151 AGIlICULTCrilAL JM15SKUM 



Extract J'rop.L Lord Somcrvlllc^s Ksaay on Sheep. 

 Continued from page 126. 



M. Pictet, editor of the Bibiiotheque Britannique, in 

 frequent ([c'ails of the success wliicli attends tliese sheep, 

 J^otli on the national farms nt>ar Paris, and on !iis own, 

 near Genc\a, where his flock consists of 400 Merino 

 sheep, says, in his 2i0th Numher— " In our Journal, we 

 have £«-ivcn the fifth annual report of our flock of the 

 pure blood, orioinally drafted from that of Ranihouillet. 

 It is now clearly proved, i)y the experience of a great 

 many husbandmen, that the Merino breed succeeds re- 

 inarkably well, and without degenerating; and that this 

 valuable acquisition, which France owes, in a great mea- 

 sure, to the managers of llambouillet, is fully establish- 

 ed. The Merinos must keep their ground, from the very 

 nature of things; for husbandmen will employ their 

 capitals in the way they find most advantageous. 



^' It is now almost imnecessary to publish facts which, 

 with a little variiition, are merely repetitions of what 

 lias before taken place ; but, as the pr'=judices of husband- 

 men are very difficult to remove, in endeavouring to 

 convince the incredulous it is neeessar}^ to lay before 

 them all the proofs \vc possess; and there is always 

 something new occurring. 



'•' One hundred and fourteen store etves (hrcbis porh- 

 crcs) of the pure blood, have reared 111 lambs (56 rams, 

 and 55 ewes). In the commencement of the lambing 

 .season (in the first fortnight of December), \ve had ten 

 miscarriages. 1 was fiom home at the time, and the 

 only reason my shepherd could assign for this accident 

 (a rare one in well managed flocks) was, that the ewes 

 had got a a custom of leaping over a ditch in one of the 

 inclosures. However this may be, the deficiency was 

 almost made up, by ten of the ewes having twins, only 

 one of which died. 



'' The quantity of wool has not been so considerable 

 •this year as last, probably owing to the coldness of the 

 \vcathcr, or some particular state of the air, and of the 



