6o APPENDIX, Nc. IV. 



as the combing fort, both of which are degenerating and 

 jnay foon be entirely loft, if not at prefent retrieved : (^tL, 

 That it would be an eafy matter to felecl the beft of each 

 of thefe breeds at the prefent time, to be fet apart for the 

 fake of experiment : 6th, That Britain poffefles peculiar 

 advantages in regard to the carrying on this clafs of ex- 

 periments, that no other rival nation can boaft of, by means 

 of which it is perfeclly eafy to have the intrinfic value of 

 any particular breed afcertained v/ith the moft perfect ac- 

 curacy, though in other parts of the world this be mo- 

 rally imprafticable : "jth, That if our own Iheep lliould 

 not be fcTund to carry wool fuited to every purpofe want- 

 ed, it is ftill in our power, by felecling other valuable 

 breeds of fheep from foreign countries, to obtain thofe 

 peculiarities that fliall be wanted ; and thus, by perfever- 



in^ 



Even though no wool in the world ihould be found of a fupcrjor degree 

 of linenefsto that which bore the higlieft vogue at the time, it is not at 

 all inipoflible, from the above fiated fads, that a finer hind may ftill be 

 produced by attention and care, in proper circumftances ; for, if a kind of 

 fheep fhall be found in a luarm climate that yields wool of a quality as 

 fine, tliough no finer, than that afforded by another breed of fheep that 

 live in a colder region, it is a matter of certainty, that if the beft of that 

 breed fliall be tranfpcrted from the warm climate to a colder, a Idnd of 

 wool would be thus produced, of a finer texture than ever before was 

 known en the globe. 



Upon thefe principles, I think I r.ni well founded to conclude, that 

 Britain irtay once more regain a fupcriority over Spain in refpedl to 

 the fineuefs of wool. Nor is this all ; fince it is well known that there 

 are Ihecp in other parts of the world, that do at prefent yield wool of a 

 •jriality greatly fuperior to that of Spain ; and as fome of thefe fheep arc 

 found in regions that are probably warmer than Scotland, there is reafon 

 to believe, that if thefe fneep were tranfported hither, and carefully pre- 

 fcrved, Britain might in time acquire wool, not only finer than that of 

 Spain, but perhaps of a more delicate texture and finer quality than any 

 nvool that has ken hitherto produced on the globe. Were this the cafe, it is 

 hard to fay what migh: be the delicacy of the fabrics the ingenuity of our 

 manufadlurcrs might contrive to make of it, or the demand that might in 

 time be made from all nations for thofe delicate fabrics, which thus mighi; 

 \i% in a meai'ure cxclufively the proiaitijn of this nation. 



