145 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 23, 1827. 



WEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, NOV. U3, 1827. 



REBIARKS ON THE IftlPROVEJIENT OF LIVE 

 STOCK. 



[Concluded froin pag^ 134.] 



The author of the pamphlet before us in treat- 

 ing of sheep, speaks very hi2;!)Iy of the Dishley, 

 fir improved Leicester I rcetl, and of the Sonth- 

 downs ; both of which liave been introduced into 

 this country by the patriotic exertions of Colonel 

 Powel, and other public pirited cultivators. He 

 cemarks that -'the forms of the Spanisli sheep, are ; 

 according to the Briti:-h i. leas of figure defective ; 

 but the judicious system ot breeding and selection 

 pursued with the aii^'lo-nieiinos, has brought them : 

 to a very liigh degree of excellence. In the l 

 improvement of fleece, the introduction of the 

 Southdowns, (and also Eyelands, with both ofi 

 which lord Somerville crossed the Spaniards, and , 

 thought them equally good.) might be attended i 

 with favorable consequences. They are the best] 

 of the British short wooled sheep — their mutton ; 

 is also of a very fine grain and excellent flavor, 

 although not so large cs the Dishley ; the average 

 wether weights at two years old, being about IS 

 pounds per quarter ; but specimens have been fed 

 ■.,0 enormous weight. Mr. Coke of Holkhani, Nor- 

 folk, having produced at one of lord Somervilie's 

 shows, a two shear wether, that weighed forty 

 pounds per quarter. 



"There are few siturilioiis in which Ihcy will 

 not thrive ; they are liurdy, and will bear the 

 greatest cold, if nnaccouipanied with moisture — ' 

 are quiet and healtliy — quick feeders, wiih good | 

 fleece and produce good weight. 



"To produce improvement in the fliece, has 

 called forth the talents of many upII informed i 

 men. By one, whose abilities stand in the highest '< 

 order, the folUn-. ing judicious remarks are laid 

 down. 



♦' 'The wool grower is counselled to place no de- j 

 pendeuco on iicc.>!ental and external circumstan- j 

 ces for the production ol' good fleeces, but to rely , 

 cnlirciy, and with confidence, upon the propor- 

 tions with which ntiture has endowed his sheep, j 

 The perpetuity of animal properties being scarce- I 

 ly any where more strikingly e.-.liibited, than in 

 !lie certainty and regularity ujtii wiiicli the parent 

 sheep convey to their olTspriiig llieir own distin- 

 guishing characteristics. Breed is oi ihe utmost 

 consequence. It is the basis upon wliichall im- , 

 provements of the flesh are loiinued, the only 

 source of hope that attempts to produce fine wool, 

 will be followed with success.' 



"The shepherd ought not unnecessarily to ex- 

 pose his flock to extremes of heat and told, nor 

 to any capricious changes. The bail effects of 

 walor on the pile, while i;rovving, may be O'.viug 

 to the readiness with which it mixes with the 

 yolk, and carries off a quantity of that animal 

 soap, which is so nece.-sary to the good quality 

 and c»en existence of the fleece ; fur if care be 

 taken to jirevent this, by the skilful application of 

 tar mingled with butter, which acts as repellents 

 to the water, the lower part of the staple, which 

 •rrew afl'-r the mixture was applied, contains a 

 sufficient quanty of rich and sufficient yolk, an. I is 

 of a riiuch superior suit of wool to those points of 

 the pile, which have been exposed without pro- 

 tection, to the dripping wetness of the winter! 

 season. 1 



••Perfect whiteness is eminciifly desirable in all 



kinds of wool, and all varieties of color in breed- 

 ing are to be avoided, and all artificial tinges with 

 ruddle, or ochres, or any such substance, which 

 is injurious to the pile for the dyer's purpose. 



" Amongst the general rules for managing 

 sheep, it is said that they require drink when at 

 straw, or dry food of any kind, if it be grass dried 

 up by the dog-day heats. They should not be 

 turned into pasture in the autumn or winter, until 

 heavy dews or hoar frost be e.xhaled, which fre- 

 quently does not happen till late in the day, and 

 sometimes not at all. In this way sheep aie ira- 

 meniely injured, and great mortality ensues ; the 

 great quantities of chilling and unwholesome wa- 

 ter, which the animals take into their stomachs, 

 induce flatulent cholic, diarhoiea, or scouring, and 

 interinittents, ending in a general waste or con- 

 sumption. The only palliative remedy, where no 

 means exist of supporting sheep, but by this ex- 

 posure, is 10 allow them hay in the morning, or to 

 fill them with straw. 



"The sliorter and finer the grass, the fitter for 

 sheep, yet there is no pasture so good or so fine, 

 but with continued use sheep will become weary 

 of it. Hard stocking with sheep, will render the 

 coarser grass fine — a most useful memento in 

 many situations. It has, however, concomitant 

 disadvantages, by impregnating the soil with the 

 rank manure and urine of the flocks, which causes 

 them to loathe it, and even affects the young 

 grass produced by the superabundant manure. — 

 Before the bad effects take place, the pasture 

 should be changed both on account of the sheep 

 and the soil. 



"VVet unsound fallow, and lands which have 

 been flooded, rot sheep ; it is said, in some 

 places, that the lime stone land has the same 

 efl'ect. We find it recommemded in the Bath 

 papers, to fold sheep before the dew falls, in 

 places subject to rot, and keep them till it ex- 

 hales, spring and summer. 



