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114 



THE ILLINOIS FA.KMEII. 



American market. -Both will become more 

 HO, as manufacturers of Avorsted, and of flan- 

 nels and baizes, increase. Tlie dificrence in 

 the weight of fleeces between the breeds is, 

 jjcf se, a less important consideration than 

 would first appear, and for reasons v>-]uch 

 will be given when I speak of tlie cjuneetiou 

 between the amount of wool produced, and 

 the food consumed by sheep. 



Under the natural and artificial circum- 

 stances already alluded to, which surround 

 sheep husbandry in many parts of E!![j;laud 

 — where the fattest and nvosscst (lualitv oi' 

 mutton is consumed as almost theoiiiy animal 

 food of the laboring classes — the heavy, early 

 maturin"- New Leicester, and the still hcaviei' 

 Kcw Oxfordshire sheep, seem exactly suited 

 to the Avants of producer and consumer, and 

 arc of unrivaled value. To depasture poorer 

 soils — sustain a folding system — and i'uriii.^h 

 the mutton which supplies the tables of tlie 

 wealthy — the South i)0Avn i-, an e.pial desid- 

 eratum. 



Have we any region in our ^"ouLhern States, 

 where analogous ciicumstanccs dcmaiid the 

 introduction of similar breeds/ 'J'he climate 

 so far as irs eflect on the hri'llh is concemed, 

 is adapted to any, even the le;'.st hardly varie- 

 ties; but not so its effects oi' the verdure on 

 which they arc to subsist. The li-ng seon-h- 

 ing summers, so utterly uidike those uf Eng- 

 land, leave the grass on lands slocked heavi- 

 ly enough for profit, entirely too diy and 

 short for the heavy, slugg'sh J^ong Wools. 

 This is particularly true in the tide-water 

 zone. Mutton, too, sheeted uvi" externally 

 with three or Jour inches of solid fat, even 

 if it could be made accejitable to the slav e, 

 in lieu of his ration of bacon — a thing mure 

 than doubti'ul — would never find any coii.-id- 

 crable market oil' from the plantation, .'"^o 

 far as the supply of feed is concerned, tlie 

 above remarks a})ply, though not ccpially, to 

 the South-Down. It will live and ilirive 

 where the Jjong Wuols would dwindle avay, 

 but it is a mistake to supjtuse that the hea\y 

 improved South-J)own\\ill subsist, andaitain 

 its proper weight and latness, on very poor or 

 very _ scant herbage. The old animpioi nl 

 vai'iety would, like some other sunillish and 

 hardy races, obtain a living on keep as Pour 

 as that which grew on the lightest and thin- 

 nest soils of Sussex. 31ouhled by the hand 

 of EUman, and other breeders, tu bettor I'uUil 

 the conditions of a mutton sheep, in size and 

 other particulars, they demand that increased 

 supply of food which tlie furmution Dfaddi 

 tional fat and muscle re([uire. Jictaining 

 some of the properties of the parent siuck, 

 they are less sluggish, and bear travt-l better 

 ihau the Long A\ ools; but with tliem as with 

 the latter, and all other animal-^, much or 

 prolonged exercise in pursuit olfopd or other- 

 wise, is untavorablc to obesity. iMen, and 

 particularly oicitci\-!, iu advcieating the claims 

 of this breed and that, seem not uuim|Uently 

 to forget that the general jihysicial laws 

 which control, in the development of all the 

 animal ti;<sues as well as functions, are uni- 

 form. Better organs will doubtless make a 

 better ai)propriatlon of animal foi>d; and they 

 may bo taught, so to speak, to ai)propriatc it 

 in particular directions — in one breed, more 

 especially to the production of fat — in another 

 of muscle or lean meat — in -anotlier, wool. 

 But, cictcrls i-taribus, large animals will al- 



ways require more food than small ones. 

 Animals which arc to be carried to a high state 

 of fatness, nmst have plentiful and nutritious 

 Ibod, and they must exercise but little in or- 

 der to prevent the unnecessary ''combustion" 

 in the lungs, of that carbon which forms more 

 than seven-tenths of their fat. No art of 

 breeding can countervail these established 

 laws of Nature. 



Again, there are no facilities in the South 

 for marketing large quantities of mutton — of 

 a tithe of that which would be annually fitted 

 litr the shaml^Ics, were Sheep flusbandry in- 

 troduced to anything like the extent 1 have 

 recommended, and with the iwalloii Oreahoi' 

 sheep. With few ci'ies and large villages — 

 with a sparse population — with au agricidtu- 

 ral ]»opulation tlie greatest drawback on 

 whose pecuniary jirospcrity i.s their inability 

 to market thcii' own surplus edibles — not a 

 particle of rational doubt can exist on this 

 point. 'J' me, I have expressed the opinion 

 that^ both as a matter of healthfuluess and 

 economy, nmttoii should be substituted for a 

 moiety of the bacon used on the plantation; 

 but Avith such a change, in a country so ex- 

 clusively agricultural, each landholder would 

 raise his own supply, and thus no market be 

 created. It may then lie regarded as a set- 

 tled point that tlie production of wool is the 

 primary, the great object of Suuthern Sheep 

 Husbaudry. 



