No. 12. 



Anglo-Merino Sheep. 



377 



PORTRAITS OF LORD WESTERN'S ANGLO-MERINO SHEEP. 



Lord Western to the Editor of " The Farmers' Magazine." 



" Mr. Editor, — In consequence of the desire which you represent to have been expressed 

 by a number of persons to have some account of the sheep I exhibited at Smitiifield at the 

 last show, and the portraits of which you have given in your Magazine, I will endeavour, 

 through the medium of its pages, to give some information to the public on the subject. It 

 is generally known that they are cross-bred sheep, between the merino and English long- 

 wool sheep of different descriptions; but before I proceed farther, I will remind you of their 

 weights and ages, and give you an extract from a letter addressed to me by Mr. Allen, of 

 South Audley street, the butcher who purchased them : he says, "With respect to the sheep, 

 I am happy to inform you that they proved better than my best opinion led me to expect; 

 in fact, I must candidly confess that I have never seen any thing that could surpass them 

 when slaughtered." Their weights were — 



s. lb. s. lb. s. lb. s. lb. s. lb. s. lb. 



Sheadings, No. 1, 10 7— fat, 2 No. 2, 15 2— fat, 1 6i No. 3, 16 4— fat, 2 5)8 lbs. to the 

 TwoShears, No. ], 17 1— fat,2 3 No. 2, 17 2— fat, 2 3 No. 3, 10 5— fat, 3 2i\ stone. 



" I shall now lay before you an account of a pure merino fat wether, sold to and slaugh- 

 tered by Mr. Barwell, of Witham, in this county — and which I can best do, by the insertion 

 of his letter to me. 



" ' My Lord, — Having been the purchaser of the three-year-old pure merino wether sheep, 

 bred and fed by you on your estate at Kelvedon, which was exhibited at the last Christmas 

 show at Chelmsford, I take the liberty of laying before you, for your Lordship's information, 

 and the information of agriculturists and graziers generally, the opinion of the judges rela- 

 tive thereto, as also my own statement as to the weight of the carcass, fat, &.c. I am aware 

 that a challenge had been thrown out by you to show a merino wether against any of any 

 other breed, on the condition that size should not pass for merit, and that Mr. Hicks took it 

 up, and produced a Southdown wether, supposed to weigh 20 stones, (160 lbs.); but the 

 judges decided that the merino was a superior handling sheep, being exceedingly good in 

 all points, remarkably thick on the loin and back, and square at the leg and wide at the 

 brisket. The constitution of the sheep must have been remarkably good to have carried 

 a fleece of three years' growth of wool, weighing 32 pounds, twelve inches length in sta- 

 ple, and of beautiful and fine quality: the improvement of the carcass is not considered to 

 have deteriorated the wool in the least. 



" 'The carcass of this slieep, inside and out, was as pood as I ever had; and in point of colonr, the merinos 

 carry, generally, a brighter red and white than any other breed. Weight of carcass, 14 stones; fat and caul, 

 12 Ihs. ; gut fat, 8 lbs. ; and llie kidneys remarkably large.' 



" It is very important to notice especially, the wonderful proofs of constitution wliich this animal displaye<I ; 

 it is true lie was high fed and housed, but to stand under a three-years' fleece of wool, and to turn out of it 

 quite fat, and at the Christmas following as fat in all his points as any sheep could well be, is, under any cir- 

 cumstances, very extraordinary and well worthy of attention. I have had opportunity of knowing that the 

 merino breed of sheep would be ef great value to the country, if they were cultivated as they ought to be. 



Western."' 



