1836] 



F A R M E R S' REGISTER. 



405 



siimptuoup, but I believe it nevertheless true, that 

 as many as ihree-quarters of the sheep in the U. 

 Slates, railed, and actually believed to be pure^ 

 are merely the descendaufs of imported German 

 grade-sheep. The native German sheep on which 

 the cross was made, did not dilibr (jreaily li-om the 

 American native. I cannot but smile on raising 

 my eyes to a German landsca[K', by Berchem, 

 which han2;s belore nie. to notice the close resem- 

 blance between his long-legged, lank-sided, thin 

 wooled quadrupeds, and our native sheep. The 

 value of the produce ot' such u cross, might be an- 

 ticipated ! 



There is a variety of the Meiino, dark colored, 

 and coated with 'gum' — looking much as if he 

 had been immersed in pitchmark, and the weight 

 of whose wool diminishes about half in cleansing, 

 which differs widely from the Saxon; and it is 

 from an acquaintance with this variety, probably, 

 that many have ever estimated the difi'erence be- 

 tween the two families. But between the most 

 approved sheep of Spain, and the viost approved 

 sheep of Saxony, no greater difi'erence exists, than 

 has been rendered, as I have shown, indispensa- 

 bly by circumstances, and there is no doubt in my 

 mind, that these may be almost immediately re-as- 

 similated, b}^ inverting the order of events which 

 have wrought the change, or in other words, sub- 

 jecting the Spanish Merino to the same treatment 

 the Saxon has received, and vice versa. Further 

 — take 100 Saxons, " as they run." out of any 

 large flock, and take 100 Merinos, also indiscrimi- 

 nately, from a large flock : from the Saxons, select 

 select 25 of the heaviest and coarsest wooled, and j 

 from the Merinos 25 of (he finest and softest wool- 

 ed : put with each, a buck of their own stamp, 

 and annually exclude those, fi'om the original 

 nuaiber, and their produce, which evince with the 

 least distinctness, the characteristics of their flock: 

 how long would it be before the Saxons would be 

 metamorphosed into a flock of "old fashioned Me- 

 rinos," and the Merinos into a flock of delicate 

 and fine wooled Saxons ? But, suppose instead of 

 thus breeding with exclusive reference to a single 

 point, (' fineness' or ' weight of tlecce,) we, as tra- 

 ders say, "split the difference." If we find some 

 of our Saxons getting too delicate and thin wool- 

 ed, suppose we cross them with a good Merino 

 buck and on the other hand, if some of our Me- 

 rino fall below the proper fineness, suppose we 

 cross them with a good Saxon buck. I have 

 a buck, which 1 call Rnmbouillet, the pro- 

 duce of^ a Merino ewe and Saxon buck, (both 

 however the best of their kind,) whose fleece this 

 year, weighed 6 lbs. washed, and sold in with my 

 Saxon, at 80 cents, averaging_/atr/?/ with the lot — 

 making the snug litfle sum of $4 80, for a single 

 fleece! Amongst my Mermo ewes, 1 have a 

 number whose fleeces I was at the pains to weigh, 

 and which ranged Irom 4 to 5 lbs. I crossed these 

 with pure Saxon bucks, which, although young, 

 exceeded the average of^ 4 lbs. to the fleece, and I 

 may be permitted to say, as fine as most of their 

 blood, as in addition to having been selected at 

 round prices, from the most celebrated flocks, 

 their wool has been adjudged to staple with some 

 of the best samples li-om Germany. I am ex- 

 ceedingly pleased with the produce. The lambs 

 are generally wooled to their nostrils and pasterns, 

 and are evidently finer than their dams. 



The adventitious difference which has been cre- 



ated between the families of the Merino race, is 

 not without its use. They both have their appro- 

 pri:ite sjihere. 'i'o the wool ffrowers, the perfec- 

 tion of the Saxon variety, on the whole, combines 

 the most advantages: to the farmer, who keeps 

 but 50 or 100 sheep — who has not the convenien- 

 ces lor taking mucli care of them — who wants a 

 quantity of medium wool f()r domestic consump- 

 tion, and a quick sale of the remainder — the 

 Spanish varietv is the most profitable. That the 

 '■^perfection of the Saxon'''' is the most profitable, 

 " lohen properly taken care o/j" I may add to my 

 own, the testimony of that enlightened genfleman, 

 who had so often appeared as the chanipion of the 

 Spanish Merino, in the agricultural papers of this 

 state, for the last two years. The point he dis- 

 tinctly conceded to me, but claimed with a justice 

 which cannot be gainsayed, that " there were very 

 few such in the United States — not one where it 

 is pretended there are a hundred." How can it 

 be otherwise, when new flocks are generally start- 

 ed on the cullings of the old ones ? The way to 

 begin, {me judice^ is exactly at the opposite ex- 

 treme — with the choicest animals which can be 

 purchased. One had better give .915 or ^20 a 

 head for a kw, and grow into a flock, than give 

 fi'om $3 to ^5 for cullings — the scum and refuse 

 of a large flock. Sucli was the course which I 

 adopted, and I believe I am reaping the benefits 

 of it. My grown ewes averaged this year 3 lbs. 

 |)cr head, and the wool sold readily at 80 cents. 

 As Ibr shape, all I have to say is, that if any one 

 who asserts, and there are those who do, that the 

 Saxons are always deficient in this particular, will 

 do me the honor to call on me, I will show him 

 my sheep, and let liim be his own judge. My 

 Merinoes I thought did well, but they fell behind 

 the Saxons about 30 cents to the fleece. 



One word as to their relative ruggedness, and 

 capacity of enduring the vicissitudes of weather, 

 I have done. I lay it down as an axiom, that any 

 sheep properly shaped and coated, will ensure as 

 much as it would be either humane or profitable 

 to expose them to, were their power of endurance 

 doubled. The quality of the wool is deteriorated, 

 and a much greater amount of food consumed and 

 wasted by flocks unsheltered in the winter. A 

 sheep that is deep in the chest — broad on the 

 breast, chine and loin — round and deep quartered, 

 and covered with a thick fleece of wool, ivithfood 

 and shelter, will stand the winter well enough, be 

 it Saxon, Merino, or what not. Last winter was 

 the severest on record ; yet hundreds, who called 

 on me, will bear me testimony that my Saxons, 

 during the intensest cold, stood up to their racks 

 "uncurled" — fed well — andremained_/o^ I ihink 

 the Merino would endure the most abuse, but I am 

 well convinced that either will bear all they ever 

 ought to be subjected to. Perhaps I may resume 

 the subject on some fiJture occasion. 



I have the honor to be, with great respect, your 

 obedient servant, 



HENRY S. RANDALL. 



ECONOMY IN LINEN WASHING. 



Afler many experiments made by myself and 

 others, I find that pipe-clay, dissolved among the 

 water employed in washing, gives the dirtiest lin- 

 en the appearance of having been bleached, and 



