X-, ?*>*^ClfeV^ V * 4-' ^ K^^ " r«f ^^ ^1 - ^ > SHEEP HUSBANDRY; AN ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT BREEDS, AND GENERAL DIRECTIONS IN REGARD TO SUMMER AND WINTER MANAGEMENT. BREED- ING, AND THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. BY HENRY S?^ R A N D A L L, L L. D., LATE SECRETARY OF OTATE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORE. WITH HIS LETTER TO THE TEXAS ALMANAC ON SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS, GEO. W. KENDALL'S ON SHEEP RAISING IN TEXAS. NEW YORK: C. M. SAXTON, BARKER & CO., 25 PARK ROW. SAN FRANCISCO: H. H. BANCROFT & GO. 1860. Cf Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by C. M. SAXTON, BARKER & CO., In the Clerk's OfSce of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. EDWAKD O. JENKINS, iSrintfr & Stcrfotgpcr, No. '2e Frankfort Stkeet. . V^ PEEFACE. So full and complete is the exposition of the subject as discussed in the fiollowing pages, and so clearly are the scope of the work and the circumstances which prevailed with its accomplished author, to pass it through our hands to the public, explained in his own " Intro- duction," that only in compliance with a common custom in book- making, might any thing have been deemed necessary in the way of preface ; were it not to acquit ourselves of the obligation to tender thus publicly to Col. Randall, not our Own thanks merely, but those of the agricultural community, for the great benefit which must ensue to it, in the proportion that this instructive contribution to the stock of our agricultural knowledge and literature may command the atten- tion to which it is, on every account, so well entitled. An agricultural correspondence, reaching far back, and spreading widely over the Southern States, to which has been more recently added considerable extent of personal observation, had with us, already established the conviction, that in no other part of our coun- try, perhaps, does there exist a resource at once so fruitful, and so little availed of, as that which is possessed in that region, for the pro- secution of this — one of the most interesting and important branches of Husbandry that any country can enjoy. But while it has been easy to perceive this defect so apparent in their agricultural economy, amounting in the aggregate to a national loss of no inconsiderable magnitude ; it was not so easy to expose, as Col. Randall has done, the fallacy of the difficulties that were sup- posed to stand in the way, or to indicate how the real impediments which do exist may be overcome, or materially mitigated. Something of these imaginary difficulties, for successful Sheep Husbandry, may, as we believe, be assumed to have their origin in the prejudices engendered in the minds of Southern agriculturists, by the sweeping condemnation of it to be found in the celebrated and deserv- edly popular essays of Arator, by Col. John Taylor — clarum vene- rabile nomen! and it may be that these prejudices are referable in a degree, also, to the concurrent opinions of the no less celebrated John Randolph, "of Roanoke," who, even on the floor of Congress, gave them utterance in vehement and bitter denunciation against the harm- PREFACE. less animal itself — going so far in his animosity to it, and to all en- couragement of the great industry which it was formed to subserve, as to declare, that he would at any time go out of his way " to kick a sheep!" Nor would it be unreasonable to apprehend that these im- pressions against the policy and profit of sheep-breeding, as an import- ant object of attention for the Southern land-holder, have taken root the more kindly in the minds of a people unaccustomed, if not na- turally averse to that careful and minute attention which the successful prosecution of this business demands — a people whose sons, it may be feared, still find it easier, if not more commendable, to follow in the venerated footsteps of their sires, than to encounter for themselves the labor of investigation, and the trouble (together with some expense) of new arrangements incident to every new employment of labor and capital. The general impression, in fact, is, (the reader will judge how far it is just,) that cultivators of the soil everywhere are, of all classes, the least apt to embark in any new enterprise, however pro- mising. They talk and talk about it, but rarely go about ; and per- haps it may be better that it should be so ; yet it is well to remember that precipitancy is one thing, and torpor quite another ! We once knew a farmer (so called) in Calvert county, who, being told, as he sat toasting himself in the chimney corner on a cold winter's night, that the house ivas.on fire! without moving from his seat, answered, '•'•call the people !'' In opposition to all that has been urged or imagined against Sheep Husbandry in the South, on the score either of ill-adapted climate, deficiency of suitable forage, want of adequate demand for wool, or other obstacles, the whole subject has been so admirably and thoroughly canvassed in the work here offered, that further argument would be superfluous ; otherwise we might oppose to the hitherto prevailing be- lief, if not prejudice, the experience of some, on a limited scale, and the well-settled opinion of yet many more among the most enlightened of our acquaintances in that region — gentlemen uniting ample oppor- tunities with close habits of observation on all questions of rural economy, and who have not hesitated to express the confident belief, that profitable and interesting as has been the growing of cattle in western Virginia, an equal amount of capital and attention, devoted to sheep and ivool growing in the same section of country, would be yet more remunerating. Looking for reliable information yet further south, and back to a period more remote, even anterior to our decla- ration of independence, it may not be out of place to quote an evi- dently careful and intelligent author of a work on the climate and products of each of the then English colonies. Speaking of Cfeorgia, and her well-ascertained adaptation to the growth of silk, the vine, the olive, mcdder and wool, he remarks : " Wool, we [England] take PREFACE. 6 in large quantities from abroad, because it is of a kind we cannot pro- duce in England : our colonies on the continent of North America, South of Neiv York, produce a wool entirely similar to the Spanish. No staple they could produce would, therefore, be more advantageous to Great Britain. It is well known that a piece of fine broadcloth cannot be made without Spanish wool ; it is also known that the Spaniards have of late years made great efforts to work up their own wool ; if they should succeed, or if they should by any other means prevent the export of it, our woollen fabrics, though they might not be stopped, would at least be burdened with a fresh expense and a new trouble ; all which would be prevented by encouraging the import of wool from America : and at the same time that this good effect was wrought, another would be brought about, in cramping the manufac- tures of the colonies." Unfortunately for the agricultural interest of our country particu- larly, the desire to " cramp the manufactures of the colonies," here so candidly avowed as the settled policy of England, not only survived the Revolution, but has been so well fostered by our own subserviency to it, as to render our independence, in respect of this and other no less important industrial pursuits, rather nominal and fictitious than substantial and true ; nevertheless, with the odds of pauper labor and immense capital against us, thanks to the ingenuity and enterprise of our people, we need not despair of final success with any thing like fair consideration on the part of our own government. For this opinion we need have no better authority than that of Samuel Lawrence, the enlightened and liberal proprietor of the Middlesex Mills, at Lowell, who says, " the business of manufacturing wool in this coun- try is on a better basis than ever before, inasmuch as the character, skill, and capital engaged in it are such as to defy foreign competi- tion." Occasional revulsions, such as the present, will occur from causes abroad over which we have no control, but let not the wool grower relax in the care of his flock, for the same far-seeing manu- facturer has declared that he could point to articles of wool now im- ported, that will require thirty millions of pounds of medium and fine quality to supply the demand. After all, then, on viewing the importance of the inquiry to nume- rous friends for whose welfare we profess to entertain unaffected con- cern, and the great extent of the district which seemed to us to be so well adapted to the growth of sheep and wool — the magnitude of the interests involved swelled upon the contemplation, begetting a conviction that as a question of practical agriculture, it was not to be worthily and well treated by a few hasty and superficial essays, or by more elaborate compilations in relation to the oft -repeated natural history of the ani- mal, its prominence in scriptural annals, &c., unsustained by that 6 PREFACE. laborious and discriminating comparison of facts and authorities to illustrate its uses and its value, and by that fulness of personal ex- perience in the breeding and management of the various races, " in sickness and in health," which constitute the excellence of these let- ters to Col. Allston. Under all these circumstances, the reader of the work here pre- sented may well judge how fortunate that it should have been under- taken, con amore, by a gentleman so well prepared by general scholar- ship, by exact practical knowledge, and by extensive inquiry into the mercantile and manufacturing, as well as the agricultural bearings of the question. It is djie, however, no less in justice to ourselves than to truth, to add, that in urging him to undertake it, we had no idea of committing the author to such an amount of labor, even had we foreseen that being, as he says, a " labor of love," it would have thus ended in pro- ducing, as in our judgment it has, decidedly, the best work on the sub- ject of Sheep, that has at any time appeared in our country. May we not refer, for the soundness of this opinion, as well to its originality and strictly American character, as to the comprehen- siveness with which it presents the subject in its various relations, in- structive alike to the merchant, the manufacturer, the political inquirer, and the legislator ; as to the practical farmer ? Nor is it to be characterized alone by its utility in these respects ; for the reader will agree with us that its entire fairness and freedom from narrow views and local prejudices, much enlarge, in a moral and instructive view, its title to general confidence and favor. Finally, as far as the public judgment may be anticipated in refer- ence to a production originally appearing disadvantageously, in de- tached parts, and not until now finished and embodied ; if we may conclude from the favorable manner in which such portions have been reviewed and recommended, by some of the leading journals of the country, the writer may well felicitate himself on having rendered a most acceptable service not only to his brother farmers, but to his countrymen generally ; while we may unaffectedly, and, as we think, confidently add, it establishes for Col. Randall himself a claim to stand in front of those whose pens, some of them under high motives of patriotism, have been engaged in illustrating one of the most impor- tant of all our industrial pursuits; nay, one which may be considered essential, in an eminent degree, to our national independence. J. S. SKINNER. INTllODUCTION. The subject of Sheep Husbandry has recently attracted more attention in ow Southern and South-western States, than at any previous period. The want of a staple or product, the cultivation of which should render productive the capital in- vested in millions of acres of mountain and other lands, which do not now yield a farthing of income, and which, from their soils, situation, or other circumstances, are unadapted to the growth of any of the present Southern staples, has struck every Southern man, as well as every traveller of ordinary intelligence, who has passed through the regions indicated. The want, too, of some class of domestic animals to constitute the basis, or pivot an it were, of a system of convertible husbandry on the tillage lands of the South, to take the place of the present imperfect rotations of crops, and new and old field-system, has become apparent to many of her more investigating agriculturists. The fact that the mountain and other unproductive lands alluded to cannot be made to profitably yield any vegetable products but pasturage ; that for the present, and for a long time to come, at least, the bulk of tliem will not afford a pasturage adapted to the support of large animals ; could not but suggest the growing of wool, as their best, if not their only available staple. The similarity of their general cli- mate, too, with that where wool is most cheaply grown on the Eastern Continent, was a consideration promising favorably to this husbandry. And, finally, it had not failed to strike men of ordinary commercial intelligence, that of those animal staples, to the production of which a Southern climate is adapted, the Sheep fur- nishes a vastly more marketable one than any of the larger grazing animals. The superiority of the Sheep over other animals for supporting the fertility of tillage lands, by converting a portion of their products into manure, was not so apparent. But the well-known fact that they receive the preference for this pur- pose, in some of the best agricultural countries of the world, made it sufficiently probable to demand a full investigation, before adopting an adverse conclusion, espe- cially as what has been said in relation to climate and the marketableness of animal staples, was as applicable to these lands, in the South, as to those adapted only to grass. But Sheep Husbandry as a system, and especially a system tested by experience, ■was scarcely known in any of the Southern States excepting in western Virginia. Whether the theoretical considerations and natural circumstances which apparently favored its introduction would be met, in practice, with unforeseen obstacles, was a matter calling for grave circumspection. The Southern agriculturist is ever wary of innovation, and very properly averse to rash experiment. He knew, it is true, that his roving and untended " native" sheep obtained subsistence, and found no 7 8 INTRODUCTION. enemies to their health but the wolf and cur, on all the Southern zones. But whether the local climate and herbage of those different zones — the low, level, Tertiary sands of the Atlantic plain — the granite hills of the middle, and the ele- vated Paleozoic or Transition regions of the mountain zone — would be found to agree with the more valuable breeds of sheep ; whether their wool would retain its qualities or degenerate in these several localities ; whether a greatly increased sup- ply of wool would find a remunerating price in market; whether the mountains could be converted into sheep-pastures, and wool produced on them without an expense which would absorb all the profits ; whether Sheep Husbandry could be made a substitute for " resting," or expensive artificial manures, in restoring to the cotton, tobacco, and grain lands of the middle and tide-water zones the fertility withdrawn by tillage ; and various other important correlative questions were all problems to him. And to add to the difficulties of forming a correct opinion, and especially of instituting safe and satisfactory experiments, he was ignorant of all the practical details and manipulations of Sheep Husbandry : he knew little of the various breeds, and their respective adaptation to his wants. For information on the subject of practical Sheep Husbandry and breeds of sheep, there are a multitude of European, and several American works, of great value. But for the answers to the questions in the preceding paragraph, which involve the particular bearings and adaptation of this husbandry, of the different breeds, etc., to the agricultural circumstances and wants of the various regions of the South- where was the inquirer to find the desired information? Some well-written letters, embracing portions of these topics, have appeared from time to time in our agricul- tural journals. They have been of great value in drawing attention to the subject. But they have not usually occupied limits sufficient for the examination of more than a single phase of the general subject, or they have been mere coup d^ails of that subject, omitting all but a few important facts and considerations of a general character. They have, too, usually been replied to, or published contemporaneously in the same or other agricultural journals, with contradictory statements — some- times with crude and erroneous speculations— calculated to confuse or mislead the inexperienced inquirer. Beyond these occasional Letters in the agricultural jour- nals, nothing, so far as I am aware, has appeared on this subject. A practical farmer, I have bred nearly all the approved varieties of almost every xind of domestic stock — of every kind commonly kept on Northern farms — and have been familiar with the details of their management and husbandry. I have owned flocks of sheep, and been more or less familiar with them, from my child- hood ; and for the last fifteen years have made their economy, their habits, their comparative profitableness with other kinds of stock, and the comparative value of their breeds, matters of careful and constant observation and experiment. When Corresponding Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society, a few years since, the facts drawn out by me in an extensive correspondence with eminent Southern agriculturists, united to what knowledge I had previously ob- tained by reading and personal observation of the Southern States, led me to th impressian that there were numerous considerations and natural circumstances strongly indicating the expediency of introducing wool-growing extensively into those States. But at that time, my attention, in common with that of many if not most, of the Northern flock-masters, was turned towards the prairies of the North- west, as a region capable of sweeping away all American competition in this branch of husbandry. Glowing estimates and calculations had been predicated on very partial experiments. The value of the natural grasses, the character of the winters and general climate, and the general facilities of the prairies for wool-growing, were then little understood here, and had been made the subjects of much favorable exag* INTRODUCTION. geration. Facts subsequently ascertained, have, it cannot be denied, materially changed the impressions of our flock-masters on this subject. Whether correctly or incorrectly, they no longer fear Western competition in growing fine wool. My own coincides with the popular impression on this topic, if we consider that com- petition in its relations to a period not far distant in the future. The adoption of these views led me to again turn my attention, never entirely withdrawn, more particularly to the capabilities of the South for this branch of hus- bandry. My conclusions and the reasons for them will be found in the following Letters. In a letter to Hon. Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury, pub- lished in his Treasury Report of 1845, and in a series of letters published in the Virginia " Valley Farmer," the same year, I stated some of the general conclu- sions I had then arrived at on this topic. These publications were followed by letters from gentlemen residing in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, making farther inquiries, and usuallj' impart- ing more or less local information on the subject. Some of these were practical men, only seeking information on practical points; others, eminent for intelligence and legislative experience, embraced a more comprehensive field of investigation, and sought from me, as probably from other sources, to ascertain by a wide range of general facts and statistics, the probable bearing, now and in future, of an exten- sive system of wool-growing on the Agriculture, Commerce, Manufactures, domes- tic consumption — in short, the whole domestic economy of our Southern States. Answers to these questions demanded careful investigation, and involved a great variety and complexity of details in the practical department of the subject, ren- dered far more numerous by the wide differences existing between the soils, esta- blished husbandry, and even the climates, of the three distinct and well-defined zones already alluded to. The location of some of my correspondents was on the mountains of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee — others on the hilly zone of the same States — others on the Tertiary sands of the tide-water zone, and the Cre- taceous plains of the Mississippi and Arkansas. To give opinions on all the topics referred to, and in reference to natural circumstances so various, supported by even a respectable show of corroborating facts, was an undertaking requiring considera- ble time and lajjor : to repeat them separately to each correspondent, was wholly out of the q\iestion. Requested by Mr. Skinner, a little more than a year since, to prepare a series of Letters on Sheep Husbandry, and especially on Sheep Husbandry in the South, for The Farmers' Library, it occurred to me that a compliance with his request would enable me to answer each of my correspondents by once writing; and moreover, I could feel, under such circumstances, that I could properly afford to bestow an amount of time and elaboration on my communications which I should otherwise find impracticable. And I confess, I also thought if the information I could impart would prove of value to my personal correspondents, it might also prove so to many others among the numerous readers of a popular agricultural magazine. The liberal offer of the Publishers to provide all such cuts as I should choose to direct, was an additional inducement to adopt this medium of communication. I have often felt the want of these in agricultural letters of my own, and in reading the works of others. In describing a breed of sheep, for example, to a person who has never seen them, the best chosen words convey but a vague impression. In many other cases also, cuts exhibit at a glance what it would require much circumlocution to describe ; and they in many instances convey ideas to the mind with a definiteness, correctness, and exemption from possibility of misunderstanding, which words alone never could. The cuts include portraits of all the breeds which I supposed could of possibklity possess, or claim to possess, superior value, for any region oi B 10 INTRODUCTION. locality within the United States; all the necessary anatonaical figures, with tho8« of the less known insect and parasitic enemies of the sheep ; and finally, represen- tations of every implement, fixture, or process employed in Sheep Husbandry, where I thought they would convey important information — and particularly new information — more clearly than it could be done by words. Many of the latter class of illustrations have never before been, so far as I am aware, attempted; and, representing as they do the results of years of inquiry and experiment, I trust they may prove of service to beginners — particularly in regions where Sheep Husbandry has been hitherto little known. The Letters were begun and concluded exclusively as a " labor of love." To possess the consciousness that even a limited portion of my fellow-men have been benefited by my labors, would be all, and the noblest recompense to which I could aspire. Nor do I feel, that in attempting to benefit the agriculturists of one section of our country, by urging them to appropriate a branch of industry now giving sub- sistence to those of another section, I am seeking the good of the former at the expense of the latter. Every region has natural advantages, or those resulting from the natural course of events, for different branches of industry. A right to these advantages enures from a right to the soil ; and the former is just as natural and sacred a right as the latter. To attempt to wrest them from the holder by legisla- tion, is oppressive ; to withhold from him any knowledge necessary to the enjoy- ment of them, is unfraternal and unmanly. If Virginia can grow wool, or any other staple, more cheaply than New York, let her do it. She will only force New York to fall back on the production of some other staple, or to adopt some other branch of industry. And why not ? Why should there not be a division of production, where it is called for by natural circumstances, at least within the limits of a com- mon nation 1 It is doubtless well for every region, whether extensive or limited, to produce its own necessaries of life to the greatest economical extent. But an attempt to force Nature against her manifest capabilities, for the sake of attaining a' fancied local independence, is to inflict a real evil, in the hope of attaining an ima- ginary good. History is full of instances where the prosperity of large masses of individuals, and even whole nations, has been crippled, in futile efforts to upbuild this or that branch of industry, in spite of natural obstacles, or against the compe- tition of regions possessing greater natural advantages. Among the foolish, selfish, and aven iniquitous legislation of past ages, there has been none perhaps productive of more real mischief to human industry than the intermeddling enactments of go- vernm'ents, ostensibly designed for its benefit. Masses of men, because divided by a rivulet, speaking a different language, or owning the sway of different potentates, have aspired to that physical independence of each other, and of the whole world, which the God of nature rendered economically, if not absolutely impossible. The vexatious restrictions on trade and commerce imposed in pursuit of this object by one government, were met by retaliatory ones by others, until international com- mercial legislation became a confused labyrinth of enactments — their absurdity only equaled by their mischievousness. And like the elephants formerly used by bar- oarian nations in battle, they nearly as often trampled down their friends as their enemies. The era of these things is rapidly passing away. That patriotism which includes only a province or State, among one common people, is beginning to be recognised as narrow and sordid : nay, among intelligent men, that philanthropy is beginning to be thought meagre and unexpansive which stops even at the boundaries of Nations. In preparing the following Letters, I have labored under disadvantages insepara- ble from the circumstances under which they have been prepared. I have written them from month to month, amid the hurry of other pursuits, with little idea of what INTKODUCTION. 11 would be their ultimate limits — usually with one or more of the immediately pre- ceding numbers in the hands of the printer, and consequently not under my inspec- tion. I have not therefore had that opportunity to proportion the space devoted to the several topics, avoid repetition, and correct errors, possessed by him who com- pletes and revises, before any portion of his manuscript is rendered unalterable by stereotyping. • Reliance on insufficient authority has in a very few instances led me into errors, but fortunately, so far as discovered, they have been of trifling importance, and in relation to matters of no especial moment. Those thought worthy of notice have been corrected in subsequent parts of the body of the work. The causes I have named, therefore, affect rather the literary character of the Letters, than their general accuracy. In stating important facts and conclusions, I have consulted such writers of repu- tation as were within my reach. Among the foreign ones who have prepared works on Sheep Husbandry, or expressed important opinions on some of its separate topics or facts, or who have alluded to the Sheep Husbandry of particular countries or nations, reference has been had to the following, either by consulting their works, as I have in most instances been able to do — or by quotations from them found in the works of other writers of reputation; — Anderson, Bakeweli, Barnes, Barrow, BischofF, Blacklock, Bourgoing, Bright, Carr, Coventry, CuUey, Cunningham, D'Arboval, Darwin, Daubenton, Dick, Ellman, Gasparin, Gilbert, Goese, Harrison, Hogg, Hood, Howitt, Hubbard, Jacob, Lang, Lasteyrie, Leeuwenhoek, Lichsten- stein, Linnaeus, Low, Luccock, Maitland, Malte-Brun, McCulloch, Moffat, McKenzie, Paget, Parkinson, Parry, Petri, Pictet, Powell, Reaumur, Rfidolphi, Sinclair, Slade, Southey, Spallanzani, Spooner, Stephens, Swaine, Trail, Trimmer, Valasnieri, Vanderdonk, Von Thaer, Walz, Western, Willmer & Smith, Youatt, Young, and some others. Of our domestic writers, I have aimed to consult all of the most prominent ones. It is not necessary to enumerate them, extending, as the list would, to hundreds. The examination of these writers, foreign and domestic, has been no recent under- taking with me. For years, I have found it a source both of instruction and plea- sure, to peruse their works. Where they have proposed any thing new to me, which I thought promised favorable results, I have usually sought the first opportunity to put their propositions to the experimentum cruets of actual trial. I have often thus learned valuable facts. But I have nearly or quite as often ascertained that what may be true of one breed, in one climate, or under one set of circumstances, is not true when all or a part of these conditions are changed. The English and German systems of management, for example, I regard as almost wholly inapplicable here, on account of the entire different relation which the prices of land and labor beai toward each other in those countries and our own. And I sometimes have had the conviction forced upon me, that writers even of reputation have assumed positions in relation to practical matters, which they must have derived from other sourcea • than direct personal experience. While I have carefully reviewed and collated the opinions of other writers on doubtful practical points, I have in all instances, as will be seen in the following pages, preferred the results of personal experience and observation, to adverse authority, however eminent. Compilations, it seems to me, are sufficiently abun- dant, and I have thought it better to give my own opinions, leaving them to stand or fall, as they shall be found accurate or inaccurate. Where I have found it necessary to rely on others for any fact, or have quoted their opinions, I have uniformly given them credit. To my kind correspondents, particularly my Southern correspondents ' — many of whose communications are not published on account of tlieir reluctance 12 INTRODUCTION. to be cited as authority for facts, where their modesty leads them to underrate theii own comparative knowledge and experience — I tender my thanks for their assistance. I have addressed the Letters to Col. R. F. W. Allston, of Waccamaco Beach, near Georgetown, South Carolina — a gentleman to whom I am indebted for much valuable information on the subject of Southern Agriculture, and who has evei evinced a most earnest desire to contribute to the improvement of that Agriculture. HENRY S. RANDALL. CONTENTS. PaM LETTER I. Effect of Climate on the Health and Wool-producino Qualities 9F Sheep. 15 LETTER IL Effect of Climate (continued) 33 LETTER IIL Adaptation or the Soils, Herbage, &c., op the Southern States to Sheep Husbandry. — 1. Of the Low or Tide-water Region 30 LETTER IV. The Adaptation of the Soils, Herbage, &c., of the Southern States to SiTEEP Husbandry, (continued.) — 2. Of the Middle or Hilly Zone. — 3. Of the Mountain Region 42 LETTER V. Profits of Sheep Husbandry in the Southern States. — 1. Direct Profit ON Capital invested 62 LETTER VL Profits of Sheep Husbandry in the Southern States. — 2. As the Basis of Amelioration in Naturally Sterile and Worn-out Soils 66 LETTER Vn. Profits of Sheep Husbandry in the Southern States. — 3. By Giving to Southern Agriculture a Mixed and Convertible Character. — 4. By Furnishing the Raw Material for the Manufacture of Domestic Woollens 78 LETTER Vm. Prospects of the Wool Market — Future Dsmand and Supply 94 14 CONTENTS. Pact LETTER IX. Prospects of the Wooi. Mahket — Future Demand and Supply.... 108 LETTER X. Bbesss of Sheep in the Unites States , 129 LETTER XL The Most Profitable Breed of Sheep for the South — Principles of Breeding „ 153 LETTER XIL SmUSEB MANAfiEHENT OF ShEEP 173 LETTER XIIL Winter Management of Sheep \97 LETTER XIV. Anatomy and Diseases of Sheep 219 LETTER XV. Anatomy of the Sheep, (continued.) — Diseases and their Treatment 234 LETTER XVL Diseases and tbeib Treatment, (continued) 254 LETTER XVIL Sheep Dogs, Wool Depots, &c , 278 APPENDIX. Sheep Husbandry in South Carolina 297 Sheep Husbandry in Texas 305 Sheep Raising in Texas 32() * SHEEP HUSBANDRY UNITED STATES, IN A SEKIES OF LETTERS TO R. F. ALLSTOIST, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. LETTER L EFFECT OF CLIMATE ON THE HEALTH AND WOOL-PRODUCING QUALITIES OF SHEEP. introductory Remarks... Wool -Growin 2; anil Manufacturinj .^mtistics of the Southern States compared with those of New-York. ..Etlect of Warm Climates on tin; Health of Sheep. . .Sheep in the Southern States below latitude 32^. ..Effect of Climate on WooM'roduciiiu; Qualities of Sheep — on the Quantity o( the Wool . . . Wciu'ht of Fleeces in the Southern States indicatcil by U. S. Census of 1840 — Important Omis- eions in that Census — Other important Errors in it. . .Tahle i>f Weights of Fleeces in Four Counties where they average highest in each of the Southern States and in NVw-Vork — Latitude, Topography and Climate of those Counties.. .Warmth of Climate conducive to the Produciion of Wool— Reasons. R. F. W. Allston, Esq— Dea?