THE CULTIVATOR. 
189 
€0mmumcciticw0* 
MERINO EWE*—[Fig. 92] 
Butternuts, Aou. 12, 1840. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker: 
Gentlemen —It is with some hesitation that I pro¬ 
ceed in my original intention of furnishing you with a 
series of Portraits from living animals, an intention 
growing out of the conviction that, if correctly done, 
they would oiler a valuable standard for comparison to 
those of your readers, who think they have not time to 
look beyond their own yards and cots, and consequently 
know little of the advances and improvements made in 
stock elsewhere ; but really, you seem so amply suppli¬ 
ed with such evidences, that were not the drawing al¬ 
ready in your possession, I should let the series drop. 
As it is, I will address a few remarks to you in refer¬ 
ence to it. The subject is a Merino ewe of, I presume, 
the “ Paular” breed; for she possesses in a striking de¬ 
gree, what I understand to be the features of that family. 
Her form at any rate is genuinely Merino, as may be 
seen in the rise of the shoulders, the uneven line of the 
back, the drooping quarter, and crooked leg; with all 
this, however, she had depth of carcass, tolerable width 
of chest, and a good constitution. Her skin hung in 
loose heavy folds round her neck and shoulders, and 
this same amplitude of covering extended, though in a 
less degree, even to her sides and flanks. She was re¬ 
markably thick and close in her wool; carrying a very 
fine and even fleece that yielded, when thoroughly 
washed and cleansed on the back, over five pounds, not¬ 
withstanding she had a stout ewe lamb by her side! 
When I made the drawing, she was one of a small 
flock of thirty breeding ewes, whose average clip was 
4if lbs. of clean wool; and such was the standing of this 
flock for purity ofblood, quality of wool, and weight of 
fleece, that its buck lambs sold readily at $13,50, and its 
ewe lambs at $7 a head. The sheep were well fed, well 
sheltered, and well cared for, and consequently rarely 
failed raising a lamb to each ewe. Thus it will be seen 
that, allowing the wool to be worth 60 cts. per pound, 
(and that is a low estimate for the times when I made 
the portrait,) these few sheep produced an income of at 
least $12 a head! This may perhaps be considered a 
breeder’s rather than a farmer’s profits; but the same 
flock in any hands, with the like care, management, and 
attention would have produced the like results. Still it 
must be acknowledged that the Merino, compared with 
the improved breeds of sheep, is an ill formed animal; 
and I am only surprised that some enterprising and com¬ 
petent Flock Master in America, has not, ere this, set 
himself seriously to work to obtain a better carcass, and 
more symmetry in an animal carrying so valuable a 
fleece. I conceive this might be done to a certain ex¬ 
tent, by selection and better nurture, but would be yet 
more easily effected by an occasional cross with the 
South Down, which is itself a mountain sheep of mode¬ 
rate size, (and whose wool bears the same relation to 
the Merino that the Merino does to the Saxon,) and is 
exceedingly beautiful in form, possessing early maturity, 
great constitution, and an industry that enables it to ob¬ 
tain a living on the shortest bite. It is true, that 
some few attempts were partially made in England to 
improve the. Merino, but the animal was so distasteful 
to them in its appearance, so unprofitable in its carcass, 
that the English breeder had but little inducement to 
encounter the task ; moreover the demand for mutton 
and the coarser wools exceeded their production, and 
the prejudice or interest of the manufacturers discou¬ 
raged the growth of the finer wools. In this there 
might be policy, for the manufacturers could draw an 
abundant supply of fine wool from abroad, but were 
dependant on the farmer at home for t.heir “combing 
wools” and mutton. 
But with us it is very different; we have only here 
and there a few sheep of the improved varieties, while 
the general character of our flocks is Merino—Merino 
in all its various grades, up and down the scale from 
“ R” to “ F” & “T” and how much lower, let the “ ne¬ 
gro cloths’’ testify; the most of these sheep are without 
beauty, without size, and without any of those sym¬ 
metrical qualities indicative of an “improved breed;” 
and very many of the higher grades, I am sorry to see, 
have not a sound foot to stand upon ! Under these cir¬ 
cumstances, selection seems to me almost hopeless, or at 
least, involving much greater difficulty than crossing. 
