498 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



of that object. When this shall come to be done, wealth and population will in- 

 crease and emigration will diminish ; but until it shall be done, the former will 

 diminish and the latter will increase, as will be proved by every day's farther ex- 

 perience. The sooner they satisfy themselves that slavery, although bad for the 

 slave, is worse for the master, and adopt measures for permitting* the gradual 

 extinction of the system, the sooner will land acquire value ; but until that time 

 shall come, the tendency will be rather downward than upward. 



I have thus endeavored to furnish the answers you desired, and now remain 



March 6. 1847. Yours, very truly. C. 



CARCASS WEIGHT OF SHEEP. 



From the nature of the covering of sheep, 

 it is only when these creatures are recently 

 shorn of their fleece, that dimensions for as- 

 certaining their carcass weight can be taken 

 with accuracy ; and, in so snitill an animal as 

 the sheep, any inaccuracy ui measurement 

 would lead to much too great a proportional 

 discrepancy to the true cai'cass weight to be 

 of practical utility. The following obsen'a- 

 tions will therefore be confined to the propor- 

 tion of carcass to the weight of the animal 

 alive. 



The proportion of mutton to the live weight 

 of sheep is somewhat, but not gready, difler- 

 ent to that of the cai'cass weight to the live 

 weight of neat cattle. The specific gravity 

 of mutton is less than that of beef: so ftu- the 

 proportion of the caix'ass to the live weight 

 of sheep will be less than the proportion of 

 the carcass to the live weight of oxen ; but, 

 when sheep ai-e in a fat state, the thickness 

 of their flesh, in proportion to their size, is 

 greater than that of oxen, the difference being 

 fully equal to compensate the less density of 

 mutton. The ofial of sheep is fighter in pro- 

 portion to their live weight than that of oxen, 

 excepting when sheep are in wool, at which 

 time their skins proportionally exceed the 

 hides of beasts. So that, when the greater 

 thickness of flesh and small gener;d ofl'al is 

 Bet off against the less density of mutton and 

 the fleece, the analogy found to exist between 

 the proportion of mutton to the live weight 

 of sheep, and that of beef to the live weight 

 of oxen, is not surprising. 



Live weight of Sheep in 

 etone, 14 lbs. avoird. 



Above 20 



19 to 20 



17 to 1!) 



16 to 17 



14 to 16 



12 to 14 



U to 12 



10 to 11 



9 to 10 



8 to 9 



7 to 8 



6 to 7 



5 to 6 



From the experiments 1 liave made, I do 

 not find that so much depends upon breed in 

 causing a variation in the proportion of mut- 

 ton to the five weight of slieep, as I have 

 found to be the case with respect of beef to 

 the live weight of cattle. In sheep, when 

 newly clipped, I have found a very close uni- 

 formity in the proportion of mutton to five 

 weight of different breeds in equal condition, 

 so much so that I have reason to beheve that 

 the only difference from breed aiises from tha 

 greater or less fleece of wool peculiar to any 

 particular kind of sheep ; at any rate, the dif- 

 ference fi'om breed, independent of the difier- 

 ence of the weight of fleece, is too insignificant 

 to requii-e classification as in the case of oxen. 

 The breeds of sheep on which I have had 

 most opportunities of makmg observations 

 are the Leicester, the Cheviot, the Black-faced 

 mountain sheep, and crosses of the Leicester 

 with both of the latter breeds. I have not 

 made any experiments myself on the propor- 

 tion of mutton to the five weight in South- 

 D(jwn sheep ; but I do not apprehend that 

 there will be any diflerence between them 

 and Leicester sheep in equal condition, ex- 

 cepting so far as the proportion may be 

 affected by the diflerence in the weight of 

 fleece. 



The subjoined Table shows the proportion 

 of mutton to the live weight of Leicester 

 sheep — namely, when in the wool after 

 Christmas, and m sunnner when recently 

 clipped : 



Per cent, of Mutton. 

 In wool. Newly shorn. 



.71 to 72 

 .69 to 70 

 .67 to 68 

 66 

 .64 to 6.'-. 

 .62 to 63 

 .60 to 61 



..■io to rs 



.^3 to 54 

 .51 to 



73 to 74 

 71 to 72 

 69 to 70 



67 to 68 



64 to 65 



62 to 63 



60 to 61 



59 



52 ) 

 50 J 



* ! e«y "pormittinp," bemuse I would desire only to see the nrnjority of the people of the Sovuh prnnting 

 to the minority the right to do wliut thrij likf jtiih thdr otpii, and cmiUK-ipnte ihcnj if eo disposed. I have no 

 desire to see any interference with the nghl of properly. 

 (1018) 