- Sir : That spirit which prompts communities and States to at- tempt to render themselves independent, so far as the supply of physical wants is concerned, of other communities and States, is an eminently proper one, up to certain limits. Beyond these, it degenerates into mere sectional selfishness, as. deserving of reprobation in the community as in the individual — nay, more so, for it militates more widely against the in- terests and happiness of mankind. Agriculture supplies the most of our physical wants which are not administered to spontaneously by Nature. In this great department of human labor,it is not difficult to decide how far the inhabitants of each particular region are called upon to rear from the earth what their wants require. Nature herself has, in the distribution of soils and climates, both indicated and limited the production of many of the agricultural staples, by geoeraphical boundaries, sometimes topically 15 16 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. and sometimes by whole regions. This compels those practicing Agricul- ture, both as individuals and masses, to make that " division of labor" which, as in the mechanic arts, gives a better knowledge of its principles aaid a greater expertness in its practical manipulations. It also creates the necessity of exchange. Exchange is commerce, and commerce begets and diffuses civiliiation. Agi'icultural production, then, should be controlled by the demand or want, and by the adaptation of the country to such production. It would be absurd, for example, for New-York to attempt to raise its own rice and cotton, instead of exchanging the surplus of what it can most readily produce for that rice and cotton, or selling its surplus where it is wanted, and buying the rice and cotton with the proceeds. But, on the other hand, it would be equally absurd for New-York to be dependent on South America or Australia for her wools, when she can raise that staple just as well as those countries, and thus save paying for transportation and the hire or (commission of the agents of exchange. Though Nature both indicates and limits the production of staples by soils and climates, she too rigidly enforces the primal curse, or perhaps we should say blessing, of labor, to bring forth each, indigenously, in the regions adapted to it, or ever to place them there, unless transported by tlie enterprise and industry of man. The potato and maize were a. recent gift from this continent to the eastern. The debt has been I'epaid by rice, the sugar cane, the horse, the cow, the sheep, and a multitude of other plants and animals. How singular is the history of some of their deporta- tions ! The sugar cane, now furnishing an important staple in some of our own Southeni States, originated in the eastern confines of Asia ; was not vouchsafed to the Greek and Roman ; traveled into Arabia about the last of the thirteenth century ; passed thence into Africa ; was carried by the Moors into Spain ; by the Spaniards and Portuguese into the West India Islands ; and thence we received it. Rice, the gi'eat staple of your own State, sir, a plant of which it has been said that it " has altered the face of the globe and the destiny of nations," oi'iginated also in Asia, and has traveled by the same slow stages, until it has reached that low zone which skirts our south-eastern shores, to render its vast marshes, oth- erwise useless, as profitably productive as the best grain or cotton lands of the Southern States. Here, sir, we find an instructive lesson. Other regions there are in our Southern States, now, nearly as useless as would be her " hammocks " wdthout rice, inviting the introduction of some other great staple to sup- ply, if feasible, a home demand, and a surplus for profitable exportation. If this great object can be achieved, and by the same means, the husbandry of the regions now under cultivation be made to assume that mixed and convertible character which will both add to their present proceeds, and better sustain their fertility, for future demands on them, a benefit will be conferred on the South the present and final results of which it would be difficult to overestimate. Repudiating theoretic speculation and vague conjecture — advancing just so far and no farther than we find oiir way illumined by the broad and certain light of facts, let us inquire what im- portant staple there is, not now extensively produced at the South, which would come within and at the same time fill the requirements I have men- tioned. Woolen fabrics constitute an important item in the imports of the South- ern States, and for these they exchange the proceeds of no inconsiderable proportion of their industry with the Northern States and with Europe. The following table will exhibit the population, and the amount of home SHEEP Husbandry in the south. 17 production in these staple.s, according to the U. S. census of 1840, in the States south of the Ohio and Potomac, and west of the Mississippi, (in- cluding Louisiana,) in 1839. To these are added, by way of comparison, the statistics of the State of New-York, under the same heads, for the same year : TABLE No. 1. States. Population. No. of Sheep. Lbs. of Wool. No. of Woolen Factories. VaUeof Wuolcni Manufactured. Goniis. Virginia Nortli Carolina . .. Bouth Carolina . .. 1,239.797 7r,3.419 r,94.398 G9 1,392 .'■,4.477 .'')90.7.'«6 375,(;.-il 352,4 1 1 829.210 1,293,772 538,279 232,981 267.107 7,1,?8 163,243 128;367 98,072 741,593 1,008.240 2,-138.374 fi2.-),044 299,170 371,303 7. 28.-, 220,3.->3 17.i.l9(i 49.283 1,060.332 l,78ti,847 41 3 1 26 40 147,792 ! 3,900 1,000 3,000 14,000 101,246 Florida Alabama Mississi|i]ii Louisiana Teuni'sseo Kentucky Total ().-J(il,33(i 4.478,8.V2 7,133,187 114 320.938 New York 2.42H.921 .'). 118.777 9 84.-,.29.-5 323 3,537.337 The above is only given to indicate approximate geneial results ; for, as I shall subsequently show, the returns of the product of wool are inac- curate to the last degree. The question now arises, whence the immense disparity in the growtli and manufacturing of wool in the State of New-York, comprising 46,000 square miles of territory, and less than two and a half millions of popula- lation, and the ten States above enumerated, covering an area of 495,000 square miles, and exceeding six millions of population ] Is the gi-owing of wool, (for we will first consider this, as the main (piestion, leaving the sub- ject of manufacturing for subsequent examination,) to its present extent, profitable or unprofitable in the State of New-YoiAl I contend, and shall attempt to prove, that taking a term of say ten or fifteen years, it has been the most profitable branch of industry carried on in the State. If this is true, why is it not equally profitable in the Southern States ?* Is there anything in their climate which renders them less favorable to the health oi' wool-producing qualities of the sheep — or is there anything in their topographical features, soils, herbage, or other circumstances, which unfits them for a natural and easy adaptation to sheep husbandry 1 Or have they other staples so much more profitable that it is not an object to grow wool 1 Having bestowed some attention on these points, and having been prac- tically familiar with the most minute details of .sheep husliandry from my cliildhood, I have thought that the conclusions I have arrived at, and the facts on which I have based them, might not be uninteresting to you. To bring these facts connectedly before you, I shall necessarily be driven t?o repeat some matter from my own and the writings of others, which you have doubtless before seen in the publications of the day. Let us now take up the first of the two preceding questions ; and first I will call your attention to the effect of Climate. Sheep have been bred, time out of mind, on the Eastern Continent, from the Equator to the 65th degree of north latitude;, from the burning plains of Africa and Asia, to the almost perpetual frosts of Iceland. The Merino, (the different families of which, as will be shown, constitute the only varieties suitable for wool growing on a scale of any considerable extent,) has been bred in Europe, for ages, as far south as between the * When I use the words "Southern States," without farther specification, you will understand me tc mean the ton enumerated in Table let. (CM) (J 38 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 3.6th and 37th parallels of latitude, and has, within the last few years, bceji acclimated with perfect success as far north as various points in Sweden. If any difficulty exibts in the climate of the United States, rendering it unsuitable for the rearing- of sheep and wool, it must he its heat ; and this must affect the wool-producing qualities of the animal alone, and not its health, as the following facts will show. There were upward of G60,OOC sheep in the five most southern States, in 1839. In Florida, they have been acclimated as far south as the 29th degree. In Louisiana, Mississijjpi, Alabama, and Georgia, they not only flourish in the northern and more elevated sections, but on the low, fenny, tide-water region which skirts the Gulf of Mexico. In the above five States there were, in 1839, u})ward of 190,000 sheep below the 32d degree of latitude, viz. : in Georgia 32,986, Florida 7,198, Alabama 22,053, Mississippi 56,780, Louisiana 81,627.* They graze with equal impunity the vegetation on the margin of the Great Okefinokee Swamp (in Georgia and Florida) and on that which i-ankly flourishes among the ooze at the mouths of the Mississippi. It may interest some less acquainted than you are, sir, with this subject, to know that in 1839 the county in which New-Orleans stands (Orleans) contained 1,807 sheep ; Jefferson, on the opposite side of the j'iver, 6,871 ; St. Ber- nard, extending from Orleans to the Gulf, 1,154 ; Plaquemine, almost sur- rounded by the waters of the Gulf, and comprising the delta of the Missis- sippi, 1,832 ; Lafourche Interior, on the Gulf, 1,253 ; Terrebonne, another Gulf county, 1,013; St. Mary's, another, 8,211; and La Fayette, another, 2,622.t No portion of the United States is lower, hotter, or more unhealthy than much of the preceding, and none, according to commonly received notions, would be more unsuited to the healthy production of sheep. Yet, that they are healthy in these situations is a matter of perfect notoriety (o all conversant with the facts. So far as health is concerned, then, we are assuredly authorized to assume the position that no portion of the United States is too warm for sheep. We come now to the effect of climate on the wool-producing qualities of the aniinal. Assuming the census returns of the United States in 1840 as reliable data, they would furnish strong proof that the warmth of the climate has a marked effect in diminishing the weight of wool per sheep ; and they have been adduced as furnishing conclusive evidence to that ef- fect, by persons more accustomed to broad assertion than patient investi gation. The following will give the weight of wool per head in the States enu- merated in Table No. 1, estimated from the census returns of 1840 : TABLE No. 2. Us. Oz. Virginia 1 7 845 North Carolina 1 2 221 South Carolina 1 3 539 Georgia 1 4 487 Florida 1 410 Lbs. Oz. Alabama 1 4 146 Mississippi 1 4 227 Louisiana 8 040 Tennessee 1 4 809 Kentucky 1 6 971 New-York 1 lb. 7 680 But an examination of the census will show that so far as several cf these States are concerned, it is entitled to very little credit, in this par ticular, and that it is correct in relation to none of them. In Louisiana, in fourteen counties from which 30,261 sheep, or nearly one-third in the whole State, are returned, not a pound of wool is returned. In Florida, four counties, returning 228 sheep, return no wool. Let us U. S. Census. 1S4&. f lb SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 19 examine the comparative products, per head, as set forth in some of the counties from which returns of sheep and wool are both made, with a view of testing their accuracy. Escambia returns 485 sheep, and 837 lbs. of wool ; Walton 386 sheep, and 575 lbs. of wool ; Leon 1,798 sheep, and 3,360 lbs. of wool — or an approximation to 2 lbs. of wool per head. Nas- sau returns 436 sheep, and 1,200 lbs. of wool, or about 3 lbs. per head. On the other hand, Gadsden returns 1,875 sheep and 512 lbs. of wool ; Jefferson 752 sheep, and 300 lbs. of wool ; Madison 223 sheep, and 50 lbs, of wool ; Jackson 960 sheep, and 376 lbs. of wool, or not quite a third of a pound per fleece ! Now Leon is bounded on the west by Gadsden, and an the east by Jefferson, and all lie in the same latitude, and do not diftei essentially in their soil, herbage, or temperature ! Madison lies imme- diately east of Jeffei-son, (though its southern angle extends somewhat farther south,) and Jackson joins Walton. Nassau is in the same latitude. Hamilton, returning no sheep, returns the product as 20 lbs. of wool ! Li Mississippi, eight counties returning 15,227 sheep, return no wool; and there are repeated instances of the same glaringly obvious errors that have been exhibited in the statistics of Florida. For example, Smith county returns 741 sheep, and 1,067 lbs. of wool; Wayne 921 sheep, and ],466 lbs. of wool. Jasper, bounding Smith on the east, returns 1,848 sheep, and 418 lbs. of Wool; and Clarke, bounding Wayne on the north, 1,199 sheep, and 188 lbs. of wool ! By this,the sheep of Clarke shear loss than 3 oz. per head, while those of tlje next county shear over a pound and a half per head. There are various other instances of under returns in the State. In Alabama, two counties retui-ning 2,138 sheep, return no wool; and in eight counties there are the same glaring instances of under returns with those given above. In Georgia there is but one omission to return the wool, where the sheep are returned. In that county there were 3,360 sheep. There are eight or nine instances of obvious under returns, but these in the aggre- gate of the State are partly balanced by two gross cases of over returns. Cobb county returns 3,524 sheep, and 36,057 lbs. of wool ; and Richmond 758 sheep, and 3,032 lbs. of wool ! In South Carolina there are at least six instances of under returns. In North Carolina there are no returns of wool in one county, contain- ing 2,163 sheep, and in another 7,260 lbs. of wool are returned, and no sheep. There are ten cases of obvious under returns. In one of them 46,340 sheep are made to yield but 12,686 lbs. of wool. In Virginia there are no omissions, and no obvious under returns. There are several over returns. In Tennessee there are no omissions, but there are seven obvious undei returns and two or three over returns. In Kentucky and New-York there are not sufficient erroneous returns to materially vary the aggi'egate. The foregoing facts show that the Marshals in many counties in the most southern States entirely neglected their duty in returning the pro liuct of wool ; and where over or under returns have been made, it i"? probable that, by a misapprehension of duty, the amount of wool on hand was ascei'tained and noted down, instead of the annual clip. And there is another and general error in these statistics, throughout all the States, by the census including in the number of sheep the lambs of the current season, which had not, of course, been sheared at the time of taking the census. A, at the time of taking the census, owned a flock of 200 sheep over one year old, and 100 lambs. He would give in his flock 20 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. to the Marshal as 300, of course, for the census makes no distinction be- tween lambs and grown sheep. He gave in GOO lbs. of wool, which would be 3 lbs. per head for those whicli had been sheared. But by the lambs being included in the census returns, it is made to appear th.at his sheep sheared but 2 lbs. of wool per head. In the next census the lambs and sheep should be separately retui'ned, not only to obtain accuracy, (without which such statistics are valueless,) but the annual increase thus indicated would be, of itself, an interesting and valuable statistic. In the preceding enumeration of erroneous returns, I have set down none as under returns where the product of wool has not been given as less than a pound per head ; and where it has fallen under that amount, the returns from contiguous counties, possessing the same natural features, exhibiting a far superior product,as well as the general complexion of the returns throughout the State, have authorized me beyond a reasonable doubt so to consider it. I may add, that it is a fact of universal notoriety that there is no variety of sheep in any section of the United States, whicii shears but a pound of wool per head.* A careful inspection of the census, moreover, will not fail to satisfy any one that there are a multitude of under returns, (not specified by me, as the product is given over 1 lb, of wool per head,) in most of the States. This is shown by the same kind of compari- sons which have already been alluded to. These are far more common in the extreme Southern States, where wool growing had not yet (in 1839) - been reduced to any system, and where sheep had been little looked after or regarded. These errors grow less, as we approach the wool-growing regions of the north and north-west. Taking those returns which we are authorized to consider conect,t it will appear that there is no great difference in the average product of wool, per head, in States separated by fi-om ten to fifteen degrees of latitude, and no more than is clearly referable to incidental or extraneous causes, unless we come to the conclusion that the difference is in favor of the Southern States. In proof of this, the following table is offered, giving the products of some of those counties in each of the States enumerated in Tables No. 1 and No. 2, which exhibit the highest averages per head, (excluding those obviously over returned. )| TABLE No. 3. State. rouN-Tv .Averag'e Weight of IVool ^^^^^^- 1 per Shefp, Total average of the Counties given\\ Virginia < ' Fauquier Hanison Ohio Lbs. Oz. 2 2f§ff 9 9 1050 "^ ^26689 9 1 4 <) 4 9 -^4 791 Lbs. Oz. 2 11 1 Rockingham. . . North Carolina < Currituck Person Perquimans . . . Tyrrel 9 7443 ■^ '459 ^913 '^ ^302y 1 19 2 2 9 2 ^ ■^"2383 ^ °1947 2 * I consider such to be under returns, independent of the mistake made by including lambs in lht» enumeration, t With the exception of the error arising from the return of lambs— which perhaps would not greatly yary the proportionable result. Jit is proper to say that though I designed to take the highest averages. I did nut go through a formal reckoning of the average in every county in the eleven 8tates. I took those which appeared the highest, •fter a somewhat careful general inspection. y Excluding the fractions of the ounces in preceding column. