Sheep, Swine, and Poultry
by Robert Jennings · English · Gutenberg #39205 · 811,244 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: Sheep, Swine, and Poultry
Author: Robert Jennings
Release date: March 19, 2012 [eBook #39205]
Language: English
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SHEEP, SWINE, AND POULTRY;
EMBRACING
THE HISTORY AND VARIETIES OF EACH; THE BEST MODES OF BREEDING; THEIR
FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT; TOGETHER WITH THE DISEASES TO WHICH THEY ARE
RESPECTIVELY SUBJECT, AND THE APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR EACH.
BY ROBERT JENNINGS, V. S.,
PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY AND OPERATIVE SURGERY IN THE VETERINARY COLLEGE
OF PHILADELPHIA; LATE PROFESSOR OF VETERINARY MEDICINE IN THE
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE OF OHIO; SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN VETERINARY
ASSOCIATION OF PHILADELPHIA; AUTHOR OF "THE HORSE AND HIS DISEASES,"
"CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES," ETC., ETC.
[Illustration]
With Numerous Illustrations.
PHILADELPHIA:
JOHN E. POTTER AND COMPANY. 617 SANSOM STREET
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by
JOHN E. POTTER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
PREFACE.
Encouraged by the favorable reception of his former works, the author
presents in the following pages what is intended by him as a popular
compendium relative to Sheep, Swine, and Poultry.
It would not have been a difficult matter to collect material bearing
upon each distinct class sufficient for an entire volume of the present
size. Indeed, the main trouble experienced has been the selecting of
such facts and suggestions only as seemed to him of paramount practical
importance. He has not deemed it advisable to cumber his work with items
of information which could be of service to particular sections and
localities only; but has rather endeavored to present, in a concise, yet
comprehensible shape, whatever is essential to be understood concerning
the animals in question.
The amateur stock-raiser and the wealthy farmer will, of course, call to
their aid all the works, no matter how expensive or voluminous, which
are to be found bearing upon the subject in which they are for the time
interested. The present volume can scarcely be expected to fill the
niche which such might desire to see occupied.
The author's experience as a veterinary surgeon among the great body of
our farmers convinces him that what is needed by them in the premises is
a treatise, of convenient size, containing the essential features of the
treatment and management of each, couched in language free from
technicality or rarely scientific expressions, and fortified by the
results of actual experience upon the farm.
Such a place the author trusts this work may occupy. He hopes that,
while it shall not be entirely destitute of interest for any, it will
prove acceptable, in a peculiar degree, to that numerous and thrifty
class of citizens to which allusion has already been made.
The importance of such a work cannot be overrated. Take the subject of
sheep for example: the steadily growing demand for woollen goods of
every description is producing a great and lucrative development of the
wool trade. Even light fabrics of wool are now extensively preferred
throughout the country to those of cotton. Our imports of wool from
England during the past six years have increased at an almost incredible
rate, while our productions of the article during the past few years
greatly exceed that of the same period in any portion of our history.
Relative to swine, moreover, it may be said that they form so
considerable an item of our commerce that a thorough information as to
the best mode of raising and caring for them is highly desirable; while
our domestic poultry contribute so much, directly and indirectly, to the
comfort and partial subsistence of hundreds of thousands, that sensible
views touching that division will be of service in almost every
household.
To those who are familiar with the author's previous works upon the
Horse and Cattle, it is needless to say any thing as to the method
adopted by him in discussing the subject of Diseases. To others he would
say, that only such diseases are described as are likely to be actually
encountered, and such curatives recommended as his own personal
experience, or that of others upon whose judgment he relies, has
satisfied him are rational and valuable.
The following works, among others, have been consulted: Randall's Sheep
Husbandry; Youatt on Sheep; Goodale's Breeding of Domestic Animals;
Allen's Domestic Animals; Stephens's Book of the Farm; Youatt on the
Hog; Richardson on the Hog; Dixon and Kerr's Ornamental and Domestic
Poultry; Bennett's Poultry Book; and Browne's American Poultry Yard.
To those professional brethren who have so courteously furnished him
with valuable information, growing out of their own observation and
practice, he acknowledges himself especially indebted; and were he
certain that they would not take offence, he would be pleased to mention
them here by name.
Should the work prove of service to our intelligent American farmers and
stock-breeders as a body, the author's end will have been attained.
CONTENTS.
SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES.
PAGE
HISTORY AND VARIETIES 15
AMERICAN SHEEP 21
Native Sheep 22
The Spanish Merino 25
The Saxon Merino 36
The New Leicester 41
The South-Down 47
The Cotswold 52
The Cheviot 54
The Lincoln 56
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SHEEP 57
Formation of the Teeth 59
Structure of the Skin 63
Anatomy of the Wool 64
Long Wool 76
Middle Wool 78
Short Wool 80
CROSSING AND BREEDING 81
BREEDING 81
Points of the Merino 93
Breeding Merinos 97
General Principles of Breeding 106
Use of Rams 112
Lambing 117
Management of Lambs 121
Castration and Docking 127
FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT 129
FEEDING 129
Shade 133
Fences 133
Hoppling 133
Dangerous Rams 134
Prairie Feeding 135
Fall Feeding 137
Winter Feeding 137
Feeding with other Stock 142
Division of Flocks 142
Regularity in Feeding 143
Effect of Food 144
Yards 146
Feeding-Racks 147
Troughs 150
Barns and Sheds 151
Sheds 155
Hay-Holder 156
Tagging 157
Washing 160
Cutting the Hoofs 165
Shearing 166
Cold Storms 171
Sun-Scald 171
Ticks 171
Marking or Branding 172
Maggots 173
Shortening the Horns 174
Selection and Division 174
The Crook 176
Driving and Slaughtering 177
Driving 177
Points of Fat Sheep 181
Slaughtering 184
Cutting Up 186
Relative qualities 187
Contributions to Manufactures 191
DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES 195
ADMINISTERING MEDICINE 197
BLEEDING 197
FEELING THE PULSE 199
Apoplexy 200
Braxy 201
Bronchitis 201
Catarrh 202
Malignant Epizooetic Catarrh 203
Colic 205
Costiveness 206
Diarrh[oe]a 206
Disease of the Biflex Canal 207
Dysentery 208
Flies 209
Fouls 209
Fractures 210
Garget 211
Goitre 211
Grub in the Head 212
Hoof-Ail 214
Hoove 225
Hydatid on the Brain 226
Obstruction of the Gullet 228
Ophthalmia 229
Palsy 229
Pelt-Rot 230
Pneumonia 230
Poison 233
Rot 233
Scab 236
Small-Pox 239
Sore Face 242
Sore Mouth 243
Ticks 243
ILLUSTRATIONS.
A LEICESTER RAM 15
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP 19
A MERINO RAM 25
A SPANISH SHEEP-DOG 28
OUT AT PASTURE 35
A COUNTRY SCENE 41
A SOUTH-DOWN RAM 47
THE COTSWOLD 52
A CHEVIOT EWE 54
SKELETON OF THE SHEEP AS COVERED BY THE
MUSCLES 57
THE WALLACHIAN SHEEP 64
THE HAPPY TRIO 81
THE SCOTCH SHEEP-DOG OR COLLEY 100
EWE AND LAMBS 117
FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT 129
A COVERED SALTING-BOX 130
A CONVENIENT BOX-RACK 147
A HOLE-RACK 148
THE HOPPER-RACK 150
AN ECONOMICAL SHEEP-TROUGH 151
SHEEP-BARN WITH SHEDS 152
A SHED OF RAILS 155
WASHING APPARATUS 162
TOE-NIPPERS 166
FLEECE 167
SHEPHERD'S CROOK 176
THE SHEPHERD AND HIS FLOCK 179
DROVER'S OR BUTCHER'S DOG 185
QUIET ENJOYMENT 195
AN ENGLISH RACK FOR FEEDING SHEEP 203
A BARRACK FOR STORING SHEEP FODDER 228
THE BROAD-TAILED SHEEP 236
SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES.
CONTENTS.
HISTORY AND BREEDS 245 (7)
AMERICAN SWINE 254 (16)
The Byefield 256 (18)
The Bedford 256 (18)
The Leicester 257 (19)
The Yorkshire 257 (19)
The Chinese 258 (20)
The Suffolk 260 (22)
The Berkshire 261 (23)
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HOG 263 (25)
Formation of the Teeth 265 (27)
BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 267 (29)
BREEDING 267 (29)
Points of a Good Hog 274 (36)
Treatment during Pregnancy 276 (38)
Abortion 277 (39)
Parturition 279 (41)
Treatment while Suckling 282 (44)
Treatment of Young Pigs 283 (45)
Castration 284 (46)
Spaying 286 (48)
Weaning 287 (49)
Ringing 289 (51)
Feeding and Fattening 290 (52)
Piggeries 295 (57)
Slaughtering 298 (60)
Pickling and Curing 300 (62)
Value of the Carcass 304 (66)
DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES 307 (69)
Catching the Pig 308 (70)
Bleeding 309 (71)
Drenching 310 (72)
Catarrh 310 (72)
Cholera 311 (73)
Crackings 314 (76)
Diarrh[oe]a 314 (76)
Fever 315 (77)
Foul Skin 317 (79)
Inflammation of the Lungs 317 (79)
Jaundice 318 (80)
Leprosy 319 (81)
Lethargy 319 (81)
Mange 320 (82)
Measles 322 (84)
Murrain 323 (85)
Quinsy 323 (85)
Staggers 323 (85)
Swelling of the Spleen 323 (85)
Surfeit 325 (87)
Tumors 325 (87)
ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE WILD BOAR 245 (7)
THE WILD BOAR AT BAY 252 (14)
THE CHINESE HOG 259 (21)
THE SUFFOLK 260 (22)
A BERKSHIRE BOAR 261 (23)
SKELETON OF THE HOG AS COVERED BY THE
MUSCLES 263 (25)
THE OLD COUNTRY WELL 267 (29)
WILD HOGS 279 (41)
THE OLD ENGLISH HOG 299 (61)
A WICKED-LOOKING SPECIMEN 307 (69)
HUNTING THE WILD BOAR 315 (77)
POULTRY AND THEIR DISEASES.
CONTENTS.
HISTORY AND VARIETIES 327 (7)
THE DOMESTIC FOWL 327 (7)
The Bantam 330 (10)
The African Bantam 331 (11)
The Bolton Gray 333 (13)
The Blue Dun 334 (14)
The Chittagong 335 (15)
The Cochin China 336 (16)
The Cuckoo 339 (19)
The Dominique 340 (20)
The Dorking 340 (20)
The Fawn-colored Dorking 343 (23)
The Black Dorking 343 (23)
The Dunghill Fowl 344 (24)
The Frizzled Fowl 344 (24)
The Game Fowl 345 (25)
The Mexican Hen-Cock 347 (27)
The Wild Indian Game 348 (28)
The Spanish Game 348 (28)
The Guelderland 349 (29)
The Spangled Hamburgh 350 (30)
The Golden Spangled 350 (30)
The Silver Spangled 351 (31)
The Java 352 (32)
The Jersey-Blue 352 (32)
The Lark-Crested Fowl 352 (32)
The Malay 354 (34)
The Pheasant-Malay 356 (36)
The Plymouth Rock 357 (37)
The Poland 358 (38)
The Black Polish 360 (40)
The Golden Polands 361 (41)
The Silver Polands 363 (43)
The Black-topped White 364 (44)
The Shanghae 364 (44)
The White Shanghae 367 (47)
The Silver Pheasant 368 (48)
The Spanish 369 (49)
NATURAL HISTORY OF DOMESTIC FOWLS 372 (52)
The Guinea Fowl 378 (58)
The Pea Fowl 381 (61)
The Turkey 386 (66)
The Wild Turkey 386 (66)
The Domestic Turkey 391 (71)
The Duck 394 (74)
The Wild Duck 396 (76)
The Domestic Duck 398 (78)
The Goose 402 (82)
The Wild Goose 402 (82)
The Domestic Goose 404 (84)
The Bernacle Goose 407 (87)
The Bremen Goose 409 (89)
The Brent Goose 410 (90)
The China Goose 411 (91)
The White China 413 (93)
The Egyptian Goose 414 (94)
The Java Goose 415 (95)
The Toulouse Goose 415 (95)
The White-fronted Goose 416 (96)
The Anatomy of the Egg 417 (97)
BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 421 (101)
BREEDING 421 (101)
High Breeding 422 (102)
Selection of Stock 429 (109)
Feeding 432 (112)
Bran 435 (115)
Millet 436 (116)
Rice 436 (116)
Potatoes 436 (116)
Green Food 437 (117)
Earth-Worms 437 (117)
Animal Food 438 (118)
Insects 439 (119)
Laying 439 (119)
Preservation of Eggs 443 (123)
Choice of Eggs for Setting 446 (126)
Incubation 449 (129)
Incubation of Turkeys 453 (133)
Incubation of Geese 454 (134)
Rearing of the Young 455 (135)
Rearing of Guinea Fowls 458 (138)
Rearing of Turkeys 459 (139)
Rearing of Ducklings 461 (141)
Rearing of Goslings 463 (143)
Caponizing 464 (144)
Fattening and Slaughtering 468 (148)
Slaughtering and Dressing 472 (152)
Poultry-Houses 474 (154)
DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES 478 (158)
Asthma 479 (159)
Costiveness 480 (160)
Diarrh[oe]a 481 (161)
Fever 482 (162)
Indigestion 482 (162)
Lice 483 (163)
Loss of Feathers 485 (165)
Pip 485 (165)
Roup 488 (168)
Wounds and Sores 490 (170)
ILLUSTRATIONS.
VARIETIES OF FOWL 327 (7)
THE BANTAM 331 (11)
BANTAM 332 (12)
BOLTON GRAYS OR CREOLE FOWL 333 (13)
COCHIN CHINAS 337 (17)
WHITE DORKINGS 341 (21)
GRAY GAME FOWLS 346 (26)
GUELDERLANDS 349 (29)
HAMBURGH FOWLS 350 (30)
MALAYS 354 (34)
POLAND FOWLS 359 (39)
SHANGHAES 365 (45)
WHITE SHANGHAES 367 (47)
SPANISH FOWLS 369 (49)
THE GUINEA FOWL 379 (59)
THE PEA FOWL 382 (62)
THE WILD TURKEY 386 (66)
THE DOMESTIC TURKEY 392 (72)
THE EIDER DUCK 395 (75)
WILD DUCK 397 (77)
ROUEN DUCK 399 (79)
WILD OR CANADA GOOSE 403 (83)
A BREMEN GOOSE 409 (89)
CHINA OR HONG KONG GOOSE 411 (91)
BARNYARD SCENE 421 (101)
FIGHTING COCKS 429 (109)
ON THE WATCH 440 (120)
MARQUEE OR TENT-SHAPED COOPS 456 (136)
DUCK-POND AND HOUSES 461 (141)
A BAD STYLE OF SLAUGHTERING 468 (148)
RUSTIC POULTRY-HOUSE 475 (155)
A FANCY COOP IN CHINESE OR GOTHIC STYLE 476 (156)
AMONG THE STRAW 478 (158)
PRAIRIE HENS 483 (163)
SWANS 488 (168)
[Illustration: A LEICESTER RAM.]
HISTORY AND VARIETIES
With a single exception--that of the dog--there is no member of the
beast family which presents so great a diversity of size, color, form,
covering, and general appearance, as characterizes the sheep; and none
occupy a wider range of climate, or subsist on a greater variety of
food. This animal is found in every latitude between the Equator and the
Arctic circle, ranging over barren mountains and through fertile
valleys, feeding upon almost every species of edible forage--the
cultivated grasses, clovers, cereals, and roots--browsing on aromatic
and bitter herbs alike, cropping the leaves and barks from stunted
forest shrubs and the pungent, resinous evergreens. In some parts of
Norway and Sweden, when other resources fail, he subsists on fish or
flesh during the long, rigorous winter, and, if reduced to necessity,
even devours his own wool.
In size, he is diminutive or massive; he has many horns, or but two
large or small spiral horns, or is polled or hornless. His tail may be
broad, or long, or a mere button, discoverable only by the touch. His
covering is long and coarse, or short and hairy, or soft and furry, or
fine and spiral. His color varies from white or black to every shade of
brown, dun, buff, blue, and gray. This wide diversity results from long
domestication under almost every conceivable variety of condition.
Among the antediluvians, sheep were used for sacrificial offerings, and
their fleeces, in all probability, furnished them with clothing. Since
the deluge their flesh has been a favorite food among many nations. Many
of the rude, wandering tribes of the East employ them as beasts of
burden. The uncivilized--and, to some extent, the refined--inhabitants
of Europe use their milk, not only as a beverage, but for making into
cheese, butter, and curds--an appropriation of it which is also noticed
by Job, Isaiah, and other Old Testament writers, as well as most of the
Greek and Roman authors. The ewe's milk scarcely differs in appearance
from that of the cow, though it is generally thicker, and yields a pale,
yellowish butter, which is always soft and soon becomes rancid. In dairy
regions the animal is likewise frequently employed at the tread-mill or
horizontal wheel, to pump water, churn milk, or perform other light
domestic work.
The calling of the shepherd has, from time immemorial, been conspicuous,
and not wanting in dignity and importance. Abel was a keeper of sheep;
as were Abraham and his descendants, as well as most of the ancient
patriarchs. Job possessed fourteen thousand sheep. Rachel, the favored
mother of the Jewish race, "came with her father's sheep, for she kept
them." The seven daughters of the priest of Midian "came and drew water
for their father's flocks." Moses, the statesman and lawgiver, "learned
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," busied himself in tending "the
flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law." David, too, that sweet singer of
Israel and its destined monarch--the Jewish hero, poet, and divine--was
a keeper of sheep. To shepherds, "abiding in the field, keeping watch
over their flocks by night," came the glad tidings of a Saviour's birth.
The Hebrew term for sheep signifies, in its etymology, fruitfulness,
abundance, plenty--indicative of the blessings which they were destined
to confer upon the human family. In the Holy Scriptures, this animal is
the chosen symbol of purity and the gentler virtues, the victim of
propitiatory sacrifices, and the type of redemption to fallen man.
Among profane writers, Homer and Hesiod, Virgil and Theocritus,
introduce them in their pastoral themes; while their heroes and
demi-gods--Hercules and Ulysses, Eneas and Numa--carefully perpetuate
them in their domains.
In modern times, they have engaged the attention of the most enlightened
nations, whose prosperity has been intimately linked with them, wherever
wool and its manufactures have been regarded as essential staples. Spain
and Portugal, during the two centuries in which they figured as the
most enterprising European countries, excelled in the production and
manufacture of wool. Flanders, for a time, took precedence of England in
the perfection of the arts and the enjoyments of life; and the latter
country then sent what little wool she raised to the former to be
manufactured. This being soon found highly impolitic, large bounties
were offered by England for the importation of artists and machinery;
and by a systematic and thorough course of legislation, which looked to
the utmost protection and increase of wool and woollens, she gradually
carried their production beyond any thing the world had ever seen.
Of the original breed of this invaluable animal, nothing certain is
known; four varieties having been deemed by naturalists entitled to that
distinction.
These are, 1. The _Musimon_, inhabiting Corsica, Sardinia, and other
islands of the Mediterranean, the mountainous parts of Spain and Greece,
and some other regions bordering upon that inland sea. These have been
frequently domesticated and mixed with the long-cultivated breeds.
