2 | Mr. Thompfon, on the Necefity 
will be of double, then treble, and qua- 
druple value, as the Merino bleod con- 
tinues te be imtroduced? That fuch is 
the abfolute fact we have abundant proof 
frem the moft refpeciable authorities 
above. quoted. Yet are there many 
farmers who tell us, that they are content 
with the breed, by which their forefathers 
earned a livelihood, like a fhepherd at 
Penruddock, * who, being afked, whence 
his fingularly rough-legged, ill-formed 
fheep had been obtained, gave as his an- 
fwer: “ Lord, Sir, they are fk as God 
fet upon the land; we never change any.” 
After thefe few preliminaries, which 
will, I truft, not be -deemed ufelefs, I 
proceed to M. Lafteyrie’s Acéount of the 
Tatroduétion of fine-wooled Spanith Sheep, 
inte the different States of Europe, and 
at the Cape of Good Hope :— 
“ SWEDEN. 
“ There is, doubtlefs, jutt ground for * 
furprife, thac Sweden, which feemed to 
be a country the moft unfavourable in 
Europe for rearing fine-wooled fheep, 
fhould, neverthelefs, have been the firtt 
to naturalize this valuable race; but what 
excites full greater aftonifhment is, that 
there are mén in France (to which may 
be added England) who fill difpute the 
poifibility of a naturalization eftablifhed 
in Sweden, during nearly a_ century. 
M. Alftroemer imported a flock of Me- 
rino fheep from Spain in 1723; and go- 
vernment, convinced that the ignorance 
of fhepherds oppofed ferious obftacles 
to the prefervation and propagation of 
this new race, inftituted in 1739 a fchool 
for fhepherds, the direction of which was 
confided te M. Alftroemer. Premiums 
were appointed,, and various falutary re- 
gulations adopted. In 1764, Sweden 
potfeffed 65,369 fheep of the pure, and 
23,384 of the mixed breed; and although 
this fupply was not fufficient for the ma- 
nufactures of the country, yet the impor- 
tation of wool has been gradually dimi-’ 
nifhing from year to year, while the ma- 
nufaétures have been increafing; fo that, 
taking every thing fairly into calculation, 
it may be afferted that the number of 
pure and mixed breeds. is at prefent 
about 100,000, and this forms a 25th 
part of all the fheep reareg in that coun- 
try ; a very great proportion, if we con- 
fider the relative ftate of agriculture in 
that country, which it would here occupy 
too much ipace to defcribe. The Me- 
rino fheep preferve, in Sweden, their pri- 
* Beauties of England and Wales, vol. IL, 
p. 19. ‘ 
a 
[Feb. 1, 
mitive form; their fleece isclofe and firm, 
lofing nothing in finenefs, length, elatti- 
city, or quantity. There are rams, which 
have produced thirteen pounds of wool. 
I obferved too, that the race, bred in and 
inured to this climate, appeared ftronger 
and. larger than the fheep of Spain, [ | 
found on the farm of M. Schulzenhem, 
in the province of Upland, a flock con-_ 
fitting of animals bred from a Spanifh im- 
portation fifty-five years before the time ; 
and their wool, when compared with that 
of fome Merinos recently procured from 
the fame country, yielded to it in no one 
defirable quality. Thefe, and other facts, 
prove in a manner decifive and peremp- 
tory, that the Spanifh fheep may be pro- 
pagated and reared to advantage in 
fevere climates, by which it 1s certain 
that the fleece is not affected: a faét, m- 
contefiubly proved by the fpecimens 
which I procured on my journey through 
different countries; and which I after-. 
wards fubmitted to the infpection of the 
Department-of the Seine. 
““ DENMARK AND NORWAY. 
“The Norwegian race has been im- 
yproved by the Englith, as well as the 
Spanith breeds, but the moft important 
amelioration in the fleece muft be attri- 
buted to a Spanifh ram, which was im- 
ported above fifty years ago on the 
weltern coaft of Norway. ‘This itro- 
duétion was, however, but partial, and 
did not extend into other parts of the 
country, where the fheep in a wild ftate, 
and without inconvenience, bid defiance 
to the moft intenfe cold. I have feen 
them living in the midft of fnow, without 
ever receiving any portion of food from 
the hand of man; and of fo untraétable 
anature are they, that they cannot be 
taken but by a chace on horfeback. This 
breed is fo accuftomed to the impreffions 
of the atmofphere, that it cannot fupport 
a fudden tranfition from a ftate of nature 
to a domeltic one. 
“The Danes, induced by the example 
of Sweden, imported Spanifh fheep from 
that-kingdom about twenty-feven years 
fince, and cheir defcendants exift to this 
day, though not in large numbers. Some 
of them have preferved their original 
quality of fleece, while others have dege- 
nerated, but palpably from neglect. At 
Effernm, a royal domain, I faw a flock 
of Spanilh fheep imported from Sweden, 
many. years betore, which yielded wool 
of a fair quality. ‘To that place, too, 
which is eight leagues from Copenhagen, 
the Danifh government has fent three 
hundred Merino fheep, imported from 
Spain. 
