3HEEr. lo: 



otherwise import from foreign countries. li is found also, 

 that by mixing the breed with our common sheep, the wool 

 which is intended for cloth of a coarser quality, is thereby 

 greatly improved. Mr. Livingston says, that in improving the 

 breed of these sheep, the size of the ewes, more than that of 

 the ram, governs the size of their lambs ; that the ewes of a 

 email race cannot bear large lambs, though the ram be ever 

 so large. For this reason, the lambs which are raised from a 

 merino ram on our common ewes, will be larger than those 

 raised from one of our common rams on merino ewes. This is 

 the reason why rams of thp large English breed, when brought 

 here, do not produce a race any way corresponding to tlfeir 

 own size. He therefore recommends the engrafting'a merino 

 stock upon our common ewes, to increase the size of the breed; 

 though if they only eat in proportion to their size, as has been 

 proved in many experiment?, this is not so material. 



The following rule is given for a judicious selection of the 

 €wes : Let them be at least three years old, as large as can 

 be obtained of the sort,— with the belly large and well covered 

 with wool, chine and loin broad, breast deep, buttocks full the 

 eyes lively, the bag large, and the teats long. In addition to 

 these qualities, they should have fine, short,' thick wool, their 

 belUes well covered, and with the least hair on the hinder 

 parts. Li the choice of the ram, which we-wiU suppose to be 

 three fourths blooded, select one that is of good size, broad in 

 the chine and loins, deep in th€ carcase, the back straight, the 

 ribs well set cut, so as to give room for a lar^e belly well cov- 

 ered with wool, the forehead broad, the eyes lively, (a heavy 

 eye being a mark of a diseased sheep) let him also be strong 

 close knit, and active, of which vou can judge by taking hold 

 of his hind legs ; and let his wool be of a good quality, and as 

 clear of hair in the hinder parts, as possible. It is said that 

 the product of such a ram with common ewes, would be lambs 

 possessing nine twenty-fourth parts of merino blood • and 

 twice repeating the females of the successive products would 

 give three fourths blooded lambs. Two further repetitions 

 trom a tull blooded ram, w-ould give lambs possessino- fifteen- 

 sixteenths of merino blood, which is probably sufficient. The 

 ram shoiild be changed at each time ; as the rearing of suc- 

 ceeding stocks between which there is the closest consanguin- 

 ity, must inevitably tend to degenerate the breed. 



♦uT ^^^u^^""^ °( ^^^ ^^"°^ ^^^^P ^ay be some later than 

 that of others, as their wool nev^r falls off. The merino woo* 



