"^*' 

 accurately defined by the ocean, the Severn, mid the 

 chalky soil, which bounds that river towards the e 



In Herefordshire, another vaiiety of the short-woolled In Hcrr- 

 shcep is found, which afford about 2 Ibs. of very excel- ford *' l t 

 lent wool : they are generally known by die name of 

 I id sheep. In this county, the practice of cottin^ 



their sheep is very common. The stock kept may be 

 estimated at three sheep upon four acres ; the number of 

 sheep at 500,000 ; the produce about 4000 packs of 

 wool, which is sent to die clothiers both of die north and 

 the west of England. 



Upon one-third of the land in Monmouthshire, a stock in MOD- 

 of one sheep to five acres is kept, each producing 1^ Ibs. mouthsUw. 

 of wool ; on the remainder of the soil there may be three 

 sheep to four acres : the whole number being about 

 177,600 sheep, which yield 1400 packs. 



The sheep of Worcestershire are in general small, i n Worru- 

 dinugh in the vale of Evesham the fleece weighs nearly shire. 

 9 Ibs. As the county is very thinly stocked, the num- 

 ber of sheep cannot be estimated at more than three to 

 four acres ; and the fleece, on an average, may weigh 

 3$ Ibs. : the county supporting 334,000, and deriving 

 from them 4800 packs of wool. 



A considerable variety of sheep are kept in Shrop- In Shrop- 

 shire, particularly in the southern portion of the county, *"* 

 the tanners of which display great spirit in the improve- 

 ment arid extension of the best breeds ; but the fleeces 

 of this county are in general light, by far the greater 

 number weighing only from U, Ib. to 2J Ibs. ; in the le- 

 vel country they sometimes weigh 4 Ibs. ; on the average, 

 the whole may be calculated at 2,} Ibs. The stock is near- 

 ly 17 sheep to 30 acres; the number of sheep 42'-.',000, 

 and the whole quantity of wool 4400 pack. The whole 

 produce is manufactured in Yorkshire. 



The greater part of Staffordshire supports short-wool- Jn Sla flv, r j. 

 led sheep. Here 21 occupy 150 acres of ground. The shirt, 

 fleece weighs about 2 Ibs. The tolnl number of sheep is 

 estimated at 183,000; and the packs of wool amount to 

 1 .520 : the greater part of which is sent into Yorkshire, 

 the remainder being wrought up in the county itself. 



In the counties of Warwick, Lincoln, and Leicester, o 

 there are a few sheep bearing short wool kept. In die trictB of 

 first mentioned county probably 183,000, producing short-wool- 

 U.SOO packs of wool. In Lincolnshire, principally on the M sheep. 

 Wolds, and on the drier soils of the heaths of Ancnster 

 and Lincoln, there may be kept of these kinds of sheep 

 123,600, producing 2800 packs of wool ; die stock be- 

 ing two sheep upon five acres, and the fleece weighing 

 nearly 5$ Ibs. Short-woollcd sheep are found on die 

 forest land of Leicestershire, where the number may per- 

 haps consist of 20,000, and the whole fleeces 290 packs. 



On the sandy soil of Nottinghamshire, to die west of 

 the Trent, there is a small breed of sheep, producing 

 nearly 2^ Ibs. of fine wool. The inclosed land in the 

 same part of the county contains a heavier stock, the 

 fleece being 4 Ibs. Over the whole of Nottinghamshire 

 there may be about 27 sheep on 46 acres. The forest 

 breed yields about 709 packs, the heavier breed nearly 

 2120, and the Dishley breed, which is also kept here, 

 1270; the whole number of sheep being about 255,200. 

 Part of the wool of Nottinghamshire is wrought within 

 the county, but by far the largest quantity is sent into 

 Yorkshire. 



Jn Derbyshire we meet with a new district of short 



