1056 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



SuBSECT. 1. Reaiing and Ma^ingeMnt of ^eep oyi'^'tdli grass hhd arable Lands. 

 7166. The most generg,l sheep husbandry on rich lands, or where turniiis and other 

 green%'y(I:^i^M'^^' f6 ii'l^W cBj^^^ combiue tJio breeding and feeding 



branches, leaning to eacli according to the returns of profit. 



7^6f.-4 m'liho(^^\f^'^MmmQf^mwm:(^m^it^f(l)v^^;^:&, nud which js a,^teode4 H.-ith,t|)e least troMble and 

 ^M^^aSd.^^hattfjfcDBf^ft^ S ^lltw^flM^^ lambs, wetiievs qpU what;.ftre,tfnai^^[35c^i^j-o^,^)djewes ; 

 some ot the last sort often proving with lamb, may be tatttiicil off with thern to good account. It is like- 

 wise often the case that ewes are^ dispos_cdtot'.in lamb, or \\^h lambs by their sides, in what are termed 

 is frequferjtly a good pi*i^ice to make ann^ial purchases of them, in 



couples, in which circumstaRces' 



order to the fattening of botp, and selling Iheijn in that stat^^thin the year, fii the purchasing of sheep, 

 which is often done from very distant fairs and markets, 1^ch care and circumspection is necessary, 

 wliatever the sort or intention with which tlhey are bought may be. In these cases much advantage, 

 especially when at a considepble distance, may be derived by employing a salesman on the spot. 



7168. The Ireatmeiit of the lambsih the first consideration in the mixed sheep hus- 

 bandry. I 



7169. Lambs a7-e either sufllcd or fattened mrffrdss, or sold in autumn as lean stock. With regard to 

 those that have been suckled or Catteiied in the liouse, inudi attention is required to have them early, to 

 theiT>fe||M^^*BB1^pT?gtilat1y, aiui wry ( kanly kept aiid auckled, as well as to the ewes being of the right 

 sor.tJ^PSf^fl^t milkers that tfivi he ])rovi(led, and to their being fuJIysuppKed with food of the most 

 . ... -, .. jm>(.,jj(jj. kjiifjs 'jiuir tails and udders should have the v/oolwell clipped away from 

 'lat they mafc^-^reservc<l in a perfectly cl^in state. The lambs also require, especially 

 3 of their faWrtiiDg, to have refj;idar supplies of barley, wheat, and peas-meal, ground 

 )ination with Iffnc green roiKiu. hay. When these have been sold ofli; the lambs which 

 led on the bcst'TgriMs land will be ready to succeed them at the inarkets, in the spring knd 

 and #iese wilt be, followed by the sale of the store lambs, at the different autumnal fairs. 



i, ytl^. ' ^' ^Ag selection of '^tifig of tfi^ lamb- stock is the first bthrfi ^ggy^ f dieefHfiiknge- 

 ment aftVUPtliL "iambs hale been weaned. e? ^ 



7171. It is generally performed in the moiilh (f Jidy or August, at which period the fairs for the sale of 

 \jiV^ ijjqfj^y, tii^f }f\i\.<:L'. And as at tJijs time-the wliplo. are collected together for drawing into.different 

 lots,:ilj,.is,{^,vft>-^ suUaljJc period for selecting, or choosing those that aie.to supply such deficiencies in the 

 brcctfing flocks. l,uhis C(tleud(ir ofJHushandry, Young has remarked, that in making thii selection the 

 I'finner or his -lieplierd u.-^ually (whatever the breed may be) rejects all that manliest any departure from 

 -cei;t;iiu cigUi- of the truo breed : thus, in a Norfolk flock, a white leg, and, a face not of a hue sufficiently 

 dark, woultl be excluded, however well ftirmed; in the same manner a white face on the South Downs ; 

 in Wiltshire, a black face would be an exclusion,- or a horu^that does not fall back ; in Dorsetshire, a horn 

 tliat uu'j^xiul project, &c. 