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 21 TABLE No. 3— (Continued.) South Carolina. C Beaufort J Darlington . . . . I Georgetown . . . / Richland Bibb Average IVctglUuJ Huui pir Skerp. Georsfia Florida Murray Twiggs Ware . E.scambia Lroii . . . . Nassau . . Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Blount. . Jackson. Autauga Greene . Claiborne Hit.ds . . Pcn-y - - Warren Tennessee Kentucky Concordia. . . St. Helena . . St. Tammany Wa.sliington . DTIUII) Franklin .... Smith Wilson Bourbon . Cbirkc... Lawrence Scott .... New- York Westchester Ulster Saratoga . . . Orleans .... Lbs. Oz. 9 1 Ol f)9 4 '^ -^^1375 '^ *3041 2 1 1 oil 80 ^ ^~15 11 •3 306 '^TTTs" 1 - 1 ] 4 ^"2013 233 iO 11- 134 _oy '899 (^f>3 9_,0 "Oi-Sl 15-L9JL ■*^ 1 8 89 n - liiLiL " 4 " 7 4 9 ■^ '65^7 3 2 9 71 ?5 '953 2 loJ^^l 1 71361. 1 .S 1 3 O 1 lliii ^ ^ ^21 9 V 1 H 2. *- '-7?9„ O 7(iJ_79 '953^1 - "TTro9^ O 91 SOI 6 " '-I9T09 O 1 13 8 9 7 -^ ^23719 '> 1 1 JL1JL3_ - ^^20933 •> 1 • . 2 9 5 .J - ^"6821 2 C,J'JL3_ j: _J_Lli! •> 1()_JiQJ_4_ " ^ 200 4 3 '6355 9 '^5 7.6.Ji '6041 9 91215.4. •^ '^ 6 9 5 «; -1 total average of the Counties given Lbs. Oz. 2 3 2 3L 2 U 2 1 2 71 2 1^ 2 2^ 9 vi Taking these averages as a test, it would appear that the difTerence between the average products of the Southern States and New York is, in some instances, in favor of the former. Kentucky in the middle, and Mis- sissippi in the extreme South, e.xceed the average of New York. It is proper to say, however, that various local circumstances may have eifected these results, and that taking the average of a considerable num- ber of counties, in the several States, would essentially vary them. Not- withstanding this, the testimony which they offer is important, and be- comes more so reganled in connection with another circumstance. The comparative statistics of the extreme Southern States themselves show that in a majority of cases their best products of wool come from their Southern and warmer counties. Of the four counties in Louisiana, the product of which is given above. 22 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. the most northern Hes between the 31st and 32d degrees of latitude, and all of the other three south of latitude 31°. St. Tammany, which exhibits the second best product, borders on Lake Pontchartrain. The State ex- tends north to latitude 33°. In Florida, all the counties given lie in the same latitudes. Mississippi extends north to latitude 35°. All the counties given are south of 32° 30', and one in latitude 31°. In Alabama, extending north to the same latitude with the above, two of the counties given are in the noithern or mountain region, and two of them south of 33°. In Georgia, (same northern line,) one of the counties given is in the ex- treme north, two south of 33° and one in latitude 31°, being the county in which lies the major portion of the Great Okefinokee» Swamp ! In South Carolina, two of the counties (both bordej'ing on the ocean) are in the low, marshy, tide-water region ; and the other two are in the central region. In North Carolina,two of the counties given join the ocean ; one is on Albe- marle Sound, while one lies in the central and northern portion of the State, In comparing the product of wool in the Southern States with that of the Northern — and more particularly with that of New-York — we must not lose sight of the^fact that in the latter wool growing has become an important business, and is reduced to a system. The sheep are kept in pastures, and are sheared at regular intervals. In the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Gulf States, precisely the reverse of all this was generally true, at least up to the year 1839. The sheep were little cared for; were suf- fered to breed promiscuously; and they roamed at large through forests, where, as the warm season advanced in the spring, their wool, beginning to detach itself, was left on shrubs and brambles, and in not rare instances considerable portions of it were thus lost prior to shearing.* Giving their due weight to the preceding facts, the defects in the census, etc., it is, I think, undeniable that they account for all the deficiency in the average product of wool per sheep in our most southern States, com- pared with that of New- York, as set forth in Table No. 2. Indeed, sir, my own convictions are decided, and the facts reported appear to fully sustain them, that warmth of temperature, at least to a point equaling the highest mean temperature in the United States, is not injurious, but abso- lutely conducive to the production of wool. The causes of this are in- volved in no mystery. Warm climates afford green and succulent herb- age during a greater portion of the year than cold ones. Sheep plentifully supplied with green herbage keep in higher condition than when confined to that which is dry. High condition promotes those secretions which form wool. Every one at all conversant with sheep well knciws that if kept fleshy the year round, they produce far more wool than if kept poor. A half a pound's difference per head is readily made in this Avay. Within the maximum and minimum of the product of a sheep or a flock, the ra« tio of production always coincides with that of condition. I have dwelt on this point at great and perhaps tedious length, sir, as the results set forth in the United States Census, unexplained, would clearly point to a different conclusion from that to which I have anived. To invalidate testimony, ostensibly so certain and reliable, as well as to combat deep-rooted prejudices, I have deemed it necessary to scan thor- oughly the accessible facts in the case, * I ma^ie no acrnunt of difference in breeds, as affectina; the product of wool between fhe Pouth and Morth. The ijrade Meiinos, not uncommon in New-York, would produce far more wool than ihe "na- tives," the principal sheej) in the South in 1839. But the latter would equal or exceed the j roduct of th« numerous Saxon tlocks of New-York. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH, LETTER n. EFFECT OF CLIMATE, CONTINUED. Effect of Climati! on quality of Wool ... Warmth of Climate renders Wool coarser — Reasons ... Effect of Herbage. -.OiJiiilons of Yi)u;iit — Doctor Parry — English .Stapleis — Writer. ..Can the tendency to grow coari-er bo resi.steil >.. ..Opinions of Yowatt — Lasleyiie— Mr. Lawrence. . .Experiment in Australia— Cape of Good Hope — .-=i)uth of Illinois— Kentucky — Tenne.«see — Mississipi)! — New-York. ..Wann Climates render Wools sof'eranil I()nif Wooi. There can be but little doubt, other thino^s bein^ equal, that the pelage of the Sheep and some other animals, becomes finer in cold climates and Cdai'ser in warm ones. This is usually attributed, by theoretical writers, to the effect of cold and heat in contracting or expanding the poi'es. This may have some effect, but to suppose that the delicate tissues of the skin can act, to any great extent, mechanically, in compressing the harder and highly clastic ones of the hair or wool, or compel their attenuation so as to permit their escape through diminished apertures, like the process of wire drawing, is, it seems to me, to assume that matter acts contrary to its ordinary laws. I am rather disposed to look for the causes of this phenomenon, in the amount and qualify of the nutriment received by the animal. It was stated, in my preceding lettc r, that warm climates, by affordinjj succulent herljajje durino- a sfreater portion of the year, maintain in greater activity those secretions which form wool, and thus increase the quantity or weight of the fleece. The wei flock has been fairly supplied wi'.h iintriment, althoujzh lh • lleece mav have lost a little in weight, it will have acquired a superior dejrree of fineness and a proportionate increa.se of value. ^Should, however, the sheep have been neglected and starved during this prolongation of cold weather, the (lecce as well as the carcass is ihinner ; and although it may have v>ro- served its smalliiess of filament, it has lost in weight and strength and usefulness. Xfiese are self-evident facts, and need not bo enforced by any labored argument."* Doct. Parry, a correct and able English writer, remarks : " Sheep breeders have observed a sort of gross connection between the food and quality of the fleece. . . . The fineness of a sheep S fleece of a given breed is. within certain limits, inversely as its fatness, and perhaps also (althouirh I am not certain on this point) jia the quickness with which it grows fat. A sheep which is fat has usually comparatively coarse wout, and one which is lean, either from want of food or di.sease, has the finest wool; and the very same sheep may at different times, according to these circumstances, havo fleeces of all the intermediate qualities from extreme fineness to comparative coarseness." • Yojatt on S^heep, p ''0. •24 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. In an examination before the Eno^lisb House of Lords, in 1828, various eminent staplers* testify, most decidedly, to the deterioration (in fineness) of the British wools and their increase in length of staple, " since the introduction of artificial food and the adoption of the forcing system." My own observations fully corroborate these positions. I have exam- ined, in repeated instances, with a good mici'oscope, the wool of inr^ivid- ual sheep in my flock, taken in seasons when they have maintained a high condition, and in others, when, from some incidental cause they have been in ordinary or poor condition, and the difference in length and fineness is, uniformly, distinctly perceptible If the sheep breeder in warm climates can take advantage of the ten dency to produce greater qnantities of wool, following that supply of suc- culent herbage throughout the year which Nature has placed at his disposal, and at the same time, by any unexpensive means which he can employ, combat the correlative tendency to inci'eased coarseness of fibre, he has most assuredly, other things being equal, an entire advantage over the breeder in colder regions. We come now to the important inquiry, Can this latter tendency be successfully combated ; or, in other woi-ds, can wool of any desirable fineness be produced in countries as warm, for example, as Louisiana, Mississippi, &;c. 1 Let ns examine Mr. Youatt's testimony on this point also. He says : " Temperature and pastui'e have influence on the fineness of the fibre, and one whicli the farmer should never disregard ; but ho may, in a great measure, counteract this influence by carefid management and selection in breeding. ... A better illustiation of this cannot be found than in the fact that the Merino has been transplanted to every latitude on the temperate zone and same beyond it— to Sweden in the North and Australia in the South — and has refciiueit its tendency to produce wool exclusively, and wool of nearly equal fineness and value. "t Mr. Lasteyrie, equally good authority, uses the following language. When he speaks of the preservation of the breed in its " utmost purity," we are undoubtedly to understand him to refer as much to the fineness of the wool as any other point, this being the distinguishing mark or excel- lence of the breed. ' The preservation of the Merino race in its utmost ])urity at the Cape of Good Hope, in the marshes of Holland, and under the rigorous climate of Sweden, furnish an additional support of tliis, my unalterable principle : fine wool sheep may be kept wherever intcUi gent breeders exist.":]: Samuel Lawrence, Esq. the head of the great Lowell Manufacturing Company, in Massachusetts, who, by his vast purchases of fine wool in all parts of the United States for a long term of years, and his intimate prac- tical acquaintance with the quality of the article, is entitled to have his opinion on this point regarded as of as great weight as that of any other individual, says : " That the properties of wool are affected by herbage and soil, I have not a doubt, and were it not invidious, I would name some sections where wool growers are greatly favored by Nature. One thing is certain, whatever may be the character of the soil, where there are good shepherds there is sure to be found good wool. By judicious selections and cross- ing, I believe a breed may be reared whi':h will give four pounds of exquisitely fine wool t3 the fleece."|| This last sentence of this important extract, though not bearing so par- ticularly on the point under examination, is recorded in its original con- nection for subsequent reference. Australia and the Cape of Good Hope being cited by the distinguished * Youatt on Sheep, p. 71, where the names and testimony of these indiTid nals are given ; ami more at length in Bischoff on Wools, &c., vol. ii. pp. 118—200. t I'P- 'iU— 70. t Lasteyrie on ilerino Sheep, p. 101. U Letter of Mr. L., published in " American Shepherd," p. 436. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 25 English and French writers above quoted, as oftering- instances of the per- fectly successful acclimation of Merinos, without deterioration of their wool, in warm climates, it may be well to inquire a little more particularly what the climate of those countries is ; and what, if any, the other cir- cumstances connected with them, having an influence on tlie quxility of the wools grown ?n them. Port .Jackson, in Australia, in the vicinity of which the jNIerinos were (i;st introduced, and are now extensively bred, lies in 33^ 55' South lati- tude, corresponding as nearly with the latitude "of Georgetown, South Carolina, as that of any othei important point in our country.* In de scribing this region (New South Wales) Make Brun says : " The roast itself is high but not mouiitaiiums ; anil it is partly .shiuleil by fn-cs of gigantic size. Toward the south-east a great part is covered with cop|iict'; niuih also is occupied with marshes. About BoUuiy Bayt the soil is black, rich and exceed in-^'ly productive in plants. Th(! noith-east part seems lower. The coast is covered with mangroves. . . . The heat of December rises to ll!2° Fahrenheit. The forests and the gra-JS have been known spontaneously to take lire.t The North-west wind, like the Khamseen of Egypt, scorches the soil and reduces it to a light dust. . . . NotwithsUuiding tlie-^e disiulvantages, the climate is very healthy, and very favorable to pojndalion. . . . Those pa'ts in which different trials have been made" have rather too warm a climate f «• conniion barley and oats, though these grains have been found to succeed ttjlerably well on the poorer soils. All the vegetables grown in England are produced in the English colouy. . . Peaches, apricots, nectiu-ines, oranges, lemons, guavas, locpiots, cherries, walnuts, almonds, grapest tlie eyes should be iniured."§ Though the climate can scarcely be designated a "tor7'id" one, as Mr. Youatt speaks of it, the mean temperature of its winter (61°) conclusively shows that cold can have nothing to do here with rendering the wool finei by a contraction of the pores. If, therefore, it can be shown that the wool of the fine breeds does not deteriorate in quality, it suflicienlly proves that Australia is not an incidental exception in the testimony which it presents on the point under examination, but that it illustrates the uniform opera- tion of the physical laws which pertain to the gro\\'th of avooI. After one or two unsuccessful attempts, the Merinos were acclimatexl at the Cape by the English colonists. In 1804, the colony numbered 536.- 634 sheep. In 1811, there were 1,293,740. In 1810, the iinport of wool Into Great Britain was 29,717 lbs.; in 1833, it was 93,325 lbs.1] In Willmer & Smith's " Liverpool Annual Wool Iiepoit," for 1846, it is stated, " The shipments from this quarter (Cape of Good Hope) show gi'eat improvement, amply testified by the high rates the best flocks have commanded during the season. . . The best parcels now take r.mk with those from Australia."** The system of breeding and general man- agement at the Cape closely correspond with those of Australia. Let us now, sir, turn to the experience of our own countiy. I do not * Cnnnin'^hain's "Two '^'ciirs in South W^ilr?." t lb. % lb. II MrUo Hrun, vol. ii. p. ll'.i. ^ lb. vol. ii. p. 112. TI Younlt on Sheep, p. 184. *•■ WiUiuci- Sc Smith's European Times of Jmi. ■), 1S16. