BREEDING, REARING, &C. OF SHEEP.

growth, which is more felt and of more consequence at an advanced period, than when he is quite young. It is also worthy of consideration, in a pecuniary view that the older the animal is the greater will be the loss, in case he should die; and therefore perhaps the most prudent time will be, during the summer the foal is sucking. Fears are sometimes entertained of performing the operation in hot weather, lest inflammation take place; but extreme heat may be avoided, and there is even less danger from that than from cold, and the exercise of running with the mare will promote the suppuration, which will also be assisted by the warmth of her inilk. At a more advanced age, the colt should be guarded from wet, and not allowed to drink cold water till the suppuration is complete.

SECTION IV.

ON THE BREEDING, REARING, AND MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP.

Among the various animals given by the benevolent hand of Providence, for the benefit of mankind, there is none, perhaps, of greater utility than the sheep: which not only supplies us with food and clothing, but also affords constant employment to numerous indigent families, in the various branches of the woollen manufacture; and thus contributes, in no small proportion, to the productive labor, and commercial prosperity, and opulence of a people.

In a wild, or natural state, the sheep is a vigorous animal, lively, and capable of supporting fatigue; when domesticated, indeed, it loses these properties, but amply compensates for the absence of them, by the superior advantages, arising from the rearing of this sort of cattle. In fact, sheep constitute a material part of a farmer's live stock and profits; and as particular attention has of late years been bestowed on the improvement of the respective breeds, we shall first present the reader with an introductory view of them; which will, we trust, convey an adequate idea of the principal varieties, together with their specific characters, and the peculiar advantages they respectively possess. The general management of these animals will afterwards form a subject of discussion.

The sheep is an inhabitant of every part of the globe, from Iceland to the regions of the torrid zone. According to Linnaeus, they are, the hornless, horned, black-faced, Spanish, many-horned, African, Guinea, broad-tailed, fat-rumped, Bucharian, long-tailed, Cape, bearded, and morvant; to which some add the Siberian sheep, cultivated in Asia, Barbary, and Corsica, and the Cretan sheep, which inhabits the Grecian islands, Hungary, and Austria.

The principal countries, in which special attention has been paid to sheep, are Spain, parts of Germany, France, Great Britain, and the United States. The present article will relate principally to the different breeds of sheep raised in Great Britain, as these embrace the principal varieties to be found in the countries already alluded to.

The following synopsis will give the reader not only a knowledge of the different breeds of sheep in Great Britain, but many interesting particulars concerning them.

SYNOPSIS OF DIFFERENT BREEDS OF SHEEP IN G. BRITAIN.

very fine short wool

white faces and legs

1. The HEATH, LINTON, SHORT, or FOREST SHEEP depicted above, are names indiscriminately given to the several varieties of the same breed, which is found in the north-western counties of England, and thence forward to the western highlands of Scotland.

The specific characters of this race are, large spiral horns; faces black or mottled, and legs black; eyes wild and fierce; carcass short and firm; wool long, open, coarse and shaggy; fleece averaging about three pounds and a half at four years and a half. They are of a hardy constitution, admirably calculated for elevated, heathy, and exposed districts; and, judging from this aptitude to support the hardships of constant exposure in a wild pasturage country, as well as from the form of the horns, which is characteristic of the animal in its unimproved state, it may be not improbably inferred, that they are directly descended from the parent stock of the kingdom. The true black-faced breed is said to be distinguished by a lock of white wool on the forehead, termed the snow-lock. The other horned breeds of English sheep are

II. The EXMOOR and the DARTMOOR, which derive their names from the districts in the northern and western parts of Devonshire, where they are chiefly found. They are long-woolled, with white legs and faces, and are delicately formed about the head and neck; they make very finely flavoured mutton; and arrive when fatted, at two and a half to three years old, to fourteen and sixteen pounds weight per quarter.

III. The NORFOLK BREED is indigenous in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The horns are large and spiral; bodies long; loins narrow, with a high back and thin chine; the legs long, black, or gray; of a roving, wild disposition, and not easily confined within any but strong inclosures. The wool is short, weighing about two pounds per fleece, and the flesh is well flavored, and of a fine grain, but only fit for consumption in cold weather.