2. The _Argali_ ranges over the steppes, or inland plains of Central
Asia, northward and eastward to the ocean. They are larger and hardier
than the Musimon and not so easily tamed.
3. The _Rocky Mountain Sheep_--frequently called the _Bighorn_ by our
western hunters--is found on the prairies west of the Mississippi, and
throughout the wild, mountainous regions extending through California
and Oregon to the Pacific. They are larger than the Argali--which in
other respects they resemble--and are probably descended from them,
since they could easily cross upon the ice at Behring's Straits, from
the north-eastern coast of Asia. Like the Argali, when caught young
they are readily tamed; but it is not known that they have ever been
bred with the domestic sheep. Before the country was overrun by the
white ram, they probably inhabited the region bordering on the
Mississippi. Father Hennepin--a French Jesuit, who wrote some two
hundred years ago--often speaks of meeting with goats in his travels
through the territory which is now embraced by Illinois, Wisconsin, and
a portion of Minnesota. The wild, clambering propensities of these
animals--occupying, as they do, the giddy heights far beyond the reach
of the traveller--and their outer coating of hair--supplied underneath,
however, with a thick coating of soft wool--give them much the
appearance of goats. In summer they are generally found single; but when
they descend from their isolated, rocky heights in winter, they are
gregarious, marching in flocks under the guidance of leaders.
[Illustration: ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP.]
4. The _Bearded Sheep of Africa_ inhabit the mountains of Barbary and
Egypt. They are covered with a soft, reddish hair, and have a mane
hanging below the neck, and large, locks of hair at the ankle.
Many varieties of the domesticated sheep--that is, all the subjugated
species--apparently differ less from their wild namesakes than from each
other.
The _fat-rumped_ and the _broad-tailed sheep_ are much more extensively
diffused than any other, and occupy nearly all the south-eastern part of
Europe, Western and Central Asia, and Northern Africa. They are
supposed, from various passages in the Pentateuch in which "the fat and
the rump" are spoken of in connection with offerings, to be the
varieties which were propagated by the patriarchs and their descendants,
the Jewish race. They certainly give indisputable evidence of remote and
continued subjugation. Their long, pendent, drowsy ears, and the highly
artificial posterior developments, are characteristic of no wild or
recently domesticated race.
This breed consists of numerous sub-varieties, differing in all their
characteristics of size, fleece, color, etc., with quite as many and
marked shades of distinction as the modern European varieties. In
Madagascar, they are covered with hair; in the south of Africa, with
coarse wool; in the Levant, and along the Mediterranean, the wool is
comparatively fine; and from that of the fat-rumped sheep of Thibet the
exquisite Cashmere shawls of commerce are manufactured. Both rams and
ewes are sometimes bred with horns, and sometimes without, and they
exhibit a great diversity of color. Some yield a carcass of scarcely
thirty pounds, while others have weighed two hundred pounds dressed. The
tail or rump varies greatly, according to the purity and style of
breeding; some are less than one-eighth, while others exceed one-third
of the entire dressed weight. The fat of the rump or tail is esteemed a
great delicacy; in hot climates resembling oil, and in colder, suet.
It is doubtful whether sheep are indigenous to Great Britain; but they
are mentioned as existing there at very early periods.
AMERICAN SHEEP.
In North America, there are none, strictly speaking, except the Rocky
Mountain breed, already mentioned. The broad-tailed sheep of Asia and
Africa were brought into the United States about seventy years ago,
under the name of the Tunisian Mountain sheep, and bred with the native
flocks. Some of them were subsequently distributed among the farmers of
Pennsylvania, and their mixed descendants were highly prized as
prolific, and good nurses, coming early to maturity, attaining large
weight, of a superior quality of carcass, and yielding a heavy fleece of
excellent wool. The principal objection made to them was the difficulty
of propagation, which always required the assistance of the shepherd.
The lambs were dropped white, red, tawny, bluish, or black; but all,
excepting the black, grew white as they approached maturity, retaining
some spots of the original color on the cheeks and legs, and sometimes
having the entire head tawny or black. The few which descended from the
original importations have become blended with American flocks, and have
long ceased to be distinguishable from them. The common sheep of Holland
were early imported by the Dutch emigrants, who originally colonized New
York; but they, in like manner, have long since ceased to exist as a
distinct variety.
Improved European breeds have been so largely introduced during the
present century, that the United States at present possesses every known
breed which could be of particular benefit to its husbandry. By the
census of 1860, there were nearly twenty-three and a half millions of
sheep in this country, yielding upwards of sixty and a half million
pounds of wool. An almost infinite variety of crosses have taken place
between the Spanish, English, and "native" families; carried, indeed, to
such an extent that there are, comparatively speaking, few flocks in the
United States that preserve entire the distinctive characteristics of
any one breed, or that can lay claim to unmixed purity of blood.
The principal breeds in the United States are the so-called "Natives;"
the Spanish and Saxon Merinos, introduced from the countries whose names
they bear: the New Leicester, or Bakewell; the South-Down; the Cotswold;
the Cheviot; and the Lincoln--all from England.
NATIVE SHEEP.
This name is popularly applied to the common coarse-woolled sheep of the
country, which existed here previously to the importation of the
improved breeds. These were of foreign and mostly of English origin, and
could probably claim a common descent from no one stock. The early
settlers, emigrating from different sections of the British Empire, and
a portion of them from other parts of Europe, brought with them, in all
probability, each the favorite breed of his own immediate neighborhood,
and the admixture of these formed the mongrel family now under
consideration. Amid the perils of war and the incursions of beasts of
prey, they were carefully preserved. As early as 1676, New England was
spoken of as "abounding with sheep."
These common sheep yielded a wool suitable only for the coarsest
fabrics, averaging, in the hands of good farmers, from three to three
and a half pounds of wool to the fleece. They were slow in arriving at
maturity, compared with the improved English breeds, and yielded, when
fully grown, from ten to fourteen pounds of a middling quality of mutton
to the quarter. They were usually long-legged, light in the
fore-quarter, and narrow on the breast and back; although some rare
instances might be found of flocks with the short legs, and some
approximation to the general form of the improved breeds. They were
excellent breeders, often rearing, almost entirely destitute of care,
and without shelter, one hundred per cent. of lambs; and in small
flocks, a still larger proportion. These, too, were usually dropped in
March, or the earlier part of April. Restless in their disposition,
their impatience of restraint almost equalled that of the untamed
Argali, from which they were descended; and in many sections of the
country it was common to see from twenty to fifty of them roving, with
little regard to enclosures, over the possessions of their owner and his
neighbors, leaving a large portion of their wool adhering to bushes and
thorns, and the remainder placed nearly beyond the possibility of
carding, by the tory-weed and burdock, so common on new lands.
To this general character of the native flocks, there was but one
exception--a considerably numerous and probably accidental variety,
known as the _Otter breed_, or _Creepers_. These were excessively
duck-legged, with well-formed bodies, full chests, broad backs, yielding
a close, heavy fleece, of medium quality of wool. They were deserved
favorites where indifferent stone or wood fences existed, since their
power of locomotion was absolutely limited to their enclosures, if
protected by a fence not less than two feet high. The quality of their
mutton equalled, while their aptitude to fatten was decidedly superior
to, their longer-legged contemporaries. The race is now quite extinct.
An excellent variety, called the Arlington sheep, was produced by
General Washington, from a cross of a Persian ram upon the Bakewell,
which bore wool fourteen inches in length, soft, silky, and admirably
suited to combing. These, likewise, have long since become incorporated
with the other flocks of the country.
The old common stock of sheep, as a distinct family, have nearly or
quite disappeared, owing to universal crossing, to a greater or less
extent, with the foreign breeds of later introduction. The first and
second cross with the Merino resulted in a decided improvement, and
produced a variety exceedingly valuable for the farmer who rears wool
solely for domestic purposes. The fleeces are of uneven fineness, being
hairy on the thighs, dew-lap, etc.; but the general quality is much
improved, the quantity is considerably augmented, the carcass is more
compact and nearer the ground, and they have lost their unquiet and
roving propensities. The cross with the Saxon, for reasons hereafter to
be given, has not generally been so successful. With the Leicester and
Downs, the improvement, so far as form size, and a propensity to take on
fat are concerned, is manifest.
THE SPANISH MERINO.
[Illustration: A MERINO RAM.]
The Spanish sheep, in different countries, has, either directly or
indirectly, effected a complete revolution in the character of the
fleece. The race is unquestionably one of the most ancient extant. The
early writers on agriculture and the veterinary art describe various
breeds of sheep as existing in Spain, of different colors--black, red,
and tawny. The black sheep yielded a fine fleece, the finest of that
color which was then known; but the red fleece of Baetica--a considerable
part of the Spanish coast on the Mediterranean, comprising the modern
Spanish provinces of Gaen, Cordova, Seville, Andalusia, and Granada,
which was early colonized by the enterprising Greeks--was, according to
Pliny, of still superior quality, and "had no fellow."
These sheep were probably imported from Italy, and of the Tarentine
breed, which had gradually spread from the coast of Syria, and of the
Black Sea, and had then reached the western extremity of Europe. Many of
them mingled with and improved the native breeds of Spain, while others
continued to exist as a distinct race, and, meeting with a climate and
an herbage suited to them, retained their original character and value,
and were the progenitors of the Merinos of the present day. Columella, a
colonist from Italy, and uncle of the writer of an excellent work on
agriculture, introduced more of the Tarentine sheep into Baetica, where
he resided in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, in the year 41, and
otherwise improved on the native breed; for, struck with the beauty of
some African rams which had been brought to Rome to be exhibited at the
public games, he purchased them, and conveyed them to his farm in Spain,
whence, probably, originated the better varieties of the long-woolled
breeds of that country.
Before his time, however, Spain possessed a valuable breed; since
Strabo, who flourished under Tiberius, speaking of the beautiful woollen
cloths that were worn by the Romans, says that the wool was brought from
Truditania, in Spain.
The limited region of Italy--overrun, as it repeatedly was, by hordes of
barbarians during and after the times of the latest emperors--soon lost
her pampered flocks; while the extended regions of Spain--intersected in
every direction by almost impassable mountains--could maintain their
more hardy race, in defiance of revolution or change.
To what extent the improvements which have been noticed were carried is
unknown; but as Spain was at that time highly civilized, and as
agriculture was the favorite pursuit of the greater part of the
colonists that spread over the vast territory, which then acknowledged
the Roman power, it is highly probable that Columella's experiments laid
the foundation for a general improvement in the Spanish sheep--an
improvement, moreover, which was not lost, nor even materially impaired,
during the darker ages that succeeded.
The Merino race possess inbred qualities to an extent surpassed by no
others. They have been improved in the general weight and evenness of
their fleece, as in the celebrated flock of Rambouillet; in the
uniformity and excessive fineness of the fibre, as in the Saxons; and in
their form and feeding qualities, in various countries; but there has
never yet been deterioration, either in quantity or quality of fleece or
carcass, wherever they have been transported, if supplied with suitable
food and attention. Most sheep annually shed their wool if unclipped;
while the Merino retains its fleece, sometimes for five years, when
allowed to remain unshorn.
Conclusive evidence is thus afforded of continued breeding among
themselves, by which the very constitution of the wool-producing organs
beneath the skin have become permanently established; and this property
is transmitted to a great extent, even among the crosses, thus marking
the Merino as an ancient and peculiar race.
The remains of the ancient varieties of color, also, as noticed by
Pliny, Solinus, and Columella, may still be discovered in the modern
Merino. The plain and indeed the only reason that can be assigned for
the union of black and gray faces with white bodies, in the same breed,
is the frequent intermixture of black and white sheep, until the white
prevails in the fleece, and the black is confined to the face and legs.
It is still apt to break out occasionally in the individual, unless it
is fixed and concentrated in the face and legs, by repeated crosses and
a careful selection; and, on the contrary, in the Merino South-Down the
black may be reduced by a few crosses to small spots about the legs,
while the Merino hue overspreads the countenance. This hue--variously
described as a velvet, a buff, a fawn, or a satin-colored countenance,
but in which a red tinge not infrequently predominates, still indicates
the original colors of the indigenous breeds of Spain; and the black
wool, for which Spain was formerly so much distinguished, is still
inclined to break out occasionally in the legs and ears of the Merino.
In some flocks half the ear is invariably brown, and a coarse black hair
is often discernible in the finest pile.
[Illustration: A SPANISH SHEEP DOG.]
The conquest, in the eighth century, by the Moors of those fine
provinces in the south of Spain, so far from checking, served rather to
encourage the production of fine wool. The conquerors were not only
enterprising, but highly skilled in the useful arts, and carried on
extensive manufactories of fine woollen goods, which they exported to
different countries. The luxury of the Moorish sovereigns has been the
theme of many writers; and in the thirteenth century, when the woollen
manufacture flourished in but few places, there were found in Seville no
less than sixteen thousand looms. A century later, Barcelona, Perpignan,
and Tortosa were celebrated for the fineness of their cloths, which
became staple articles of trade throughout the greater part of Europe,
as well as on the coast of Africa.
After the expulsion of the Moors, in the fifteenth century, by
Ferdinand and Isabella, the woollen manufacture languished, and was, in
a great degree, lost to Spain, owing to the rigorous banishment of
nearly one million industrious Moors, most of whom were weavers. As a
consequence, the sixteen thousand looms of Seville dwindled down to
sixty. The Spanish government perceived its fatal mistake too late, and
subsequent efforts to gain its lost vantage-ground in respect to this
manufacture proved fruitless. During all that time, however, the Spanish
sheep appear to have withstood the baneful influence of almost total
neglect; and although the Merino flocks and Merino wool have improved
under the more careful management of other countries, the world is
originally indebted to Spain for the most valuable material in the
manufacture of cloth.
The perpetuation of the Merino sheep in all its purity, amid the
convulsions which changed the entire political framework of Spain and
destroyed every other national improvement, strikingly illustrates the
primary determining power of blood or breeding, as well as the agency of
soil and climate--possibly too much underrated in modern times.
These Spanish sheep are divided into two classes: the _stationary_, or
those that remain during the whole of the year on a certain farm, or in
a certain district, there being a sufficient provision for them in
winter and in summer; and the _migratory_, or those which wander some
hundreds of miles twice in the year, in quest of pasturage. The
principal breed of stationary sheep consists of true Merinos; but the
breeds most sought for, and with which so many countries have been
enriched, are the Merinos of the migratory description, which pass the
summer in the mountains of the north, and the winter on the plains
toward the south of Spain.
The first impression made by the Merino sheep on one unacquainted with
its value would be unfavorable. The wool lying closer and thicker over
the body than in most other breeds, and being abundant in yolk--or a
peculiar secretion from the glands of the skin, which nourishes the wool
and causes it to mat closely together--is covered with a dirty crust,
often full of cracks. The legs are long, yet small in the bone; the
breast and the back are narrow, and the sides somewhat flat; the
fore-shoulders and bosoms are heavy, and too much of their weight is
carried on the coarser parts. The horns of the male are comparatively
large, curved, and with more or less of a spiral form; the head is
large, but the forehead rather low. A few of the females are horned;
but, generally speaking, they are without horns. Both male and female
have a peculiar coarse and unsightly growth of hair on the forehead and
cheeks, which the careful shepherd cuts away before the shearing-time;
the other part of the face has a pleasing and characteristic velvet
appearance. Under the throat there is a singular looseness of skin,
which gives them a remarkable appearance of throatiness, or hollowness
in the neck. The pile or hair, when pressed upon, is hard and
unyielding, owing to the thickness into which it grows on the pelf, and
the abundance of the yolk, retaining all the dirt and gravel which falls
upon it; but, upon examination, the fibre exceeds, in fineness and in
the number of serrations and curves, that which any other sheep in the
world produces. The average weight of the fleece in Spain is eight
pounds from the ram, and five from the ewe. The staple differs in length
in different provinces. When fatted, these sheep will weigh from twelve
to sixteen pounds per quarter.
The excellence of the Merinos consist in the unexampled fineness and
felting property of their wool, and in the weight of it yielded by each
individual sheep; the closeness of that wool, and the luxuriance of the
yolk, which enable them to support extremes of cold and wet quite as
well as any other breed; the readiness with which they adapt themselves
to every change of climate, retaining, with common care, all their
fineness of wool, and thriving under a burning tropical sun, and in the
frozen regions of the north; an appetite which renders them apparently
satisfied with the coarsest food; a quietness and patience into whatever
pasture they are turned; and a gentleness and tractableness not excelled
in any other breed.
Their defects--partly attributable to the breed, but more to
the improper mode of treatment to which they are occasionally
subjected--are, their unthrifty and unprofitable form; a tendency to
abortion, or barrenness; a difficulty of yeaning, or giving birth to
their young; a paucity of milk; and a too frequent neglect of their
lambs. They are likewise said, notwithstanding the fineness of their
wool, and the beautiful red color of the skin when the fleece is parted,
to be more subject to cutaneous affections than most other breeds. Man,
however, is far more responsible for this than Nature. Every thing was
sacrificed in Spain to fineness and quantity of wool. These were
supposed to be connected with equality of temperature, or, at least,
with freedom from exposure to cold; and, therefore, twice in the year, a
journey of four hundred miles was undertaken, at the rate of eighty or a
hundred miles per week--the spring journey commencing when the lambs
were scarcely four months old. It is difficult to say in what way the
wool of the migratory sheep was, or could be, benefited by these
periodical journeys. Although among them is found the finest and most
valuable wool in Spain, yet the stationary sheep, in certain
provinces--Segovia, Leon, and Estremadura--are more valuable than the
migratory flocks of others. Moreover, the fleece of some of the German
Merinos--which do not travel at all, and are housed all the
winter--greatly exceeds that obtained from the best migratory breed--the
Leonese--in fineness and felting property; and the wool of the migratory
sheep has been, comparatively speaking, driven out of the market by that
from sheep which never travel. With respect to the carcass, these
harassing journeys, occupying one-quarter of the year, tend to destroy
all possibility of fattening, or any tendency toward it, and the form
and the constitution of the flock are deteriorated, and the lives of
many sacrificed.
The first importation of Merinos into the United States took place in
1801; a banker of Paris, Mr. Delessert, having shipped four, of which
but one arrived in safety at his farm near Kingston, in New York; the
others perished on the passage. The same year, Mr. Seth Adams, of
Massachusetts, imported a pair from France. In 1802, Chancellor
Livingston, then American Minister at the court of Versailles, sent two
choice pairs from the Rambouillet flock--which was started, in 1786, by
placing four hundred ewes and rams, selected from the choicest Spanish
flocks, on the royal farm of that name, in France--to Claremont, his
country-seat, on the Hudson river. In the latter part of the same year,
Colonel Humphreys, American Minister to Spain, shipped two hundred, on
his departure from that country. The largest importations, however, were
made through Hon. William Jarvis, of Vermont, then American Consul at
Lisbon, Portugal, in 1809, 1810, and 1811, who succeeded in obtaining
the choicest sheep of that country. Various subsequent importations took
place, which need not be particularized.
The cessation of all commercial intercourse with England, in 1808 and
1809, growing out of difficulties with that country, directed attention,
in an especial manner, toward manufacturing and wool-growing. The
Merino, consequently, rose into importance, and so great was the
interest aroused, that from a thousand to fourteen hundred dollars a
head was paid for them. Some of the later importations, unfortunately,
arrived in the worst condition, bringing with them those scourges of the
sheep family, the scab and the foot-rot; which evils, together with
increased supply, soon brought them down to less than a twentieth part
of their former price. When, however, it was established, by actual
experiment, that their wool did not deteriorate in this country, as had
been feared by many, and that they became readily acclimated, they again
rose into favor. The prostration of the manufacturing interests of the
country, which ensued soon afterwards, rendered the Merino of
comparatively little value, and ruined many who had purchased them at
their previous high prices. Since that period, the valuation of the
sheep which bear the particular wool has, as a matter of course, kept
pace with the fluctuations in the price of the wool.
