SHEEP. 



SHEEP. 



comparatively little value of the races which 

 they have supplanted." 



The first impression (says Mr. Youatt) made 

 by the Merino sheep on one unacquainted with 

 its value would be unfavourable. The wool, 

 lying closer and thicker over the body than in 

 most other breeds of sheep, and being abun- 

 dant in yolk, is covered with a dirty crust, often 

 full of cracks. The legs are long, yet small in 

 the bone ; the breast and the back are narrow, 

 and the sides somewhat flat ; the fore-shoulders 

 and bosoms are heavy, and too much of their 

 weight is carried on the coarser parts. The 

 horns of the male are comparatively large, 

 curved, and with more or less of a spiral form. 

 The head is large, but the forehead rather low. 

 A few of the females are horned, but, gene- 

 rally speaking, they are without horns. Both 

 male and female have a peculiar coarse and 

 unsightly growth of hair on the forehead and 

 cheeks, which the careful flock-master cuts 

 away before shearing-time : the other part of 

 the face has a pleasing and characteristic vel- 

 vet appearance. Under the throat there is a 

 singular looseness of skin, which gives them 

 a remarkable appearance of throatiness, or 

 hollowness in the pile: the pile, when pressed 

 upon, is hard and unyielding; it is so from the 

 thickness with which it grows upon the pelt, 

 and the abundance of the yolk detaining all 

 the dirt and gravel which falls upon it; but, 

 when examined, the fibre exceeds in fineness, 

 and in the number of serrations and curves, 

 that which any other sheep in the world pro- 

 duces. The average weight of the fleece in 

 Bpain is 8 pounds from the ram and 5 from the 

 ewe : when fatted, these sheep weigh from 12 

 to 16 pounds per quarter. The excellence of 

 the Merino consists in the fineness and felting 

 quality of their wool, and the weight yielded 

 fcy each sheep; the ease with which they adapt 

 themselves to the climate, the readiness with 

 which they take to the coarsest food, their gen- 

 tleness and tractableness. Their defects are 

 their unprofitable and unthrifty form, voracity 

 of appetite, a tendency to barrenness, neglect 

 of their young, and inferior flavour of the 

 mutton. (On Sheep, p. 148 ; Dr. Parry on the 

 Merino sheep, Corn. J'oard of Jlgr. vol. v. p. 337 ; 

 8ir Joseph Banks on ditto, Ibid. vol. vi. p. 269 ; 

 Mr. Downie on ditto, Ibid. vol. vii. p. 61.) 



The Irish Sheep have been much improved by 

 the importation of English rams. Culley de- 

 scribes them as ugly and ill-formed. Bodies 

 large. Legs long, thick, crooked, and of a gray 

 colour. Faces gray. Heads long, large flag- 

 ging ears, sunken eyes. Neck long, and set 

 on below the shoulders. Breast narrow, short, 

 and hollow; flat-sided. 



The Shetland Sheep are described by Mr. Wil- 

 son (Quart. Jour. Jlgr. vol. ii. p. 557) as small 

 and handsome ; hornless, seldom exceeding 40 

 pounds in weight ; hardy, feeding on even sea- 

 weed : wool soft and cottony. 



The Hebridean Sheep is described by Mr. Wil- 

 son as the smallest of its kind. Shape thin 

 and lank. Face and legs white. Tail short. 

 Wool of various colours, bluish-gray, brown, 

 or deep russet. Even when fat, this sheep 

 weighs only 20 pounds: the wool rarely weighs 

 more than 1 pound. 

 990 



With regard lo the profitable management 

 of sheep, it is only possible to offer general 

 suggestions to assist the farmer. I have alluded 

 already to the advantages of varying the food 

 of sheep, and I shall refer at the end of this 

 article to various important testimonials in 

 favour of the superior profit derived from 

 keeping sheep dry and warm. In every case 

 they should have access lo dry food, and, if 

 possible, occasionally to those lands where 

 heath and other plants which are indigenous lo 

 upland soils are to be found : in all cases, too, 

 they should have access to common salt. 



The importance of salt to the general health 

 of sheep is now, in fact, generally admitted. 

 Every farmer observes lhal his cattle, horses, 

 &c., are remarkably fond of licking the salt 

 earth of the farm-yard, .stables, &c. In Spain, 

 they give their sheep salt with great regularity: 

 112 Ib. in 5 months to 1000 sheep. I subjoin 

 the statement of the late Mr. Curwen. He 

 employed salt to his live-stock daily for years ; 



For homes he gave 

 Milch cows - 

 Feeding oxen - 



Yearling* 

 Calves - 

 Sheep 



6oz. per day. 



6 

 3 



1 



2 to 4 per week, 



if on dry pastures; but if they are feeding on 

 turnips or coles, then ihey should have it with- 

 out stint. Some give it to the live-stock on a 

 slate or stone, some lay lumps of it in the cribs 

 or mangers. It is an asserted fact, that if sheep 

 are allowed free access to salt, they will never I* 

 subject to the disease calltd the ret. Some recent 

 experiments also lead me even to hope that I 

 shall one day or other be able to prove it to be 

 a cure for this devastating disease. I have 

 room but for one fact. "Mr. Rusher, of Stan- 

 ley, in Gloucestershire, in the autumn of 1828, 

 purchased, for a mere trifle, 20 sheep decidedly 

 rotten; and gave each of them, for some weeks, 

 an ounce of salt every morning. Two only 

 died during the winter; the surviving 18 were 

 cured, and have now," says my informant, 

 " lambs by their sides." 



The late Mr. Butcher, of Brook Hall, in Es- 

 sex, for years employed salt for his cattle and 

 sheep on his farm near Burnham, in Norfolk. 

 One of his fields was so very unfavourable for 

 sheep, that before he used salt he had lost 10 

 and 12 sheep in a night, when feeding on the 

 turnips; but after he had adopted salt, he 

 never lost one. He used to let the sheep have 

 the salt without stint; and he remarked, that 

 the sheep always consumed four times the salt 

 on this particular fold than when feeding oil any 

 other on the farm. Mr. Butcher one year let 

 this field of turnips to a neighbour, who did 

 not use salt; and consequently, after losing 

 10 sheep the first night, gave up the field in 

 despair. 



There are several points in the management 

 of sheep to which I can only briefly allude. 

 Coupling the mule and female is too rarely at- 

 tended to; and yet, by an attention to this im- 

 portant point, properties are added in one sex 

 which may be deficient in the other ; but extreme 

 care is necessary in arranging this, not to in- 

 troduce other points which may be still more 

 objectionable than those attempted to be re- 

 moved. Mr. Ell man is of opinion that twin- 