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 27 know that a sufficient numlier of expei'iiiients have been made as near the Equatoi" as Cape Town and Port Jackson, to have then- testimony regai'd- ed as entirely decisive on the point under consideration, but those have been made wliich throw much Hght on this question, if, indeed, any moi'e is considered necessary. In the south of llhnois (Edwards county), in about latitude 3S^ 30', the finest varieties of sheep were introduced by Mr. George Flower, about twenty years since, from which he has bred up an extensive flock. That gentleman says :* " No deterioration in the wool has taken place ; on the contrary, the wool fibre is somewhat finer." I have myself seen various specimens of Mr. Flower's wool, of the clip of J844, and it bore an excellent character for fineness and evenness. In a letter vv'hich I received from Hon. Henry Clay, in 1839, he says : *' I have for some years had only the pure Snxony at my residence ; but I am now satisfied that 1 should have derived more profit from sheep pro- ducing a wool less fine.t The climat(^ of Kentucky is, however, well adapted to the Saxon sheep." Mr. ('lay's residence fs in about latitude 38°. Mr. Mark R. Cockrill, of Nashville, Tennessee, in a letter 2)ublished in the American Shepherd,^ says : " I liavi» a!)()ut a thonsaiul head of fiiio slir-r^p, and from 400 to 500 lonir-woolcd or mutton sheep. Mv Saxmi sheep were imported in 1824 (>r '2(i — I Ciuiiiot say v^diicli — and I find as yet no falling off in (jiiiuitity or ([nality of tlieir fleeces ; on the contrai-y, I l)elieve a little improvement on lioili [)oin1s, and a little more yolk, wlieji well jirovided for, which, you know, does not ahouud much in the Saxon i)reed. In addition, the fleeces are a little more compact than tormcrly — hence more wei^dit ; and, from our mild climate, fhc s'nple has be- come lonrrer. . . I assert it to be a fact that the cotton region I am now in [Mr. Cockrill dates from Madison county, Mississippi, whi're a part of his sheep are kept], in about lati- tude 32^ north, is better than any countiy norlli of it to grow wool, as the sheep can be kept all the time grazing, by sowinears to have a very great effect on wool, so as to reduce it from a harshness to a veiy line texture. "|| This was the siihstance of all the testimony on this particular point; and when it is understood that the investig-ation was an issue between rival interests, where all the facts were thoroughly sifted, the fact that the above assertions were undisputed sliows that they were considered of an undis- putable character. AlltisK)r. has already been made to the loose and careless system of sheep-breeding, etc. in Australia, compared with that in Germany, Tak- ing this into consideration ; taking also into consideration that the flock furnishing the best wool in Australia (Capt. Mc Arthur's) is composed of grade sheep (Bengal and English, graded up with Merino and Saxon rams), the trifling effect of climate is made more strikingly to appear. The statements of Mr. Cockrill in relation to the softness of the wools grown in Tennessee and Mississippi, sustain and arc sustained by those above given ; and they go to show that it is the result of a general law and not of any peculiar local influences peculiar to Australia • BiMhoff on Wool, &c. rol. ii. pp. 18»-3. \ Ibid. 183-4. X Ibid. 184. ][ Ibid. 184. 30 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. LETTER HI. ADAPTATION OF THE SOILS, HERBAGE, &c. OF THE SOUTHERN STATES TO SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 1. OF THE LOW OR TIDE-WATER REGION. Natural Featmes of the Southern States — Divided into three Zones. ..The Natural Features, Soils, &c. of each.-.Tlie Tide-water Zone — Its deeiitulion ofAniticial Pastures and Meadows. ..Causes— .Small amount of Domestic .Stock kept — Unsuccessful Experiments in raising Clover and lirafses. . .Ueitsnns why those Expeiiments weie unsuccessful— Land loo much E.xhausted by .Severe Tillaire — .System of Tillaije com- pared with that of the Grazing Regions of Niw-York— E.xperiir.ents unsuccessful, also, becrtuse improper varieties of Clover and Grass were tried. ..Much of the Land adapted to Griiss— Shown by its Natural Pas- tures' — Statements of Col. AUston — Opinions of iNIr. Uiiffin — of a Committee of the .S. C. Agricultural !?oci- cty... Land compared with that of Flanders - also with some parts of New-York. . .(^limate peihaps unfa- vorable to certain Northern Grasses and to Red Clover — Opinion of Mr. Rullin— -tjilemeuls of Milton (S. 0.) Agricultural Society. ..Clover not indispensable. ..Experiments suggested- ..Valuable indigenous and acclimated Grasses— Crab Grass — Millet — IJermuda Grass — its great value— Statements ot Mr. Aifleck. .. Peas — Their si'eat value in the Southern .States as a Green Crop Manure — "^prengiH's Analysis of them — The Value of their Straw as a Manure compared with various substances — Table of the Value of Manures by Pay en and Boussingault-.. Oats, Rye and Uarley — Corn Blades — Sweet Potatoes. ..Conclusions iiox foregoing. Dear Sir : Having discussetl, in my previous letters, the eiTects of warm climates and some of their incidents, on the health of sheep, and on the quantity and quality of their wool, we come now to the second branch of my original inquiry — Is there anything in the natural features, soils, herb- age, &;c. of the Southern States, which unfits them for a natural and easy adaptation to sheep husbandry 1 The vast region south of the Ohio and Potomac, and west of the Missis- sippi — comprising an area considerably exceeding that of France, Spain and PortuQ^al* — is distinguished, by its natural features, into three distinct zones, parallel to each other and to the Atlantic coast. The lower or tide-water zone, which skirts the Atlantic, is a low, flat, sandy, and oftentimes mar.shy plain, from 50 to 100 miles wide, com.para- tively recent (tertiary) in its formation, and covered with pine forests ovej the greatest portion of its extent. The soils on the dry lands are generally light, and sometimes too sterile to admit of profitable cultivation ; that in the swamps and river bottoms, where the sand is replaced by a rich allu- vion, is exceedingly fertile. The middle or hilly zone rises from the level of the preceding, first into gentle hills, and finally into high and oftentimes broken ground, as it ajjproaches tlie mountains. The width of this does not greatly vary from that of the preceding. The formation is almost ex- clusively primary ;t and the soil varies, sometimes being poor, but more generally ranging, in its natural state, from medium to highly fertile. The forests consist of oak and other deciduous trees. The third or mountain region is formed by the different chains and groups of the great Apalach- ian range of mountains, and occupies not far from 70,000 square miles of the central portion of the territory under consideration.^ It comprises the uiiddle of Virginia, the west of North Carolina and South Carolina, the north of Georgia and Alabama, and the east of Tennessee and Kentucky. Its formation on the eastern declivities of the Blue Ridge (the most east- ern chain) is primary, and thence to the AUeganies the rocks belong to ' Spain contains 170,000 square miles, Portugal 40,000, France 200,000— in all 410,000. Allowini 10.000 square miles of Louisiana to be east of the Mississippi, the area of the region referred to is 456,000 square miles. t There are one or two interrupted belts of new red sandstone — vide McClure. J Estimated not far, I think, from correctly, by myself. I can find no authority on this point. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOHTH. 3l the Transition order.* Its soil varies from thin and light to that of exu- berant fertihty. West of the mountains, the hilly zone rests on Transition rocks and coa! measures, and is succeeded west and south of Virginia by the vast rolling or level plains which extend to the Ohio and Mississippi ; and which, instead of the sihcious sands of the eastern coast, exhibit rich and varying soils resting on limestone and other Transition and Cretaceous rocks. In Virginia, the hilly region, which is one vast coal measure, extends to the bottom lands of the Ohio ; and its soils, taken as a whole, range from ordinary to meager.t We will now proceed to examine the capabilities and adaptation of each zone, separately, for the purposes of sheep husbandry. It has already been shown that sheep are heiMtby, and produce as heavy, and may he made to produce as fine fleeces as elsewhere, in the tide-water zcme. They are easily kept — finding, in a climate so mild, considerable succulent food even in the wi'ater; and, south of North Carolina, large numbers would subsist during the entire winter on the hardier wild herbage which continues green in the forests and swamps. If this region was stocked with sliee]), to the extent alone to which they could find subsistence, summer and winter, on wild herbage — or, in other words, get a living without costing their own- eas anything — the present immber would ])e largely increased, and their wool and mutton would add materially to the annual income of tlie own- ers of the soil. But a better system would undoubtedly be not to depend upon wild herbage alone, but to have pastures or sheep-walks seeded with the best grasses which will flourish on them, and provision made for a quan- tity of dry fodder, or some substitute for it, for winter use. Can this summer and winter feed be produced, in the region under ex- amination, to any considerable extent, at an expense which would render its conversion into wool and mutton pi-ofitnble ? There are patches of good natural jiasture in many parts of the tide-water zone, apart from the salt or fresh water marshes. But artificial pastures and meadows have rarely been attempted. The planters in this portion of South Carolina, for example, actually import hay ! " Many of the cotton and rice planter's . . in some cases buy hay from New-England. . . . Northern and (in some cases) European hay is even carried up to supply Augusta and Columbia, along rivers which flow through swamps covered with natural grass, so rank and hixuriant as to be almost impenetrable."! This neglect of grass culture springs from several causes. Little farm- stock, comparatively speaking, is reared or kept by the rice and cotton- planters, from the fact that most of the labor on such plantations is per- formed by men ; and the few animals kept aie fed on wild herbage, or the offal of crops which are raised for other purposes. The carriage and draught horses and mules are fed in the winter on the leaves or " blades " of corn ; and the neat stock get their living in the swamps, and in the corn fields, where the greatest portion of the stalks are usually left stand- ing- Nor is it to be denied that various unsuccessful experiments have been made in the cultivation of the grasses and clover, which have discouraged farther efforts, and led many to infer that the soil or climate, or both, are decidedly uncongenial to them. That the soil or climate is as favorable to the production of rich, thick swarded pastures or meadows, as in many * So termed by Werner.- Though little used now by geoloirists, I resort to it as the shortest descriptive epithet which will include all these rocks, unless it be the Hemilisyan of Bronijniart, the Submedial of Co- nybearc, or the Graywacke of De la Beclie — neither of which is so familiar, nor, it appears to mc. any bet ter. The Transition rocks are equivalent to both the Cainlirian of Prof. Sedgwick, and the Silurian of Mr Murchison — whose nomenclature is adopted by Lyell, Phillips, Mantell, (fee. \ Dr. Morse, Mitchell, &c. % Ruffin's Agricultural Survey of South Carolina, IS-ID, p. 73 32 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. parts of the Northern States, I do not contend. Some of these soils are doubtless, naturally too barren to be made to produce good yields of grass, without an expenditure which would more than counterbalance the profits accruing from them. Others have been sunk nearly to the same level by wasting and improvident tillage ; and it is on lands of the latter class, mainly, that the experiments in introducing the grasses and clover have been made. As long as they would produce cotton or corn, these crops were annually taken from them, with perhaps an occasional year of rest (i. e. lying without any crop being sown on or taken from them) ; and, when reduced to such a degree of barrenness that the crop fell short of re- paying the cost of producing it, clover or grass was I'esorted to in the vain hope of suddenly repairing, through their instrumentality, the ravage and desolation of years. The following is from the report of a Committee of the Fishing Creek Agi-icultural Society, Chester District, South Carolina, made to the President of the State Society in 1S43 ; and, though this dis- trict is not in the tide-water zone, the system of cropping described is more or less the prevailing one* throughout much of the cotton growing region : " We generally plant cotton on fiesli land four or five years in succfssJou — then corn — then wheat or oats — again com and cotton ; and, after it will produce litlle else, we sow it in rye, and let it rest two or three years. There are nti fixed principles observed in the ro- tation of ci'ops, . . . We have no data whereby to fix the expense of cultivation accu- rately. AVe know this, however, that at the price of produce for the last two or tlii-ee years, we are sinking' money. "t I ask wh ii would be expected, in the way of grass or clover, from some of the best grazing lands of New- York, after being cropped with grain crops from ten to twelve yea,rs consecutively, with little or no manure ? — However carefully seeded with the best grasses, or with clover, they would not form meadows worth mowing, nor pastures where an acre, would sum- mer a sheep — though, as now managed, an acre is poorly grassed that will not sixramer five or six sheep. Take the ma,]) of New-York, Sir, and draw a right line from Buffalo to a point a little south of Albany — say Coxsackie — and all the region, speaking in general terms, south of this line and west of the Catskill Mountains, is mainly devoted to grazing. It is the best graaing region of the State, and much of it is equal to any in the Northern States. The best farmers in no part of it take off to exceed three grain oi root crops before seeding down to gi ass ; and, unless the soil is unusually rich, it is custcmiary to give barn-yard manure to one of these crops. This is almost invariably the case where the land was in meadow when broken up. Where no mimure is given on meadow lands, or even on lightish pas- ture lands, two grain crops are considered sufficient by the most provident farmers — it being-an axiom among such, that all ordinary or thinnish soils should be nearly or quite as rich when seeded down as when broken up. In other words, they draw from the soil only what is equivalent to the strength or fertilizing properties of the sod, and of the manure given. — When seeded down to grass, these lands are usually depastured by cattle or sheep several years before they are again broken up. If converted into meadow, they are top-dressed from, time to time with gypsum, and some- times with stable manures.^ The poorest soils, rocky hill-si be "run out," and are broken up. 1 have never known the seed of this grass soAvn in a single instance ! The favorite Rye grasses of Eng- land ( Lolrum 2>''>'i'nne rar. hlcnne), Lucern ( Mcdicago satiraj, Sainfoin {Hcdz/sarufH on/ffricJiis J, Orchard grass ( Dactijl'is glvmerata), and various others e(]ually celebrated in England and on the Continent, have been ti'ied in New- York, and the experiments are generally regarded as decided failures. None of them, at all events, have obtained a footing among the grasses sown by our best farmers. On the other hand, the Red Top of New-York is but little regarded in England, f and Timothy was not in much better repute until the Woburn experiments demonstrated its great ralue for hay. Even now it is considered inferior, in general value, to many other grasses. || All this goes to show that even the hardiest grasses have their favorite situations ; and that we are not authorized to pronounce against the practicability of forming pastures and meadows in a given re- gion, because we have failed in a trial with two or three grasses, out of a list of as many hundreds. It has already been remarked that there are patches of good natural pasture on the dry as well as the wet portions of the tide-water zone These are frequent and extensive, and could be rendered infinitely more so by simply clearing the land. In your Memoir on the Cultivation of Rice, furnished to ]\Ir. Ruffin, while making the Agricultural Survey of South Carolina, in 1843, you say : " At first, rice was cultivated on tht hisjh land, and on little spots of low jrround, as they were met with here and there. These low pounds being found to ap-ee better with tlie plant, the inland swamps were cleared for the purpose of extending the culture. In the process oi time, as the fields became too grassv and stuhlioni, thcv were abandoned for new clearings ; and so on, until at length was discovered the superior adaptation of the tide-lands, and the great facilitii>s for irrigation afforded by their location. For these, the inland planta- tions were gradually and slowly abandoned, until now, that the great body of land, which * Pometimes known as " Uprisht Bent en'ass." and in the Southern Stales aa Herds-grass. t Pronounced by Sole the best of all the grasses. !; AgrostU vulgaris is pronounced " a worthless or rather a mischievous plant," by Sir George Sinclair I I "Our opinion," says Loudon, " is that neither Timothy nor (some other grasses named) is ever li^elj to be cultivated in Britain." 