IMPORTATION OF FRENCH MERINO SHEEP. 
301 
fresh salt and saltpetre ; in two days more they 
should be again rubbed, and packed flat and as 
close as possible, the thick part of one row. 
against the shank of the next row, by which 
means, the whole will be nearly covered with 
their own pickle. In a week or ten days, they 
will be cured and ready for drying, which 
should be done by taking them out of the pickle, 
setting them upright with the shank down¬ 
wards, and a little dry salt thrown over the thick 
end. After being thus left for a week longer, 
they will be ready for hanging up in the dry¬ 
ing house, which is in fact a slow stove. 
Bacon and hams are smoked by being first 
damped, and then thrown amongst some dry 
bran, which adheres to the meat, and prevents 
it being disfigured by the soot; they are then 
hung up in a flagged room, with a channel run¬ 
ning down the centre, towards which the floor 
inclines on each side. Brasiers filled with saw¬ 
dust are now lighted, the room is closed and 
left. When the fires are extinguished, and the 
bacon is supposed to have absorbed as much 
smoke as it can, the place is again entered, the 
bacon and hams taken down, the bran, with its 
attached soot, is brushed off, the bacon is now 
ready for market, as seen at the retailers. The 
fat which has dripped from the bacon in smok¬ 
ing is collected from the receptacle at the end 
of the gutter, the dirt and ashes swept out, when 
the place is again ready for another lot. The 
fine flavor of Westphalian hams is stated to be 
due to the circumstance of the smoking rooms 
being made so high that the smoke is cold when 
it arrives at the hams. This may be the case 
in part. I rather attribute their flavor to arise 
from the fact of the pigs being of a small thin 
breed, and not killed until they are at least two 
years old. To have a ham in perfection, the 
hog ought to be three years old when killed; to 
feed such would not pay the farmer. In salting 
pork for bacon, 1£ pounds of salt is sufficient to 
salt 14 pounds of meat, or 200 pounds would re¬ 
quire 24 pounds of salt; and with great care 
and attention three fourths of an ounce of salt¬ 
petre is sufficient for 14 pounds of meat, or 1 
pound for 280 pounds of meat. It is a safe 
practice to use one ounce of saltpetre to 14 
pounds of pork. These quantities are adapted 
to private use; large curers use more of both 
articles.— Jour. Royal Ag. Soc. 
■ --. 
Per-Centage of Ash in Wheat.— It is a curi¬ 
ous fact that the larger the crop of wheat, the 
smaller, in general, is the per-centage of ash in 
the grain. 
IMPORTATION OF FRENCH MERINO SHEEP. 
Mr. Solomon W. Jewett, of Vermont, has re¬ 
cently returned from a tour in France, whither 
he went for the purpose of selecting a choice 
flock of the large French Merino sheep, bearing 
such high prices and so much admired in the 
United States. Mr. J. shipped, all together, in 
four different vessels, 150 ewes and two bucks. 
We had the pleasure of examining a part of 
this importation and found them very large and 
fine, and exceedingly well woolled. They are 
partly from the celebrated flock of Mr. Guerins, 
in the department of Eure ef Loire. Mr. Jewett 
has kindly furnished us with the following brief 
account of his visit to France, and his importa¬ 
tion :— 
I spent 30 days in France, examining the dif¬ 
ferent flocks of sheep, visiting the government 
and model farms, and their state and district ex¬ 
hibitions of live stock, and satisfied myself that 
there were but a few flocks there of this class 
of large Merinos, pure descendants from the 
original Spanish. 
Mr. Guerins purchased a buck at Rambouillet, 
at the government sale in 1850, and says it was 
the best one sold. He sheared 21 French pounds 
of wool at 17 months’ growth, and in May last, 
19 French pounds, at 11 months, unwashed, but 
of a beautiful quality of wool, equal to 44£ 
American pounds, at two clips. This flock at 
Rambouillet was one of the handsomest in 
France, but not of so large frame as some of the 
neighboring flocks, which I think is accounted 
for by the too close in-and-in breeding for many 
generations; still they have attained a great 
size and perfect symmetry, far superior to any 
of the American Merinos, in my opinion. The 
sheep have been under the control of the two 
governments, France and Spain, for several 
centuries, and they possess at this time valuable, 
distinct and peculiar characteristics, not inher¬ 
ited by any other class of fme-woolled sheep. 
Far superior in size, heft of fleece, which holds 
its quality, with stout limb, large chest, strong 
constitution, while theory heretofore has been, 
that we could not breed fine wool on a heavy- 
muttoned carcass. These sheep will compete 
with the best English breeds for mutton, I am 
satisfied by my own taste, and what I saw on 
exhibition in France. 
I saw high grade Merino wethers fatted for 
the butchers that would weigh 250 pounds, in 
lots of 20 or more. They are kept with less 
trouble and less feed, considering size, than any 
other animals, as they never roam over the 
fields like other sheep; they inherit this pecu- 