I n instituting a comparison between breeds 

 of sheep ibr wool growing purposes, 1 will, in 

 the outset, lay down the obviously incontro- 

 vertible proposition that the (question is not 

 udiai variety will shear the. heaviest or even 

 the most valuable fleeces, irrespective of the 

 cost of production. Cost of feed and care, 

 and every other expense, must be deducted, 

 to fairly test the profits of an animal. If a 

 large sheep Cjiisume twice as much ibod as a 

 small one, and give but once and a half as 

 much wool, it is obviously more profitable, 

 other things being ecpial, to keep TWO of the 

 of the smaller sheep. The true question 

 then is, irifh. tin: .-(inir ujnusc in othn- j'or- 

 h'riifiu-n. From I'-hftt J>f<e(l irilh tlic fcrdnrr 

 "J nil U'l-i: oj' la 11(1 p roil iin ihr jri-aUst c(dne 

 "/ irool.' 



hvt US first proceed to ascertain the com- 

 ]iarativc amount oi" loud consumed by the 

 several breeds. 'There are no satisfactory 

 experiments Avliich show that breed itself 

 cuu'-idered,. has any particular influence on 

 the (juantity of food consumed. It islbund, 

 with all vaiieiics, tiiat tlie consumption is in 

 pidportiun to the live weight ol' the (gruwnj 

 animal. Oi" cuuiv.e, this rule is not invaria- 

 ble Ml its individual application, but its gen- 

 eral sjundness has been satisfactorily estab- 

 lished. Spoouer states that grown sheep 

 take lip oi per cent, of iheir weight in Avhat 

 is equivalent to dry hay per day, to keep in 

 stole condition. \'eit places the consumption 

 at '11 per cent. 31y experience would incline 

 me to place itabout midway between the two. 

 But whatever the precise amount of the con- 

 suni])tioii, il'it is proportioned to the w'cight, 

 it Iblluws that if an acre is capable of sustain- 

 ing three Merinos weighing au lUO lbs each, 

 it will sustain but two Ijcicestcrs weighing 

 liiO lbs each, and two and two-fifths South- 

 Downs weighing 12o each. 3Ierinos of this 

 Weight often shear 5 lbs per fleece, taking 

 flocks through. The herbage of an acre, then 



would give 15 lbs. of Merino wool, and but 

 12 lbs of Leicester, and but 9 and three-fifths 

 lbs of South-Down (estimating the latter as 

 high as 4 tbs to the fleece !) Even the finest 

 aKd lightest fleeced sheep ordinarily known 

 as Merinos, average about 4 Tbs to the fleece, 

 so that the feed of an acre would produce as 

 much of the highest quality of wool sold un- 

 der name of Merino, as it would of New Lei- 

 cester, and more than it would of South- 

 Down I The former would be worth from 

 fifty to one hundred per cent, more per pound 

 than either of the latter! Nor does this in- 

 dicate iiU the actual diff"erence, as I have, in 

 the preceding estimate, placed the live-weight 

 of the English breeds low, and that of the 

 3Ierino high. The live -weight of the four- 

 pound i iie-fleeced Merino does not exceed 90 

 tbs. It ranges from 80 to 901bs, so that 300 

 lbs of live-weight would give a still greater 

 product of wool to the acre. I consider it 

 perfectly safe to say that the herbage of an 

 acre xcill uniformli/ give nearly douhle the 

 value of Merino, that it will of ani/ of tlie 

 Emjlish Loiuj or Middle wools. 



The important question now remains, 

 "What are the other relative expenses of these 

 breeds'j* 1 speak from experience when I say 

 that the Leicester is no respect a hardier 

 sheep than the Merino — indeed, it is my firm 

 conviction that it is less hardy, under the 

 most favorable circumstances. It is more 

 subject to colds, and I think its constitution 

 breaks up more readily under disease. The 

 lambs are more liable to perish from exposure 

 to cold, when newly dropped. Under unfa- 

 vorable circumstances — herded in large flocks, 

 pinched for feed, or subjected to loijg jour: 

 neys — its capacity to endure, and its ability 

 to rally from the ciTects of such drawbacks, 

 do not compare with those of the Merino. 

 The high-bred South-Down, though consid- 

 erably less hardy than the unimproved parent 

 stock, is still fairly entitled to the appellation 

 of a hardy animal. In this respect I consider 

 it just, about on a par with the Merino. I do 

 not think, however, it will bear as hard stock- 

 ing as the latter, without a rapid diminution 

 in size and quality. If the peculiar merits of 

 the animal as'c to be taken into account in 

 determining the expenses — and I think they 

 should be — the superior fecundity of the 

 South- Down is a point in its favor, as well for 

 a wool-producing as a mutton sheep. The 

 South-Down ewe not only frequently yeans 

 twill lauibs, as do both the Merino and Lei 

 cester, but she possesses, unlike the latter, 

 nursing ]H-opcrties to do justice by them. 

 But this advantage is fully counterbalanced 

 by the superior longevity of the Merino. All 

 the English mutton breeds begin to rapidly 

 deteriorate in amount of wool, capacity to fat- 

 ten, and in general vigor, at about 5 years old 

 and their early maturity is no ofiset to this, 

 in a sheep kept for wool-growing purposes. 

 This early decay would require earlier and 

 more rajiid slaughter or sale than would always 

 be economically convenient, or even possible, 

 in a region situated in all respects like the 

 South. It is well, on properly stocked forms, 

 to slaughter or turn ofl' the Merino wether at 

 4 or 5 years old, to make room for the breed- 

 ing stock;buthe will not particularly deterior- 

 ate, and he will richly pay the way with his 

 fleece, for several years longer. Breeding 

 ewes arc rarely turned offbefore eight, and are 



