189 
That the climate of England is unfavorable to the produc¬ 
tion of fine wool, is further corroborated by the fact that the 
native breeds of the country are, in general, extremely 
coarse-wooled. There are but two distinct breeds, of any 
note, excepted—the Ryeland, and the South-Down breeds. 
The former are limited chiefly to the eastern part of Here¬ 
fordshire and Dean Forest, and the latter to the downs of 
Dorsetshire—the dryest districts in the kingdom, and pro¬ 
ducing the sweetest food. 
It is renlarked by the manufacturers, that the fleece of 
the merino not only grows coarser by naturalization in Eng¬ 
land, but loses also much of its original softness and elasti¬ 
city. This is attributed to the moisture destroying the yolk, 
and penetrating the fleece, by which means the knotty curls 
are relaxed, and the fibres become harsher, and less elastic 
and silky. 
Whether the merino breed of sheep would depreciate in 
this country, is a question that deserves a full consideration. 
However the fact may be, the causes which I have suggest¬ 
ed as effecting the deterioration in England do not exist in 
the United States. Our climate is dry, our lands hilly—at 
least in those parts of the Union which are most stocked 
with sheep—our feed is short, fine, and savory. There is 
hardly any animal that is more attached to sweet and high- 
flavored food than the sheep. Few climates are more fa¬ 
vorable to such a vegetation than ours:—few more unfa¬ 
vorable than that of England. The atmosphere of that 
country, during the greater portion of the year, is damp and 
chilling ; and even in the clearest days it is loaded with a 
congregation of vapors in a state of half dissolution, which 
refract and dissipate the rays of the sun, and obstruct their 
genial warmth. We never perceive there, those bright and 
piercing beams of light and heat, those bright and glowing 
tints of the heavens, and that bright and clear azure of the 
sky which we are so much accustomed to in this country. 
The grapes, plants and trees—the whole vegetable kingdom 
wears there a tenderer, paler green ; and nature seems to 
T 