The term Merino, it must be remembered, is but the general appellation
of a breed, comprising several varieties, presenting essential points of
difference in size, form, quality and quantity of wool. These families
have generally been merged, by interbreeding, in the United States and
other countries which have received the race from Spain. Purity of
_Merino_ blood, and actual excellence in the individual and its
ancestors, form the only standard in selecting sheep of this breed.
Families have, indeed, sprung up in this country, exhibiting wider
points of difference than did those of Spain. This is owing, in some
cases, doubtless, to particular causes of breeding; but more often,
probably, to concealed or forgotten infusions of other blood. The
question, which has been at times raised, whether there are any Merinos
in the United States, descendants of the early importations, of
unquestionable purity of blood, has been conclusively settled in the
affirmative.
The minor distinctions among the various families into which, as has
already been intimated, the American Merino has diverged, are numerous,
but may all, perhaps, be classed under three general heads.
The _first_ is a large, short-legged, strong, exceedingly hardy sheep,
carrying a heavy fleece, ranging from medium to fine, free from hair in
properly bred flocks; somewhat inclined to throatiness, but not so much
so as the Rambouillets; bred to exhibit external concrete gum in some
flocks, but not commonly so; their wool rather long on back and belly,
and exceedingly dense; wool whiter within than the Rambouillets; skin
the same rich rose-color. Sheep of this class are larger and stronger
than those originally imported, carry much heavier fleeces, and in
well-selected flocks, or individuals, the fleece is of a decidedly
better quality.
The _second_ class embraces smaller animals than the preceding; less
hardy; wool, as a general thing, finer, and covered with a black, pitchy
gum on its extremities; fleece about one-fourth lighter than in the
former class.
The _third_ class, bred at the South, mostly, includes animals still
smaller and less hardy, and carrying still finer and lighter fleeces.
The fleece is destitute of external gum. The sheep and wool have a close
resemblance to the Saxon; and, if not actually mixed with that blood,
they have been formed into a similar variety, by a similar course of
breeding.
[Illustration: OUT AT PASTURE.]
The mutton of the Merino, notwithstanding the prejudices existing on the
subject, is short-grained, and of good flavor, when killed at a proper
age, and weighs from ten to fourteen pounds to the quarter. It is
remarkable for its longevity, retaining its teeth, and continuing to
breed two or three years longer than the common sheep, and at least half
a dozen years longer than the improved English breeds. It should,
however, be remarked, in this connection, that it is correspondingly
slow in arriving at maturity, as it does not attain its full growth
before three years of age; and the ewes, in the best managed flocks, are
rarely permitted to breed before they reach that age.
The Merino is a far better breeder than any other fine-woolled sheep,
and its lambs, when newly dropped, are claimed to be hardier than the
Bakewell, and equally so with the high-bred South-Down. The ewe, as has
been intimated, is not so good a nurse, and will not usually do full
justice to more than one lamb. Eighty or ninety per cent. is about the
ordinary number of lambs reared, though it often reaches one hundred per
cent., in carefully managed or small flocks.
Allusion has heretofore been made to the cross between the Merino and
the native sheep. On the introduction of the Saxon family of the
Merinos, they were universally engrafted on the parent stock, and the
cross was continued until the Spanish blood was nearly bred out. When
the admixture took place with judiciously selected Saxons, the results
were not unfavorable for certain purposes. These instances of judicious
crossing were, unfortunately, rare. Fineness of wool was made the only
tests of excellence, no matter how scanty its quantity, or how
diminutive or miserable the carcass. The consequence was, as might be
supposed, the ruin of most of the Merino flocks.
THE SAXON MERINO.
The indigenous breed of sheep in Saxony resembled that of the
neighboring states, and consisted of two distinct Varieties--one bearing
a wool of some value, and the other yielding a fleece applicable only to
the coarsest manufactures.
At the close of the seven years war, Augustus Frederic, the Elector of
Saxony, imported one hundred rams and two hundred ewes from the most
improved Spanish flocks, and placed a part of them on one of his own
farms, in the neighborhood of Dresden, which he kept unmixed, as he
desired to ascertain how far the pure Spanish breed could be naturalized
in that country The other part of the flock was distributed on other
farms, and devoted to the improvement of the Saxon sheep.
It was soon sufficiently apparent that the Merinos did not degenerate in
Saxony. Many parcels of their wool were not inferior to the choicest
Leonese fleeces. The best breed of the native Saxons was also materially
improved: The majority of the shepherds were, however, obstinately
prejudiced against the innovation; but the elector, resolutely bent upon
accomplishing his object, imported an additional number, and compelled
the crown-tenants, then occupying lands under him, to purchase a certain
number of the sheep.
Compulsion was not long necessary; the true interest of the shepherds
was discovered; pure Merinos rapidly increased in Saxony, and became
perfectly naturalized. Indeed, after a considerable lapse of years, the
fleece of the Saxon sheep began, not only to equal the Spanish, but to
exceed it in fineness and manufacturing value. To this result the
government very materially contributed, by the establishment of an
agricultural school, and other minor schools for shepherds, and by
distributing various publications, which plainly and intelligibly showed
the value and proper management of the Merino. The breeders were
selected with almost exclusive reference to the quality of the fleece.
Great care was taken to prevent exposure throughout the year, and they
were housed on every slight emergency. By this course of breeding and
treatment the size and weight of the fleece were reduced, and that
hardiness and vigor of constitution, which had universally
characterized the migratory Spanish breed, were partially impaired. In
numerous instances, this management resulted in permanent injury to the
character of the flocks.
The first importation of Saxons into this country was made in 1823, by
Samuel Heustan, a merchant of Boston, Massachusetts, and consisted of
four good rams, of which two went to Boston, and the others to
Philadelphia. The following year, seventy-seven--about two-thirds of
which number only were pure-blooded--were brought to Boston, sold at
public auction at Brooklyn, N.Y., as "pure-blooded electoral Saxons,"
and thus scattered over the country. Another lot, composed of grade
sheep and pure-bloods, was disposed of, not long afterwards, by public
sale, at Brighton, near Boston, and brought increased prices, some of
them realizing from four hundred to five hundred and fifty dollars.
These prices gave rise to speculation, and many animals, of a decidedly
inferior grade, were imported, which were thrown upon the market for the
most they could command. The sales in many instances not half covering
the cost of importation, the speculation was soon abandoned. In 1827,
Henry D. Grove, of Hoosic, N.Y., a native of Germany, and a highly
intelligent and thoroughly bred shepherd, who had accompanied some of
the early importations, imported one hundred and fifteen choice animals
for his own breeding, and, in the following year, eighty more. These
formed the flock from which Mr. Grove bred, to the time of his decease,
in 1844. The average weight of fleece from his entire flock, nearly all
of which were ewes and lambs, was ten pounds and fourteen ounces,
thoroughly washed on the sheep's back. This was realized after a short
summer and winter's keep, when the quantity of hay or its equivalent
fed to the sheep did not exceed one and a half pounds, by actual weight,
per day, except to the ewes, which received an additional quantity just
before and after lambing. This treatment was attended with no disease or
loss by death, and with an increase of lambs, equalling one for every
ewe.
The Saxon Merino differs materially in frame from the Spanish; there is
more roundness of carcass and fineness of bone, together with a general
form and appearance indicative of a disposition to fatten. Two distinct
breeds are noticed. One variety has stouter legs, stouter bodies, head
and neck comparatively short and broad, and body round; the wool grows
most on the face and legs; the grease in the wool is almost pitchy. The
other breed, called Escurial, has longer legs, with a long, spare neck
and head; very little wool on the latter; and a finer, shorter, and
softer character in its fleece, but less in quantity.
From what has just been stated it will be seen that there are few Saxon
flocks in the United States that have not been reduced to the quality of
grade sheep, by the promiscuous admixture of the pure and the impure
which were imported together; all of them being sold to our breeders as
pure stock. Besides, there are very few flocks which have not been again
crossed with the Native or the Merino sheep of our country, or with
both. Those who early purchased the Merino crossed them with the Native;
and when the Saxons arrived those mongrels were bred to Saxon rams. This
is the history of three-quarters, probably, of the Saxon flocks of the
United States.
As these sheep have now so long been bred toward the Saxon that their
wool equals that of the pure-bloods, it may well be questioned whether
they are any worse for the admixture; when crossed only with the Merino,
it is, undoubtedly, to their advantage. The American Saxon, with these
early crosses in its pedigree, is, by general admission, a hardier and
more easily kept animal than the pure Escurial or Electoral Saxon.
Climate, feed, and other causes have, doubtless, conspired, as in the
case of the Merino, to add to their size and vigor; but, after every
necessary allowance has been made, they generally owe these qualities to
those early crosses.
The fleeces of the American Saxons weigh, on the average, from two or
two and a quarter to three pounds. They are, comparatively speaking, a
tender sheep, requiring regular supplies of good food, good shelter in
winter, and protection in cool weather from storms of all kinds; but
they are evidently hardier than the parent German stock. In docility and
patience under confinement, in late maturity and longevity, they
resemble the Merinos, from which they are descended; though they do not
mature so early as the Merino, nor do they ordinarily live so long. They
are poorer nurses; their lambs are smaller, fatter, and far more likely
to perish, unless sheltered and carefully watched; they do not fatten so
well, and, being considerably lighter, they consume an amount of food
considerably less.
Taken together, the American Saxons bear a much finer wool than the
American Merinos; though this is not always the case, and many breeders
of Saxons cross with the Merino, for the purpose of increasing the
weight of their fleeces without deteriorating its quality. Our Saxon
wool, as a whole, falls considerably below that of Germany; though
individual specimens from Saxons in Connecticut and Ohio compare well
with the highest German grades. This inferiority is not attributable to
climate or other natural causes, or to a want of skill on the part of
our breeders; but to the fact that but a very few of our manufacturers
have ever felt willing to make that discrimination in prices which would
render it profitable to breed those small and delicate animals which
produce this exquisite quality of wool.
THE NEW LEICESTER.
The unimproved Leicester was a large, heavy, coarse-woolled breed of
sheep, inhabiting the midland counties of England. It was a slow feeder,
its flesh coarse-grained, and with little flavor. The breeders of that
period regarded only size and weight of fleece.
[Illustration: A COUNTRY SCENE.]
About the middle of the last century, Robert Bakewell, of Dishley, in
Leicestershire, first applied himself to the improvement of the sheep in
that country. Before his improvements, aptitude to fatten and symmetry
of shape--that is, such shape as should increase as much as possible the
most valuable parts of the animal, and diminish the offal in the same
proportion--were entirely disregarded. Perceiving that smaller animals
increased in weight more rapidly than the very large ones, that they
consumed less food, that the same quantity of herbage, applied to
feeding a large number of small sheep, would produce more meat than when
applied to feeding the smaller number of large sheep, which alone it
would support, and that sheep carrying a heavy fleece of wool possessed
less propensity to fatten than those which carried one of a more
moderate weight, he selected from the different flocks in his
neighborhood, without regard to size, the sheep which appeared to him to
have the greatest propensity to fatten, and whose shape possessed the
peculiarities which, in his judgment, would produce the largest
proportion of valuable meat, and the smallest quantity of bone and
offal.
He was also of opinion that the first object to be attended to in
breeding sheep is the value of the carcass, and that the fleece ought
always to be a secondary consideration; and this for the obvious reason
that, while the addition of two or three pounds of wool to the weight of
a sheep's fleece is a difference of great amount, yet if this increase
is obtained at the expense of the animal's propensity to fatten, the
farmer may lose by it ten or twelve pounds of mutton.
The sort of sheep, therefore, which he selected were those possessed of
the most perfect symmetry, with the greatest aptitude to fatten, and
rather smaller in size than the sheep generally bred at that time.
Having formed his stock from sheep so selected, he carefully attended to
the peculiarities of the individuals from which he bred, and, so far as
can be ascertained--for all of Mr. Bakewell's measures were kept
secret, even from his most intimate friends, and he died without
throwing, voluntarily, the least light on the subject--did not object to
breeding from near relations, when, by so doing, he brought together
animals likely to produce a progeny possessing the characteristics which
he wished to obtain.
Having thus established his flock, he adopted the practice--which has
since been constantly followed by the most eminent breeders of sheep--of
letting rams for the season, instead of selling them to those who wished
for their use. By this means the ram-breeder is enabled to keep a much
larger number of rams in his possession; and, consequently, his power of
selecting those most suitable to his flock, or which may be required to
correct any faults in shape or quality which may occur in it, is greatly
increased. By cautiously using a ram for one season, or by observing the
produce of a ram let to some other breeder, he can ascertain the
probable qualities of the lambs which such ram will get, and thus avoid
the danger of making mistakes which would deteriorate the value of his
stock. The farmers, likewise, who hire the rams, have an opportunity of
varying the rams from which they breed much more than they otherwise
could do; and they are also enabled to select from sheep of the best
quality, and from those best calculated to effect the greatest
improvement in their flocks.
The idea, when first introduced by him, was so novel that he had great
difficulty in inducing the farmers to act upon it; and his first ram was
let for sixteen shillings. So eminent, however, was his success, that,
in 1787, he let three rams, for a single season, for twelve hundred and
fifty pounds (about six thousand two hundred dollars), and was offered
ten hundred and fifty pounds (about five thousand two hundred dollars)
for twenty ewes. Soon afterwards he received the enormous price of eight
hundred guineas (or four thousand dollars) for two-thirds of the
services of a ram for a single season, reserving the other third for
himself.
The improved Leicester is of large size, but somewhat smaller than the
original stock, and in this respect falls considerably below the coarser
varieties of Cotswold, Lincoln, etc. Where there is a sufficiency of
feed, the New Leicester is unrivalled for its fattening propensities;
but it will not bear hard stocking, nor must it be compelled to travel
far in search of its food. It is, in fact, properly and exclusively a
lowland sheep. In its appropriate situation--on the luxuriant herbage of
the highly cultivated lands of England--it possesses unequalled
earliness of maturity; and its mutton, when not too fat, is of a good
quality, but is usually coarse, and comparatively deficient in flavor,
owing to that unnatural state of fatness which it so readily assumes,
and which the breeder, to gain weight, so generally feeds for. The
wethers, having reached their second year, are turned off in the
succeeding February or March, and weigh at that age from thirty to
thirty-five pounds to the quarter. The wool of the New Leicester is
long, averaging, after the first shearing, about six inches; and the
fleece of the American animal weighs about six pounds. It is of coarse
quality, and little used in the manufacture of cloth, on account of its
length, and that deficiency of felting properties common, in a greater
or less extent, to all English breeds. As a combing wool, however, it
stands first, and is used in the manufacture of the finest worsteds, and
the like textures.
The high-bred Leicesters of Mr. Bakewell's stock became shy breeders
and poor nurses; but crosses subsequently adopted have, to some extent,
obviated these defects. The lambs are not, however, generally regarded
as very hardy, and they require considerable attention at the time of
yeaning, particularly if the weather is even moderately cold or stormy.
The grown sheep, too, are much affected by sudden changes in the
weather; an abrupt change to cold being pretty certain to be registered
on their noses by unmistakable indications of catarrh or "snuffles."
In England, where mutton is generally eaten by the laboring classes, the
meat of this variety is in very great demand; and the consequent return
which a sheep possessing such fine feeding qualities is enabled to make
renders it a general favorite with the breeder. Instances are recorded
of the most extraordinary prices having been paid for these animals.
They have spread into all parts of the British dominions, and been
imported into the other countries of Europe and into the United States.
They were first introduced into our own country, some forty years since,
by Christopher Dunn, of Albany, N.Y. Subsequent importations have been
made by Mr. Powel, of Philadelphia, and various other gentlemen. The
breed, however, has never proved a favorite with any large class of
American farmers. Our long, cold winters--but, more especially, our dry,
scorching summers, when it is often difficult to obtain the rich, green,
tender feed in which the Leicester delights--together with the general
deprivation of green feed in the winter, rob it of its early maturity,
and even of the ultimate size which it attains in England. Its mutton is
too fat, and the fat and lean are too little intermixed to suit
American taste. Its wool is not very salable, owing to the dearth of
worsted manufactures in our country. Its early decay and loss of wool
constitute an objection to it, in a country where it is often so
difficult to advantageously turn off sheep, particularly ewes. But,
notwithstanding all these disadvantages, on rich lowland farms, in the
vicinity of considerable markets, it will always in all probability make
a profitable return.
The head of the New Leicester should be hornless, long, small, tapering
towards the muzzle, and projecting horizontally forward; the eyes
prominent, but with a quiet expression; the ears thin, rather long, and
directed backward; the neck full and broad at its base, where it
proceeds from the chest, so that there is, with the slightest possible
deviation, one continued horizontal line from the rump to the poll; the
breast broad and full; the shoulders also broad and round, and no uneven
or angular formation where the shoulders join either the neck or the
back--particularly no rising of the withers, or hollow behind the
situation of these bones; the arm fleshy throughout its whole extent,
and even down to the knee; the bones of the leg small, standing wide
apart; no looseness of skin about them, and comparatively void of wool;
the chest and barrel at once deep and round; the ribs forming a
considerable arch from the spine, so as, in some cases--and especially
when the animal is in good condition--to make the apparent width of the
chest even greater than the depth; the barrel ribbed well home; no
irregularity of line on the back or belly, but on the sides; the carcass
very gradually diminishing in width towards the rump; the quarters long
and full, and, as with the fore-legs, the muscles extending down to the
hock; the thighs also wide and full; the legs of a moderate length; and
the pelt also moderately thin, but soft and elastic, and covered with a
good quantity of white wool, not so long as in some breeds, but
considerably finer.
THE SOUTH-DOWN.
[Illustration: A SOUTH-DOWN RAM.]
A long range of chalky hills, diverging from the chalky stratum which
intersects England from Norfolk to Dorchester, is termed the
South-Downs. They enter the county of Sussex on the west side, and are
continued almost in a direct line, as far as East Bourne, where they
reach the sea. They may be regarded as occupying a space of more than
sixty miles in length, and about five or six in breadth, consisting of a
succession of open downs, with few enclosures, and distinguished by
their situation and name from a more northern tract of similar elevation
and soil, passing through Surrey and Kent, and terminating in the cliffs
of Dover, and of the Forelands. On these downs a certain breed of sheep
has been produced for many centuries, in greater perfection than
elsewhere; and hence have sprung those successive colonies which have
found their way abroad and materially benefited the breed of
short-woolled sheep wherever they have gone.
It is only, however, within a comparatively recent period that they have
been brought to their present perfection. As recently as 1776 they were
small in size, and of a form not superior to the common woolled sheep of
the United States; they were far from possessing a good shape, being
long and thin in the neck, high on the shoulders, low behind, high on
the loins, down on the rump, the tail set on very low, perpendicular
from the hip-bones, sharp on the back; the ribs flat, not bowing, narrow
in the fore-quarters, but good in the leg, although having big bones.
Since that period a course of judicious breeding, pursued by Mr. John
Ellman, of Glynde, in Sussex, has mainly contributed to raise this
variety to its present value; and that, too, without the admixture of
the slightest degree of foreign blood.
