26 



Tlie Paular Merino Buck. 



Vol. VIII. 



carcass improved by high keep or a cross 

 upon a robust or larger breed, without dete- 

 rioration in the fleece. The in-and-in sys- 

 tem, when continued to some extent, will 

 also produce a finer fleece and a more slen- 

 der constitution, although the stock bucks 

 may be carefully selected. Many old breed- 

 ers in this State, assert that their flocks 

 have improved in fineness, which they attri- 

 bute almost wholly to the peculiarities of 

 our climate. The same may be said of our 

 grass lands ; the herbage is thicker, shorter, 

 and finer in general, than can be found in 

 distant parts. Our mountainous State may 

 also exult in our freedom from those swamps 

 and stagnant waters, which generate mala- 

 ria, and those insects that are so annoying 

 to the cattle and sheep of many other States 

 and territories. 



That every variety of sheep will thrive 

 well in the same latitudes of country, is not 

 to be supposed ; and even the best breeds of 

 Merinoes, may not succeed in all parts of 

 the United States. It has been effectually 

 proved, that sheep of the finer breeds can- 

 not thrive well in England and Ireland, 

 probably owing in part to the humidity of 

 that climate. 



In sheep, the many kinds that now prevail, 

 may be attributed partly to climate, which 

 acts on the thickness, Staple and quality of 

 the fleece, form and stature of the carcass. 

 The coarsest of furs and wool of which I 

 am acquainted, are the production of hot 

 climates, and those of the thick, finer quali- 

 ties, are mostly from the colder regions. 



A certain degree of heat, though less than 

 that of the tropics, appears favourable to in- 

 crease of stature. The effects of different 

 kinds of food upon the animal, are also as 

 extensive and as wonderful as those of dif- 

 ferent climates. The fineness and coarse- 

 ness of the wool, the firmness and flavour of 

 the flesh, and extent of the stature, are all 

 influenced by the nature of the diet. The 

 South-downs, for instance, are said to have 

 originated fi-om a small hardy race of ani- 

 mals, which by careful attention and high 

 keep, for a long succession of years, have 

 perfected a larger race of beautiful ani- 

 mals. 



The manner of life, also has had an influ- 

 ence in producing the different kinds of 

 sheep, as will be seen by comparing the 

 breeds in Spain, the migratory with the sta- 

 tionary ; the Siberian argali, with the sheep 

 which are said to have sprung from it. 



But it is probable that a very great part 

 of the more striking distinctions that pre- 

 vail, and almost all of the subordinate vari- 

 ations occasionally to be met with, are the 

 result of a morbid and hereditary affection. 



At first, by accident, or by some cause that 

 we cannot discover, there has been produced 

 an improvement or defect in a particular or- 

 gan ; it is astonishing to behold how readily 

 it is often copied by the generative principle, 

 and how tenaciously it adheres to the future 

 offspring. Hence, hornless sheep and horn- 

 less cattle produce an equally hornless off"- 

 spring. The broad tailed Asiatic sheep, 

 yields a progeny with a tail equally mon- 

 strous. 



Some years since I had a cosset lamb 

 which became diseased with the converging 

 strabismus or cross eyes; it was first brought 

 on by a very severe chase it received from 

 a dog, causing great muscular exertion and 

 fright. All of her progeny, down to the 

 third generation, have been marked with 

 cross eyes, not able to discover objects but a 

 few feet around them. Accident seems first 

 to have produced this defect; but the stra- 

 bismus has been wholly retained in the pro- 

 geny. 



There is a very peculiar variety of sheep 

 described by Col. Humphreys, and which 

 the American naturalists have called, from 

 its bowed or elbow legs, Ovis ancon, but the 

 common people, " the otter breed," from its 

 resemblance to the general form of the otter, 

 and a rumour that it was first produced by an 

 unnatural intercourse between individuals of 

 the two distinct kinds. So tenaciously has 

 this deformity been preserved, that if a com- 

 mon sheep and Ancon sheep of either sex 

 unite, the young will be either a perfect 

 Ancon, or have no trace of it ; and if two 

 are lambed at a time, and one be of one va- 

 riety, and the other of the other, each is 

 found to be perfect in its way, without any 

 amalgamation ; therefore it might take se- 

 veral generations before the defect of bow 

 legs could be improved in this variety, and 

 otherwise retain the original size and fea- 

 tures of the Ancon sheep in other particulars. 



I trust that a picture of a Paular Merino 

 buck, may be interesting and acceptable to 

 the readers of this article. It is a favourite 

 breed with me, and is gaining admirers gene- 

 rally throughout the wool growing region of 

 the New England States. The above pic- 

 ture was taken a few days since from one of 

 my stock bucks, by a good artist, while the 

 fleece is but six months in growth. He 

 sheared last June, thirteen and one-fourth 

 pounds of washed wool, it being his third 

 fleece. His live weight is about one hun- 

 dred and forty pounds. — Transactions N. Y. 

 State Ag. Soc'y. 



All wish to be more happy than they can 

 be, yet most might easily be more happy 

 than they really are. 



