140 



Dialos:ue between a Father and Son. 



Vol. IV. 



Jli 



eoat. Dn you now see that " a prudent man will take 

 counsel of his land before he determines on the breed 

 of sheep he ought to keep?" 



fVnnA.— I do, indeed I "Experience keeps a dear 

 ichool," truly. 



Father.— BM the same person committed the same 

 error, in the selection of his herd of cattle ; for, from 

 the same deep and rich feeding county, he, at the same 

 time, purchased about one hundred young, highbred 

 Durham cattle, which he turned upon the same moun- 

 tains, to feed on that coarse and poor herbage : they 

 did not die off so suddenly as did the sheep, as he took 

 them into shelter during bad weather ; but if my me- 

 mory serves me, he lost about two-thirds of them be- 

 fore the spring, and sometimes as many as six of a 

 night. Now the error proceeded from this cause — the 

 owner visited these mountains in the summer, and 

 seeing loads of grass, and neverfailing streams of wa- 

 ter, and the cattle and sheep in good condition, it 

 struck him that such fine pasturage ought to carry 

 larger breeds of cattle and sheep; and judging from 

 his success in the fine country which he had left, he 

 calculated it was owing to a want of judgment, on the 

 part of the Welsh farmers, that they did no better ; 

 and having very unreservedly expressed his opinion, 

 and boasted that he would soon teach them better, his 

 pride, as I said, would not permit him to retrace his 

 ■teps. 



FranA-.— Well, that is a frightful picture ! 



FatAer.— Then we will turn to another. The occu- 

 pier of a farm, adjoining the house which I once inhab- 

 ited, was a man of the most perfect judgment in his 

 profession ; his horses, cattle, utensils of husbandry, 

 &c., were all of superior quality, but his sheep were 

 his hobby! he had spent a fortune in the improvement 

 of the breed, and his annual shearing, and sale of pure 

 Dishleys, brought persons far and near, to see his stock 

 Had taste his mutton— indeed they were beautiful ani- 

 mals ; and, as his farm was suited to deep keep, his 

 flock was the pride of the country. It was his custom 

 every Sunday morning, to rise early, dress himself for 

 church, a mile distant, and walk among his flock for 

 an hour or two, examining every lineament, even of 

 their faces, feeding them from his hand, and convers- 

 ingwith them as with his children ; while they, in their 

 turn, would come to him to be fed and fondled ! I used 

 often to accompany him, and to him I am indebted for 

 much information of real practical usefulness. On 

 ■uch occasions I always thought of that beautiful 

 verse— 



The husbandman goes forth a-field. 



What hopes his heart expand I 

 What calm delight his labors yield— 

 A harvest from his hand ! 



I should say, his sheep were of the largest size, some 

 of them having risen to thirty-five pounds per quarter ; 

 and I have known him to shear fleeces of nine pounds 

 each: but to bring this weight, and keep their condi- 

 tion, it was necessary to provide them with, what is 

 called, " deep keep," that is, cultivated crops— turneps, 

 tares, &c., for all this, however, they paid handsomely ; 

 his lambs brought him the price of his neighbors" full 

 grown sheep, and no wonder that his sheep were his 

 greatest pleasure. An adjoining neighbor kept a flock 

 of highly improved South Downs; and it was aques- 

 lion between them, which kind of sheep would pay 

 best for fattening— an experiment was therefore made 

 by stall-feeding two of their largest wethers, weighing 

 them at the time of putting up— my friend beat his 

 antagonist by eight pounds per quarter. 



Fran/i-.— Now that is a much more beautiful picture. 



Father. — Another excellent manager wiio lived far- 

 ther on the hill, and whose land was dry and pasture 

 short, had the judgment to select his flock from the 

 small South Down breed; but, after holding his farm 

 for several years, he found that, by good tillage, hi.s 

 land had become able to carry a larger breed of sheep- 

 he,, therefore crossed them with the pure Dishlcy, and, 

 with a single cross he obtained the kind of sheep which, 

 I should eay, was, upon the whole, "the most profit- 

 able for a farmer to keep." They were suflicionlly 

 large for every good purpose, sixteen or eighteen 

 poun.ls per quarter, with the hardy nature of the dam, 

 the fattening propensity of the sire, and the quiet di.i- 

 poaitionofhoth: with a fleece much heavier and longer 

 than that of the dam, and much finer than that of the 



sire; coming under the denomination of fine combing, 

 or coarse clothing wool, and suitable for both purpoeeg. 