IV. The WILTSHIRE BREED are distinguished by large spiral horns bending downwards, close to the head; they are perfectly white in their faces and legs; have long Roman noses, with large open nostrils; are wide and heavy in their hind quarters, and light in the fore quarter and offal, but with little or no wool on their bellies. The quality of the fleece is that of clothing wool of moderate fineness, averaging about two

VI. The LEICESTER sheep take the lead among the long-woolled kind; and of these there are three nearly distinct species:-1. The Forest sheep; 2. The Old Leicester; 3. The New Leicester or Dishley Breedportrayed above-which are an improved kind of the latter species. Their forms are handsome; color white. Their heads are clean and small, their necks short, and their breasts full; their bodies are round, with broad, straight backs, but the bellies rather light, or tucked up; their legs and the whole bone are fine and particularly small in proportion to their size; their pelts thin, and the wool long and fine of its kind, generally averaging seven pounds to the fleece. They are of a quiet disposition, fatten early and kindly, and are capable of being brought to a great weight, on a smaller proportion of food than other breeds of the same size, the fat wethers generally weighing (when shear

ROMNEY MARSH SHEEP.

hogs) twenty-five pounds per quarter, and the ewes twenty-two pounds: the flesh is fine grained and well flavored, but too fat to please most palates.

VII. The LINCOLNSHIRE BREED so nearly resemble the old Leicester, that they require little further description. They have white faces and legs, the bones large, and the carcass coarse; the back long and hollow, with flat ribs, but good loins, and a deep belly; forward loose shoulders, a heavy head, with a large neck, and sinking dewlap; the hind quarter broad, the legs standing wide apart, and a large dock. The pelt is particularly thick, and the fleece consists of very long combing wool, of a rather coarse quality, but weighing generally from twelve to fourteen pounds on the wethers, and from eight to ten pounds on the ewes.

VIII. The TEEswater Breed, differ from the Lincolnshire in their wool not being so long and heavy; in standing upon higher, though finer boned legs, supporting a thicker, firmer, heavier carcass, much wider upon their backs and sides; and in affording a fatter and finer-grained carcass of mutton; the two year old wethers weighing from 25 to 35 lbs. per quarter. Some particular ones at four years old have been fed to 55 lbs. and upwards. There is little doubt that the Teeswater sheep were originally bred from the same stock as the Lincolnshire; but by attending to size rather than wool, and constantly pursuing that object, they have become a different variety of the same original breed. The present fashionable breed is considerably smaller than the original species; but they are still considerably larger and fuller of bone than the midland breed. They bear an analogy to the short-horned breed of cattle, as those of the midland counties do to the long-horned. They are not so compact, nor so complete in their form, as the Leicestershire sheep; nevertheless, the excellence of their flesh and fatting quality is not doubted, and their wool still remains of a superior staple. For any rich, fat land, they are singularly excellent.

IX. The ROMNEY MARSH Sheep have existed immemorially on that rich tract of grazing land, on the southern coast of the counties of Kent and Sussex, from which they take their name. In their pure state, they are distinguished by white faces, a considerable thickness and length of head, and a broad forehead, with a tuft of wool upon it; a long and thin neck, and flat-sided carcass. They are wide on the loin, but have a sharp chine, and the breast is narrow, and not deep; the belly large; a good cleft; the thigh full and broad, carrying the chief weight in the hind quarter; the tail thick, long, and coarse; the legs thick, with large feet, the muscle coarse, and the bone large. The wool is a good combing quality; the fleece of fattening wethers weighing from eight to nine pounds; the mutton is equal to that of any of the large polled breeds, and their proof being good, they are favorites with the butchers. When fat, the wethers usually average from ten to twelve stone each, and the ewes from nine to eleven. They are very hardy; are bred with little care, on wet and exposed land, requiring, after the first year, when they are wintered on the uplands, no other food in the severest situation, than occasionally a little hay, in addition to their pasture; and are fattened entirely on grass.

X. The DEVONSHIRE polled sheep form two distinct varieties of the same breed:

1. The South Devon or Dim-faced Nott, with brown face and legs; a crooked-backed, flat-sided, coarsely-boned and woolled animal, carrying a