SHEEP. 



x)ie two-thoufandth part of an inch ? Yet many of our 

 Englidi wool-growers will decide, with the utmoft confi- 

 dence, whether their wool be finer or coarfer than it was 

 io the former year ; or rather, they will decide that their 

 wool is always growing finer. To this great confidence of 

 the wool-growers, and to their real ignorance on this fubjeft, 

 more than to any other caufe, may be afcribcd the little 

 improvement in the culture of Englifh fine wools prior to 

 the introdudion of the Merino breed into Britain. 



The South Down breed, in its improved (late, is likely 

 to fupplant moll of the Eiigjlifh fine-wooUed breeds, except 

 perhaps the Cheviots in Northumberland, which are become 

 habituated to the feverity of the climate, on the elevated 

 hills in the northern parts of that county bordering on 

 Scotland. This race we think much better fuited to fup- 

 plant the coarfe-wooUed (heep in the Highlands of Scot- 

 land, than another of our Enghfh breeds. The Cheviot 

 ftieep are defcribed by Mr. Culley, an intelligent farmer in 

 Northumberland, as hornlefs ; the faces and legs are, in 

 general, white : the ie/l kinds have a fine open countenance, 

 with lively prominent eyes ; the body long, fore-quarter 

 wanting depth in the bread, and breadth both there and 

 On the chine ; fine, clean, fmall-boned legs ; thin pelts ; 

 weight of carcafe, when fat, from lalbs. to iSlbs. per 

 quarter ; fleeces from albs, to 3lbs. The qualities of the 

 Cheviot fleeces are various ; fome of them contain a fmall 

 portion of fine wool, which, as we have before remarked, 

 is more foft than any of our native Englifh wools. The 

 price at lord Somerville's annual fliow in 1813, for the bell 

 cloth from Englilh wool, was given to Mr. J. F. Smith, 

 for a piece of cloth manufaftured from the pnme part of the 

 Cheviot fleeces. 



In general, the quality of thefe fleeces might be much 

 improved by a judicious feleflion. The great defeft is, 

 that in the fined fleeces only, a fmall part is of the belt 

 quality. Some of the Cheviot flieep are fpeckled on the 

 face and legs ; but thefe are probably a mixed breed, from 

 crofling at different times with Heath flicep, to whom they 

 have long been neighbours ; for leaving the heights of An- 

 nandale to the eallward, we infenfibly lofe the Heath (heep 

 and mixed breeds ; after which all the extenfive fine green 

 hills on the Scotch and Englifh borders from the fides of 

 the Clieviots to the barren heaths of Lammer-muir are 

 covered with the Cheviot breed. Tlie bed kind of thefe 

 ftieep is certainly a valuable mountain-fliee]), where the paf- 

 ture is moilly green fward, or contains a large portion of 

 that kind of herbage, which is the cafe witli all the hills 

 around the Cheviots, where thefe (heep are bred ; and the 

 fine herbage which the border hills every vviiere produce, 

 fupports them fo well in fummer, as to enable them to 

 ftand the fevcritics of the winter. 



The fliape of this breed of fheep has been greatly im- 

 proved of late years, but will Hill admit of much improve- 

 ment. " We cannot (fays Mr. Culley) expetl the perfec- 

 tion of this breed of (heep can be obtained at once, it mud 

 proceed by (low gradation, as every other improvement hath 

 (lone. 



«' That breed of (heep which brings the mod profit to the 

 farmer will always be preferred, but this objeft is not to be 

 obtained in this didrift by fine wool alone. Perfeft moun- 

 tain (heep fliould be hardy, well-formed, and quick feeders. 

