AGRICULTURAL MrsKUM 



probably be so great this year £-3 it has been, I shall re- 

 tain a number on lianc), so as to select with ca:c such a.-> 

 will bast answer my purpose. I sent samples ol rny 

 wool to England, as well as that fioin the in)ported 

 sheep — my own iuil bred was pronounced super'or 

 to that of the [)arent stock — the half and th.rec quarter 

 are pronounced excellent — my imported ewes' woo!, infe- 

 rior to that of licr desccnd;inis, and to one of the 7-8; 

 so that we have t!ie best c^roundcd reason to hope, that 

 the Merinos will not at least dc^-eoerate liere, which they 

 arc now very Generally admitt'^d to do in Ei:g- 

 land, owing" as is said to the moisture of the climate. I 

 say this upon the authority of Mi*. Shepherd^ who !■=: at 

 once a manufacturer and a farmer, and who savs that tiie 

 fleece of a ram, purc'uised by him from th.c kino-, had i^reat- 

 ^y degenerated in 3 years, and that his half bloods were 

 fast returning' to the maternal stock. This has I'cen con- 

 firmed to me by a very inteiiigcnt gentleman, who being 

 lately in En^^-'and, beard the question debaied at a ee!o. 

 brlited Agricultural Society, in London, at which the 

 Duke of Norfolk presided, wiiere t'le pro and the con 

 were maintained with much pertinacity ; bu', he says, 

 that afterwards, travelling in the manufacturing coun- 

 ties he was assured by the njanufaciurers, that thei-e 

 was no doubt, that it had greatly degenerated, and that 

 they never would be able to dispense with Spanish wool, 

 ujotwithstanding' the opinioiis of J..ord Somerville and 

 Doeior Parry — yet, it is certain that England has beeji 

 very celebrated for its fine wool many centuries back, 

 Polydore Virgil wrote in 1530, ( my edition of his book, 

 ■was printed iii 15iG ) and has the following passage 

 in his description of England '- Colies passim multi, 

 indlis arboribus consiti, nnllisque aquarum fontibus ir- 

 rigui, qui herbam tenuissimam atque brcvissimam pro- 

 ducunt, qua; tamicn abunde oviljus pauJulam suppcditat, 

 per cos ovium greges canditiissirai vagant, quic slvc 

 coeli, sine bonitate tericc, mollia et longe omnium alio- 

 rum tenuissima fcrunt vcHcra, Sed terra; sterilitati 

 id c\m\ priiuis, teste. Vir^ilio, assignanckini est*' As 



