vol.. XIV. lii^i '-ii^ 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



213 



SiiKEP AND Woot,. — Slioep's wool i3 greatly 

 tnod'ilicd by tho broeiling of the aniiiKil ; for it is 

 a coarse hairy substance, mixed with a soft down, 

 close to tlie skin, on the wild Argnli, to whicli 

 genus all the varieties ot'tlie domestic sheep have 

 hi-en traced. That animal, and others with a sim- 

 ilar coat, when placed in a temperate climate, 

 under the fostering care of man, lose their long 

 lank hair, and retain their soft wool. It has been 

 ascertained that the female has more influence 

 than tlie male on the form of an animal ; but that 

 the male in sheep, in particular, gives the peculiar 

 character to the fleece. 



The produce of a breed from a coarse-wooled 

 ewe and a fine-wooled ram, will give a fleece 

 approaching half-way to that of the male; and a 

 breed from this progeny with a fine-wooled ram 

 will yield a fleece differing by only one fourth 

 from that of the sire ; by. proceeding in the oppo- 

 to ratio, the wool will«-apidly degenerate into its 

 primitive coarseness. 



Four qualities of wool are distinguisliable in 

 he fleece of the same animal. The finest is Upon 

 he spine, from the neck to within six inches of 

 taii, including one third of the breadth of the 

 hack or saddle ; this kind is called by the Span- 

 i Ftoretta. The second quality covers the 

 flanks, and extends from the thighs to the shoul- 

 lers. The third covers the neck and the rump ; 

 ind the fourth is upon the lower part of the neck 

 md breast, down to the feet, as also upon part of 

 he shoulders and thighs, down to the bottom of 

 e hind quarters ; the Spaniards call this portion 

 Cayda. The sorting of these four qualities takes 

 lace immediately after the shearing, by tearing 

 isunder the several portions, and throwing each 

 nto a separate bin. 



The hardness of some of the English wools 

 Ices not depend entirely on the r.ice, or the cli- 

 nate, but on certain peculiarities in the soil which 

 [ffect the pasture. The Saxony sheep, being 

 ixposed to a less ardent sun than the Spanish, 

 'Leld a softer fleece. Sheep pastured on the Che- 

 fiot Hills in Northumberland, though not of the 

 inest wooled English breed, yield fleeces of re- 

 arkable softness, and have been refined still 

 acre by artificial means, ])articular!y by smearing 

 he sheep with an unguent composed of tar and 

 utter, immediately after shearing them. The 

 grease' or yolk of the fleece is a species of soap 

 ecreted by the sheep, and consisting of oil with a 

 ittle potash. Hence it serves to facilitate the 

 eouring of wool by means of water alone, with 

 vhich it forms a kind of sud or emulsion. It is 

 uost abundant in those breeds which grow the 

 oftest fleeces, and on the part of the back covered 

 vith the finest wool. The yolk, however, though 

 iivorable to the growing fleece, becomes injurious 

 o it after it is shorn, and ought to be immediately 

 emoved, otherwise it will produce a fermenta- 

 ion in the wool heap, and render it hard and 

 rittle, a change which takes place most rapidly 

 n hot weather. 



The long-wooled sheep of England are of four 

 reeds : the Dishley or new Leicestershire ; the 

 Lincolnshire ; the Tees-Water, and the Dartmoor. 

 )ur races of short-wooled sheep are principally 

 he Dorsetshire, Hertfordshire, and South Down, 

 [■he imported wools are almost entirely worked 

 n the card, the coarser into carpets. Of late 

 ears, a wool of the merino fleece has been grown 

 great advantage in New South Wales, and im- 



ported in great quantities. It is fully equal to the 

 best Spanish merino. 



The English clothiuL' wool has altered fiir the 

 worse in its quality {w the last ten years. There 

 is a dilfcrence of one shilling a yard between 

 cloths inaile of the two wools at the same price. 

 The English wool al.so wastes five pounds in the 

 score, and the other only two and a half pounds 

 by loss ofauiraul grease.' 



The advance in foreign wools is owing in a 

 great measure to the increaseof the manufacturers 

 on the continent, especially in JJelgium, and to 

 the successful competition of the goorls of the lat- 

 ter with the English in the Grecian Archipelago. 



Tlierc is no wool wliich spins so well as the 

 improved. Australian does, in consequence of the 

 length of its staple and its softness ; and it has in- 

 creased so much in quantity of late, that in the 

 course of fifteen years.it will prohably suflice for 

 the supply of all the import wool to our manufac- 

 turers, to the e.xclusion of the Spanish and Ger- 

 man wools. It is also better for combing purposes 

 than any other description, and it is at present 

 altogether consumed in the finest worsted goods, 

 such as merinos and cassinets. 



England grows about 995,000 packs, (of 240 lbs. 

 each,) and imi)orts 66,000 bags a year. — BeWs 

 [English) Weekly Messenger. 



