164 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



7ih September and the period at which they be- 

 gan to fail off, should have been added. If these 

 circumstances be taken in'o consideration, this 

 experiment would be very liivorable lo ihn South- 

 downs ; but the next experiment is still more de- 

 cisive in their lavor. They were weighed again 

 the first of March following, when it was 

 found the Southdowne had lost, between the 1st 

 of December and 1st of March, lour per cent., 

 the New Leicesters 14 per cent., the half bloods 

 10 per cent., and the Roniney Marshes 5 per 

 cent. During the second as well as duririj; the 

 first winter, the Soutlidowns exhibited a deriiled 

 advantage over the New Luicesters. The Rom- 

 ney Marshes, it will be seen, stand upon almost as 

 good ground as the Southdown, and did much bet- 

 ter than the New Leicesters. 



The nest experiment shows that from the Isl 

 of Dec. to June. lOih, the Souihdowns gained 13 

 per cent., the. New Leicesters 9 per cent., the. half 

 bloods, 9 per cent., and the Romney Marshes 17 

 percent. Here again tite advantage is decided- 

 ly in favor of the Southdovvns and Ron)ney 

 Marshes. 



The experiment was continued throush the 

 third summer, when, as might be expected, the 

 New Leicesters again look the lead ; and ns the 

 result of the whole experiment it is stated " that 

 the profit for two years and two monih=5 leed, 

 adding the value of the wool, was SJ.anda fraction 

 per week for the Romney Marshes, and from 4d. lo 

 7^d. for the New L'^icesters, from the time of 

 their being lambed. The former pnri of the ex- 

 periment had shown that the Southdown? and 

 half bloods, at the age of 64 weeks, gave 7d. per 

 week profi'.* 



Thus it appears by a cour?e of experiments ful- 

 ly and fairly made, by the Enrl of E^rcmont, 

 that the Southdovvns, even for ihe purposes ol 

 mutton, are decidedly more profitable than the 

 New Leicesters. And this result follows with- 

 out allowing any thing for the increased quantity 

 o//<)06^ consunsed by the New Leicesters, or lor 

 the superiority of the mutton of the Souihdowns. 

 It is a well established general principle, that (he 

 larger the animal ihe more tbod they will require. 

 Here ihe Southdowns, ihe smaller animal, upon 

 the same kind of keep, gave 7f/. profit per week, 

 at the age of 64 weeks, whilst the New Leices- 



* This experiment would have looked a little more 

 hke it had been fairly made if the weights of the 

 Southdowns had been f>;iven when they were sold, and 

 the weights of the New Leicester fhe seventh of Sep- 

 tember when they were ready for market. Rut to keep 

 animals that were fat in the fall of the year, and let 

 them t'all off in Ihe winter and theri compare their ffain 

 per week with those sold the summer beibrc, looks like 

 any thing: but fairness. 



If the sheep had been kept in 2;rowing order all the 

 lime, this experiment would no doubt have exhibited a 

 very different result ; and the question would not have 

 been which kind would bear starvation best, but which 

 would give most gain for feed consumed. There ap- 

 pears to be something unfair in taking forgrantcd what 

 is not proved, " that the larger the animal fhe more 

 food they will require." It may be " a well establish- 

 ed general principle," when applied to animals of the 

 same family, but even then there will be found excep- 

 tions, but when applied to animals of different families, 

 it should never be taken for granted, but should be 

 proved before an argument can be based upon it. 



S. D. M. 



ters at the age of 113 weeks, gave a profit of only 

 4d. to 4.}(/. per week. The wool of the South- 

 downs is also more valuable. Those of a good 

 quality wdl avera<zc three, pounds, worth 2s. 6d., 

 (60 cts.) per pound, whilst the wool of the New 

 Leicesters avcr.iged, (ewes and wethers,) about 

 seven pounds, is worth only 10(/., (20 cts.) The 

 annua! product of the wool of the Southdowna 

 would be ISO cents, and of the New Leicestera 

 only 140 cents.* 



I have been induced to go into these details in 

 relation to the merits of the New Leicester and 

 Southdown sheep and of the Romney Marsh 

 breed, in consequence of a eirong impression hav- 

 ing be^-n made in this state that the New Lei- 

 cesters would be the best slock for us to adopt 

 with a view to mutton and common clothing wool. 

 I am decidedly of opinion thai for both purposes 

 the Souihdovvn breed of sheep would be greatly 

 prererat)'e. The multnn of the latter, in point 

 of flavor, is greatly superior, the wool is every 

 way better adapted to clothing purposes, the 

 sheep are hardier, thrive better in winter, and 

 woidd suit admirably Ihe hilly regions, which 

 predondnate in Ihe eastern, and south-eastern 

 borders of Kentucky. t I am also of opinion that 

 the Romney Marsh breed wotdd be finely adapt- 

 ed to the flit and marshy lands which predomi- 

 nate in some of the new states and which are also 

 found on the borders of some of our rivers. 



" The New Leices'ers will become valuable 

 when we enijage in manufacturing worsted, 

 which will require conibing wool, but in Ihe mean 

 lime the best of our native breeds, improved by 

 the introduction ol the Southdown and Merinoes, 

 willbebctier adapted to our circumstances and 

 wants. 



" I have hitherto only treated of the native 

 sheep of Great Britain. It is wonderful that a 

 people who paid so mtich attention lo sheep hus- 

 bandry and vvhn were so extensively engaged in 

 the manufacture of fine wool, should so long 

 have totally neglected (o introduce the Merino 

 breed, conlessedly ihe finest woolled sheep that 

 existed any where in Europe. This was owing 

 in pnrt to iheir prejudices in favor of their own 

 Ryelanils and Southdovvns and partly lo an opi- 

 nion that the Merinoes could not exist in the cli- 

 mate of England, or that if they could, they 

 would so degenerate as to be less valuable than 

 their own native sheep. It was imagined " Spain 

 possessed some p^cidiar advantages of soil and 

 climate which it vvodd be in vain to look for else- 

 where. And it was believed, says a British wri- 

 ter, " that the superior fineness of the Spanish 

 fleeces was derived aiiirefy from some peculiari- 

 ty of the soil and dimaie.'' This opinion was so 

 firmly fixed, says the same writer, " that he who 

 asserted the contrary was regarded by agricultur- 

 ists and clothiers as a speculative theorist, only 

 deserving piiy.'' Yet long anterior to the period 

 when these notions were so strongly predominant 

 in England, the Merino breeds had been intro- 

 duced into Sweden. As early as 1739 " the Svve- 



* These estimates arc made in reference to the Eng- 

 lish market. 



In Ihe Kentucky market the New Leicester fleece 

 would bring 60 cenis most. 



t See quotations from Blacklock, between pages 14 

 and 15. S. D. M. 