 Thefe qualities will always recommend them to the grazier; 

 but if to thefe qualities, fo cfl'ential to the falc of a moun- 

 tain farmer's (lock, can be added a fleece of fine wool, a bn-ed 

 of flicep might then be obtained, the propered for a hilly 

 didrift of any we have yet fecn. There is little doubt but 

 this may be accompliflied by proper feledtion, and probably 



the bed kind of Cheviot (heep, from their hardinefs, and 

 producing a portion of fine wool, are the propcred dock 

 for laying the foundation of fo defirable a change." With 

 thefe fentiments of Mr. Culley we entirely agree, and par- 

 ticularly in the propriety of felefting from the bed Cheviots 

 to lay the foundation of a valuable dock of mountain (Keep, 

 which might fupplant the coarfe-woolled Heath (heep in 

 North Britain. Every fituatioii may be faid to have its 

 peculiar advantages for particular breeds of (heep ; and the 

 rage for improvement, and defire of change, have in fome 

 indances been carried too far. There can be no doubt, that 

 the rich paftures on the eadern fide of England are better 

 fuited for heavy long-wooUed (heep than for South Downs 

 or Merinos, whild it would be folly to attempt to dock the 

 mountainous parts of Britain with the Diihley or Lincoln- 

 (hire breeds. But many of the flocks in the uplands are 

 fufceptible of much improvement by feleftion, without any 

 admixture, and in very expofed fituations it might not be 

 defirable to attempt improvement by introducing a lefs 

 hardy race. In dry and moderately elevated fituations there 

 are none of the fined-wooUed native or Anglo-merino breeds, 

 that might not be cultivated with advantage ; but we are 

 well perfuaded, that with the prefent demand for, and price 

 of animal food, the breed which will fend into the market 

 the larged quantity of good meat in the (horted time, will 

 have the preference over any fuperior quality of the wool 

 alone. On which account the improvement of the South 

 Down breed, which combines both advantages, is perhaps 

 an objedl the bed deferving attention, in all fituations fuited 

 for fine-woolled (heep, that are not too much expofed to 

 the inclemency of the climate. 



A particular race of (heep exiil in the Shetland ifland?, 

 which produce a fleece more like that from the (heep on the 

 mountains of Thibet, than awy of the European flieep with 

 which we are acquainted. From the report of Mr. Thomas 

 Johnfon, addrelTed to the Britilh Wool Society, it appears 

 that there are two varieties of Shetland flieep. 



One of thefe varieties carry coarfe wool above and foft 

 fine below, and have three different fuccelTions of wool 

 yearly, two of which refemble long hairs more than wool, 

 and are termed by the common people forj and fcudda. 

 When the wool begins to loofen at the roots, which gene- 

 rally happens about tiie month of February, the hairs or 

 fcudda fpring up ; and when the wool is carefully pulled off, 

 the tough hairs continue fall until tiie new wool grows up 

 about a quarter of an inch in length, then tliey gradually 

 wear off; and when the new fleece has acquired about two 

 months' growth, the rough hairs termed /o/x fpring up, and 

 keep root until the proper fcafon for pulling it arrives, 

 when it is plucked off' along with the wool, and is feparatcd 

 from it at drelling the fleece, by an operation called yojyf/if. 

 'V\\c fcudda remains upon the flcin of the animal, as it it were 

 a thick coat or fence againd the inclemency of the feafons, 

 wiiich provident nature has furniflied for fupplying the want 

 of the fleece. See the preceding article Sili-EP. 



The native or kindly breud, which bear the foft cottony 

 fleeces (as they are called), are ratiier of a delicate nature ; 

 their wool is fliort .ind open, and deilitute of a covering of 

 long hairs. Thefe foft-wooUed fleeces are very often loll 

 or rubbed off, during the winter or cirly in the fpring, 

 which it is fuppofcd might be prevented by clipping or 

 (hearing the flieep, in place of pulling off tlic wool, a bar- 

 barous prafticc, tending to weaken the flicep and hurt the 

 length of the llaple. 



The Shetland flieep arc of various colours ; the filver-grcy 

 wool ill thought to be the fined and fofted, but the black, 

 tlie white, the mourat, or brown, is vary little inferior ; it 



