172 . TRICHOLOGIA MAMMALIUM; 



times denominated the Merino, arid at others the Saxony, which, when perfect, are entirely 

 destitute of hair. (See fig. 99.) 



This perfection the American wool grower should endeavor to attain ; for " in all the 

 energies, moral and physical, of man, the pursuit of absolute perfection is the only means 

 of arriving at the nearest approximation to it, attainable by human power." 



EXAMPLE OF THE HAIRY SHEEP SPECIES. It is not so easy to point out an example of 

 a perfect hairy Sheep. (See fig. 100.) 



The old Leicester breed (as they once roamed in most of the midland counties of Eng- 

 land) is now known to us as a matter of history only. Its description is found in Youatt's 

 Essay upon Sheep, p. 313. The new Leicester, of Bakewell, (if it be true, as said of it, 

 that it is derived from the old breed, without any crossing,) might be a good basis whereon 

 to form a permanent and self-supporting stock for this country, if, by retracing the steps 

 of Bakewell, so far as he transformed a hair-bearing animal into a mere beast of slaughter, 

 we could restore the injured pile to its original integrity, pursuant to the principles laid 

 down in the IVth Chapter of this work. 



Of the fleece of the American new Leicester Mr. Randall remarks, that it is long, 

 averaging, after the first shearing, about six inches ; that it weighs about six pounds ; that 

 it is coarse, and little used in the manufacture of cloth, on account of its length and defi- 

 ciency in felting properties ; but as a combing wool (non-shrinking hair) it stands first, 

 and is used in the manufacture of fae finest worsteds. 



Mr. Randall adds, that this wool is not saleable, BECAUSE OF THE DEARTH OF WORSTED 

 MANUFACTORIES IN OUR COUNTRY ; and when we inquire into the cause of this dearth of 

 worsted manufactories in this country, we are told that it is because of the scarcity of the 

 proper fleece. What is to be done? Are there never to be worsted manufactories in the 

 United States because the proper fleece is not grown ? and is the proper fleece never to be 

 grown in the United States, because there is a dearth of worsted manufactories ? Verily, 

 this is arguing in a narrow circle ! 



It is a subject of general complaint, that the English flannels have greatly depreciated. 

 After the second or third washing, they have shrunk to such a degree as to be almost value- 

 less, and the consumer has lost not only the original cost of the material, but the price of 

 making it into a garment. Why this is the case, has been disclosed in the testimony 

 taken before the House of Lords, 1828, viz: that the Southdown wool, being unable to 

 compete with foreign fleece, in the manufacture of cloth, has been appropriated to the 

 manufacture of flannel. Now, if we turn to our table of the number of scales upon the 

 different fleeces, we will find that the Southdown has, upon one inch in length, 2,080, 

 while the Leicester has only 1,860 ; so that the shrinking of flannels made by the former 

 has been increased in the proportion that 2,080 is greater than 1,860. And it must be 

 recollected, that we come to this important conclusion by merely counting the scales; and 

 that if the differences in their shapes, sizes, roughness, pointeclness and degree of adherence 

 to the shaft, were taken into the account, no doubt but much more light would be shed 

 upon this hitherto obscure subject. 