This pure, improved family, it will be borne in mind, is spoken of in
the present connection; inasmuch as the original stock, presenting, with
trifling modifications, the same characteristics which they exhibited
seventy-five years ago, are yet to be found in England; and the
intermediate space between these two classes is occupied by a variety of
grades, rising or falling in value, as they approximate to or recede
from the improved blood.
The South-Down sheep are polled, but it is probable that the original
breed was horned, as it is not unusual to find among the male South-Down
lambs some with small horns. The dusky, or at times, black hue of the
head and legs fully establishes the original color of the sheep, and,
perhaps of all sheep; while the later period at which it was seriously
attempted to get rid of this dingy hue proving unsuccessful, only
confirms this view. Many of the lambs have been dropped entirely black.
It is an upland sheep, of medium size, and its wool--which in point of
length belongs to the middle class, and differs essentially from Merino
wool of any grade, though the fibre in some of the finest fleeces maybe
of the same apparent fineness with half or one-quarter blood Merino--is
deficient in felting properties, making a fuzzy, hairy cloth, and is no
longer used in England, unless largely mixed with foreign wool, even for
the lowest class of cloths. As it has deteriorated, however, it has
increased in length of staple, in that country, to such an extent that
improved machinery enables it to be used as a combing-wool, for the
manufacture of worsteds. Where this has taken place it is quite as
profitable as when it was finer and shorter. In the United States, where
the demand for combing-wool is so small that it is easily met by a
better article, the same result would not probably follow. Indeed, it
may well be doubted whether the proper combing length will be easily
reached, or at least maintained in this country, in the absence of that
high feeding system which has undoubtedly given the wool its increased
length in England. The average weight of fleece in the hill-fed sheep is
three pounds; on rich lowlands, a little more.
The South-Down, however, is cultivated more particularly for its mutton,
which for quality takes precedence of all other--from sheep of good
size--in the English markets. Its early maturity and extreme aptitude to
lay on flesh, render it peculiarly valuable for this purpose. It is
turned off at the age of two years, and its weight at that age is, in
England, from eighty to one hundred pounds. High-fed wethers have
reached from thirty-two to even forty pounds a quarter. Notwithstanding
its weight, it has a patience of occasional short keep, and an
endurance of hard stocking, equal to any other sheep. This gives it a
decided advantage over the bulkier Leicesters and Lincolns, as a mutton
sheep, in hilly districts and those producing short and scanty herbage.
It is hardy and healthy, though, in common with the other English
varieties, much subject to catarrh, and no sheep better withstands our
American winters. The ewes are prolific breeders and good nurses.
The Down is quiet and docile in its habits, and, though an industrious
feeder, exhibits but little disposition to rove. Like the Leicester, it
is comparatively a short-lived animal, and the fleece continues to
decrease in weight after it reaches maturity. It crosses better with
short and middle-woolled breeds than the Leicester. A sheep possessing
such qualities, must, of necessity, be valuable in upland districts in
the vicinity of markets. The Emperor of Russia paid Mr. Ellman three
hundred guineas (fifteen hundred dollars) for two rams; and, in 1800, a
ram belonging to the Duke of Bedford was let for one season at eighty
guineas (four hundred dollars), two others at forty guineas (two hundred
dollars) each, and four more at twenty-eight guineas (one hundred and
forty dollars) each. The first importation into the United States was
made by Col. J. H. Powell, of Philadelphia. A subsequent importation, in
1834, cost sixty dollars a head.
The desirable characteristics of the South-Down may be thus summed up:
The head small and hornless; the face speckled or gray, and neither too
long nor too short; the lips thin, and the space between the nose and
the eyes narrow; the under-jaw or chap fine and thin; the ears tolerably
wide and well-covered with wool, and the forehead also, and the whole
space between the ears well protected by it, as a defence against the
fly; the eye full and bright, but not prominent; the orbits of the eye,
the eye-cap or bone not too projecting, that it may not form a fatal
obstacle in lambing; the neck of a medium length, thin toward the head,
but enlarging toward the shoulders, where it should be broad and high
and straight in its whole course above and below.
The breast should be wide, deep, and projecting forward between the
fore-legs, indicating a good constitution and a disposition to thrive;
corresponding with this, the shoulders should be on a level with the
back, and not too wide above; they should bow outward from the top to
the breast, indicating a springing rib beneath, and leaving room for it;
the ribs coming out horizontally from the spine, and extending far
backward, and the last rib projecting more than others; the back flat
from the shoulders to the setting on of the tail; the loin broad and
flat; the rump broad, and the tail set on high, and nearly on a level
with the spine.
The hips should be wide; the space between them and the last rib on each
side as narrow as possible, and the ribs generally presenting a circular
form like a barrel; the belly as straight as the back; the legs neither
too long nor too short; the fore-legs straight from the breast to the
foot, not bending inward at the knee, and standing far apart, both
before and behind; the hock having a direction rather outward, and they
twist, or the meeting of the thighs behind, being particularly full; the
bones fine, yet having no appearance of weakness, and of a speckled or
dark color; the belly well defended with wool, and the wool coming down
before and behind to the knee and to the hock; the wool short, close,
curled and fine, and free from spiny projecting fibres.
THE COTSWOLD.
[Illustration: THE COTSWOLD.]
The Cotswolds, until improved by modern crosses, were a very large,
coarse, long-legged, flat-ribbed variety, light in the fore-quarter, and
shearing a long, heavy, coarse fleece of wool. They were formerly bred
only on the hills, and fatted in the valleys, of the Severn and the
Thames; but with the enclosures of the Cotswold hills, and the
improvement of their cultivation, they have been reared and fatted in
the same district. They were hardy, prolific breeders, and capital
nurses; deficient in early maturity, and not possessing feeding
properties equalling those of the South-Down or New Leicester.
They have been extensively crossed with the Leicester sheep--producing
thus the modern or improved Cotswold--by which their size and fleece
have been somewhat diminished, but their carcasses have been materially
improved, and their maturity rendered earlier. The wethers are sometimes
fattened at fourteen months old, when they weigh from fifteen to
twenty-four pounds to a quarter; and at two years old, increase to
twenty or thirty pounds.
The wool is strong, mellow, and of good color, though rather coarse, six
to eight inches in length, and from seven to eight pounds per fleece.
The superior hardihood of the improved Cotswold over the Leicester, and
their adaptation to common treatment, together with the prolific nature
of the ewes, and their abundance of milk, have rendered them in many
places rivals of the New Leicester, and have obtained for them, of late
years, more attention to their selection and general treatment, under
which management still farther improvement has been made. They have also
been used in crossing other breeds, and have been mixed with the
Hampshire Downs. Indeed, the improved Cotswold, under the name of new,
or improved Oxfordshire sheep, have frequently been the successful
candidates for prizes offered for the best long-woolled sheep at some of
the principal agricultural meetings or shows in England. The quality of
their mutton is considered superior to that of the Leicester; the tallow
being less abundant, with a larger development of muscle or flesh.
The degree to which the cross between the Cotswold and Leicester may be
carried, must depend upon the nature of the old stock, and on the
situation and character of the farm. In exposed situations, and somewhat
scanty pasture, the old blood should decidedly prevail. On a more
sheltered soil, and on land that will bear closer stocking, a greater
use may be made of the Leicester. Another circumstance that should guide
the farmer is the object which he has principally in view. If he expects
to derive his chief profits from the wool, he will look to the
primitive Cotswolds; if he expects to gain more as a grazier, he will
use the Leicester ram more freely.
Sheep of this breed, now of established reputation, have been imported
into the United States by Messrs. Corning and Gotham, of Albany, and
bred by the latter.
THE CHEVIOT.
[Illustration: A CHEVIOT EWE.]
On the steep, storm-lashed Cheviot hills, in the extreme north of
England, this breed first attracted notice for their great hardiness in
resisting cold, and for feeding on coarse, heathery herbage. A cross
with the Leicester, pretty generally resorted to, constitutes the
improved variety.
The Cheviot readily amalgamates with the Leicester--the rams employed in
the system of breeding, which has been extensively introduced for
producing the first cross of this descent, being of the pure Leicester
breed--and the progeny is superior in size, weight of wool, and tendency
to fatten, to the native Cheviot. The benefit, however, may be said to
end with the first cross; and the progeny of this mixed descent is
greatly inferior to the pure Leicester in form and fattening
properties, and to the pure Cheviot in hardiness of constitution.
The improved Cheviot has greatly extended itself throughout the
mountains of Scotland, and in many instances supplanted the black-faced
breed; but the change, though often advantageous, has in some cases been
otherwise--the latter being somewhat hardier, and more capable of
subsisting on heathy pasturage. They are a hardy race, however, well
suited for their native pastures, bearing, with comparative impunity,
the storms of winter, and thriving well on poor keep. The purest
specimens are to be found on the Scotch side of the Cheviot hills, and
on the high and stony mountain farms which lie between that range and
the sources of the Teviot. These sheep are a capital mountain stock,
provided the pasture resembles those hills, in containing a good
proportion of rich herbage. Though less hardy than the black-faced sheep
of Scotland, they are more profitable as respects their feeding, making
more flesh on an equal quantity of food, and making it more quickly.
They have white faces and legs, open countenances, lively eyes, and are
without horns; the ears are large, and somewhat singular, and there is
much space between the ears and eyes; the carcass is long; the back
straight; the shoulders rather light; the ribs circular; and the
quarters good. The legs are small in the bone, and covered with wool, as
well as the body, with the exception of the face. The wether is fit for
the butcher at three years old, and averages from twelve to eighteen
pounds a quarter; the mutton being of a good quality, though inferior to
the South-Down, and of less flavor than the black-faced. The Cheviot,
though a mountain breed, is quiet and docile, and easily managed.
The wool is about the quality of Leicester, coarse and long, suitable
only for the manufacture of low coatings and flushings. It closely
covers the body, assisting much in preserving it from the effects of wet
and cold. The fleece averages about three and a half pounds. Formerly,
the wool was extensively employed in making cloths; but having given
place to the finer Saxony wools, it has sunk in price, and been confined
to combing purposes. It has thus become altogether a secondary
consideration.
The Cheviots have become an American sheep by their repeated
importations into this country. The wool on several choice sheep,
imported by Mr. Carmichael, of New York, was from five to seven inches
long, coarse, but well suited to combing.
THE LINCOLN.
The old breed of Lincolnshire sheep was hornless, had white faces, and
long, thin, and weak carcasses; the ewes weighed from fourteen to twenty
pounds a quarter; the three-year old wethers from twenty to thirty
pounds; legs thick, rough and white; pelts thick; wool long--from ten to
eighteen inches--and covering a slow-feeding, coarse-grained carcass of
mutton.
A judicious system of breeding, which avoided Bakewell's errors, has
wrought a decided improvement in this breed. The improved Lincolns
possess a rather more desirable robustness, approaching, in some few
specimens, almost to coarseness, as compared with the finest Leicesters;
but they are more hardy, and less liable to disease. They attain as
large a size, and yield as great an amount of wool, of about the same
value. This breed, indeed, scarcely differs more from the Cotswold than
do flocks of a similar variety, which have been separately bred for
several generations, from each other. They are prolific, and when
well-fed, the ewes will frequently produce two lambs at a birth, for
which they provide liberally from their udders till the time for
weaning. The weight of the fleece varies from four to eight pounds per
head.
Having alluded to the principal points of interest connected with the
various breeds of sheep in the United States, our next business is with
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SHEEP.
[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE SHEEP AS COVERED BY THE MUSCLES.
1. The intermaxillary bone. 2. The nasal bones. 3. The upper jaw. 4. The
union of the nasal and upper jaw-bones. 5. The union of the molar and
lachrymal bones. 6. The orbits of the eye. 7. The frontal bone. 8. The
lower jaw. 9. The incisor teeth, or nippers. 10. The molars or grinders.
11. The ligament of the neck supporting the head. 12. The seven
vertebrae, or the bones of the neck. 13. The thirteen vertebrae, or bones
of the back. 14. The six vertebrae of the loins. 15. The sacral bone.
16. The bones of the tail, varying in different breeds from twelve to
twenty-one. 17. The haunch and pelvis. 18. The eight true ribs, with
their cartilages. 19. The five false ribs, or those that are not
attached to the breast-bone. 20. The breast-bone. 21. The scapula, or
shoulder-blade. 22. The humerus, bone of the arm, or lower part of the
shoulder. 23. The radius, or bone of the fore-arm. 24. The ulna or
elbow. 25. The knee with its different bones. 26. The metacarpal or
shank-bones--the larger bones of the leg. 27. A rudiment of the smaller
metacarpal. 28. One of the sessamoid bones. 29. The first two bones of
the foot--the pasterns. 30. The proper bones of the foot. 31. The
thigh-bone. 32. The stifle-joint and its bone--the patella. 33. The
tibia, or bone of the upper part of the leg. 34. The point of the hock.
35. The other bones of the hock. 36. The metatarsal bones, or bone of
the hind-leg. 37. Rudiment of the small metatarsal. 38. A sessamoid
bone. 39. The first two bones of the foot--the pasterns. 40. The proper
bones of the foot.]
DIVISION. _Vertebrata_--possessing a back-bone.
CLASS. _Mammalia_--such as give suck.
ORDER. _Ruminantia_--chewing the cud.
FAMILY. _Capridae_--the goat kind.
GENUS. _Oris_--the sheep family.
Of this _Genus_ there are three varieties:
ORIS, AMMON, or ARGALI.
_Oris Musmon._
_Oris Aries_, or Domestic Sheep.
Of the latter--with which alone this treatise is concerned--there are
about forty well known varieties. Between the _oris_, or sheep, and the
_capra_, or goat, another _genus_ of the same family, the distinctions
are well marked, although considerable resemblance exists between them.
The horns of the sheep have a spiral direction, while those of the goat
have a direction upward and backward; the sheep, except in a single wild
variety, has no beard, while the goat is bearded; the goat, in his
highest state of improvement, when he is made to produce wool of a
fineness unequalled by the sheep--as in the Cashmere breed--is mainly,
and always, externally covered with hair, while the hair on the sheep
may, by domestication, be reduced to a few coarse hairs, or got rid of
altogether; and, finally, the pelt or skin of the goat has thickness
very far exceeding that of the sheep.
The age of sheep is usually reckoned, not from the time that they are
dropped, but from the first shearing; although the first year may thus
include fifteen or sixteen months, and sometimes more. When doubt exists
relative to the age, recourse is had to the teeth, since there is more
uncertainty about the horn in this animal than in cattle; ewes that have
been early bred, appearing always, according to the rings on the horn, a
year older than others that have been longer kept from the ram.
FORMATION OF THE TEETH.
Sheep have no teeth in the upper jaw, but the bars or ridges of the
palate thicken as they approach the forepart of the mouth; there also
the dense, fibrous, elastic matter, of which they are constituted,
becomes condensed, and forms a cushion or bed, which covers the converse
extremity of the upper jaw, and occupies the place of the upper incisor,
or cutting teeth, and partially discharge their functions. The herbage
is firmly held between the front teeth in the lower jaw and this pad,
and thus partly bitten and partly torn asunder. Of this, the rolling
motion of the head is sufficient proof.
The teeth are the same in number as in the mouth of the ox. There are
eight incisors or cutting-teeth in the forepart of the lower jaw, and
six molars in each jaw above and below, and on either side. The incisors
are more admirably formed for grazing than in the ox. The sheep lives
closer, and is destined to follow the ox, and gather nourishment where
that animal would be unable to crop a single blade. This close life not
only loosens the roots of the grass, and disposes them to spread, but by
cutting off the short suckers and sproutings--a wise provision of
nature--causes the plants to throw out fresh, and more numerous, and
stronger ones, and thus is instrumental in improving and increasing the
value of the crop. Nothing will more expeditiously and more effectually
make a thick, permanent pasture than its being occasionally and closely
eaten down by sheep.
In order to enable the sheep to bite this close, the upper lip is deeply
divided, and free from hair about the centre of it. The part of the
tooth above the gum is not only, as in other animals, covered with
enamel, to enable it to bear and to preserve a sharpened edge, but the
enamel on the upper part rises from the bone of the tooth nearly a
quarter of an inch, and presenting a convex surface outward, and a
concave within, forms a little scoop or gorge of wonderful execution.
The mouth of the lamb newly dropped is either without incisor teeth or
it has two. The teeth rapidly succeed to each other, and before the
animal is a month old he has the whole of the eight. They continue to
grow with his growth until he is about fourteen or sixteen months old.
Then, with the same previous process of diminution as in cattle, or
carried to a still greater degree, the two central teeth are shed, and
attain their full growth when the sheep is two years old.
In examining a flock of sheep, however, there will often be very
considerable difference in the teeth of those that have not been
sheared, or those that have been once sheared; in some measure to be
accounted for by a difference in the time of lambing, and likewise by
the general health and vigor of the animal. There will also be a
material difference in different animals, attributable to the good or
bad keep which they have had. Those fed on good land, or otherwise well
kept, will generally take the start of others that have been half
starved, and renew their teeth some months sooner than these. There are
also irregularities in the times of renewing the teeth, not to be
accounted for by either of these circumstances; in fact, not to be
explained by any known circumstance relating to the breed or the keep of
the sheep. The want of improvement in sheep, which is occasionally
observed, and which cannot be accounted for by any deficiency or change
of food, may sometimes be justly attributed to the tenderness of the
mouth when the permanent teeth are protruding through the gums.
Between two and three years old the next two incisors are shed; and when
the sheep is actually three years old, the four central teeth are fully
grown; at four years old, he has six teeth fully grown; and at five
years old--one year before the horse or the ox can be said to be
full-mouthed--all the teeth are perfectly developed. The sheep is a much
shorter-lived animal than the horse, and does not often attain the usual
age of the ox. Their natural age is about ten years, to which age they
will breed and thrive well; though there are recorded instances of their
breeding at the age of fifteen, and of living twenty years.
The careless examiner may be sometimes deceived with regard to the
four-year-old mouth. He will see the teeth perfectly developed, no
diminutive ones at the sides, and the mouth apparently full; and then,
without giving himself the trouble of counting the teeth, he will
conclude that the animal is five years old. A process of displacement,
as well as of diminution, has taken place here; the remaining outside
milk-teeth have not only shrunk to less than a fourth part of their
original size, but the four-year-old teeth have grown before them and
perfectly conceal them, unless the mouth is completely opened.
After the permanent teeth have all appeared and are fully grown,
there is no criterion as to the age of the sheep. In most cases, the
teeth remain sound for one or two years, and then, at uncertain
intervals--either on account of the hard work in which they have been
employed, or from the natural effect of age--they begin to loosen and
fall out; or, by reason of their natural slenderness, they are broken
off. When favorite ewes, that have been kept for breeding, begin to lose
condition, at six or seven years old, their mouths should be carefully
examined. If any of the teeth are loose, they should be extracted, and a
chance given to the animal to show how far, by browsing early and late,
she may be able to make up for the diminished number of her incisors. It
frequently happens that ewes with broken teeth, and some with all the
incisors gone, will keep pace in condition with the best in the flock;
but they must be well taken care of in the winter, and, indeed, nursed
to an extent that would scarcely answer the farmer's purpose to adopt as
a general rule, in order to prevent them from declining to such a degree
as would make it very difficult afterward to fatten them for the
butcher. It may certainly be taken as a general rule, that when sheep
become broken-mouthed they begin to decline.
