10 



HISTORY OF THE SHKEP. 



was, that the Leicester fleece weighed 7 lbs., and the 

 one from the cross with the merino, 8 lbs. ; and that the 

 former brought in the market Is. per lb., and the latter 

 Is. Gd., being a gain of 5s. on the fleece. The carcass 

 of the former, however, weighed 27 lbs. per quarter, 

 and the latter only 25 lbs., being a loss of 5 lbs. on 

 mutton. Much advantage may, however, be expected 

 from our crosses with the Saxon merino, which is 

 in every respect well suited to our notions of a fine 

 animal, as it yields a good wool, and is little inferior in 

 carcass to some of our best breeds, 



(17.) Teeth of Sheep. — In common with the rest 

 of the ruminating animals, sheep have eight incisors in 

 the lower jaw, unopposed by any in the upper, a 

 callous pad, which is substituted, being attached to thp 

 distal end of the intermaxillary bones. Between the 

 incisors and molars, or grinding teeth, there is a vacant 

 space of about an inch and a half. There are twenty- 

 four molars, six on each side of each jaw ; their crowns 

 are marked with two double crescents, the convexity of 

 which is turned inwards in the upper, and outwards in 

 the lower jaw. The lamb, when newly dropped, is 

 devoid of incisor teeth, though the two central ones are 

 occasionally above the gum even at this early period. 

 When one month old, the first set of incisive teeth are com- 

 plete. The two fore-teeth of the under jaw drop out at 

 the end of the first year ; six months after the two 

 next to these are lost ; and at the end of five years the 

 teeth are all renewed. When the permanent teeth are 

 fully grown, it is almost impossible to ascertain the age 

 ot the animal, as the soil, the texture of the provender. 