"No ewe ever rots whilst she has a lamb by her 

 side : place sheep that h:iTe the rot, where they 

 can get at the bark and young shoots of elder." * 



This author, likewise treats of the management 

 of swine; and says, '-the varieties of swine ne- 

 cessary for our purpose, are very limited, and may 

 be classed, in the larger breeds for the supply of 

 our navigation, lumbermen, and other comuiercial 

 purposes, and the smaller breed as porktng stores 

 for family use. 



"For the former purpose, the breeds of Berks 

 and Hampshire will be found admirably calculat- 

 ed ; their char.-icter, throughout England, is in 

 great repute. There are laraer breeds to be found 

 than either, but none possessing better qualities ; 

 in their forms, they have great depth of carcase, 

 breadth of chest and loins, and proportionate 

 length, with good gammons and fine legs ; have 

 large pendulous ears, are quicklij ftJ and br^ivfihi 

 to proof. So little difference is there made be- 

 tween the Hants and Berkshire hogs, that dealers 

 at Smithfield are indiflfcrent which to choose. 



"Of the smaller breeds for pork for family siip- 



• The rot \n sheep is similar In a pulmonary coiisumpiioii in 

 man. Tlic following rereipl for that <liseas« is Croni Youjijjs 

 Annals, Vol. XIII. p. 209. " Give lo each sheep one .spoonlul 

 of Spirits of Turpentine, mixed with two of water, after fasling 

 (welve hours — lei ihein have three doses, slaying six days be- 

 iwecn each dose; this is said lo have Iwen used wiih success, 

 even in rases where the fleece has been nearly gone, and ilie 

 ihro.ii terribly swelled." The Furniers' Assisl/mt otiscrve.;, 

 r\vhether correclly or not, we cannot say] that, ' sheep in Gieat 

 Britain are subject lo the rot; but it is believed thai this disease 

 has never been known in this countrj." — Ed. N. E. Farmer. 



ply, the Chinese are in the greatest estimation — 

 and also their cross with the Oxford dairies, for 

 delicacy of meat, fineness of form, and quickness 

 of proof, they stand unrivalled." 



We" perceive that our author has taken a side 

 in a question which has been much controverted, 

 relative to breeding animals from the same fami- 

 ly. He says, [page ,^,] "Breeding in and iNf — 

 from the most perfect animal, however closely allied , 

 will be found far more iidvantageous than chang- 

 ing and crossing animals remote from each other, 

 in the peculiar characters of breed which too fre- 

 quently produces stock scarcely worth raising." 



This doctrine, though once generally believed 

 in and practised upon, is now we believe as gen- 

 erally exploded. Sir John Sinclair says " Though 

 this plan [breeding in and in] was for some time 

 in fashion, under the sanction of Bakewell's an- 

 thority, yet experience has now proved that it 

 cannot be successfully persevsred in. It may 

 prove beneficial indeed, if not carried too far, in 

 fixing any variety that may be thought valuable, 

 but on the whole it is so only in appearance. Un- 

 der this system the young animal comes into the 

 world, on, comparatively, a very small scale. By 

 keeping it fat from the first moment of its exist- 

 ence, it is made to attain a greater size than na- 

 ture intended ; and its weight in consequence will 

 be very great, in proportion to the size of its 

 bones. Thus a generation or two of animals of 

 an extraordinary form, and saleable at enormous 

 prices, may be obtained ; but that does not prove 

 that the practice is eligible, if long persisted in. 

 On the contrary if the system be followed up, the 

 stock get tender and delicate, they become bad 

 feeders; and though they ret.iin their shape and 

 beauty, they will decrease in vigor and activity, 

 will become lean and dwarfish, and ultimately iii- 

 j capable of continuing the race. The instances of 

 I this are numerous. The celebrated breeder Prin- 

 sep, found that decrease of size unavoidable, in 

 spite of all his endeavors, by keeping his young 

 I stock well to prevent it. Sir John Sebright tried 

 j many experiments by breeding in and in with 

 j dogs, fowl.^i, and pigeons, and found the breeds 

 ! uniformly degenerate. A gentleman who tried 

 the system with pigs, brought them at last into 

 such a state that the females gave over breeding 

 entirely, and when they did breed their pVoducc 

 was so small and delicate that they died as soon 

 as they were born. Nay, Mr Knight's experi- 

 ments with plants have fully C(m\inced him, that 

 in the vegetable as well as in the animal kingdom, 

 the offiipring of a male and female, not related 

 will poss.3ss more strength and vigour, than where 

 they are both of the same family This proves 

 how unprofitable such connexions are. That is 

 no reason, however, why a breeder may not man- 

 age a particular family of animals to advantage, 

 by shifting or changing, instead of breeding di- 

 rectly from parents to offspring. 



" The breeding from dili'erent families of the 

 same race is therefore a preferable svstem, — 

 When these have been for some time established 

 in different situations, and have had some slight 

 shades of difference impressed upon them by the 

 influence of dilTerent climates, soils and treatment, 

 it is found advantageous to interchange the males 



t Lono- experience has proved the old notion of ilie uecessiiy 

 of erossnig, or changing the species of aBimals in order to pre- 

 vent degeneration is toially groundless. You may breed in and 

 in, And from the nearest "j^tity of Mood with the utmast euc- 

 eess, provided vou s»lecl wiili jiidgemeni tlio best shaped indivi 

 1 ^ush.—neneral Trealhe. 