Causes of which the farmer is utterly ignorant, or over which he has no
control, will sometimes hasten the loss of the teeth. One thing,
however, is certain--that close feeding, causing additional exercise,
does wear them down; and that the sheep of farmers who stock unusually
and unseasonably hard, lose their teeth much sooner than others do.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN.
The skin of the sheep, in common with that of most animals, is composed
of three textures. Externally is the cuticle, or scarf-skin, which is
thin, tough, devoid of feeling, and pierced by innumerable minute holes,
through which pass the fibres of the wool and the insensible
perspiration. It seems to be of a scaly texture; although is not so
evident as in many other animals, on account of a peculiar
substance--the yolk--which is placed on it, to protect and nourish the
roots of the wool. It is, however, sufficiently evident in the scab and
other cutaneous eruptions to which this animal is liable.
Below this cuticle is the _rete mucosum_, a soft structure; its fibres
having scarcely more consistence than mucilage, and being with great
difficulty separated from the skin beneath. This appears to be placed as
a defence to the terminations of the blood-vessels and nerves of the
skin, which latter are, in a manner, enveloped and covered by it. The
color of the skin, and probably that of the hair or wool also, is
determined by the _rete mucosum_; or, at least, the hair and wool are of
the same color as this substance.
Beneath the _rete mucosum_ is the _cutis_, or true skin, composed of
numberless minute fibres crossing each other in every direction; highly
elastic, in order to fit closely to the parts beneath, and to yield to
the various motions of the body; and dense and firm in its structure,
that it may resist external injury. Blood-vessels and nerves innumerable
pierce it, and appear on its surface in the form of _papillae_, or
minute eminences; while, through thousands of little orifices, the
exhalent absorbents pour out the superfluous or redundant fluid. The
true skin is composed, principally or almost entirely, of gelatine; so
that, although it may be dissolved by long-continued boiling, it is
insoluble in water at the common temperature. This organization seems to
have been given to it, not only for the sake of its preservation while
on the living animal, but that it may afterwards become useful to man.
The substance of the hide readily combining with the tanning principle,
is converted into leather.
THE ANATOMY OF THE WOOL.
[Illustration: THE WALLACHIAN SHEEP.]
On the skin of most animals is placed a covering of feathers, fur, hair,
or wool. These are all essentially the same in composition, being
composed of an animal substance resembling coagulated albumen, together
with sulphur, silica, carbonate and phosphate of lime, and oxides of
iron and manganese.
Wool is not confined to the sheep. The under-hair of some goats is not
only finer than the fleece of any sheep, but it occasionally has the
crisped appearance of wool; being, in fact, wool of different qualities
in different breeds--in some, rivalling or excelling that of the sheep,
but in others very coarse. A portion of wool is also found on many other
animals; as the deer, elk, the oxen of Tartary and Hudson's Bay, the
gnu, the camel, many of the fur-clad animals, the sable, the polecat,
and several species of the dog.
Judging from the mixture of wool and hair in the coat of most animals,
and the relative situation of these materials, it is not improbable that
such was the character of the fleece of the primitive sheep. It has,
indeed, been asserted that the primitive sheep was entirely covered with
hair; but this is, doubtless, incorrect. There exists, at the present
day, varieties of the sheep occupying extensive districts, that are
clothed outwardly with hair of different degrees of fineness and
sleekness; and underneath the external coat is a softer, shorter, and
closer one, that answers to the description of fur--according to most
travellers--but which really possesses all the characteristics of wool.
It is, therefore, highly improbable that the sheep--which has now
become, by cultivation, the wool-bearing animal in a pre-eminent
degree--should, in any country, at any time, have ever been entirely
destitute of wool. Sheep of almost every variety have at times been in
the gardens of the London (Eng.) Zooelogical Society; but there has not
been one on which a portion of crisped wool, although exceedingly small,
has not been discovered beneath the hair. In all the regions over which
the patriarchs wandered, and extending northward through the greater
part of Europe and Asia, the sheep is externally covered with hair; but
underneath is a fine, short, downy wool, from which the hair is easily
separated. This is the case with the sheep at the Cape of Good Hope,
and also in South America.
The change from hair to wool, though much influenced by temperature, has
been chiefly effected by cultivation. Wherever hairy sheep are now found
the management of the animal is in a most disgraceful state; and among
the cultivated sheep the remains of this ancient hairy covering only
exists, to any great extent, among those that are comparatively
neglected or abandoned.
The filament of the wool has scarcely pushed itself through the pore of
the skin, when it has to penetrate through another and singular
substance, which, from its adhesiveness and color, is called _the yolk_.
This is found in greatest quantity about the breast and shoulders--the
very parts that produce the best, and healthiest, and most abundant
wool--and in proportion as it extends, in any considerable degree, over
other parts, the wool is then improved. It differs in quantity in
different breeds. It is very abundant on the Merinos; it is sufficiently
plentiful on most of the southern breeds, either to assist in the
production of the wool, or to defend the sheep from the inclemency of
the weather; but in the northern districts, where the cold is more
intense and the yolk of wool is deficient, a substitute for it is
sometimes sought by smearing the sheep with a mixture of tar, oil, or
butter. Where there is a deficiency of yolk, the fibre of the wool is
dry, harsh, and weak, and the whole fleece becomes thin and hairy; where
the natural quantity of it is found, the wool is soft, oily, plentiful
and strong.
This yolk is not the inspissated or thickened perspiration of the
animal; it is not composed of matter which has been accidentally picked
up, and which has lodged in the wool; but it is a peculiar secretion
from the glands of the skin, destined to be one of the agents in the
nourishment of the wool, and at the same time, by its adhesiveness, to
mat the wool together, and form a secure defence from the wet and cold.
Chemical experiments have established its composition, as follows:
first, of a soapy matter with a basis of potash, which forms the greater
part of it; second, a small quantity of carbonate of potash; third, a
perceptible quantity of acetate of potash; fourth, lime, in a peculiar
and unknown state of combination; fifth, an atom of muriate of potash;
sixth, an animal oil, to which its peculiar odor is attributable. All
these materials are believed to be essential to the yolk, and not found
in it by mere accident, since the yolk of a great number of
samples--Spanish, French, English, and American--has been subjected to
repeated analyses, with the same result.
The yolk being a true soap, soluble in water, it is not difficult to
account for the comparative ease with which sheep that have the natural
proportion of it are washed in a running stream. There is, however, a
small quantity of fatty matter in the fleece, which is not in
combination with the alkali, and which, remaining attached to the wool,
keeps it a little glutinous, notwithstanding the most careful washing.
The fibre of the wool having penetrated the skin and escaped from
the yolk, is of a circular form, generally larger toward the extremity,
and also toward the root, and in some instances very considerably
so. The filaments of white wool, when cleansed from grease, are
semi-transparent; their surface in some places is beautifully polished,
in others curiously incrusted, and they reflect the rays of light in a
very pleasing manner. When viewed by the aid of a powerful achromatic
microscope, the central part of the fibre has a singularly glittering
appearance. Minute filaments, placed very regularly, are sometimes seen
branching from the main trunk, like boughs from the principal stem. This
exterior polish varies much in different wools, and in wools from the
same breed of sheep at different times. When the animal is in good
condition, and the fleece healthy, the appearance of the fibre is really
brilliant; but when the state of the constitution is bad, the fibre has
a dull appearance, and either a wan, pale light, or sometimes scarcely
any, is reflected. As a general rule, the filament is most transparent
in the best and most useful wools, whether long or short. It increases
with the improvement of the breed, and the fineness and healthiness of
the fleece; yet it must be admitted that some wools have different
degrees of the transparency and opacity, which do not appear to affect
their value and utility. It is, however, the difference of transparency
in the same fleece, or in the same filament, that is chiefly to be
noticed as improving the value of the wool.
As to the size of the fibre, the terms "fine" and "coarse," as commonly
used, are but vague and general descriptions of wool. All fine fleeces
have some coarse wool, and all coarse fleeces some fine. The most
accurate classification is to distinguish the various qualities of wool
in the order in which they are esteemed and preferred by the
manufacturer--as the following: first, fineness with close ground, that
is, thick-matted ground; second, pureness; third, straight-haired, when
broken by drawing; fourth, elasticity, rising after compression in the
hand; fifth, staple not too long; sixth, color; seventh, what coarse
exists to be very coarse; eighth, tenacity; and ninth, not much
pitch-mark, though this is no disadvantage, except the loss of weight in
scouring. The bad or disagreeable properties are--thin, grounded, tossy,
curly-haired, and, if in a sorted state, little in it that is very fine;
a tender staple, as elasticity, many dead white hairs, very yolky. Those
who buy wool for combing and other light goods that do not need milling,
wish to find length of staple, fineness of hair, whiteness, tenacity,
pureness, elasticity, and not too many pitch-marks.
The property first attracting attention, and being of greater importance
than any other, is _the fineness_ of the pile--the quantity of fine wool
which a fleece yields, and the degree of that fineness. Of the absolute
fineness, little can be said, varying, as it does, in different parts of
the same fleece to a very considerable degree, and the diameter of the
same fibre often being exceedingly different at the extremity and the
centre. The micrometer has sometimes indicated that the diameter of the
former is five times as much as that of the latter; and, consequently,
that a given length of yield taken from the extremity would weigh
twenty-five times as much as the same length taken from the centre and
cleansed from all yolk and grease. That fibre may be considered as
coarse whose diameter is more than the five-hundredth part of an inch;
in some of the most valuable samples of Saxony wool it has not exceeded
the nine-hundredth part; yet in some animals, whose wool has not been
used for manufacturing purposes, it is less than one twelve-hundredth
part.
The extremities of the wool, and frequently those portions which are
near to the root, are larger than the intermediate parts. The extremity
of the fibre has, generally, the greatest bulk of all. It is the
product of summer, soon after shearing-time, when the secretion of the
matter of the wool is increased, and when the pores of the skin are
relaxed and open, and permit a larger fibre to protrude. The portion
near the root is the growth of spring, when the weather is getting warm;
and the intermediate part is the offspring of winter, when under the
influence of the cold the pores of the skin contract, and permit only a
finer hair to escape. If, however, the animal is well fed, the
diminution of the bulk of the fibre will not be followed by weakness or
decay, but, in proportion as the pile becomes fine, the value of the
fleece will be increased; whereas, if cold and starvation should go
hand-in-hand, the woolly fibre will not only diminish in bulk, but in
health, strength, and worth.
The variations in the diameter of the wool in different parts of the
fibre will also curiously correspond with the degree of heat at the time
the respective portions were produced. The fibre of the wool and the
record of the meteorologist will singularly agree, if the variations in
temperature are sufficiently distinct from each other for any
appreciable part of the fibre to form. It follows from this, that--the
natural tendency to produce wool of a certain fibre being the
same--sheep in a hot climate will yield a comparatively coarse wool, and
those in a cold climate will carry a finer, but at the same time a
closer and a warmer fleece. In proportion to the coarseness of a fleece
will generally be its openness, and its inability to resist either cold
or wet; while the coat of softer, smaller, more pliable wool will admit
of no interstices between its fibres, and will bid defiance to frost and
storms.
The natural instinct of the sheep would seem to teach the wool-grower
the advantage of attending to the influence of temperature upon the
animal. He is evidently impatient of heat. In the open districts, and
where no shelter is near, he climbs to the highest parts of his walk,
that, if the rays of the sun must still fall on him, he may nevertheless
be cooled by the breeze; but, if shelter is near, of whatever kind,
every shaded spot is crowded with sheep. The wool of the Merinos after
shearing-time is hard and coarse to such a degree as to render it very
difficult to suppose that the same animal could bear wool so opposite in
quality, compared with that which had been clipped from it in the course
of the same season. As the cold weather advances, the fleeces recover
their soft quality.
Pasture has a far greater influence on the fineness of the fleece. The
staple of the wool, like every other part of the sheep, must increase in
length or in bulk when the animal has a superabundance of nutriment;
and, on the other hand, the secretion which forms the wool must decrease
like every other, when sufficient nourishment is not afforded. When
little cold has been experienced in the winter, and vegetation has
scarcely been checked, the sheep yields an abundant crop of wool, but
the fleece is perceptibly coarser as well as heavier. When the frost has
been severe, and the ground long covered with snow, if the flock has
been fairly supplied with nutriment, although the fleece may have lost a
little in weight, it will have acquired a superior degree of fineness,
and a proportional increase of value. Should, however, the sheep have
been neglected and starved during this continued cold weather, the
fleece as well as the carcass is thinner, and although it may have
preserved its smallness of filament, it has lost in weight, and
strength, and usefulness.
Connected with fineness is _trueness of staple_--as equal in growth as
possible over the animals--a freedom from those shaggy portions, here
and there, which are occasionally observed on poor and neglected sheep.
These portions are always coarse and comparatively worthless, and they
indicate an irregular and unhealthy action of the secretion of wool,
which will also probably weaken or render the fibre diseased in other
parts. Included in trueness of fibre is another circumstance to which
allusion has already been made--a freedom from coarse hairs which
project above the general level of the wool in various parts, or, if
they are not externally seen, mingle with the wool and debase its
qualities.
_Soundness_ is closely associated with trueness. It means, generally
speaking, strength of the fibre, and also a freedom from those breaches
or withered portions of which something has previously been said. The
eye will readily detect the breaches; but the hair generally may not
possess a degree of strength proportioned to its bulk. This is
ascertained by drawing a few hairs out of the staple, and grasping each
of them singly by both ends, and pulling them until they break. The wool
often becomes injured by felting while it is on the sheep's back. This
is principally seen in the heavy breeds, especially those that are
neglected and half-starved, and generally begins in the winter season,
when the coat has been completely saturated with water, and it increases
until shearing-time, unless the cob separates from the wool beneath, and
drops off.
Wool is generally injured by keeping. It will probably increase a
little in weight for a few months, especially if kept in a damp place;
but after that it will somewhat rapidly become lighter, until a very
considerable loss will often be sustained. This, however, is not the
moral of the case; for, except very great care is taken, the moth will
get into the bundles and injure and destroy the staple; and that which
remains untouched by them will become considerably harsh and less
pliable. If to this the loss of the interest of money is added, it will
be seen that he seldom acts wisely who hoards his wool, when he can
obtain what approaches to a fair remunerating price for it.
_Softness_ of the wool is evidently connected with the presence and
quality of the yolk. This substance is undoubtedly designed not only to
nourish the hair, but to give it richness and pliability. The growth of
the yolk ought to be promoted, and agriculturists ought to pay more
attention to the quantity and quality of yolk possessed by the animals
selected for the purpose of breeding.
Bad management impairs the pliability of the wool, by arresting the
secretion of the yolk. The softness of the wool is also much influenced
by the chemical elements of the soil. A chalky soil notoriously
deteriorates it; minute particles of the chalk being necessarily brought
into contact with the fleece and mixing with it, have a corrosive effect
on the fibre, and harden it and render it less pliable. The particles of
chalk come in contact with the yolk--there being a chemical affinity
between the alkali and the oily matter of the yolk--immediately unite,
and a true soap is formed. The first storm washes a portion of it; and
the wool, deprived of its natural pabulum and unguent, loses some of its
vital properties--its pliability among the rest. The slight degree of
harshness which has been attributed to the English South-Down has been
explained in this way.
_The felting property_ of wool is a tendency of the fibres to entangle
themselves together, and to form a mass more or less difficult to
unravel. By moisture and pressure, the fibres of the wool may become
matted or felted together into a species of cloth. The manufacture of
felt was the first mode in which wool was applied to clothing, and felt
has long been in universal use for hats. The fulling of flannels and
broadcloths is effected by the felting principle. By the joint influence
of the moisture and the pressure, certain of the fibres are brought into
more intimate contact with each other; they adhere--not only the fibres,
but; in a manner, the threads--and the cloth is taken from the mill
shortened in all its dimensions; it has become a kind of felt, for the
threads have disappeared, and it can be cut in every direction with very
little or no unravelling; it is altogether a thicker, warmer, softer
fibre. This felting property is one of the most valuable qualities
possessed by wool, and on this property are the finer kinds of wool
especially valued by the manufacturer for the finest broadcloths. This
naturally suggests a consideration of the various forms in the structure
on which it depends.
The most evident distinction between the qualities of hair and wool is
the comparative straightness of the former, and _the crisped or
spirally-curling form_ which the latter assumes. If a little lock of
wool is held up to the light, every fibre of it is twisted into numerous
minute corkscrew-like ringlets. This is especially seen in the fleece of
the short-woolled sheeps; but, although less striking, it is obvious
even in wool of the largest staple.
The spirally-curving form of wool used, erroneously, to be considered as
the chief distinction between the covering of the goat and the sheep;
but the under-coat of some of the former is finer than that of any
sheep, and it is now acknowledged frequently to have the crisped and
curled appearance of wool. In some breeds of cattle, particularly in one
variety of the Devons, the hair assumes a curled and wavy appearance,
and a few of the minute spiral ringlets have been occasionally seen. It
is the same with many of the Highlands; but there is no determination to
take on the true crisped character, and throughout its whole extent, and
it is still nothing but hair. On some foreign breeds, however, as the
yak of Tartary, and the ox of Hudson's Bay, some fine and valuable wool
is produced.
There is an intimate connection between the fineness of the wool and the
number of the curves, at least in sheep yielding wool of nearly the same
length; so that, whether the wool of different sheep is examined, or
that from different parts of the same sheep, it is enough for the
observer to take advice of the number of curves in a given space, in
order to ascertain with sufficient accuracy the fineness of the fibre.
To this curled form of the wool not enough attention is, as a general
thing, paid by the breeder. It is, however, that on which its most
valuable uses depend. It is that which is essential to it in the
manufactory of cloths. The object of the carder is to break the wool in
pieces at the curves--the principle of the thread is the adhesion of the
particles together by their curves; and the fineness of the thread, and
consequent fineness of the cloth, will depend on the minuteness of
these curves, or the number of them found in a given length of fibre.
It will readily be seen that this curling form has much to do with the
felting property of wool; it materially contributes to that disposition
in the fibres which enables them to attach and intwine themselves
together; it multiplies the opportunities for this interlacing, and it
increases the difficulty of unravelling the felt.
The felting property of wool is the most important, as well as the
distinguishing one; but it varies essentially in different breeds, and
the usefulness and the consequent value of the fleece, for clothing
purposes, at least, depend on the degree to which it is pursued.
_The serrated_--notched, like the teeth of a saw--_edge_ of wool, which
has been discovered by means of the microscope, is also, as well as the
spiral curl, deemed an important quality in the felting property.
Repeated microscopic observations have removed all doubts as to the
general outline of the woolly fibre. It consists of a central stem or
stalk, probably hollow, or, at least, porous, possessing a
semi-transparency, not found in the fibre of hair. From this central
stalk there springs, at different distances, on different breeds of
sheep, a circlet of leaf-shaped projections.
LONG WOOL.
The most valuable of the long-woolled fleeces are of British origin. A
considerable quantity is produced in France and Belgium; but the
manufacturers in those countries acknowledge the superiority of the
British wool. Long wool is distinguished, as its name would import, by
the length of its staple, the average of which is about eight inches.
It was much improved, of late years, both in England and in other
countries. Its staple has, without detriment to its manufacturing
qualities, become shorter; but it has also become finer, truer, and
sounder. The long-woolled sheep has been improved more than any other
breed; and the principal error which Bakewell committed having been
repaired since his death, the long wool has progressively risen in
value, at least for curling purposes. Some of the breeds have staples of
double the length that has been mentioned as the average one. Pasture
and breeding are the powerful agents here.
