^ 



TIIE GENESEE FAEMEK. 



^i 



been made acquainted with the fact to their sorrow. Some villains have attained such 

 a doffree of skill in manufacturing these pseudo Merinos, that it is well calculated to 

 deceive good judges. At first it was done slyly ; now it is perpetrated with fiendish 

 boldness. It has gone too long unrebuked already. Such conduct calls for the 

 execrations of all good men. It is not only unjust, but impolitic ; and must assuredly 

 re-act with retributive justice upon us. In the name of Vermont — in the name of 

 justice — in the name of everything good and true — we disclaim all fellowship with such 

 deeds of darkness, and would hold up to tlie scorn of their fellow men all who are guilty 

 of such meanness. 



"We have been advised of various deceptions practiced by the sheep-dealers of Vermont, by which 

 they have been enabled to palm off, at high prices, very inferior sheep ; which farmers are induced 

 to buy for the purpose of improving their flocks. It is unfortunate that so many unprincipled men 

 are always ready to take advantage of every attempt of the farmer at improvement, to obtain liis 

 money by fraud. K you are not a good judge, ask the advice of some competent friend ; or buy only 

 of men of known integrity. 



# 



BREEDS OF SHEEP, AND THEIR COMPARATIVE VALUE. 



Few subjects are less understood by the generality of farmers than the pro})cr manage- 

 ment of sheep and the breeds best adapted for certain purposes. No species of husbandry 

 will pay so well at this time, in most parts of the country, as a proper and careful atten- 

 tion to the rearing and fatting of this valuable animal ; and we are glad to perceive an 

 awakening interest exhibited in the subject. 



For the manufacture of fine cloth, wool is valued according to its felting properties, 

 and is possessed by some breeds in a higher degree than others. The serrated edge of 

 the wool is supposed to be the chief cause of this difference, and it will therefore be 

 interesting to give the appearance of a single fibre when viewed as an opaque object 



pr^22^22-»2!22^2^"'^2-^=^s?ft2Zi?^ under a microscope of 300 linear power. 



^*^^^*****^*^^^*>****'*****^*^ The Merino wool was found to have 2400 serrations 

 FiBUE OF MERINO WOOL. ^^ ^^ j^^^j^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ appearaucc of teeth on a fine set 



saw, projecting in one direction — from the root upwards. 



^p^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The South Down wool is evidently a coarser article, 

 ^^^^^^^^^^S^fe^^^fl with fewer serrations, and not so acute as the ISIerino. 

 FiBHE OF sonn DOWN WOOL. It is a useful article, but is now but little used in the 



manufacture of fine cloth, on account of its inferior felting properties. 



The far-farmed Leicester, or long wool, is never used 



for fine cloth ; but is very useful for other purposes, on 



account of its strength and length. It is much thicker, 



FIBRE OF LEICESTER WOOL. ^|jg scrratlons are not so numerous and are less acute 



than either of the former. Its diameter is one five-hundredth of an inch in length, and 



there are but 1860 serrations in an inch. 



Spain, from an early period, has been justly celebrated for the beauty and fineness of 

 its cloth. From the eighth to the sixteenth century she was about the only manufoc- 

 turer in Europe. In the thirteenth century there were in Seville 16,000 looms. After 

 the expulsion of the Saracens the woolen manufacture languished. Ferdinand the Fifth 

 banished 100,000 industrious artisans and weavers from the country, because they were 

 Moors, and was honored with the title of Catholic in consequence. His successor 

 followed his example, and expelled between 700,000 and 800,000 Mahomedans in four 

 years. The natural consequence of this was the destruction of the manufacturing 

 interest. The government discovered their niistake too late to avert the injury ; yet, 

 knowing the value of their flocks, the farmers sedulously cultivated them, and the sover- 



MS^ 



OT-^ r-TC^ 