This latter experiment I have occasionally made with a 
Down buck on a Merino ewe, and the first cross 
(for I have never gone farther) has almost invari¬ 
ably produced great beauty of form, but has per¬ 
ceptibly lowered the grade of the wool, though not 
reduced the weight of fleece. This I presume is to 
be retrieved by again using fine wooled bucks, ta¬ 
king it for granted that the quality of wool is as much 
under the breeder’s control as beauty of form; 1 have 
also found the character of the Merino’s foot entire¬ 
ly changed by a South Down cross; and I believe it 
would go far towards enabling the owners of fine wool¬ 
ed sheep to escape, if not eradicate, that terrible pest 
from their flocks, the foot rot. 
I believe now it is generally conceded, by the fine 
wool growers themselves, that they are not sufficiently 
paid for the cost and labor of producing it. If that be 
the case, why not exchange that last costly twist of the 
most attenuated fibre, for which it is said the manufac¬ 
turer will not pay, for an extra weight of wool and meat 
that will be paid for ? to say nothing of beauty and con¬ 
stitution, early maturity, and docility that might be ob¬ 
tained by a suitable cross. These suggestions, all crude 
as they are, I hazard for the consideration of the Meri¬ 
no flock master, feeling assured that he will-not forget 
the lesson of caution taught him by his past experience. 
More practical men have, I understand, this subject un¬ 
der consideration; and having myself disposed of some 
half dozen Down Bucks to growers of fine wool, we 
shall probably hear from them on the subject. 
Yours with respect, R. 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TENNESSEE. 
Having some time since received from J> hn A. 
Grimes, Esq. of Kentucky, a specimen of very fine 
Saxony wool, from sheep procured from M. R. Cock- 
rill, Esq. of Tennessee, we addressed a letter to Mr. 
C. soliciting information in relation to the origin and 
history of his flock. The following is his answer: 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker, —You request a de¬ 
scription of my Saxon sheep for the Cultivator. I have 
been about 26 years breeding fine wooled sheep, and ! 
during that time, I have given the greatest possible j 
care in examining and selecting, myself, the bucks I j 
have bred from, and at all times would reject all that! 
had an appearance of coarseness about the horns or j 
thighs, and always making choice of the bucks of the 
most uniform, fine, soft, cotton-like fleece, and at the | 
same time, the largest fleece and the best formed ani-j 
mals with the greatest share of life and sprightliness, j 
A flock may be brought to be precisely like the buck ; j 
therefore the success depends upon skill in selecting the j 
bucks. I never saw any sheep of the first order, until j 
I got some Electoral Saxony sheep imported in 1824.1 
They have less wool about the head and legs, and per- j 
haps the fleeces are a little lighter than the best Merinos. 1 
The sheep are without dewlaps,and are a little longer in | 
the leg than the Merinos. My Saxon sheep in this cli- j 
mate are hardy and longer lived than the common sheep j 
of the country, and the bucks of the first quality pro-j 
duce about 5 pounds of wool unwashed. I weiahed 4 j 
head on the 25th Sept, la A, two ewes 98 and 102 pounds ; I 
two ewe lambs, 5 months old, 56 and 62 pounds. They 
were in good order, but sheep are fattest about the 1st 
of November in this country. This breed of sheep is 
calculated to do well in almost all climates. J have had 
my sheep five years in Mississippi, in latitude 3 ~2k° 
north, and in that level damp country they did well, 
grew larger, and produced fine soft cotton-like wool, 
very free from hard white hairs, which is sometimes 
seen in wool, where the proper care is not. taken to re¬ 
ject bucks having that fault. When my flock left Mis¬ 
sissippi, they traveled direct to Lexington, (Ky.) about 
six hundred miles, to latitude 38 J 10”,'and were direct¬ 
ly exhibited at the cattle show, against the Hon. H. 
Clay’s very superior Saxon sheep, and the premium 
was awarded to my sheep. I name this to show that 
we have, from latitude 30 to 45, to grow wool; hence 
the U. States is destined to be one of the greatest wool 
growing countries upon earth. The premium being 
awarded to my sheep was no doubt the reason that Mr. 
John A. Grimes, and Mr. William Price of Kentucky, 
sent an order for a few breeders from my flock, which I 
think it would be hard to surpass in fineness. Others 
might do well to breed from this flock, as the cost 
would be much less than to import and get as good 
sheep. I have been for many years comparing my wool, 
with samples of imported wool from Saxony, and be¬ 
lieve that I have as pure sheep as any that can be pro¬ 
duced, and will at all times compare with any imported 
or American sheep for any kind of a premium. 