Number of Newspapers published i.v the 

 World. — A German paper says, " In Spain there 

 are twelve newspapers ; in Portugal seventeen ; 

 n Switzerland thirtysix ; in Belgium sixtytvvo ; 

 in Denmark eighty; in Austria eightytwo ; in 

 Russia and Poland eightyfour ; in Holland one 

 hundred and fifty; in Great Britain two hundred 

 and seventyfour; in Prussia two hundred and 

 oightyeight; in the other Germanic States three 

 hundred and five ; in Australia nine; in Africa 

 twelve; in Asia two ; and in America, elevcnhim- 

 d/-ed and thirhjeight — from which it will be seen 

 that there are more than half as tnany newspa- 

 ders published in America, [with the e\cc[>tion 

 of France, which the writer has left out, and 

 well ho may, for she has so completely muzzled 

 the press, that there might as well be none, and 

 cast a stain on her escutcheon which it wi!l he 

 difficult to wipe oft',] than there is in tho whole 

 world put together, and with not one fortieth of 

 the population." It is no wonder then that this 

 country bears the reputation abroad of being not 

 only the hap|iiest, but the freest nation of the 

 earth, when the press, ivhich we consider to be 

 the sentinel on the watch tower, is left free, not 

 only to guard us against all encroachments on 

 our rights, (if it acts up to its profession,) but to 

 diffuse information lar and wide over the coun- 

 try ; for wherever knowledge is, there will free- 

 dom also be found. 



Gaolkr's Report. — The semi-annual return 

 of debtors and criminals, &c. in the Boston goal, 

 ending Deeetnber 26th, states that three persons 

 only werg confined at that time for debt. Num- 

 ber of criminals, thirtyfour ; committed by the 

 Courts of this Commonwealth. — Journal. 



CiNciNNAT! PoiiK Mabkkt. — A Correspondent 

 of the Baltimore Patriot, writing from Cincinnati, 

 says : — 



"Last year, in this city alone, 1.52,000 hogs 

 were slaughtered and pnckeil, and largely in- 

 creased quantities at Hamillon, Rossville, Frank- 

 lin, Middleton, Dayton, !,awrencehm-glr, Madi.son, 

 &c. This year, ! am informed, that 60 or 70,000 

 will be the extent that will be packed in the city, 

 uiul but very few will be packed at any of tho 

 above-named towns. In Illinois, some few more 

 will be packed this winter than last. But through- 

 out the whole Western coimtry, it is said, that the 

 amount of Pork packed will not exceed one half 

 of the exportations of last year. If this should 

 be the case, (and I have no doubt of the fact) there 

 will, the coming season, be a scarcity throughout 

 the whole country ; and prices, consetpiently, must 

 be high. I am informed by our Pork merchants, 

 that they have advices from New Orleans, Mobile, 

 and many of the Western markets, that the stock 

 of Pork, Bacon and Lard on hand is limited, and 

 commanding good prices." 



Seasonable Relief. — The steamboat Robert 

 L. Stevens, on her way up from New York to 

 Ponghkeepsie, Tuesday, when in the hay five miles 

 below Caldwell, saw signals of distress from two 

 sloops. Captain Brown immediately put about 

 the steamboat, and went to their relief. The 

 sloops were frozen in, and their crews and pas- 

 sengers had been two days without food. After 

 supplying them liberally with provisions, Captain 

 Brown assisted to clear the sloops from the ice, 

 and then towed them both into a safe harbor. 

 But for the seasonable aj)pearance and generous 

 assistance of the Robert L. Stevens, the persons 

 on board the sloops must have perished, as no 

 other means of relief were at hand. — Jllb. Even. 

 Jour. 



Warning.— A daughter of Mrs Henley, of Chel- 

 sea, 12 years old, was so shockingly burnt last 

 Sabbath morning, that she died a few hours after, 

 in the most excruciating pain. The mother, who 

 is a poor woman, and depends upon hi^r labor for 

 her supjiort, burnt her hands so badly, in her 

 endeavors to rescue her child, as to lie incapable 

 of helping herself, consequently cutting off her 

 only means of support. The citizens of Chelsea, 

 on learning this fact, generously subscribed $45 

 ill money, and have furnished her with other 

 necessary articles. 



Western Rail Road We understand that 



13 miles of the branch of this rail road from 

 Hudson to the line of this State are already under 

 contract, and that the contractors are now engaged 

 in the execution of the work. 



New York Fire. — The committee of citizens 

 have reported the amount of loss by the late fire 

 in New York at $17,115,672. 



The splendid and extraordinary Aurora Borealis, 

 of the 17t1i of Noveitiber, was visible in London. 

 The members of the fire establishment were kept 

 on the alarm all night, travelling back and forth, 

 sujiposing the light to proceed from some great fire. 



The experiment of planted mulberry trees at 

 Algiers, is about to be commenced on a large scale; 

 the sugar cane is also to be cultivated there. 



HalleIt's Comet.— The Comet has again ap- 

 peared in the East, So say the Astronomers. 