34 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. little more than a century ago funiislied for exportation over 50,000 barrels of rice, now liet atterly waste, coiistitntinfr, where trees liave not overgi-own it, the finest natural pasttiro which could he desired."* Mr. Ruflrm in his Report of the Survey, of the same year, asserts : " Few countries possess gi-eater natin-al facilities, or which ai-e more i«iprovable hj in- d istry, for produciu? in abimdance, grass, hay and live-stock, and their products of meat, Uiilk and butter, all of which ai'e now so deplorably deficieut."t The Committee appointed by the State Agricultural Society of South Carolina to take into consideration the scheme of reducing the quantity of cotton grown,| in their Report observe : " Millbns of acres in South Carolina, including the lower country, are admii-ably adapted to the raising of rich gi-asses. This might be added as another branch of industry, from which reasonable profits could be realized, and might very well be added to the cotton planter's income." C»iTesponding statements, on equally indisputable authority, might be indefinitely multiplied, not only in relation to that portion of the tide- water zone lying within the limits of South Carolina, but in all the South- era States. South Carolina occupying a central geographical and lati- tudinal position, in reference to this zone, and its soils on it, about averaging, so far as I can learn, with that of the other States, it is not necessary to pursue the inquiry. Where fine natural pastures spring up spontaneously on deserted lands, more or less impoverished — probably in most instances considerably so — how little difficulty would there be in forming, almost immediately, the best artificial pastures and meadows on millions of acres of just such land, (only that it is in its virgin state, and consequently far better,) now in un- productive forest ! And how small would be the amount of skill requisite to convert millions of acres more of cotton lands — which do not now yield remunerating crops — into pastures and meadows, which, as I shall show, would yield their owners a handsome remuneration ! And the culture of the grasses need not stop with these comparatively good and medium lands. They can be made to stretch their carpet of green over the poorest of your sands — over those now covered with stunt- ed pines, or which, scorched and naked, reverberate back fiercely the burning heat of a southern sky. There are few regions in the tide-water zone possessing poorer soils than some cultAvatcd portions of New-York. In the vicinity of Albany, (between that city and Schenectady, for example,) the same loose, silicious sands, the same, though perhaps rather more stunted, growth of pines, would almost compel you to fancy yourself somewhere between Richmond and Wilmington, on the route of the great Southern Railroad ! Denuded of their meager covering of dwarf pines, and the cohesion produced by their interlacing roots, these sands would be lifted and driven about by the winds. Yet on suich a soil as this, you find the farm of the late cele- brated Jesse Buel ! And fertile grass fields, dotted here and there with splendid mansions, are every year stretching out farther and farther among the arid sands. How are these rapid transformations in the fertility of the soil accomplished ? The stables, and mews, and cesspools of Albany can give the answer ! The following description of the natural soils of Flanders, now prover* bial for its fine crops and rich pastures and meadows, is fiom the pen of that able Eno^lish a2:ricultural writer, Rev. W. L. Rham : * AsjricuUurfrt Survey of South Carolina, 1843. Appendix, p. 14. t lb. p 73. X The Committee consisted of Whitemarsh 1!. Seabrook, Esq., John B. O'Neall, E.sq., and W. J. AllstoH Isq. — aod the Report was iwad^, I believe, in January, in 1846. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 35 " The gi'eater part of the laud in Flanders is naturally poor ; and in extensive districts, which now have the appearance of the gi'eatest richness at harvest time, the original soil waa once little better thiui the blowing; sands which are met with in the neighborhood of the sea. Neither is it a genial climate which brings forwaid the fruits of the earth in abundance ; for the climate is inferior to that of France or the southern parts of Germany. The soil may be divided into two classes. The first consists of the alluvial clay loams near the coast ; tne second, of various sands and light loams which are found in the interior. The most fei'tile is \hat of the low lands which have been leclaimed from the sea by embankments ; it is chiefly composed of a muddy deposit mixed with liagments of marine shells and tine sea sand . . . In the interior of East and West Flanders the soil varies considerably ; but the principal part is of a sandy nature. The sand, and a heavier loam which scarcely deser\-es the name of clay, are found much intennixed, which is owing to an alternation of layers of sand and loanj, which are found by digging to a considerable depth. These layers are not of gi-eat thii'kness, and the accidental circumstance of the waslnug away of the sand in some places and the depositions from rivers hi others easily account for this variety. Some of the eleva- tions, which are nowhere considerable, consist of a very poor sand, and suggest the idea of their h;iving once been the sands of the sea blown into hills, .is is observable on the coast. These hills, if ihey may be so called, are naturally so barren that they were, not veiy long since, covered with heath, or at best planted with fir t'-ces; but diey have gradually been culti- vated ;ind improved, and only a few remain in their original state of heath and wood. Tlie poorer sands have been brought into cultivation chiefly by the iierseveriiig industrj' of small proprietors and occupiers." Have we not here a good general description of much of onr southern Atlantic coast — the tide swamp and sandy ji];nii — and even a graphically minute account of the " Sand Hill " region of South Carolina 1 Instances of the reclamation of such lands might be indefinitely mul- tiplied. I do not offer the above facts to prove that it is either profitable or ex- pedient to reclaim all the sterile lands of the southern sea-board by th.e same means that have been resf)rted to al)out Albany, or in Flanders. Except in the vicinity of cities, where manuics arc jilentifnl and cheap, and un- common market facilities are offered, it would not lie profitable, uidess it can be accomplished by less expensive means. But it proves one and an important position : that it is the sterility of such soils — or perhaps their loose and "blowing" character in some places, their sun-baked hardness in others — which prevents them from spontane- ously producing esculent herbage ; and nothing in them, as has been frequently fancied, positively deleterious to vegetation. And it follows, hence, that whenever it is projifablc to convert them into grass lands, it is pract/'cahle so to do by the proper application of manures. But do I liear some of your Sotith Carolina neighbors, of the anti-improvement school, (if you have any such,) say, " If onr soils are, or can be made, generally, suitable for the prodtiction of the grasses, our d'nnatc cannot % " This position is obviously incorrect, as warmer climates, as, for example, Aus- tralia, the Cape of Good Hope, and various others, produce, where the soils are favorable, a luxuriant growth of grasses ; and South Carolina herself, as has been already shown, produces them bountifully in situations where neither the latitude nor the elevation abates one jot of the heat of your fervid climate. It is not impossible that the climate of the States farthest south — south, say, of North Carolina — may be unfavorable to certain grasses and clovers ; and perhaps so to the favorite ones of the Northern States. In relation to ted clover, however, the acclimation of which is regarded by many as so impoitant to those States, it seems Mr. Ruffin thought otherwise. He says : '• Perennial, or other permanent grasses, of which, doubtless, there may be found some pecidiarly suited to the warm climate, (South Carolina,) would still more sene to give the great Ijenefits of changed condition to the fields, independent of the much needed benefits of grass husbandry for feeding of live-stock and giving rest and maimre to the land. The grasses whose value has been fully established by long experience in more northern coun 36 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH, tries, should be tried — not because they are from the North, (which in itself is a strong ob- jection,) but merely because their good qualities are known, and possibly some such glasses may as well suit a more southern clime. And such, I trast, is red clover, the best of al! green and manuring crops. For although this was long held to belong to the North only, I nave fully experienced that it« locality and the perfection of its growth are fixed much more by peculiarity nf soil than by latitude. Not more than twenty years ago it was as general a belief in Lower Virginia, as now in South Carolina, that there the soil was too scanty and the sun too hot to raise red clover. But since marling and liming have made many of these soils calcareous, it is found "that neither the sandy soil nor hot and dry climate forbid the raising excellent and profitable crops of clover. And so hereafter it will be found m South Carolina."* Ill a ReiT-ift by a Committee of the Milton Ag«cultural Society, (em- bracing ailjacent parts of Laurens and Newberry Districts, S. C) made to the State Society in 1843, they state : " Our native gi-asses, except the crab grass, are of the poorest kiiid, principally sedge. Of the artificial grasses, some trials have been made with red clover and herds-grass.t On rich lots the firet appears to succeed very well. For alternating with tillage crops we do not know of its having been tried ; but our impression is, that without manuring more highly than is customary here, it will not answer,. ^Ve are not aware that it has ever been sowed with gypsum. The herds-gi'ass, as far as it has been tried, appears to succeed veiy well on tlie bottoms that border our branches and creeks. "J Lawrence and Newbeny are not in the tide-water region, but so far as the effect of chmate alone is concerned, their testimony has an equal bearing. I have little doubt that red clover may be cultivated on good, rich soila even in the States south of North Carolina, and may possibly become, un- der some circumstances, a profitable crop in their rotations ; but, as has been already remarked, it will not do as njirst crop on very meager soils, in any climate — and still less so, I apprehend, on such soils sotttli of lati- tude 34°. It is laot, therefore, the crop which you need, to cheaply ame- liorate your poor and exhausted soils, to fit them either for grazing or for tillage. Grant that such soils can be fitted to produce it, as Mr. Rtiffin suggests, 1)y the application of lime or marl,|I these manures will be found expensive, can be but slowly obtained in quantities sufficient to apply to large tracts, and, besides, when the soil is sufficiently ameliorated to carry clover, it will carry most if not all of your ordinary tillage crops. Though clover woidd aid materially in the rotation, in sustaining or evdn improv- .no- the fertility superinduced by lime or any other fertilizer, it is not, and cannot be made the original feitilizer on the sterile sands of warm climates. When we talk, therefore, of the initiatory steps by which such soils shall be brought from a state of barrenness to a state of production, clover does not come within the category of appropriate agents. Though red clover ranks in the first class, if not the first in that class, on appropriate soils, as a grazing and manuring crop, I have never regard- ed it as indispensable — as what the lauu/ers would style a sine qua non — • even in sustaining fertility anywhere except on rich calcareous wheat lands, where a severe and exhausting rotation is resorted to. Where wheat is taken from the soil at least every alternate year, for ten, fifteen, oi twenty years, without any manure, excepting the intervening crop, and the droppings of animals depastured on it, clover will hetter sustain the land in the ultimately fatal struggle, than perhaps any other green ma- * Ruffin's Acnicultural Survey of S. C, 1843, p. 81. t This should be the Agrostis stricta or vulgaris — the Red Top of the North. Some writers designate It ts the one species, some as the other. X Ruiiin's Agricultural Survey of S. C, 1843 ; Appendix, p. 9. 11 Unless, however, the soil contains more organic matter than I suppose to be the case with many oJ your taiidy soils, theory and practice both show that lime will not prove the proper manure. Though ex- ceedingly valuable in its place, experience shows that it is no agricultural panacea. I shall allude to this sub- ject more fully in a subsequent Seuer. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 37 Muring crop. But on the silicious grazing soils of" Southern New-York, it is rarely used exclusively as a manuring crop, and is hut little used, ex- cepting slightly admixed with timothy, for pasture or meadows.* 1 think it should be used more ; but the fact stated shows that clover is not ro garded by practical men, who are perfectly familiar with it, as that indis- pensable crop, in all situations, which some of its more extravagant pane- gyrists would lead us to suppose. The conclusions which I would have you deduce from the above facts and statements are, simply, that if clover is found to ilourish with you without extra trouble and expense, you will do well to make use of it in your rotation ; if not, it is chimerical, in my judgment, to engage in an expensive struggle with natural disadvantages to force its cultivation. The herds-grass (red top) spoken of by the Milton Society, is a good gi'ass on moist (but not boggy) soils, and having been found to succeed with you, is worthy of trial in such situations, but on dry soils, especially on arid sands, it would entirely -fail. Nor have I much confidence in either timothy or spear (blue) grass, in such situations, in your latitude — none at all in the former. It would be well, probably, to try limited experiments with all grasses, domestic and foreign, which have succeeded well on soi/.s similar to yjour own ; as among these, some may be found which disregard climate, or are even better fitted to your (dimate than their indigenous one, as was the oase with timothy at the North. The same remark is also true in rela- tion to certain other esculents which are used as substitutes for the grasses, and for gi-een manuring crops. Notwithstanding the evident propriety of such experiments, I am strongly inclined to the opinion that it is to your own native grasses and esculents, or those of some kindred climate, you must look mainly for the basis of your grazing husbandry — and through this, the amelioration of your j)oor and exhausted soils. I regret that I can find no list of those native grasses which sward over the deserted lands of the tide-water zone, and flourish with a tropical lux- uriance in its swamps. You allude to them as ' native " grasses, so does Mr. Ruffin. Mr. Seabrook, in his Report on Cotton Culture,^ speaks of " crop grass," by which I suppose he means Crab grass, ( Panictim san- gui7ia/(', J comiiig up spontaneously after spring-sown peas; but farther than this, neither of you specify varieties. || Aniong these indigenous ones, particularly those which spontaneously make their appearance on dry lands, it would be exceedingly singular if there are not several very valua- ble grasses J^jr your soils and climate — grasses the seeds of which should form a part, if not suitable for the whole sowing, on the same kinds of eoils on which they are found flourishing. Crab grass grows in all paits of the southern States, and is a fair, though not a very superior pasture and meadow grass. Golden millet fPanicum milliaceumj is a great producer and withstands I know of but very few farmers excepting myself, in this, (Cortland,) one of the best of the crazing counties, wlio sow unmixed clover seed. I confess myself decidedly partial to the crop. You iiuiy ride ten miles or more in many directions from my house, where half and frequently more than three-fourtha of tl.e tields are in pasture or meadow, without observing five acres of unmixed clover, t ror this elaboiaie and exceedingly able Report or Memoir, see Farmers' Librarj', 1845, October, No- vember and neceniber Nos. II Since writini; the above, I have received from a South Carolina correspondent the following list of gra.sscs and other esculents which flourish in the lower part of that State. Crab grass (Vigitaria snngui- nalis), earlier— the " Crowfoot" (Eliusiiie Indira), a little later, are. he says, the best grasses for hay, and thrive in cultivated grounds from the month of June till frost. 