I feel anxious to get the flock masters to investigating 
an important matter as I think. There is a fly that na¬ 
ture has fixed his residence, or place to mature, in the 
cavities of the sheep’s head over the eyes. From the 
sheep being a brisk lively animal, the fly necessarily 
has to drop his young alive upon the nose of the sheep, 
and the little creature runs up the head and there re¬ 
mains until of proper age, and the sheep blows him 
out or he drops out, and then enters the ground and 
presently comes up, bursts off his coverihg and comes 
out a fly. I have caught them and found from 3 to 500 
live worms in them. In this climate, they are after the 
sheep from the 1st of June, until frost. They some 
times defeat the object of nature, as they kill the sheep. 
It is by taking, as I think, the wrong course, and go¬ 
ing up to the brain, and often producing dropsy or other 
derangement of that important organ. More lambs are 
destroyed by them than any other sheep. It may be be¬ 
cause the lamb is not so capable of avoiding the fly, or 
because its head is not so closed up, to prevent the 
small worm from going in to the cavity of the brain. I 
have no doubt thousands of sheep have died from this 
cause, and shepherds have attributed it to other causes. 
My only remedy is to bore augur holes in timber, and 
drop a little salt, and tar the holes with a brush every 
two or three days during the fly season, as a preven¬ 
tive ; a little powdered sulphur on the tar will be of use. 
You will please, through your valuable paper, ask for 
all the information on this important subject. This fly 
seems not to be as smart as the bot fly, for they, it 
appears know the age of the horse, for a colt or other 
young nag never has the same number of eggs deposit¬ 
ed on his coat that grown horses have, all running to¬ 
gether. The death of the lamb, produced by this worm, 
we may suppose is from the head not being grown up 
to prevent the entrance of the small worm into the cavi¬ 
ty of the brain. MARK R. COCKRILL. 
Near Nashville, Oct. 17, 1840. 
From a communication of Mr. C., in the last Agricul¬ 
turist, published at Nashville, we extract the following: 
“ All must readily see xvith but a moment’s reflection 
that there is more country in a much better cotton lati¬ 
tude, than will be wanted for the culture of that article 
for a great length of time, and if we expect prosperity, 
we need not work against the laws of nature, trying to 
make cotton a profitable business in our climate ; but 
should turn our attention to the various pursuits our 
climate is better calculated for. Some might do well at 
growing wool, hemp, silk and provisions. I think main¬ 
ly at raising sheep, for as much flesh may be produced 
for what is consumed, as any other animal, and a valua¬ 
ble fleece of wool at the same time, which is more univer¬ 
sally used than any other article we can produce, and 
all the time fertilizing our lands. Wool growing may 
be carried on profitably upon cheap lands. In Europe 
where their valuable lands must necessarily pay a high 
profit, this business is mainly encouraged. But this is 
la r from the case in this country. A small flock of Saxon 
or fine wooled sheep well taken care of will, in our cli¬ 
mate, average about 51bs. of wool unwashed; a large 
flock cannot be so well taken care of, and would not 
average more than 41bs. The Bakewell sheep, if an 
equal number of wethers, would average about 7 lbs. 
The common sheep of the country about S^lbs. Saxon 
wool of the best quality is worth three times the price 
of the common wool, and Bakewell, about ten per cent 
more than the common. The form of all the long 
wooled sheep I have seen from England, proves that 
Bakewell’s blood predominates, and! am not disposed 
to strip any man of his merits, and therefore call all 
the improved long wooled sheep from England after 
Bakewell. About eight head of Saxon sheep will keep 
upon what a common sized cow consumes, and seven com¬ 
mon sheep and about six Bakewells. Three good hands 
may take care of and maintain 1000 head of sheep, 
provided the farm is fitted out for that purpose ; 8 head 
of Saxon may be grazed 1o the acre of first rate grass; 
6 Bakeweils and 7 common sheep ; what is here spoken 
of os an acre of good grass, is first rale land, well set 
in grass, without limber or any other impediment. A 
sheep farm should have division of pastures, so as fre¬ 
quently to change them, or extensively range them upon 
unenclosed lands. For winter, a cutting of clover, timo¬ 
thy, and two ages of Millet, so as the hay cuttings should 
be at diflerent times. Sow all the corn lands in peas, 
and aLout the 1st of September, sow rye on all the plow 
lands, or after the 15th of August, if the land should 
happen to be completely wet. Rye will make a pretty 
good stand on land well covered with pea vines without 
plowing, but the millet or other lands will do much bet¬ 
ter it' the rye be plowed in lightly. Every person should 
at any rate, have rye fields for their weak sheep and 
bad nurses; any ewe will do justice to her lamb if on 
a plentiful rye field. In this climate, about three months 