Probably because the Leicester blood prevails in, or, at least, mingles
with, every other long-woolled breed, a great similarity in the
appearance and quality of this fleece has become apparent, of late
years, in every district of England. The short-woolled fleeces are, to a
very considerable degree, unlike in fineness, elasticity, and felting
property; the sheep themselves are still more unlike; but the long-wools
have, in a great degree, lost their distinctive points--the Lincoln, for
example, has not all of his former gaunt carcass, and coarse, entangled
wool--the Cotswold has become a variety of the Leicester--in fact, all
the long-woolled sheep, both in appearance and fleece, have almost
become of one variety; and rarely, except from culpable neglect in the
breeder, has the fleece been injuriously weakened, or too much
shortened, for the most valuable purposes to which it is devoted.
In addition to its length, this wool is characterized by its strength,
its transparency, its comparative stoutness, and the slight degree in
which it possesses the felting property. Since the extension of the
process of combing to wools of a shorter staple, the application of
this wool to manufacturing purposes has undergone considerable change.
In some respects, the range of its use has been limited; but its demand
has, on the whole, increased, and its value is more highly appreciated.
Indeed, there are certain important branches of the woollen manufacture,
such as worsted stuffs, bombazines, muslin-delaines, etc., in which it
can never be superseded; and its rapid extension in the United States,
within the past few years, clearly shows that a large and increasing
demand for this kind of wool will continue at remunerating prices.
This long wool is classed under two divisions, distinguished both by
length and the fineness of the fibre. The first--_the long-combing
wool_--is used for the manufacture of hard yarn, and the worsted goods
for which that thread is adapted, and requires the staple to be long,
firm, and little disposed to felt. _The short-combing wool_ has, as its
name implies, a shorter staple, and is finer and more felty; the felt is
also closer and softer, and is chiefly used for hosiery goods.
MIDDLE WOOL.
This article is of more recent origin than the former, but has rapidly
increased in quantity and value. It can never supersede, but will only
stand next in estimation to, the native English long fleece. It is
yielded by the half-bred sheep--a race that becomes more numerous every
year--being a cross of the Leicester ram with the South-Down, or some
other short-woolled ewe; retaining the fattening property and the early
maturity of the Leicester, or of both; and the wool deriving length and
straightness of fibre from the one, and fineness and feltiness from the
other. The average length of staple is about five inches. There is no
description of the finer stuff-goods in which this wool is not most
extensively and advantageously employed; and the nails, or portions
which are broken off by the comb, and left in, whether belonging to this
description of wool or to the long wool, are used in the manufacture of
several species of cloth of no inferior quality or value.
Under the breed of middle wools must be classed those which, when there
were but two divisions, were known by the name of short wools; and if
English productions were alone treated of, would still retain the same
distinctive appellation. To this class belong the South-Down and
Cheviot; together with the fleece of several other breeds, not so
numerous, nor occupying so great an extent of country. From the change,
however, which insensibly took place in them all--the lengthening, and
the increased thickness of the fibre, and, more especially, from the
gradual introduction of other wools possessing delicacy of fibre,
pliability, and felting qualities beyond what these could claim, and at
the same time, being cheaper in the market--they lost ground in the
manufacture of the finer cloths, and have for some time ceased to be
used in the production of them. On the other hand, the changes which
have taken place in the construction of machinery have multiplied the
purposes to which they may be devoted, and very considerably enhanced
their value.
These wools, of late, rank among the combing wools; they are prepared as
much by the comb as by the card, and in some places more. On this
account they meet with a readier sale, at fair, remunerating prices,
considering the increased weight of each individual fleece, and the
increased weight and earlier maturity of the carcass. The South-Downs
yield about seven-tenths of the pure short wools grown in the British
kingdoms; but the half-bred sheep has, as has been remarked, encroached
on the pure short-woolled one. The average staple of middle-woolled
sheep is three and a half inches.
These wools are employed in the manufacture of flannels, army and navy
cloths, coatings, heavy cloths for calico printers and paper
manufacturers, woollen cords, coarse woollens, and blankets; besides
being partially used in cassinettes, baizes, bockings, carpets,
druggets, etc.
SHORT WOOL.
From this division every wool of English production is excluded. These
wools, yielded by the Merinos, are employed, unmixed, in the manufacture
of the finer cloths, and, combined with a small proportion of wool from
the English breeds, in others of an inferior value. The average length
of staple is about two and a half inches.
These wools even may be submitted to the action of the comb. There may
be fibres only one inch in length; but if there are others from two and
a half to three inches, so that the average of the staple shall be two
inches, a thread sufficiently tenacious may, from the improved state of
machinery, be spun, and many delicate and beautiful fabrics readily
woven, which were unknown not many years ago.
[Illustration]
CROSSING AND BREEDING
No one breed of sheep combines the highest perfection in all those
points which give value to this race of animals. One is remarkable for
the weight, or early maturity, or excellent quality of its carcass,
while it is deficient in quality or quantity of wool; and another, which
is valuable for wool, is comparatively deficient in carcass. Some
varieties will flourish only under certain conditions of food and
climate; while others are much less affected by those conditions, and
will subsist under the greatest variations of temperature, and on the
most opposite qualities of verdure.
In selecting a breed for any given locality, reference should be had,
_first_, to the feed and climate, or the surrounding natural
circumstances; and, _second_, to the market facilities and demand.
Choice should then be made of that breed which, with the advantages
possessed, and under all the circumstances, will yield the greatest net
value of the marketable product.
Rich lowland herbage, in a climate which allows it to remain green
during a large portion of the year, is favorable to the production of
large carcasses. If convenient to a market where mutton finds a prompt
sale and good prices, then all the conditions are realized which calls
for a mutton-producing, as contradistinguished from a wool-yielding,
sheep. Under such circumstances, the choice should undoubtedly be made
from the improved English varieties--the South-Down, the New Leicester,
and the improved Cotswolds or New Oxfordshire sheep. In deciding between
these, minor and more specific circumstances must be taken into account.
If large numbers are to be kept, the Downs will herd--remain thriving
and healthy when kept together in large numbers--much better than the
two larger breeds; if the feed, though generally plentiful, is liable to
be somewhat short during the droughts of summer, and there is not a
certain supply of the most nutritious winter feed, the Downs will better
endure occasional short keep; if the market demands a choice and
high-flavored mutton, the Downs possess a decided superiority. If, on
the other hand, but few are to be kept in the same enclosure, the large
breeds will be as healthy as the Downs; if the pastures are somewhat wet
or marshy, the former will better subsist on the rank herbage which
usually grows in such situations; if they do not afford so fine a
quality of mutton, they--particularly the Leicester--possess an earlier
maturity, and give more meat for the amount of food consumed, as well as
yield more tallow.
The next point of comparison between the long and the middle woolled
families, is the value of their wool. Though not the first or principal
object aimed at in the cultivation of any of these breeds, it is, in
this country, an important item of incident in determining their
relative profitableness. The American Leicester yields about six pounds
of long, coarse, combing wool; the Cotswold, somewhat more; but this
perhaps counterbalanced by these considerations; the Downs grow three to
four pounds of a low quality of carding wool. None of these wools are
very salable, at remunerating prices, in the American markets. Both,
however, will appreciate in proportion to the increase of manufactures
of worsted, flannels, baizes, and the like. The difference in the weight
of the fleeces between the breeds is, of itself, a less important
consideration than it would at first appear, for reasons which will be
given when the connection between the amount of wool produced and the
food consumed by the sheep is noticed.
The Cheviots are unquestionably inferior to the breeds above named,
except in a capacity to endure a vigorous winter and to subsist on
healthy herbage. Used in the natural and artificial circumstances which
surround sheep-husbandry in many parts of England--where the fattest and
finest quality of mutton is consumed, as almost the only animal food of
the laboring classes--the heavy, early-maturing New Leicester, and the
still heavier New Oxfordshire sheep seem exactly adapted to the wants of
producers and consumers, and are of unrivalled value. To depasture
poorer soils, sustain a folding system, and furnish the mutton which
supplies the tables of the wealthy, the South-Down meets an equal
requirement.
Sufficient attention is by no means paid in many portions of the country
to the profit which could be made to result from the cultivation of the
sheep. One of the most serious defects in the prevalent husbandry of New
England, for example, is the neglect of sheep. Ten times the present
number might be easily fed, and they would give in meat, wool, and
progeny, more direct profit than any other domestic animal, while the
food which they consume would do more towards fertilizing the farms than
an equal amount consumed by any other animal. It is notorious that the
pastures of that section of the country have seriously deteriorated in
fertility and become overrun with worthless weeds and bushes to the
exclusion of nutritious grasses.
With sheep--as well as with all other animals--much or prolonged
exercise in pursuit of food, or otherwise, is unfavorable to taking on
fat. Some seem to forget, in their earnest advocacy of the merits of the
different breeds, that the general physical laws which control the
development of all the animal tissues as well as functions, are uniform.
Better organs will, doubtless, make a better appropriation of animal
food; and they may be taught, so to speak, to appropriate it in
particular directions: in one breed, more especially to the production
of fat; in another, of muck, or lean meat; in yet another, of wool. But,
these things being equal, large animals will always require more food
than small ones. Animals which are to be carried to a high state of
fatness must have plentiful and nutritious food, and they must exercise
but little, in order to prevent the unnecessary combustion in the lungs
of that carbon which forms nearly four-fifths of their fat. No art of
breeding can counteract these established laws of Nature.
In instituting a comparison between breeds of sheep for _wool-growing_
purposes, it is undeniable that the question is not, what variety will
shear the heaviest or even the most valuable fleece, irrespective of
the cost of production. Cost of feed and care, and every other expense,
must be deducted, in order to fairly test the profits of an animal.
If a large sheep consume twice as much food as a small one, and give
but once and a-half as much wool, it is obviously more profitable--other
things being equal--to keep two of the smaller sheep. The next question,
then, is,--_from what breed_--with the same expense in other
particulars--_will the verdure of an acre of land produce the greatest
value of wool_?
And, first, as to the comparative amount of food consumed by the several
breeds. There are no satisfactory experiments which show that _breed_,
in itself considered, has any particular influence on the quantity of
food consumed. It is found, with all varieties, that the consumption is
in proportion to the live weight of the grown animal. Of course, this
rule is not invariable in its individual application; but its general
soundness has been satisfactorily established. Grown sheep take up
between two and a half and three and a third per cent. of their weight,
in what is equivalent to dry hay, to keep themselves in store condition.
The consumption of food, then, being proportioned to the weight, it
follows that, if one acre is capable of sustaining three Merinos,
weighing one hundred pounds each, it will sustain two Leicesters,
weighing one hundred and fifty each, and two and two-fifth South-Downs,
weighing one hundred and twenty-five each. Merinos of this weight often
shear five pounds per fleece, taking flocks through. The herbage of an
acre, then, would give fifteen pounds of Merino wool, twelve of
Leicester, and but nine and three-fifths of South-Down--estimating the
latter as high as four pounds to the fleece. Even the finest and
lightest-fleeced sheep known as Merinos average about four pounds to the
fleece; so that the feed of an acre would produce as much of the highest
quality of wool sold under the name of Merino as it would of New
Leicester, and more than it would of South-Down, while the former would
be worth from fifty to one hundred per cent. more per pound than either
of the latter.
Nor does this indicate all the actual difference, as in the foregoing
estimate the live weight of the English breeds is placed low, and that
of the Merinos high. The live weight of the five-pound fine-fleeced
Merino does not exceed ninety pounds; it ranges, in fact, from eighty to
ninety; so that three hundred pounds of live weight--it being understood
that all of these live weights refer to ewes in fair ordinary, or what
is called store, condition--would give a still greater product of wool
to the acre. It is perfectly safe, therefore, to say that the herbage of
an acre will uniformly give nearly double the value of Merino that it
will of any of the English long or middle wools.
What are the other relative expenses of these breeds? The full-blooded
Leicester is in no respect a hardier sheep than the Merino, though some
of its crosses are much hardier than the pure-bred sheep: indeed, it is
less hardy, under the most favorable circumstances. It is more subject
to colds; its constitution more readily gives way under disease; the
lambs are more liable to perish from exposure to cold, when newly
dropped. Under unfavorable circumstances--herded in large flocks,
famished for feed, or subjected to long journeys--its capacity to
endure, and its ability to rally from sad drawbacks, do not compare,
with those of the Merino. The high-bred South-Down, though considerably
less hardy than the unimproved parent stock, is still fairly entitled to
the appellation of a hardy animal; it is, in fact, about on a pace with
the Merino, though it will not bear as hard stocking, without a rapid
diminution in size and quality. If the peculiar merits of the animal are
to be considered in determining the expenses, as they surely should be,
the superior fecundity of the South-Down is a point in its favor, as
well for a wool-producing as a mutton sheep. The ewe not only frequently
produces twin lambs--as do both the Merino and Leicester--but, unlike
the latter, she possesses nursing properties to do justice to them. This
advantage, however, is fully counterbalanced by the superior longevity
of the Merino. All the English mutton breeds begin to rapidly
deteriorate in amount of wool, capacity to fatten, and general vigor, at
about five years old; and their early maturity is no offset to this, in
an animal kept for wool-growing purposes. This early decay requires
earlier and more rapid slaughter than is always economically convenient,
or even possible.
It is well, on properly stocked farms, to slaughter or turn off the
Merino wether at four or five years old, to make room for the breeding
stock; but he will not particularly deteriorate, and he will richly pay
the way with his fleece for several years longer. Breeding ewes are
rarely turned off before eight, and are frequently kept until ten years
old, at which period they exhibit no greater marks of age than do the
Downs and Leicester at five or six. Instances are known of Merino ewes
breeding uniformly until fifteen years old. The improved Cotswold is
said to be hardier than the Leicester; but this variety, from their
great size, and the consequent amount of food consumed by them, together
with the other necessary incidents connected with the breeding of such
large animals, is incapacitated from being generally introduced as a
wool-growing sheep. All the coarse races have one advantage over the
Merino: they are less subject to the visitation of the hoof-ail, and
when untreated, this disease spreads with less violence and malignity
among them. This has been explained by the fact that their hoofs do not
grow long and turn under from the sides, as do those of the Merino, and
thus retain dirt and filth in constant contact with the foot.
Taking into account all the circumstances connected with the peculiar
management of each race, together with all the incidents, exigencies,
and risks of the husbandry of each, it may be confidently asserted that
the expenses, other than those of feed, are not smaller per head, or
even in the number required to stock an acre, in either of the English
breeds above referred to, than in the Merino. Indeed, it may well be
doubted whether any of those English breeds, except the South-Down, is
on an equality, even, with the Merino, in these respects. For
wool-growing purposes, the Merino, then, possesses a marked and decided
superiority over the best breeds and families of coarse-woolled sheep.
As a mutton sheep, it is inferior to some of those breeds; although not
so much as is popularly supposed. Many persons, who have never tasted
Merino mutton, and who have, consequently, an unfavorable impression of
it, would, if required to consume the fat and lean together, find it
more palatable than the luscious and over-fat New Leicester. The mutton
of the cross between the Merino and the Native would certainly be
preferred to the Leicester, by anybody but an English laborer,
accustomed to the latter, since it is short-grained, tender, and of good
flavor. The same is true of the crosses with the English varieties,
which will hereafter be treated of more particularly. Grade Merino
wethers, half-bloods, for example, are favorites with the drover and
butcher, being of good size, extraordinarily heavy for their apparent
bulk, by reason of the shortness of their wool, compared with the coarse
breeds, making good mutton, tallowing well, and their pelts, from the
greater weight of wool on them, commanding an extra price. In speaking
of the Merino in this connection, no reference is made to the Saxons,
though they are, as is well known, pure-blooded descendants of the
former.
Assuming it, then, as settled, that it is to the Merino race that the
wool-grower must look for the most profitable sheep, a few
considerations are subjoined as to the adaptability of the widely
diverse sub-varieties of the race to the wants and circumstances of
different portions of the country.
Upon the first introduction of the Saxons, they were sought with avidity
by the holders of the fine-woolled flocks of the country, consisting at
that time of pure or grade Merinos. Under the decisive encouragement
offered both to the wool-grower and the manufacturer by the tariff of
1828, a great impetus was given to the production of the finest wools,
and the Saxon everywhere superseded, or bred out by crossing, the
Spanish Merinos. In New York and New England, the latter almost entirely
disappeared. In the fine-wool mania which ensued, weight of fleece,
constitution, and every thing else, were sacrificed to the quality of
the wool. Then came the tariff of 1832, which, as well as that of 1828,
gave too much protection to both wool-grower and manufacturer, into
whose pursuits agricultural and mercantile speculators madly rushed.
Skill without capital, capital without skill, and in some cases,
probably, thirst for gain without either, laid hold of these favored
avocations. The natural and inevitable result followed. In the financial
crisis of 1837, manufacturing, and all other monetary enterprises which
had not been conducted with skill and providence, and which were not
based on an adequate and vast capital, were involved in a common
destruction; and even the most solid and best conducted institutions of
the country were shaken by the fury of the explosion. Wool suddenly fell
almost fifty per cent. The grower began to be discouraged. The breeder
of the delicate Saxons--and they comprised the flocks of nearly all the
large wool-growers in the country, at that time--could not obtain for
his wool its actual first cost per pound.
When the Saxon growers found that the tariff of 1842 brought them no
relief, they began to give up their costly and carefully nursed flocks.
The example once set, it became contagious; and then was a period when
it seemed as if all the Saxon sheep of the country would be sacrificed
to this reaction. Many abandoned wool-growing altogether, at a heavy
sacrifice of their fixtures for rearing sheep; others crossed with
coarse-woolled breeds; and, rushing from one extreme to the other, some
even crossed with the English mutton breeds; or some, with more
judgment, went back to the parent Merino stock, but usually selected the
heaviest and coarsest-woolled Merinos, and thus materially deteriorated
the character of their wool. This period became distinguished by a mania
for heavy fleeces. The English crosses were, however, speedily
abandoned. The Merino regained his supremacy, lost for nearly a quarter
of a century, and again became the popular favorite. It was generally
adopted by those who were commencing flocks in the new Western States,
and gives its type to the sheep of those regions.
The supply of fine wool, then, proportionably decreased, and that of
medium and coarse increased. Wools, for convenience, may be classified
as follows: _superfine_, the choicest quality grown in the United
States, and never grown here excepting in comparatively small
quantities; _fine_, good ordinary Saxon; _good medium_, the highest
quality of wool usually known in the market as Merino; _medium_,
ordinary Merino; _ordinary_, grade Merino and selected South-Down
fleeces; and, _coarse_, the English long-wools, etc. This subdivision
is, perhaps, minute enough for all practical purposes here.
It soon became apparent that, to sustain our manufacturing
interest--that engaged in the manufacture of fine cloths--the diminution
of fine wools should not only be at once arrested, but that the growth
of them should be immediately and largely increased. An increased
attention was accordingly bestowed upon this branch of industry, and
sections of the country which had previously held aloof from
wool-growing, embarked in that calling with commendable enterprise.
