412 Dr. Parry's Essay on the Nature, Produce, Origin, 



Lasteyrie savs that, in the year 1802, M. Finck was gone into Spain to purchase, 

 on account of the Prussian government, 1000 Spanish sheep. 



Tiie Comte de Magnis has also at EckersdorfF, in Silesia, a flock of upwards of 

 9000 sheep, improved by the Merino cross. His object, of late, has been to unite 

 size with fineness of wool ; for which purpose he has mixed the best Merino rams, 

 which he could purchase at any price in Saxony, with the large breeds of Hun- 

 gary. In this respect he has already made great progress; so that, throughout the 

 greater part of his flock, he has nearly equalled the best wool of Spain, on a carcase 

 stronger, larger, and belter formed than any fine woolled sheep on the Continent. 

 One sheep with another gives about 2lb. 150Z. of washed wool. 



M. Finck, having no winter pasture, keeps his flock of seven or eight hundred 

 sheep in the houses and yards from the end of November to the end of March. 

 He there gives them hay, lattermath, and thrashed straw of wheat, rye, barley, oats, 

 and peas ; which he varies as often as possible, in order to gratify the taste and 

 appetite of the sheep. He never allows them corn or unthrashed grain, except in 

 very long winters, or when the straw fails ; and then only to the rams at the time 

 of service. Oat straw is generally looked upon as too coarse and dry for food ; 

 and the haulm of peas is preferred to all other straw, when the stalks and leaves 

 are still somewhat green, but is good for little when the stalk is black, and the 

 leaves fall off in thrashing. 



During frost, while the ground is free from snow, the flocks are driven in the 

 day time to the wheat and rye fields ; and then have no other food, besides some 

 straw in the house at night. The rams are fed with hay twice a day, and straw of 

 corn once ; or once with hay, once straw, and once pease haulm. They have for 

 drink water, in which oil-cake is mixed, having been previously steeped. The lambs 

 of one year old have, twice a day, hay or lattermath, and once pease or corn straw; 

 or else once hay and tv, ice straw. They have likewise oil-cake mixed with water 

 in the proportion of 7 or 81b. of cake to 100 lambs. The ewes in lamb have daily 

 one meal of pease haulm, and two of corn straw j or two of pease haulm, when 

 that kind of food is sufficiently abundant. When fodder is bad, or scarce, oil- 

 cake is mixed with their water, in the proportion of 6 or ylb. to lOO ewes. Three 

 or four weeks before lambing time, they have uniformly this kind of drink, 

 together with a meal of hay, instead of one of straw. At lambing time, and while 

 giving suck, they have two meals of hay to one of straw ; and the same kind of 