 They were capable of bearing cold or wet, and of pro- 

 ducing a progeny, full double the value of the dam, 

 and of the most perfect form imaginable: indeed, I 

 know of no sheep so generally suitable and profitable 

 as a single cross between the Dishley or New Leicester, 

 or *Bakewell, (they are all the same, under different 

 names) and the South Downs : they are remarkably 

 quiet and tractable in their dispositions — a necessary 

 qualification in quick feeders. 



Frank. — But I remember, you told me that your ex- 

 periment to raise lambs twice in the year, was made 

 by a cross between the Dishley and the Dorsets ; and 

 the result must have been very satisfactory, I suppose, 

 the lambs bringing such high prices ; the first crop sell- 

 ing for upwards of seven dollars each, the second 

 bringing five dollars each, when sold to the butcher. 



Father. — It was just so — the second lambs were from 

 the Dishley cross, very fine and large ; the third crop 

 also was from the same cross, equally good : the first 

 lambs brought such high prices in consequence of 

 being very early — the Dorset breed are remarkable in 

 this respect : still, however, I prefer the cross between 

 the Dishley and South Down, for the purpose of stock. 



Frank. — I wonder if it was ever before known, that 

 seven ewes brought twenty-eight lambs in the short 

 space of sixteen months and a half 



FaJAer.— Possibly not— but such was the fact, which 

 can be verified by many still living in the neighbor- 

 hood where the occurrence took place. 



Frank.— I have heard and read a great deal of the 

 Cheviot sheep, which are so highly valued as stock, 

 upon the Cheviot hills in Scotland — have you seen 

 many of this breed? 



Fa/Acr.— Yes— they were introduced upon the moun- 

 tains in Wales, after the failure of the South Down.s ; 

 and being looser in the fleece, more accustomed to high 

 and exposed latitudes, and brought into the country 

 during the summer, they were in a great measure, ac- 

 climated before the winter, and bore the change tole- 

 rably well ; the Cheviot hills producing grass, much of 

 the nature of that on the Welsh mountains : still, 

 however, they suffered dreadfully by the scab, which 

 was, I am satisfied, occasioned in a great measure, by 

 the moisture of the climate and the injudicious mode 

 of smearing with tar and grease — a management in- 

 troduced by the Scotch shepherds, who accompanied 

 the flock from their native hills, and who, most errone- 

 ously, considered the method as applicable to the moist 

 climate of Wales, as to the high and dry climate of the 

 Cheviot hills. The coat of tar and grease prevents the 

 escape of insensible perspiration ; and, in a wet and 

 mild climate, must have a most pernicious effect; and 

 this was manifestly the case in Wales, for, soon after 

 the smearing, the sheep lost condition, became loose 

 and flaccid and large in the body; and the scab broke 

 out so violently, as almost to ruin the flock, and to- 

 tally the wool, for the first year, and causing the death 

 of scores : indeed, for the space of two years after, the 

 time which I had them under my observation, the flock 

 was never clean from the disorder. I have, however, 

 heard, that they are now much better, the smearing 



* Bakewelly of Dishleii, Leicestershire. His success 

 in the improvement of the breed of sheep was very 

 great ; but it is now admitted on all hands, that if he 

 had cOlnmenced with dam the best, instead of sire the 

 best, the end would have been accomplished in one 

 half the time. He once failed in business, in conse- 

 quence of the great expenses which he incurred in the 

 improvement of the breeds of horses and cattle, as well 

 as sheep: on the meeting of his creditors he was per- 

 mitted to select one ram from his flock with which to 

 commence the world anew. His choice did not please 

 his old and faithful shepherd, and the strife between 

 them lasted four days, at the end of which he gave up 

 the contest, permitting the shepherd to choose — the 

 event justified the choice, for from thence sprang the 

 means of realizing a large fortune. A butcher once 

 purchased twenty fat sheep of Bakewcll, and was to 

 choose the best from a flock in a certain field ; he did 

 so, and took, with nineteen wethers, one of his best 

 rams, which had strayed among them, and slaughtered 

 him iminedialely, boasting of what he had done — a 

 protfccuiiiin was instituted against him, and damages 

 to the full amount of his means were awarded, after 

 which be was driven from that part of the country. 