The climate north of forty-one degrees, or, beyond all dispute, north
of forty-two degrees, is too severe for any variety of sheep commonly
known, which bear either superfine or fine wools. In fact, the only such
variety in any thing like general use is the Saxon; and this, as has
been remarked, is a delicate sheep, entirely incapable of safely
withstanding our northern winters, without good shelter, good and
regularly-administered food, and careful and skilful management in all
other particulars. When the season is a little more than usually
back-hand, so that grass does not start prior to the lambing season, it
is difficult to raise the lambs of the mature ewes; the young ewes will,
in many instances, disown their lambs, or, if they own them, not have a
drop of milk for them; and if, under such circumstances, as often
happens, a northeast or a northwest storm comes driving down, bearing
snow or sleet in its wings, or there is a sudden depression of the
temperature from any cause, no care will save multitudes of lambs from
perishing. If the time of having the lambs dropped is deferred, for the
purpose of escaping these evils, they will not attain size and strength
sufficient to enable them to pass safely through their first winter.
North of the latitude last named, it is necessary, as a general rule,
that they be dropped in the first half of May, to give them this
requisite size and strength; and occasional cold storms come, nearly
every season, up to that period, and, not unfrequently, up to the first
of June.
These considerations have had their weight even with the few large
sheep-holders in that section, whose farms and buildings have been
arranged with exclusive reference to the rearing of these sheep; many of
whom have adopted a Merino cross. With the ordinary farmers--the small
sheep-owners, who, in the aggregate, grow by far the largest portion of
the northern wools--the Saxon sheep is, for these reasons, in marked
disrepute. They have not the necessary fixtures for their winter
protection, and are unwilling to bestow the necessary amount of care on
them. Besides, mutton and wool being about an equal consideration with
this class, they want larger and earlier maturing breeds. Above all,
they want a strong, hardy sheep, which demands no more care than their
cattle. The strong, compact, medium-woolled Merino, or, more generally,
its crosses with coarse varieties, producing the wool classed as
ordinary, is the common favorite. In the Northwest, this is especially
the case, where the climate is still worse for delicate sheep.
At the South, on the contrary--where these disadvantages do not exist to
so great an extent, certainly--wool varying from good medium upward are
more profitable staples for cultivation than the lower classes; and in
that section a high degree of fineness in fleece has been sought in
breeding the Merino--the four-pound fine-fleeced Merino having received
marked attention. This is a far more profitable animal than the Saxon,
other things being equal--which is not the case, since the former is
every way a hardier animal and a better nurse; and, although about
twenty pounds heavier, and therefore consuming more feed, this
additional expense is more than counterbalanced by the additional care
and risk attending the husbandry of the Saxon.
POINTS OF THE MERINO.
For breeding purposes, the shape and general appearance of the Merino
should be as follows:--The head should be well carried up, and in the
ewe hornless. It would be better, on many accounts, to have the ram
also hornless, but, as horns are usually characteristic of the Merino
ram, many prefer to see them. The face should be rather short, broad
between the eyes, the nose pointed, and, in the ewe, fine and free
from wrinkles. The eye should be bright, moderately prominent, and
gentle in its expression. The neck should be straight--not curving
downward--short, round, and stout--particularly so at its junction with
the shoulder, forward of the upper point of which it should not sink
below the level of the back. The points of the shoulder should not rise
to any perceptible extent above the level of the back. The back, to
the hips, should be straight; the crops--that portion of the body
immediately back of the shoulder-blades--full; the ribs well arched; the
body large and capacious; the flank well let down; the hind-quarters
full and round--the flesh meeting well down between the thighs, or in
the "twists." The bosom should be broad and full; the legs short, well
apart, and perpendicular--that is, not drawn under the body toward each
other when the sheep is standing. Viewed as a whole, the Merino should
present the appearance of a low, stout, plump, and--though differing
essentially from the English mutton-sheep model--a highly symmetrical
sheep.
The skin is an important point. It should be loose, singularly mellow,
and of a rich, delicate pink color. A colorless skin, or one of a tawny,
approaching to a butternut, hue, indicates bad breeding. On the subject
of wrinkles, there is a difference of opinion. As they are rather
characteristic of the Merino--like the black color in a Berkshire hog,
or the absence of all color in Durham cattle--these wrinkles have been
more regarded, by novices, than those points which give actual value to
the animal; and shrewd breeders have not been slow to act upon this
hint. Many have contended that more wool can be obtained from a wrinkled
skin; and this view of the case has led both the Spanish and French
breeders to cultivate them largely--the latter, to a monstrosity. An
exceedingly wrinkled neck, however, adds but little to the weight of the
fleece--not enough, in fact, to compensate for the deformity, and the
great impediment thus placed in the way of the shearer. A smoothly drawn
skin, and the absence of all dead lap, would not, on the other hand,
perhaps be desirable.
The wool should densely cover the whole body, where it can possibly
grow--from a point between and a little below the eyes, and well up on
the cheeks, to the knees and hocks. Short wool may show, particularly in
young animals, on the legs, even below the knees and hocks; but long
wool covering the legs, and on the nose, below the eyes, is unsightly,
without value; while on the face it frequently impedes the sight of the
animal, causing it to be in a state of perpetual alarm, and
disqualifying it to escape real danger. Neither is this useless wool the
slightest indication of a heavy fleece--contrary to what seems to be
thought by some. It is very often seen in Saxons shearing scarcely two
pounds of wool, and on the very lightest fleeced Merinos.
The amount of gum which the wool should exhibit is another mooted point.
Merino wool should be yolky, or oily, prior to washing--though not to
the extreme extent, occasionally witnessed, of giving it the appearance
of being saturated with grease. The extreme tips may exhibit a
sufficient trace of gum to give the fleece a darkish cast, particularly
in the ram; but a black, pitchy gum, resembling half-hardened tar,
extending an eighth or a quarter of an inch into the fleece, and which
cannot be removed by ordinary washing, is decidedly objectionable. There
is a white or yellowish concrete gum, not removable by common washing,
which appears in the interior of some fleeces, and is equally
objectionable.
The weight of fleece remaining the same, medium length of staple, with
compactness, is preferable to long, open wool, since it constitutes a
better safeguard from inclemencies of weather, and better protects the
animal from the bad effects of cold and drenching rains in spring and
fall. The wool should be, as nearly as possible, of even length and
thickness over the entire body. Shortness on the flank, and shortness or
thickness on the belly, are serious defects.
Evenness of fleece is a point of the first importance. Many sheep
exhibit good wool on the shoulder and side, while it is far coarser and
even hairy on the thighs, dew-lap, etc. Rams of this stamp should not be
bred from by any one aiming to establish a superior fine-woolled flock;
and all such ewes should gradually be excluded from those selected for
breeding.
The style of the wool is a point of as much importance as mere fineness.
Some very fine wool is stiff, and the fibres almost straight, like hair.
It has a dry, cottony look; and is a poor, unsalable article, however
fine the fibre. Softness of wool--a delicate, silky, highly elastic feel
between the fingers or on the lips, is the first thing to be regarded.
This is usually an index, or inseparable attendant, of the other good
qualities; so much so, indeed, that an experienced judge can decide,
with little difficulty, between the quality of two fleeces, in the
dark. Wool should be finely serrated, or crimped from one extremity to
the other: that is, it should present a regular series of minute curves;
and, generally, the greater the number of these curves in a given
length, the higher the quality of the wool in all other particulars. The
wool should open on the back of the sheep in connected masses, instead
of breaking up into little round spiral ringlets of the size of a
pipe-stem, which indicate thinness of fleece; and when the wool is
pressed open each way with the hands, it should be close enough to
conceal all but a delicate rose-colored line of skin. The interior of
the wool should be a pure, glittering white, with a lustre and
liveliness of appearance not surpassed in the best silk.
The points in the form of the Merino which the breeder is called upon
particularly to avoid are, a long, thin head, narrow between the eyes; a
thin, long neck, arching downward before the shoulders; narrow loins;
flat ribs; steep, narrow hind-quarters; long legs; thighs scarcely
meeting at all; and legs drawn far under the body at the least approach
of cold. All these points were, separately or conjointly, illustrated in
many of the Saxon flocks which have been swept from the country.
Sufficient attention has already been paid to the points to be avoided
in the fleece.
BREEDING MERINOS.
The first great starting-point, among pure-blood animals, is, that "like
will beget like." If the sire and ewe are perfect in any given points,
the offspring will generally be; if either is defective, the
offspring--subject to a law which will possibly be noticed--will be
half-way between the two; if both are defective in the same points,
the progeny will be more so than either of its parents--it will
inherit the amount of defect in both parents added together. There are
exceedingly few perfect animals. Breeding, therefore, is a system of
counterbalancing--breeding out--in the offspring, the defects of one
parent, by the marked excellence of the other parent, in the same
points. The highest blood confers on the parent possessing it the
greatest power of stamping its own characteristics on its progeny; but,
blood being the same, the male sheep possesses this power in a greater
degree than the female. We may, therefore, in the beginning, breed from
ewes possessing any defects short of cardinal ones, without impropriety,
provided we possess the proper ram for that purpose; but, where a high
standard of quality is aimed at, all ewes possessing even considerable
defects should gradually be thrown out from breeding. Every year should
add to the vigor of the selection.
But, from the beginning--and at the beginning, more than at any other
time--the greatest care should be evinced in the selection of the ram.
If he has a defect, that defect is to be inherited by the whole future
flock; if it is a material one--as, for example, a hollow back, bad
cross, or thin fleece, or a highly uneven fleece--the flock will be one
of low quality and little value. If, on the other hand, he is perfect,
the defects in the female will be lessened, and gradually bred out. It
being, however, difficult to find perfect rams, those should be taken
which have the fewest and lightest defects, and none of these material,
like those just enumerated. These defects are to be met and
counterbalanced by the decided excellence--sometimes, indeed, running
into a fault--of the ewe, in the same points. If the ram, then, is a
little too long-legged, the shortest-legged ewes should be selected for
him; if gummy, the dryest-woolled; if his fleece is a trifle below the
proper standard of fineness--but he has been retained, as often happens,
for weight of fleece and general excellence--he is to be put to the
finest and lightest-fleeced ewes, and so on. With a selection of rams,
this system of counterbalancing would require but little skill, if each
parent possessed only a single fault. If the ewe be a trifle too
thin-fleeced, and good in all other particulars, it would require no
nice judgment to decide that she should be bred to an uncommonly
thick-fleeced ram. But most animals possess, to a greater or less
degree, several defects. To select so that every one of these in the
dam shall meet its opposite in the male, and the contrary, requires not
only plentiful materials from which to select, but the keenest
discrimination.
After the breeder has successfully established his flock, and given them
an excellent character, he soon encounters a serious evil. He must
"breed in-and-in," as it is called--that is, interbreed between animals
more or less nearly related in blood--or he must seek rams from other
flocks, at the risk of losing or changing the distinctive character of
his flock, hitherto so carefully sought, and built up with so much
painstaking. The opponents of in-and-in breeding contend that it renders
diseases and all other defects hereditary, and that it tends to decrease
of size, debility, and a general breaking up of the constitution. Its
defenders, on the other hand, insist that, if the parents are perfectly
healthy, this mode does not, of itself, tend to any diminution of
healthfulness in the offspring; and they likewise claim--which must be
conceded--that it enables the skilful breeder much more rapidly to
bring his flock to a particular standard or model, and to keep it there
much more easily--unless it be true that, in course of time, they will
dwindle and grow feeble.
[Illustration: THE SCOTCH SHEEP-DOG, OR COLLEY.]
So far as the effect on the constitution is concerned, both positions
may be, to a certain extent, true. But it is, perhaps, difficult always
to decide with certainty when an animal is not only free from disease,
but from all tendency or predisposition towards it. A brother or sister
may be apparently healthy--may be actually so--but may still possess a
peculiarity of individual conformation which, under certain
circumstances, will manifest itself. If these circumstances do not
chance to occur, they may live until old age, apparently possessing a
robust constitution. If tried together, their offspring--by a rule
already laid down--will possess this individual tendency in a double
degree. If the ram be interbred with sisters, half-sisters, daughters,
granddaughters, etc., for several generations, the predisposition toward
a particular disease--in the first place slight, now strong, and
constantly growing stronger--will pervade, and become radically
incorporated into, the constitution of the whole flock. The first time
the requisite exciting causes are brought to bear, the disease breaks
out, and, under such circumstances, with peculiar severity and
malignancy. If it be of a fatal character, the flock is rapidly swept
away; if not, it becomes chronic, or periodical at frequently recurring
intervals. The same remarks apply, in part, to those defects of the
outward form which do not at first, from their slightness, attract the
notice of the ordinary breeder. They are rapidly increased until, almost
before thought of by the owner, they destroy the value of the sheep.
That such are the common effects of in-and-in breeding, with such skill
as it is commonly conducted, all know who have given attention to the
subject; and for these reasons the system is regarded with decided
disapprobation and repugnance by nine out of ten of the best practical
farmers.
The sheep-breeder can, however, avoid the effects of in-and-in breeding,
and at the same time preserve the character of his flock, by seeking
rams of the same breed, possessing, as nearly as possible, _the
characteristics which he wishes to preserve in his own flock_. If this
rule is neglected--if he draws indiscriminately from all the different
varieties or families of a breed--some large, and some small--some
long-woolled, and some short-woolled--some medium, and some superfine in
quality--some tall, and some squatty--some crusted over with black gum,
and some entirely free from it--breeding will become a mere matter of
hap-hazard, and no certain or uniform results can be expected. So many
varieties cannot be fused into one for a number of generations--as is
evidenced by the want of uniformity in the Rambouillet flock, which was
commenced by a promiscuous admixture of all the Spanish families; and it
not merely happens, as between certain classes of Saxons, that
particular families can never be successfully amalgamated.
If, however, the breeder has reached no satisfactory standard--if his
sheep are deficient in the requisites which he desires--he is still to
adhere to the breed--_provided the desired requisites are characteristic
of the breed he possesses_--and select better animals to improve his own
inferior ones. If he has, for instance, an inferior flock of
South-Downs, and wishes to obtain the qualities of the best Down dams,
he should seek for the best rams of that breed. But if he wishes to
obtain qualities _not characteristic of the breed he possesses_, he must
cross with a breed which does possess them. If the possessor of
South-Downs wishes to convert them into a fine-woolled sheep similar to
the Merino, he should cross his flock steadily with Merino
rams--constantly increasing the amount of Merino, and diminishing the
amount of South-Down blood. To effect the same result, he would take the
same course with the common sheep of the country, or with any other
coarse race.
There are those, who, forgetting that some of the finest varieties now
in existence, of several kinds of domestic animals, are the result of
crosses--bitterly inveigh against the practice of crossing, under any
and all circumstances. It is, it must be admitted, an unqualified
absurdity, as frequently conducted--as, for example, an attempt to unite
the fleece of a Merino and the carcass of a Leicester, by crosses
between those breeds; but, under the limitations already laid down, and
with the objects specified as legitimate ones, this objection to
crossing savors of the most profound prejudice, or the most unblushing
quackery. It is neither convenient, nor within the means of every man
wishing to start a flock of sheep, to commence exclusively with
full-bloods. With a few to breed rams from, and to begin a full-blood
stock, the breeder will find it his best policy to purchase the best
common sheep of his country, and gradually grade them up with Merino
rams. In selecting the ewes, good shape, fair size, and a robust
constitution, are the main points--the little difference in the quality
of the common sheep's wool being of no consequence. For their wool, they
are to look to the Merino; but good form and constitution they can and
ought to possess, so as not to entail deep-rooted and entirely
unnecessary evils on their progeny.
Satisfactory results have followed crossing a Down ram--small, compact,
exceedingly beautiful, fine and even fleeced--with large-sized Merino
ewes. The half-blood ewes were then bred to a Merino ram, and also their
female progeny, and so on. The South-Downs, from a disposition to take
on fat, manifested themselves, to a perceptible extent, in every
generation, and the wool of many of the sheep in the third
generation--seven-eighths blood Merino, and one-eighth blood Down--was
very even, and equal to medium, and some of them to good medium Merino.
Their fleeces were lighter than the full-blood Merinos, but increased in
weight with each succeeding cross back toward the latter. The mutton of
the first, and even of the second cross was of a beautiful flavor, and
retained, to the last, some of the superiority of South-Down mutton.
Results are also noted of breeding Leicester ewes--taking one cross of
the blood, as in the preceding case--toward the Merino. The mongrels, to
the second generation--beyond which they were not bred--were about
midway between the parent stock in size--with wool shorter, but far more
fine and compact than the Leicester--their fleeces about the same
weight, five pounds--and, altogether, they were a showy and profitable
sheep, and well calculated to please the mass of farmers. Their fleeces,
however, lacked evenness, their thighs remaining disproportionately
coarser and heavy.
A difference of opinion exists in relation to the number of crosses
necessary before it is proper to breed from a mongrel ram. Some high
authorities assert that it does not admit of the slightest doubt that a
Merino, in the fourth generation, from even the worst-woolled ones, is
in every respect equal to the stock of the sire--that no difference need
to be made in the choice of a ram, whether he is a full-blood, or a
fifteen-sixteenths--and that, however coarse the fleece of the parent
ewe may have been, the progeny in the fourth generation will not show
it.
Others, however--while admitting that the only value of blood or
pedigree, in breeding, is to insure the hereditary transmission of the
properties of the parent to the offspring, and that, as soon as a
mongrel reaches the point where he stamps his characteristics on the
progeny, with the same certainty that a full-blood does, he is equally
valuable, provided he is, individually, as perfect an animal--contend
that this cannot be depended upon, with any certainty, in rams of the
fourth Merino cross. They assert that the offspring of such crosses
invariably lack the style and perfection of thorough-bred flocks. The
sixth, seventh, or eighth cross might be generally, and the last,
perhaps, almost invariably, as good as pure-blood rams; yet pure blood
is a fixed standard, and were every breeder to think himself at liberty
to depart from it in his rams, each one more or less, according to his
judgment or caprice, the whole blood of the country would become
adulterated. No man, assuredly, can be authorized to sell a ram of any
cross, whether the tenth, or even the twentieth, as a full-blood.
It is of the utmost importance for those _commencing_ flocks, either of
full-bloods, or by crossing, to select the choicest rams. A grown ram
may, by methods which will hereafter be described, be made to serve from
one hundred to one hundred and fifty ewes in a season. A good Merino ram
will, moderately speaking, add more than a pound of wool to the fleece
of the dam, or every lamb got by it, from a common-woolled ewe--that is,
if the ewe at three years old sheared three pounds of wool, the lamb at
the same age will shear four. This would give one hundred or one hundred
and fifty pounds of wool for the use of a ram for a single season; and
every lamb subsequently got by him adds a pound to this amount. Many a
ram gets, during his life, eight hundred or one thousand lambs. Nor is
the extra amount of wool all. He gets from eight hundred to one thousand
half-blooded sheep, worth double their dams, and ready to be made the
basis of another and higher stride in improvement. A good ram, then, is
as important and, it may be, quite as valuable an animal as a good
farm-horse stallion. When the number of a ram's progeny are taken into
consideration, and when it is seen over what an immense extent, even in
his own direct offspring, his good or bad qualities are to be
perpetuated, the folly of that economy which would select an inferior
animal is sufficiently obvious.
It will be found the best economy in starting a flock, where the proper
flocks from which to draw rams are not convenient, to purchase several
of the same breed, of course, but _of different strains of blood_. Thus
ram No. 2 can be put on the offspring of No. 1, and the reverse; No. 3
can be put on the offspring of both, and both upon the offspring of No.
3. The changes which can be rung on three distinct strains of blood,
without in-and-in breeding close enough to be attended with any
considerable danger, are innumerable.