'J he "Wild Okra" (Viola palmata), the "Partridge Berry" (Mitrhella repens), the Wild Pea Vine, and several other esculents, obscure and un- knowr. by name, flourish in most natural pastures from eai'ly spring till November. 38 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. a warm climate, but it requires a good soil. It has been cultivated with s:reat success by Mr. Affleck in (Adams county) Mississippi. Bermuda grass* ( Ci/nodon dactijlon) I have been led to consider, from the representations of Mr. Affleck, as the best grass, both for pasture and meadow, on the sterile sands of the tide-water zone. If half this enthu- siastic admirer believes of it is true, it is of inestimable value to the South, and i'ov jH'fmancnt pastures and meadows, is by far the best grass in thtj United States. Mr. A. says : " We are fully awiire of all the objections made to the spreading of this grass, and have a practical knowledge of all the trouble it occasions ; and having also had several years' ex- perience of its great, its iiicalcniable value, we have no hesitation in stating that the latter is manifold greater than the fomiL-r. The time is not ilir distant when all the rough feed cdu- sunied on plantations virill be made from tliis grass ; and when the planter will consider his hay crop as of much more importance than his sugar or cotton The excellence of this plant f )r pasturage is evinced by two circumstances. It is prefeired by stock of every de- scription to all other grass, and it grows luxuriantly in every kind of soil. It possesses an additional advantage, that of binding the loosest and most barren sandy tracts. But when it has oace taken [wssession of close, rich soil, its extlr])ation is so difficult as almost to defy all the skill, industry and perseverance of farmers. It is used to bind the levees on the banks of the Mississippi, and of railronds. We saw it at Macon, Geo., Charleston, S. C, and so on, as fir north as City Point, Virginia, where it partially covers the wharf. One hundred pounds of grass aflbrd upward of fifty of dry hay ; and we do cut. as a regular crop, five tons ot hay p(ir acre each season. Were we to state hoio murk more has been cut, w^e might strain the belief of our readers. No other grass will yield such an amount oi valuable hay; surpass it in nutritive qualities ; support on an acre of pasture such a quantity of stock ; will improve the soil more quickly ; or so effectually sto|) and lill up a wash or gully. But, on the other hand, its extirpalion, when once well established, is almost impossible ; though to check and weaken it, so far as to grow a grain or cotton crop, is easy enough. To do this, pursue the course of the best fanners of Kentucky in their management of a blue-grass sod— witli a good breaking plow, having a wheel and coulter, and a stout team, turn oyer evenly and nicely a sod four inches thick and as wide as the jilow and team are capable of, follow in the same furrow witii another plow which casts the dirt well, and throw out as much of the fresh earth on top of the sod as jiossible or the depth of the soil will admit of. The crop that follows can easily be tended without disturbing the sod, and its gradual decay will greatly increa^ie whatever crop may be planted on it — and that should be a shading one, corn and peas or pumpkins, or winter oats followed by peas. Good farmers will understand that heavy crojrs of hay cannot be removed, for many successive years, from any land, with- out sonxe return in the sjiape of manure. To the careful, judicious farmer, wlio wishes to inijirove his land and his stock, and who does not exjiect to grow any crop withont trouble, and wIkj uses good plows, and keeps a stout team and thut in prime order, we eaniesdy reconnnend to try an acre or two of this grass, in a situation where it cannot readily spreadi. To the careless farmer we say, touch it uot."t Tke same gentleman writes me under date of Dec. 10th, 1846 : " Bennuda grass well set, which affords the finest and most nutritious pasturage I have ever seen, will keep almost any number of sheep to the acre — three or four times as many as the best blue-grass ! " Unless this is gi'oss and willful exaggeration,! here you have a grass which is not only highly palatable and nutritive, but wdiicli will yield more than double both of pasturage and hay, than the best grass or clover of the Northern States! || It has been tried as far south as New-Orleans, and the climate found no detriment to it. It will flourish on dry and al- most barren sands. § What can the fanner on the dry lands of the tide- water zone ask more 1 Its inextirpable character I regard as decidedly in * Cumherlantl Grass — Wire grass of Virginia — Creepine Panic grass. t Sci; Norman's Soutlieni Agiicultural Almanac, for 1847. % N(Milier of wliicii are wo permitted to suspect, from the well-known character and intellijrence of Mr, Afflrclt. II People here in the North sometimes talk of getting three tons of timothy and four tons of clover (a.J two cuttings) per acre, but it is not done on one acre in ton thousand, on the best meadows ! Two tons is a good, and by far above a medium yield, of timothy, and three, of clover. The larae amounts of Ber- muda someliraes cut, which Mr. A. does not mention for fear of" straining the belief of his readers " ha has slated to me personally, lo be eight tons', l — equivalent to the yield of three first-rate acres; pf ".mothj Jn thr; best grazing lands of Southern New-York. S Mr. Aflieck iuforms me he has repeatedly seen it growing w'.U in such situations. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 39 its favor on millions and millions on the thinner and poorer soils of that aone — as once admitted, it will put an end to the unprofitable tillage practiced on them, and remove all temptation to resort to it on others, as they are gradually rescued from barrenness. It will thus compel the adoption of that pastoral system which can alone make these lands prof- itable, or save them, if the forebodings of those who have been reared on them and are deeply attached to them, can be credited, fi'om ultimate de- sertion.* You have another fodder crop — and which may be made a green ma nuring one, in no respect inferior to clover. The pea is to the South what clover is to the North.t There is something in your soil or climate, or both, which seems to be specifically adapted to the development of this plant — for it flourishes with you under a much greater variety of soils and circumstances than at the North. A leguminous plant, like clover, it draws much of its aliment from the atmosphere ; and it is perhaps as sensibly affected by the same cheap manure, plaster. Its haulm or straw, if cut and cured greenish, and well taken care of, makes a good, rich fodder relished by all kinds of stock. Peas are greedily eaten by neat stock, swine, and sheep, for which they form a healthy and highly nutritious food. The white field pea of the North is considered equivalent to our coi'n,;j: by measure, in fattening swine. For sheep, and particularly for breeding ewes, there is ])robably no feed in the world equal to nicely cured pea haulm, 11 with a portion of the seed left unthreshed.§ It gives them condi- tion and vigor — and j^repares them to yield a bountiful supply of rich milk to their young. Though the pea is an annual, it becomes in effect a perennial, South, when it is desired, by suffering it to stand until some of the grain shells out.ff It will mature in a southern climate, sown late in the summer, so that one, and even two preceding crops of it might first be plowed in as a manure. It will lipen among Indian corn, sown after that plant has ceased to grow, and there have been successful ex])eriments of sowing it late with wheat, oats, &c., to have it obtain its growth (to be plowed under as ma- nure) after those crops have been harvested. Sprengcl gives the followitig analysis of the pea. 1,000 parts in the common dry state yield— Slid. Straw. I Si id Slraie. Potash and soda l.)-.")0 2-35 | Siilpliai'ic acid 0-o2 3-35 Lime ami masncsia 1-95 30-70 Chlorine -38 0-00 Pliosphoric iK-id 1-90 2-40 I Silica, iron, &c 4-40 10-85 * Statements of this kind have been re[)entedly made in the pages of the Monthly Farmer by southera gentlemen. t I had labored under the impression that the so-called /Jcn — cultivated ns a manuring crop in the South- em Slate?, WHS in reality a variety of the benn ; but Mr. Iluttin in his Ajtriculiural Survey of South Caro- lina, (see liepiiit of lB4:t, p 81,1 and Hon. VV U. Seiihrook in his Memoir on Cotton Culture, (see Monthly Journal of A;;ruultun', Dec, 1845, p. 28T.) speaks of this crop — the former again and again— as peo« with- out the qualitiiaiion which would be expected from genilemen of so much learning, in case they were speaking of a plant by a vulgar misnomer, instead of its real name. The peculiar value of the crop at the South in the particulars described, I tiiid asserted by Mr Ruilin, Mr. Affleck, and various other writers and Agricultural Societies, in the strungest tirtns, and therefore it makes little ditierence, practi..ally. whether the name is correct or not , but if not, the following analyses, &.C.. are misplaced. . The bean resembles the p3a in its qualities and value, but is rather inferior to it. J The small, bard corn of the North contains more nutriment per bushel than the large soulhei-n cam. II That is, cut and cured so that it will come out of the stock or mow bright, and with the leaves looking green— instead of having the ferruginous hue of over-ripe clover. § If cut greenish and well cured, the greener pods will not thresh out readily, and then they are in ex- actly the proper condition for breeding-ewes. If the crop is very light, cut it when all the puds are quite green, and feed it out without threshing;. ^ This i-i, however, poor economy in any case. If the objec is peas, it is wasteful to the crop, and the quantity sown is uncertain ; besides, the haulm is ruined for fodder. If the object is manure, the loss is etill greater. Plants in drying lose the nitrogen contained in their sap, give up their saline matters, and are "resolved more or less completely into carbonic acid, which escapes into the air, and is ?o far lost."— See Liebig on this subject, and also the clear and able reraai-ks of Johnston, (Johnston's Agi icultural Chemistry, vol. ii. p. 176, tt supra.) 40 SHEEP HUSBANDRY N THE SOUTH. The following tabic of the comparative value of manures, deduced from analyses made by Payen and Boussingault, will show the remarkable com- parative value of the pea as a manuring crop, and it will be found other wise useful for reference : TABLE No. i. Kinds of Manure. Farm yard dung Dung -water WliL'at straw Rye straw Oat straw Barley straw Wheat cliatF. Pea straw Millet straw Buckwheat straw Dried potato tops . With'd I'vesof beetroot Do. of potatoes Do. of carrots , Do. of heather Do. of oak , Do. of poplar , Do. of beech Clover roots Burned sea-weed O^'Ster shells Sea shells , Sea side marl Solid cow-dung , Urine of cows Solid l)orse-dung. Hor.se urine Pig dung Sheep dung Pigeon dung Guano Do , Fresh bones Feathers Woolen rags Horn shavings Goal soot Wood soot Picardv ashes 79-3 99-6 19-3 i-2-i; 21-0 11-0 7-6 8-5 19-0 u-fi es-'J 70-0 70-9 7-0 25-0 5t-l 39 -.'i 9-7 3-8 17-y 1-0 85-9 83-3 75-3 79-1 81-4 63 9-6 19-6 11-3 30-0 12-9 11 -3 9-0 15-6 5-6 9-2 Nitrogen in 100 of matter. ; Quality according 1 state. D.y. 1-9.:. 1-54 0-30 0-20 0-3t) 0-2ti 0-94 1-95 0-96 0-54 0-43 4 - 50 2-30 2-94 1*90 l-.-)7 1-17 1-91 1-77 0-40 0-40 0-05 0-5-J 2-30 3-80 2-21 12-50 3-37 2-99 9-02 6-20 15-73 Wut. I Dry. Wer. 0-41 0-06 0-24 0->7 0-28 0-23 0-85 1-79 0-78 0-48 0-37 0-.50 0-55 0-85 1-74 1-18 0-54 1-lS 1-61 0-38 0-3 0-05 0-51 0-32 0-44 0-.55 2-61 0-63 1-11 8-30 5-00 13-95 5-31 17-6lll5-34 20-26ll7-98 15-78 1-59 1-31 0-71 14-36 1-35 1-15 0-65 15 10 18 13 48 100 49 27 22 230 11 150 97 80 66 78 90 20 20 3 26 117 194 113 641 172 153 462 3-23 807 903 1039 809 81 67 36 100 2 60 42- 70 .57- 212-5 447-5 195 120 92 125 137-5 212-5 425 293 134 294 402-5 95 80 13 128 80 110 137-5 652-5 157-5 '277-5 2075 1247 3487 1326 3835 4495 3590 337-.'] 287-5 Mguivnlent according to state. 100 127 650 975 542 7.50 207 100 203 361 453 43 85 66 103 125 167 102 110 488 488 :i750 .377 84 51 88 15i 6 21 i 31i 12^ 11 •'2 122 149 Wet ioo 68 167 235 143 174 47 22 51 S3 108 80 73 47 23 34 74 34 105 125 769 78 125 91 73 151 63 36 5 SO 28 J Average of Bechelbronn. Washed by the rain. Fresh of Alsace, 1838. Of Alsace. do. do. do. do. do. do. Of mangel-wurzel. Withered lop and leaves. Dried in the air. Leaves fallen in autumn. do. do. Dried iu the air. Dried sea-shells of Dunkizk The horse drank but little, the [urine was thick. Of Bechelbronn. j Imp. into Eng. in its ord. state.; Imp. into France. do. ; As sold by the melters. ] It will be seen that pea straw is worth, as a maiuire, fiom 5 to 9 times as much as the straws of the small grains — is better than clover roots, and actually equals farm-yard dung ! Rye, oats and barley send up a good growth of straw, in many parts of this zone, even where the product of grain is small; and, sown in the fall, they afford sweet green pasturage, during the entire winter, in the more southern latitul fill enough to slaughter before sjiring. t After the crop is harvested, swine are turned in, and they root the ground over so deeply and thor- oughly that it is in a belter state of tillage than could be produced by mere spring plowing. I Mr. Ruftin. the arent advocate for clover, admits that in the Snned me that in many seasons there was scarcely a month in the year without frost .... that he had been on the top of the Koan im the 2.')th of .lime, wlien a miow stonn arose and Cv)mpletely covered the mountain, and that there were few days in tlie year but that it was foggy on die Roan I have ascended most of the high mountains in that State, and rarely without encountering a storm, or finduiu' their tops covered with mists, which disaj)- peared in the cool of the evening, to be resumed by the wanning rays of the monow's stm In encamping on the moimtains, I generally found the thermometer to range from 4.0'-' to G0°. and on the high mountains, during the day, it seldijm rose above G^)°. The inhabitants of the valleys pay great attention to the raising of cattUrand horses, which, in the .siunmer sea- son, are timied upon the moimtains in what is termed 'the range,' which consists of tall weeds, native grasses, and in many places white clover has become natm-alized. * * » * " These remarks will ajiply more or less to the mountainous region of Haywood and Ma- con comities, from which we conclude that they are not suitable to the raising of fine-wooled sheep, judging from their elevation, damp and cold climate, which, as before remarked by Mr. C, creates a deep vegetable mould, in which a horse will sink up to the fetlock. And would not sheep suik in also, and be liable to have the foot-rot? And in yeaning time would not many lambs be lost from the frequent cold rains so common there during the month of May?"* In a previous communication in the Cultivator the same writer says :t " On the 12th of May I arrived at Ashville, (the capital of Buncombe county,) intending to visit Mt. Pisgah, a high conical mountain in full view, about twelve miles distant, over- topping its neighbors. I was told that the season was not llix enough advanced to bring vegetation forward on the high mountains. . . . The climate of this region is not much, if any, wanner than that of Western New-York. During the suim'ncr of 1842, the themiome- ter ranged generally from 70° to 8.0° in the valleys, while on the mountains it was frequently about 60°, and sometimes much lower When I left the southern portion of Alabama, it was the middle of March ; the w'oods were green, with their full expanded leaves ; in about a week I had reached the elevated region south of Huntsville, in the northern part of the State, where the leaves h;id not yet attained half their usual size. From the 1st to the 10th of April, in Middle Tennessee, the leaves were nearly full grown and the inhabitants were busy in planting corn ; but at the middle of April, for thirty miles on the table land of the Cumberland Mountains, the trees had just begun to put forth their leaves, and the ground was white in the morning with a severe frost. " On descending into the plains of East Tennessee, the country was green with verdure, and the farmers were there also busy in planting com, and now, the middle of May, among • See Albany Cultivator, 1846, p. 242. t lb., 1846, p, 174. 