TilE 



^IGMICULTURAE MUSEUM 



OMNIS FERET OMNIA TELLUS. VIRG- 



Vol. I.] Georgetown, Cx Nov. 23, 1810. [No. 11. 



E ctract from Lord Somervill&'s Essay on Sheep. 

 Continued from page 157 



M. Plcfcet is sometimes disposed to smile at our bigot- 

 cd adherence to the outward form of our sheep, and to 

 those properties which render them capable of becoming 

 good mutton: but M. L-istejrie does not quite give 

 into the ideas of the Continent in this particular. 



" The practice of certain good husbandmen in Eng- 

 land, would be attended with advantage, in my opini- 

 on, either where t!ie fleece of lambs is intended to be 

 ])reserved two years, or for sheep which are annually 

 shorn. A little is clipped from the surface of the fleece 

 of the animal ; say one or two lines in length. The 

 loss of wool, in a middling sheep, occasioned by this 

 operation, is not more than half a pound ; and the; 

 growth being thereby accelerated, we may expect to 

 luive a heavier fleece at shearing time. We know by 

 experience, that in order to make our own hair grow 

 vigorously it requires, occasional cutting. 



" It was at first imagined that the Merino breed was 

 not capable of producir.g, in France, wool of as fine a 

 quality as they do in Spain, on account of the climate 

 being colder •, it has also been said, that the superior 

 quality of the wool is o^ving to the journejs these ani- 

 mals are made to take ; and, consequently, that as v/e 

 cannot manage them in the same way, we shall never 

 be able to have it of equal fineness. 



" All these reasonings having been belied by experi- 

 ence ; some have attempted to depreciate the JMerinos^ 

 by maintaining that they are incapable of taking on 



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