1835.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



219 



old. Much, however, depends, in this respect, on 

 the goodness of the food, a.s well as on the tor ward 

 or backward state of the breed. The choice of 

 ewes, therefore, ought to be made with care and 

 discrimination, not only as to the characteristic 

 marks, which ought to be the same as those of 

 the ram, but also with regard to the breed; for, 

 with sheep, as with other cattle stock, no certain 

 degree of excellence can be attained, unless the fe- 

 male possesses an equal degree of blood with the 

 male. In particular, a purchaser should see that 

 the animals be sound; and, in order to ascertain 

 this point, it will be advisable to examine whether 

 the teeth are white, the gums red, the breath not 

 fetid, the eyes lively, the wool firm, and the feet 

 cool; qualities these which afford a certain criterion 

 of health or disease. 



Of equal importance is the proper selection of 

 rams, even of the same breed and apparent qual- 

 ifications: in attending to which point, the conduct 

 of the Duke of Bedford (whose memory every 

 real friend to his country must revere) deserves to 

 be imitated by all attentive breeders. Previously 

 to drawing off the ewes for tupping, it was his con- 

 stant practice to select every ram, together with 

 the Iambs begotten by it in the preceding year, 

 from the rest of the flock, and confine them in se- 

 parate pens, in order that he might examine them 

 and their issue, by the value of which he was 

 guided in his determination. 



Ewes bring forth one, two, and sometimes three 

 lambs,* after a gestation of five months, or twenty 

 weeks; hence the sheep firmer, or breeder, ma}', 

 in general, by considering whether he has suffi- 

 cient grass to support the ewes and their progeny 

 in the spring, ascertain the most advantageous pe- 

 riod for lambing; or in the event of a lailure of 

 pasturage, whether he has a stock of turnips ade- 

 quate to their maintenance till there is a sufficient 

 herbage to supply them with food. 



The usual time of yeaning is towards the end 

 of March, or early in April; consequently, the 

 rams are, according to the general practice, admit- 

 ted in the commencement of October. But in the 

 count}- of Dorset, where the ewes are, from a pe- 

 culiarity in their constitution, capable of bringing 



' *The most prolific sort is the Tees Water variety of 

 the Lincolnshire breed, of which Mr. Culley has given 

 the following instances. An ewe belonging to a Mr. 

 Eddison, when two years old, 



In 1772, brought him four lambs, 



In 1773, five lambs, 



In 1774, two lambs, 



In 1775, five Jambs, 



In 1776, two lambs, 



In 1777, two lambs; 



and of these the first nine lambs were yeaned in eleven 

 months. But such instances are of very rare occur- 

 rence, and deserve notice rather as being curious devi- 

 ations from the usual course of nature, than as afford- 

 ing any real ground for calculation. 



According to Mr. Teissier's experiments on gesta- 

 tion, (already alluded to in the previous books,) out of 

 912 ewes, 



HO lambed between the 146th and 150th day; mean term 148 



676 150th and 154th day; 152 



96 154th and 161st day; 157 



The extreme interval being 15 days to a mean dura- 

 tion of 152. 



Iambs at a much earlier period;* and also in the 

 southern and south-western districts, where large 

 quantities of house-lamb are raised for the table, 

 it is most profitable to deviate from this plan, and 

 so to admit the ram, that the lambs shall be drop- 

 ped from lour to six weeks, or more, earlier. 



The strength and beauty of sheep stock also 

 greatly depend on the number of rams allowed t Q 

 serve the females. While the former are young 

 fifty or sixty should be the utmost extent; and, as 

 they advance in years, the number may be gradu- 

 ally increased; without these precautions, the lambs 

 would not only be deficient in number, but also in 

 point of strength. 



Various expedients have been resorted to, in 

 order to make the ewes blossom; among others, is 

 the practice of worrying them with small dogs, 

 kept for that purpose, in consequence of which 

 they become warmed, so that they seldom refuse 

 the ram. In Leicestershire, a practice was intro- 

 duced, at Dishley, of employing teasers; that is, 

 inferior rams with a cloth so fited on them, as to 

 prevent copulation; and whose duty it is to prepare 

 the ewes for the visits of the sultan of the Ibid. 

 But it is much better, and certainly a more ration- 

 al plan, to keep the rams and ewes in different 

 pastures, till the time when they are intended to 

 be brought, to the rut; and for about five or six 

 weeks before, let them have somewhat better pas- 

 ture than they are usually accustomed to, by 

 which expedient they will be disposed to take the 

 ram the sooner. In fact, it is with sheep as with 

 other cattle, the female must be in a certain state 

 desirous of the male before the latter will attempt 

 to serve iter; and this object can only be artificially 

 attained by increasing the richness of their food a 

 short time before they are required to couple; for, in 

 proportion to the excellence or poverty of their 

 food, the bodily vigor of these animals must evi- 

 dently increase or diminish. 



During the period of gestation, ewes require 

 great attention, lest any accident should occasion 

 them to slip their Iambs; and, if that should take 

 place, it will be proper to separate them instantly 

 from the rest of the dock. Where they are not 

 pastured upon open downs, or moorland, the best 

 plan is to keep them in the same manner as cows, 

 while, going with calf, namely, upon a moderate, 

 or tolerably good pasture, where no object can dis- 

 turb them; and it is also advisable to give them 

 turnips, or similar green food, under the like pre- 

 cautions, till within the last two or three weeks 

 before their yeaning. In the breeding of cattle, 

 indeed, it is a maxim which ought to be steadily 

 kept in mind, that nothing can be more prejudicial 

 to the females than to fatten them during gesta- 

 tion; and with respect to ewes in particular, Ibis 

 rule should be more carefully observed than with 

 regard to any other animal; for if they be fed too 

 high while they are going with lamb, they will 

 undergo great difficulty and pain in yeaning: 

 whereas, unless they are put into a little heat be- 

 fore that period arrives, they will not only be defi- 

 cient in strength at the critical moment, but also be 

 destitute of afsufficient supply of milk for the sup^- 

 port of the lamb, and consequently both the dam 

 and her progeny must be greatly weakened, if 



* It is commonly, but erroneously supposed that the 

 Dorset ewes bring forth lambs twice a year; such in- 

 stances have occurred, but they are rare. 



