ESSAY ON SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 153 



fine, and this accordingly affords an additional reason for pre- 

 ferring the Leicester breed. 



OLD AND SICKLY SHEEP NEED CAKE. 



When sheep which are peculiarly valuable and expensive, 

 grow sick, they must have an apartment by themselves ; so al- 

 so should those that are very old, wlien they are too valuable 

 to lose. They want better feed, warmer shelter, and close at- 

 tention. There should be such a hospital in every establish- 

 ment of fifty sheep, or even thirty. The well and strong 

 sheep will overcome and kill them, if left together. 



Large flocks should be divided in the sheds. The fewer 

 that huddle together, the better, even on account of the atmos- 

 phere of the sheds or pens. But the strong ones will rob the 

 weak ; and at yeaning time, the most serious consequences 

 would follow the promiscuous herding of a large flock. 



NUMBER OF SHEEP IN ESSEX COUNTY, COMPARED WITH 

 THOSE IN THE STATE AND ELSEWHERE. 



The whole number of sheep in Massachusetts, as returned 

 by the marshals, in 1845, (see statistics, p. 377) is 354,943. If 

 the 5,267,000 acres in Massachusetts be supposed to be 

 fed by sheep, there would be 15 acres for each sheep. — 

 In Maryland, there are 27 acres to every sheep, and in 

 Vermont, but 3. But in Essex county, there are 256,000 

 acres. This will give 52 acres to each sheep in the county. 



And yet, of the 514 sets of woolen machinery in Massachu- 

 setts in 1845, 103 of them are in this county. Here, then, 

 with facilities for manufacturing, out of all proportion to other 

 parts of the State, we grow less of the material to be manufac- 

 tured, than the average of the State ! And in another point of 

 view, it should seem that the shrewd farmers of old Essex 

 have adopted a policy which requires more severe manual la- 

 bor, than would be necessary, were more of our land pastured 

 with sheep. It is this — that Essex cultivates and produces as 

 much Indian corn as Berkshire, although there are 353,000 

 acres more in the latter county, than in ours ; showing, that 

 although a hoed crop is the most expensive that can be raised, 

 yet for some reason, (I think a mistaken one,) it is preferred 

 to the easy mode of husbandry in old Berkshire. 

 20 