The brother and sister, it will be born in mind, are of the same blood;
the father and daughter, half; the father and granddaughter, one-fourth;
the father and great-granddaughter, one-eighth; and so on. Breeding
between animals possessing one-eighth of the same blood, would not be
considered very close breeding; and it is not unusual, in rugged,
well-formed families, to breed between those possessing one-fourth of
the same blood.
If, however, these rams of different strains are brought promiscuously,
without reference to similarity of characteristics, there may, and
probably will, be difference between them; and it might require time and
skill to give a flock descended from them a proper uniformity of
character. Those who breed rams for sale should be prepared to furnish
different strains of blood, with the necessary individual and family
uniformity.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING.
Some few suggestions upon the general principles to be observed in
breeding may not be superfluous here, referring the reader, who is
disposed to investigate this subject in detail, to its full discussion
in the author's treatise upon "Cattle and their Diseases."
As illustrative of the importance of _breeding only from the best_,
taking care to avoid structural defects, and especially to secure
freedom from _hereditary diseases_, since both defects and diseases
appear to be more easily transmissible than desirable qualities, it may
be remarked that scrofula is not uncommon among sheep, and presents
itself in various forms. Sometimes it is connected with consumption;
sometimes it affects the viscera of the abdomen, and particularly the
mesenteric glands, in a manner similar to consumption in the lungs. The
scrofulous taint has been known to be so strong as to affect the
f[oe]tus, and lambs have occasionally been dropped with it; but much
oftener they show it at an early age, and any affected in this way are
liable to fall an easy prey to any ordinary or prevalent disease, which
develops in such with unusual severity. Sheep are also liable to several
diseases of the brain, and of the respiratory and digestive organs.
Epilepsy, or "fits," and rheumatism sometimes occur.
The breeder's aim should be to grasp and _render permanent_, and
increase so far as practicable, _every variation for the better_, and to
reject for breeding purposes such as show a downward tendency. A
remarkable instance of the success which has often attended the
well-directed efforts of intelligent breeders, is furnished in the new
Mauchamp-Merino sheep, which originated in a single animal--a product of
the law of variation--and which, by skilful breeding and selection, has
become an established breed of a peculiar type, and possessing valuable
properties. Samples of the wool of these sheep were shown at the great
exhibition in London, in 1851, as well as at the subsequent great
agricultural exhibition at Paris, and attracted much attention.
This breed was originated by Mons. J. L. Graux. In 1828, a Merino ewe
produced a peculiar ram lamb, having a different shape from the ordinary
Merino, and possessing wool singularly long, straight, and silky. Two
years afterward, Mr. Graux obtained by this ram one ram and one ewe,
having the silky character of wool. Among the produce of the ensuing
year were four rams and one ewe with similar fleeces; and in 1833, there
were rams enough of the new sort to serve the whole flock of ewes. In
each subsequent year, the lambs were of two kinds; one possessing the
curled, elastic wool of the old Merinos, only a little longer and finer,
and the other like the new breed. At last, the skilful breeder obtained
a flock containing the fine, silky fleece with a smaller breed, broader
flanks, and more capacious chest; and several flocks being crossed with
the Mauchamp variety, the Mauchamp-Merino breed is the result.
The pure Mauchamp wool is remarkable for its qualities as a
combing-wool, owing to the strength, as well as the length and fineness
of the fibre. It is found of great value by the manufacturers of
Cashmere shawls, and similar goods, being second only to the true
Cashmere fleece, in the fine, flexible delicacy of the fibre; and when
in combination with Cashmere wool, imparting strength and consistency.
The quantity of this wool has since become as great as that from
ordinary Merinos, or greater, while its quality commands twenty-five per
cent. higher price in the French market. Breeders, certainly, cannot
watch too closely any accidental peculiarity of conformation or
characteristic in their flocks.
_The apparent influence of the male_ first having fruitful intercourse
with a female, _upon her subsequent offspring by other males_, has been
noticed by various writers. The following well-authenticated instances
are in point:
A small flock of ewes, belonging to Dr. W. Wells, in the island of
Granada, was served by a ram procured for the purpose. The ewes were all
white and woolly; the ram was quite different, being of a chocolate
color, and hairy like a goat. The progeny were, of course, crosses, but
bore a strong resemblance to the male parent. The next season, Dr. Wells
obtained a ram of precisely the same breed as the ewes; but the progeny
showed distinct marks of resemblance to the former ram, in color and
covering. The same thing occurred on neighboring estates, under like
circumstances.
Six very superior pure-bred black-faced horned ewes, belonging to Mr. H.
Shaw, of Leochel, Cushnie, were served by a white-faced hornless
Leicester ram. The lambs were crosses. The next year they were served by
a ram of exactly the same breed as the ewes themselves, and their lambs
were, without an exception, hornless and brownish in the face, instead
of being black and horned. The third year they were again served by a
superior ram of their own breed; and again the lambs were mongrels, but
showed less of the Leicester characteristics than before; and Mr. Shaw
at last parted from these fine ewes without obtaining a single pure-bred
lamb.
To account for this result--seemingly regarded by most physiologists as
inexplicable--Mr. James McGillivray, V. S., of Huntley, has offered an
explanation, which has received the sanction of a number of competent
writers. His theory is, that when a pure animal of any breed has been
pregnant by an animal of a different breed, such pregnant animal _is a
cross ever after_, the purity of her blood being lost, in consequence of
her connection with the foreign animal, and herself becoming a cross
forever, incapable of producing a pure calf of any breed.
To cross, _merely for the sake of crossing_, to do so without that care
and vigilance which are highly essential, is a practice which cannot be
too much condemned, being, in fact, a national evil, if pushed to such
an extent as to do away with a useful breed of animals, and establish a
generation of mongrels in their place--a result which has followed in
numerous instances amongst every breed of animals.
The principal use of crossing is to raise animals for the butcher. The
male, being generally an animal of a superior breed, and of a vigorous
nature, almost invariably stamps his external form, size, and muscular
development on the offspring, which thus bear a strong resemblance to
him; while their internal nature, derived from the dam, well adapts them
to the locality, as well as to the treatment to which their dams have
been accustomed.
With sheep, where the peculiarities of the soil, as regards the goodness
of feed, and exposure to the severities of the weather, often prevent
the introduction of an improved breed, the value of using a new and
superior ram is often very considerable; and the weight of mutton is
thereby materially increased, without its quality being impaired, while
earlier maturity is at the same time obtained. It involves, however,
more systematic attention than most farmers usually like to bestow, for
it is necessary to employ a different ram for each purpose; that is, a
native ram, for a portion of the ewes to keep up the purity of the
breed, and a foreign ram, to raise the improved cross-bred animals for
felting, either as lambs or sheep. This plan is adopted by many breeders
of Leicester sheep, who thus employ South-Down rams to improve the
quality of the mutton.
One inconvenience attending this plan is the necessity of fattening the
maiden ewes as well as the wethers. They may, however, be disposed of as
fat lambs, or the practice of spaying (fully explained in "Cattle and
their Diseases") might be adopted, so as to increase the felting
disposition of the animal. Crossing, therefore, should be adopted with
the greatest caution and skill, where the object is to improve the breed
of animals. It should never be practised carelessly or capriciously, but
it may be advantageously pursued, with a view to raising superior and
profitable animals for the butcher. For the latter purpose, it is
generally advisable to use males of a larger breed, provided they
possess a disposition to fatten; yet, in such cases, it is of importance
that the _pelvis_ of the female should be wide and capacious, so that no
injury may arise in lambing, in consequence of the increased size of the
heads of the lambs. The shape of the ram's head should be studied for
the same reason.
In crossing, however, for the purpose of establishing a new breed, the
size of the male must give way to other more important considerations;
although it will still be desirable to use a large female of the breed
which is sought to be improved. Thus, the South-Downs have vastly
improved the larger Hampshires, and the Leicester, the huge Lincolns and
the Cotswolds.
USE OF RAMS.
Merino rams are frequently used from the first to the tenth year, and
even longer. The lambs of very old rams are commonly supposed not to be
as those of middle-aged ones; though where rams have not been
overtasked, and have been properly fed, little if any difference is
discoverable in their progeny by reason of their sire's age. A ram lamb
should not be used, as it retards his growth, injures his form, and, in
many instances, permanently impairs his vigor and courage. A yearling
may run with thirty ewes, a two-year-old with from forty to fifty, and a
three-year-old with from fifty to sixty; while some very powerful,
mature rams will serve seventy or eighty. Fifty, however, is enough,
where they _run with_ the ewes. It is well settled that an impoverished
and overtasked animal does not transmit his individual properties so
decidedly to his offspring as does one in full vigor.
Rams, of course, are not to be selected for ewes by mere chance, but
according as their qualities may improve those of the ewes. It may not
be superfluous, though seemingly a repetition, to state that a good ewe
flock should exhibit these characteristics: _strong bone_, supporting a
roomy frame, affording space for a large development of flesh;
_abundance of wool of a good quality_, keeping the ewes warm in
inclement weather, and insuring profit to the breeder; _a disposition to
fatten early_, enabling the breeder readily to get rid of his sheep
selected for the butcher; and _a prolific tendency_, increasing the
flock rapidly, and being also a source of profit. Every one of these
properties is advantageous in itself; but when all are combined in the
same individuals of a flock, that flock is in a high state of
perfection. In selecting rams, it should be observed whether or not they
possess one or more of those qualities in which the ewes may be
deficient, in which case their union with the ewes will produce in the
progeny a higher degree of perfection than is to be found in the ewes
themselves, and such a result will improve the state of the future
ewe-flock; but, on the contrary, if the ewes are superior in all points
to the rams, then, of course, the use of such will only serve to
deteriorate the future ewe-flock.
Several rams running in the same flock excite each other to an unnatural
and unnecessary activity, besides injuring each other by constant blows.
It is, in every point of view, bad husbandry, where it can be avoided,
and, as customarily managed, is destructive to every thing like careful
and judicious breeding. The nice adaptation which the male should
possess to the female is out of the question where half a dozen or more
rams are running promiscuously with two or three hundred ewes.
Before the rams are let out, the breeding ewes should all be brought
together in one yard; the form of each noted, together with the length,
thickness, quality and style of her wool--ascertained by opening the
wool on the shoulder, thigh, and belly. When every point is thus
determined, that ram should be selected which, on the whole, is best
calculated to perpetuate the excellencies of each, both of fleece and
carcass, and to best counterbalance defects in the mutual offspring.
Every ewe, when turned in with the ram, should be given a distinct mark,
which will continue visible until the next shearing. For this purpose,
nothing is better than Venetian red and hog's lard, well incorporated,
and marked on with a cob. The ewes for each ram require a differently
shaped mark, and the mark should also be made on the ram, as noted in
the sheep-book. Thus it can be determined at a glance by what ram the
ewe was tapped, any time before the next shearing. The ewes selected for
each ram are placed in different enclosures, and the chosen ram placed
with them. Rams require but little preparation on being put among ewes.
If their skin is red in the flanks when the sheep are turned up, they
are ready for the ewes, for the natural desire is then upon them. Most
of the ewes will be served during the second week the ram is among them,
and in the third, all. It is better, however, not to withdraw the rams
until the expiration of four weeks, when the flocks can be doubled, or
otherwise re-arranged for winter, as may be necessary. The trouble thus
taken is, in reality, slight--nothing, indeed, when the beneficial
results are considered. With two assistants, several hundred ewes may be
properly classified and divided in a single day.
Where choice rams are scarce, so that it is desirable to make the
services of one go a great way, or where it is impossible to have
separate enclosures--as on farms where there are a great number of
breeding ewes, or where the shepherd system is adopted, to the exclusion
of fences--resort may be had to another method. A hut should be built,
containing as many apartments as the ram is desired to be used, with an
alley between them, each apartment to be furnished with a feeding-box
and trough in one corner, and gates or bars opening from each into the
alley, and at each end of the alley. Adjoining these apartments, a yard
should be inclosed, of size just sufficient to hold the flock of
breeding ewes.
A couple of strong rams, of any quality, for about every hundred ewes,
are then aproned, their briskets rubbed with Venetian red and hog's
lard, and let loose among the ewes. _Aproning_ is performed by sewing a
belt of coarse sacking, broad enough to extend from the fore to the hind
legs, loosely but strongly around the body. To prevent its slipping
forward or back, straps are carried round the breast and back of the
breech. It should be made _perfectly secure_, or all the labor of this
method of coupling will be far worse than thrown away. The pigment on
the brisket should be renewed every two or three days; and it will be
necessary to change the "teasers"--as these aproned rams are
called--about once a week, as they do not long retain their courage
under such unnatural circumstances. Twice a day the ewes are brought
into the yard in front of the hut. Those marked on their rumps by the
teasers are taken into the alley. Each is admitted _once_ to the ram for
which she is marked, and then goes out _at the opposite end of the
alley_ from which they entered, into a field separate from that
containing the flock from which she was taken. A powerful and vigorous
ram, from three to seven years old, and properly fed, can thus be made
to serve from one hundred and fifty to even two hundred ewes, with no
greater injury than from running loose with fifty or sixty. The labor
here required is likewise more apparent than real, when the operation is
conducted in a systematic manner.
Rams will do better, accomplish more, and last two or three years
longer, if daily fed with grain, when on service, and it is better to
continue it. In all cases, they should, after serving, be put on good
pasture, as they will have lost a good deal of condition, being
indisposed to settle during the tapping season. A ram should receive
the equivalent of from half a pint to a pint of oats daily, when worked
hard. They are much more conveniently fed when kept in huts. If suffered
to run at large, they should be so thoroughly tamed that they will eat
from a measure held by the shepherd. Careful breeders thus train their
stock-rams, from the time they are lambs. It is very convenient, also,
to have them halter-broke, so that they can be led about without
dragging or lifting them. An iron ring attached to one of the horns,
near the point, to which a cord can be fastened for leading, confining,
etc., is very useful and convenient. If rams are wild, it is a matter of
considerable difficulty to feed them separately, and it can only be
effected by yarding the flock and catching them out. Some breeders, in
addition to extra feeding, take the rams out of the flocks each night,
shutting them up in a barn or stable by themselves. To this practice
there is no objection, and it greatly saves their strength.
Rams should not be suffered to run with the ewes over a month, at least
in the Northern States. It is much better that a ewe go dry than that
she have a lamb later than the first of June. Besides, after the rutting
season is over, the rams grow cross, frequently striking the pregnant
ewes dangerous blows with their heavy horns, at the racks and troughs.
It is reasonably enough conjectured, that if procreation and the first
period of gestation take place in cold weather, the f[oe]tus will be
fitted for the climate which rules during the early stages of its
existence. If this be so--and it is certainly in accordance with the
laws of Nature--fine-woolled sheep are most likely to maintain their
excellence by deferring the connection of the male till the commencement
of cold weather; and, in the Northern States, this is done about the
first of December, thus bringing the yeaning time in the last of April,
or the first of May, when the early grass affords a large supply and
good quality of food.
LAMBING.
[Illustration: EWE AND LAMBS.]
The ewe goes with young about five months, varying from one hundred and
forty-five to one hundred and sixty-two days. Pregnant ewes require the
same food as at all other times. Until two or three weeks preceding
lambing, it is only necessary that they, like other store-sheep, be kept
in good, plump, ordinary condition; nor are any separate arrangements
necessary for them after that period, in a climate where they obtain
sufficient succulent food to provide for a proper secretion of milk. In
backward seasons in the North, where the grass does not start prior to
the lambing-time, careful farmers feed their ewes on chopped roots, or
roots mixed with oat and pea-meal, which is excellent economy. Caution
is, however, necessary to prevent injury or abortion, which is often
the result of excessive fat, feebleness, or disease. The first may be
remedied by blood-letting and spare diet; and both the last by restored
health and generous food. Sudden frights, as from dogs or strange
objects; long or severe journeys, great exertions, unwholesome food,
blows in the region of the f[oe]tus, and some other causes, produce
abortion.
Lambs are usually dropped, in the North, from the first to the fifteenth
of May; in the South, they can safely come earlier. It is not expedient
to have them dropped when the weather is cold or boisterous, as they
require too much care; but the sooner the better, after the weather has
become mild, and the herbage has started sufficiently to give the ewes
that green food which is required to produce a plentiful secretion of
milk. It is customary, in the North, to have fields of clover, or the
earliest grasses, reserved for the early spring-feed of the
breeding-ewes; and, if these can be contiguous to their stables, it is a
great convenience--for the ewes should be confined in the latter, on
cold and stormy nights, during the lambing season.
If the weather be warm and pleasant, and the nights moderately warm, it
is better to have the lambing take place in the pasture; since sheep are
then more disposed to own their lambs, and take kindly to them, than in
the confusion of a small inclosure. In the latter, sheep, unless
particularly docile, crowd from one side to another when any one enters,
running over young lambs, pressing them severely, etc.; ewes become
separated from their lambs, and then run violently round from one to
another, jostling and knocking them about; young and timid ewes, when so
separated, will frequently neglect their lambs for an hour or more
before they will again approach them, while, if the weather is severely
cold, the lamb, if it has never sucked, is in danger of perishing.
Lambs, too, when first dropped in a _dirty_ inclosure, tumble about, in
their first efforts to rise, and the membrane which adheres to them
becomes smeared with dirt and dung; and the ewe's refusing to lick them
dry much increases the hazard of freezing.
In cold storms, however, and in sudden and severe weather, all this must
be encountered; and, therefore, every shepherd should teach his sheep
docility. It requires but a very moderately cold night to destroy the
new-born Saxon lamb, which--the pure blood--is dropped nearly as naked
as a child. During a severely cold period, of several days continuance,
it is almost impossible to rear them, even in the best shelter. The
Merino, South-Down, and some other breeds, will endure a greater degree
of cold with impunity. Where inclosures are used for yeaning, they
should be kept clean by frequent litterings of straw--not enough,
however, to be thrown on at any one time, to embarrass the lamb about
rising.
The predisposing symptoms of lambing are, enlargement and reddening of
the parts under the tail, and drooping of the flanks. The more immediate
are, when the ewe stretches herself frequently; separating herself from
her companions; exhibiting restlessness by not remaining in one place
for any length of time; lying down and rising up again, as if
dissatisfied with the place; pawing the ground with a forefoot;
bleating, as if in quest of a lamb; and appearing fond of the lambs of
other ewes. In a very few hours, or even shorter time after the
exhibition of these symptoms, the immediate symptom of lambing is the
expulsion of the bag of water from the _vagina_. When this is observed,
the ewe should be narrowly watched, for the pains of labor may be
expected to come on immediately. When these are felt by her, the ewe
presses or forces with earnestness, changing one place or position for
another, as if desirous of relief.
The ewe does not often require mechanical assistance in parturition. Her
labors will sometimes be prolonged for three or four hours, and her loud
moanings will evince the extent of her pain. Sometimes she will go about
several hours, and even resume her grazing, with the fore-feet and nose
of the lamb protruding at the mouth of the _vagina_. If let alone,
however, Nature will generally relieve her. In case of a false
parturition of the f[oe]tus--which is comparatively rare--the shepherd
may apply his thumb and finger, after oiling, to push back the lamb, and
assist in gently turning it till the nose and fore-feet appear. Where
feebleness in expelling the f[oe]tus exists, only the slightest aid
should be rendered, and that to help the throes of the dam. The
objection to interfering--except as a last resort--is, that the ewe is
frightened when caught, and her efforts to expel the lamb cease. When
aided, in any case, the gentlest force should be applied, and only in
conjunction with the efforts of the ewe. The clearing, or _placenta_,
generally drops from
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