.J '^737 TJie selection of the groivn stock generally fakes place after the lambs are weaned, 

 ar,j%tr^|];.tiveat,s, before tupping season, though wetliers may be drawn out of the flock 



at any time. A certain number of old ewes or crones are removed every year, and these 

 'ilPd>f^ii#p8J^ft<5^;^^'^f^'c fed off foi- the butcher, either on grass, artificial herbage, or 

 .Toots^accta-diiig to/the.situation and circmiistances of the faa-n>, and season of the y^ar. 

 717.). The shearing of shccj} is an annual operation, wliich includes several preparatory 



measure^; and after-processes. These are, washing, separation, catching, clipping, mark- 

 4lig5trIi4r<4ilnetltting. i,ij,,.j irwoni 



nof!n^>_Tkn proper time for cUpj'lug or shearing a/tccp must be direct?B<by<tbc^tjrte ^f the weather and 

 jjhe cliijiate in. the jxatii-ular district, as by this means the dagger of injury by cold from; depriving the 

 .sheep of their coats at too early a season, and from heat by permitting them to continue on them too 

 'long, may he avoided in the besttnanner : but another circumstance that should likewise be attended to 



hi this business, is that of the wool being fully grown or at the state of maturity ; as where the clipping 



precedes tjiat period, it is said in the Annals of Agriculture to be weak and scarcely capable of being spun, 

 ' arid if protracted later, it is yellow, felted, and of an imperfect nature. It has been stated, that for the 



more warm sheltered situations in the southern parts of the kingdom, the beginning or middle of June, 

 ijyhon the weather is tine, may be in general the most proper ; but in the more exposed districts in the 



northern parts of the island, "the middle or latter end of the same month may bd more suitable, provided 

 ''fiie'season be favourabte. But with the fattening sht*ep in the<eHteIosures, it will mostly be necessary to 

 JleffeiatttJie W01?k:t auigiirfiel p?ricfld>J fi.\cxy^\\UQt\n^m ^^ Sfeat increase of heat from the setting 



in of the summer weather, added to the warmth bf the fleece, becomes very oppressive and injurious to 



them in their feeding. There never can be any difficulty in ascettaining the proper time for shearing, 



.to^tettoe^paratiou of the old wool from the new i&alw*yi ^iistinctly marked j^i a thriving sheep ; and 

 ijyMsJkltti9^en&>eaHier or later acconling to the age and condition of the animal. Hence, froavthe beginning 

 3rtSM85i|^OPrteer, till the first week of July, shearing goes ou-in difterent districts ; beginning with the 

 Ifet Leicester wedders, and ending with the snudl luasing ewes of the Highland districts. F^om the middle 

 SeflMay to the middle of June is the busiest period. ';; j 



;,- 7175. Sheejunhearing in Ilomney Marsh commences about midsummer, and finishes abopt the miiddle 

 "(rf Julv> Those who. shear first tiiink they escape the effects of the fly, and those that shear late appre- 

 3bend they gain half a pound weight in every fleece, by the increased i^erspiration of the sheep. In early 



shearing, the.wool has not the condition which it afterwartls acquires ; but the hot weather occasions a 



good deal of tt'ouble in detecting the fly The lambs tliat are sold in Smithtield -(narket are, we believe, 

 , seldom or ever shonx. All over the north of England, and throughout Scotlandj^ lambs are never shorn. 



a'hey lose their first flecce.when about fifteen months old. 



*^' 7176- cupping off the coarse soiled ivool about the thighs and docks, some weeks before 

 the usual time of washing and clipping the sheep, is an excellent practice ; as by this 

 nieans the sheep ai-e kept clean and cool when the season is hot, and with ewes the udders 



-vcrc prevented from becoming sore. 

 ,' 7177. In separating for the jnnpose of loashifig, the flock is brought to tlie side of the 

 washing-pool, and there Iambs and sheep of different kinds, fit to be washed, are put iixto 

 separate fit4d ; and sucli lambs as are too young to be clipped are not washed, but con- 

 fined ill a fold'or'eiTclosifre of aHly kind, at stiiil a distance fi'oiii'the.\y^JBgl)^la9ip.qSi9iat 

 they may not disturb their mothers by their bleating. The object of washing is simply 