46 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. the momilaius of Nonh Carolina, I found myself where vegetation had scarcely clothed the plains and woods with green, while the leaves of the high mountain trees were about half grown. I should also remark that the spring of 1842 was from two weeks to a month eai" lier than usual." I record a portion of the last extract for stibsequent reference ; and the object of these communications being to arrive at the truth, and not to ride a favorite hobby, or advance a preconceived theory, I have thought il proper to give the substance of all this gentleman's remarks, emliodying tis they do all the objections, real or supposed, which exist against the highest mountains in the whole 'Southern States for the purposes of sheep husbandry. Per contra, we have the following statements of Henry M. Earle, Esq., of Pacolett, Rutherford Co., North Carolina : * " On the question whether wool-growing v^ll succeed in North Carolina or not, I would say that it depends entirely upon the exertions used, as I am thoroughly convinced that the country and climate are altogether favorable. The objections I'aised by Mr. Buckley, if they existed in all the mountain region, might be considered serious; but as they can only be of- fered against a few very high moimtains, situated in the midst of many other mountains, and far frojn any level or plain country, such a hiding place as he speaks of would not be such a place as persons raised in civilized or refined society would wish to settle in. The Roan and Black Mountains were selected by Mr. Thos. Clingman, because they were the most elevated and noted mountains in Yancey Co., and not, I presume, because he thought they would afford the best pasturage for sheep; if so he was mistaken. On those mountains and in their vicinity are the finest grazing lauds for cattle ; and so there is in the low, marshy la.ud of South Carolina ; but neither location is favorable for sheep. I agree with Mr. Buck- ley, ' that a large portion of the county of Yancey is an elevated table land, which is so damp and cold that the inhabitants frequently do not raise com sufficient for their own con- sumption.' This IS partly owing to the climate ; but mostly to the character of many of the mhabitants of those sparsely inhabited regions, where they too frequently depend upon the success of the chase for the largest portion of their subsistence. " But if Mr. Buckley, or any other gentleman of observation, will come GO miles far- ther south — on the line of the Blue Ridge, into Henderson and Rutherford counties, about the Tryon Mour.tain, which is the first that he will ascend in rising up from the level coun- try east of the Blue Ridge, along the Howard-Gaj) Turnpike — high on the acclivity of the Tryon he v^rill find a bench of land whj^h possesses a very peculiar characteristic. At night, generally, there is a pleasant breeze, 5nd for several miles along the mountain side there is never any dew to be found, and it is very rare that they have frost except in winter; and when the whole countiy above and below is covered with sleet, along this jnountain side there is none. Here gi'ow the finest native grapes that I ever saw, and the fruit crop never fails. And here are gi'own the heaviest wheat and lye in all tlie country. Here the inhabit- ants have the fii'st dawn of the moniiug sun, and persons unaccustomed to the view fancy that they can almost see him coming up from the watery deep. On the eastern side of this mountiiin is the eai'liest pasturage in spring, and the latest in the fall that is found in the whole range of mountains. " This location is about 4fi miles E. S. E. from Ashville, and 20 miles S. S. W. from Rutherfordton. Here two of those ever persevering men from the North, called Yankees, have commenced to wall in a vineyard, and to cultivate the broom-corn for manufacturing brooms. They have the purest water that flows out of the earth, and around them ai'e beautiful cascades more than a hundred feet high, and above them the toppling jjeidc of the Tiyon. " Thousands of persons throng this mountain region during the summer, to enjoy the pure, bracing atmospheie, which on the eastern face of the mountain is dry and healthful ; but farther back, in the mountains of the French Broad, there is much more dampness and heavy fogs. " Yiiu may readily conclude that along the eastern slopes of these mountains, the climate and country are finely adapted to the growth of wool, as may also be seen by many of the tin© flocks of native unimproved sheep, which wander here untended, regardless of wolves or dogs, the r greatest enemies. " For two hundred miles along the eastern slopes of these mountains, south, there are situations well suited for large flocks of sheep, and land is cheap. In many places it does not cost more than 20 cents per acre, and very fair land may be had for 40 cents per acre." In an Address.t remarkable for the force and pertinency of its sugges* * .See Albany Cultivator. 1846, pp. 335-336. t Delivered in Maitinsl)urg, Va., Oct. 30ih. 1R45, before the Berliley County Agricultural Society, pub lished in the Valley Fanner, Dec. 1845, and Jan. lt?46. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 47 tions, Col. Edward Colston, of Berkley county, Virginia, makes the fol- lowing statements : " The western part of our comity, containing perhaps 30,000 acres, is mniinfaiiious. I have ridden there for ten miles without seeing a human habitation, and althiush from ita abundant herbage it might sustain for its owners 20,000 head of sheep, not a single one is t«r be found graziug on its surface. In this region may be found, also, much land fit for cuhi- vation, with fine meadows and alnnidant water. Yet all this is worthless to our community, and a dead capital to the projjrietors. There is territory aial grass enough here to be di- vided uito three or four sheep-walks, each sustaining from 3,000 to 4,000 sheep during the Buuuiier, with meadow and arable land enough, at a small expense, to provide amply for winter sustenance." Hon. Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, in a letter to Mr. Skinner,* says : 'Virginia has many advantiiges for breeding sheep, not surpassed in the United States The middle part of the State, and especially the whole range of the south west Mountains and Blue Ridge, afford the greatest facilities for fine sheep-walks. Hills covered with fine herbage, extensive inclosures, abundance of runniag water, and well sheltered by trees against the heat and sun of summer." The following extracts are from a communication in the Monthly Jour- nal of Agriculture.t by Hon. W. L. Goggin, who recently represented the District he descnbes in Congress : " Bedford, the county in which I reside, is bounded on the south side by the Staunton River, on the north by the .James River, while its western exti-emity. the whole length, reaches the top of the Blue Ridge The Peaks of Ottert are situated in this county, nn the north-west comer — they are not only beautiful themselves, when seen as they are in the distJince, but the whole range of the Blue Ridge presents, perha[)s, here, the most inter- esting view of the kind in the State. These mountains afford an unlimited range for stock, and the advantages for sheep-walks (mild as is the climate, combined with the ))roductive- ness of the soil) that are nowhere equaled, as is believed, except by similar situations in the neighboring counties Ranges for sheep may be hail at a very reduced price on llie mountiiins, and where, too, could be ]iroduced ;ill the grasses in which they delight, such as the red and white clover, thi; meadow fox-tail, short blue meadow-grass, lucern, lye-grass, iX'c. These advantages, and then the beautiful, clear streams which al)i)uud in all the moun- tain regions, invite a pastoral life." Speaking of Amherst and Nelson counties, he says: ' The ranges for stock here, too, are extensive, and the beautiful, rich mountain sides inter- spersed with farm-houses, some of them even elegtYnt mansions, betoken an independence among the inhabitants that is often found in such situations. Manv of the mountains, to their very summits, are covered with the richest verdure." Of Madison and Greene coun- ties he says : " Here, too, are abundant ranges, and the wonder is that sheep husbandry is not introduced." The character of the loftier mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, for the production of grasses, would seem to leave no doubt, in this par- ticular, in regard to the loioer ones which form the prolongation of the same chains in South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Let us now turn our glance to the great western chain — the Cumberland Mountains — in Kentucky and Tennessee. The following extracts are from a communication published by Hon. A. Beatty in the American Agricultuiist : " But it is not upon our high-]n-iccd rich lands alone that we can cany on sheep husbandry to advantage. Kentucky has a belt of hill and UKjuntain countiy, bordering on the Virginia line on the east, and on the rich lands of the State on the west, averaging about seventv-five miles in width, extending from the Ohio River and Big Sandy, latitude 38'^ 30', to theTen- nessee line, 30*^ 30' north. The whole of this region is admirably adapted to sheep hus- bandry ; the most northern part but a few mmutcs north of my residence, and extending about two degrees farther south. The lands are very cheap : the State price of those not yet appropriated only five cents per acre, and those purchased second-hand, more or less improved, may be had from 2.5 to 50 cents per acre, and still less when unimproved. This country in a state of nature fiirnishes, during the spring, summei-, and fall mouths, a fine range for sheep, and is susceptible of gi-eat improvement by clearing u]> and sowing the cul tivated gi-asses for winter feeding. This whole countiy is finely adapted to the Spanish • Monthly Journal of Agriculture, July, 1S4.5, pp. 37-39. li October, 1845, pp. 181-183. J The loftiest mountains, as before slated, of Virginia. 48 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. mode of sheep liiisbandry. Very larn:e flocks might be driven to the mountain region, some thirty to sixty miles from the rich lauds, immediately after shearing time, gi-azed till late ia the fall, and tlien brought back to be sustained during the winter on the luxuriant blue grass pastures of the rich lands of the interior. " A very intelligent iriend, residing in the southern part of the above district of country, speaks of it in the following tenns ; ' One of the strongest proofs of this region of country being favorable to the growing of sheep stock is that we are situated in the same degree of aortli latitude with the sheep-raising parts ol vSpain — Leon, Estremadura, Old Castile, &c.-^ only that our mountains are more richly and abundantly clad with luxuriant wild gi-asses and fern, pea viae, and shrubbery, than the mountain regions of Spain, wliere they raise such abundant stocks of sheep. Wayne County, with a few adjoiuiiig counties, affords more fine water-power than any country of the same extent that I have ever known ; and for health, and fine, pure drinking water, no country excels it on the face of the globe. Now is the time to commence the business of sheep husbandry, while land can he got almost for nothing. It is worthy of remark that our sheep, which are suffered to roam and graze in the mountains altogether, produce about one-fourth more wool at a shearing than the sheep that are raised and grazed altogether on our farms, and of much better quality.' In an- other part of his letter he says : ' The tops of the mountains of Spain are sterile, without verdure, producing no food for sheep, or other animals, to graze on. Our mountains are quite ilifferent. They are thickly clad from bottom to top, and all over the top, with fine rich wild grasses and shrubbery of every variety, for stock to graze on. In the midst of our mountains are to be found a great abundance of salt water and stone coal of the finest quality, together with a great variety of mineral waters and pure springs.' " Another friend, residing in Knox Couaty, writes to me : ' My sheep upon my farm, ad- joining Bai'boursville, do not thrive, even with pasture and winter food, like the sheep in the exti'emities of the county, which have neither pastures nor winter food, except what they get in the woods. Without cultivated grasses of any description, sheep will live and do well all the wiuter, subsisting on the spontaneous growth of the countiy.' " Another friend, residing in the northern poition of the above-described mountain region, writes that ' the counties of Carter and Lawrence, and the eastern portion of the State, are admirably adapted to sheep husbandi-y. There are several flocks of sheep in this neighbor- hood that thrive and increase wonderfully, running at large, at little cost or ti-ouble to their owners. Many flocks have no. other reliance, dining the winter, but what they get in the woods. The great, advaatages of this country lor sheep husbandry are, the cheapness of the land, it adaptation to grasses, gi'ain, and loots — its healtlifulness. Sheep delight in moun- tain or hilly land ; tho natm-al evergreeas and shrubbeiy upon which sheep can feed and subsist on in winter ; though it is not safe to rely altogether upon these. ' " Mr. C. F. Kramer of Woolverly Farm, Marion Co. Tennessee, i» a com- munication in the Nashville Agriculturist,* says : " After having spent part of the years '43 and '44 on different parts of the Cumberland Mountciins — the part of Tennessee more particularly recommended by all wi'iters in your journal, and others, for sheep-walks — I have, since last fall, settled on a portion of them near Jasper, Marion Co. and will, as briefly as possible, give you the result of my experi- ence, which will, I believe, fully remove any eiToneous impressions hitherto made. " First, as to climate ; The extreme salubrity of the mountains makes them the general refuge of the sick. Sheep here are remarkably healthy, and exempt from disease. The temperature is very even, varying duVing stmimer seldom more than from 75'-' to 80° of Fahrenheit, nor in winter more than from 4.5° to 30-". Snow during the two winters, little as there was of it, never remained forty-eight hours on the ground. " The forest, so fiir from being dense, seldom contains more timber, after cuttuig out the smaller growth, as dogwood, &c. than is desirable for woodland pasture. " The rocks, as far as my rambles have extended, are ' few and far between.' The bet ler spots of soil (aud there are enough to provide every farm with sufficient remunerating arable land, under a provident and enlightened system of tillage) are covered with nutri- tious weeds, as pea-vine, &.c. &c. which are nearly all greedily devoured by sheep and cat- tle, and on which they fare well. The poorer soil is covered with sedge-gi-ass, which my sheep have invarial)ly eaten with avidity. " When our herds and blue grass lands, which we are laying down, will be fit for pastur- ing, the cost of wintering will be greatly reduced, as the fonner yields good grazing in Feb- ruary — the latter during the whole winter. Our young cattle kept in good condition on the winter-range and two ears of com per head per day. " Although the wolves of our mountahis are larger than those of the prairies, and may be more difficult to extenninate entirely, yet, thanks to our good hunters, their ranks have been already so thinned that they mostly prowl about alone, or at most in pairs, committing their depredations by night, on the sheep and hogs that are left to shift for themselves. In tiM • June, 1846. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 49 two year.s that I have been here, I know of but two instances of their having attacked youns stray cattle by night. By day, sheep are perfectly safe ; and I should presume that eveiy f^ood sheep-master would have his flocks, for inspection, home at night, when any common fence will be an ample safeguard for them." To recur, for a moment, to Mr. Buckley's statements in relation to the Roan and some of the contiguous mountains in North Carolina — if we concede all his positions to be correct — it but proves that they are excep- tions to a general rule. But a review of his facts, it seems to me, scarcely justifies his conclusions. The vegetation which seemed so backward to him, coming from the warmer climate of Alabama and Lower Teimessee, was in fact but little, if any, later than that of the elevated grazing lands of Southern New- York. The following table* will show the average forwardness of the seasons at the location of fifty-eight Academies, scattered over New-York, for a term of fifteen years. And these Academies, as would be supposed, are rarely found on the high bleak hills. In fact, the number in the south- ern graaing region is but small, and they are mostly on the low bottoms of the larger streams. The same remark will also apply to the high region between the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain. TABLE NO. 5. Mnni Date. A'o. of Localities. A'o. nfOhsirvatinns Mav 1 "" 2* 4 6 7 " 1.5 June 12 July 18 " 2.5 Sept. 2.3 Nov. 5 48 57 58 52 52 59 58 - 34 45 57 168 175 269 264 250 374 210 127 186 471 536 Wheat ilo. do. First kill ilia' l<'rost First fall of Snow • As llie Poach does not srovv in the northern part of the .Slate, this dale must be considered the mean for the souibern iind middle parts only, and hence is too early as compared wiih other trees. The blossoming of the apple tree in the grazing regions of New-York takes place when the leaves of the forest trees are considerabW less than half grown, as Mr. B. found them on the " high mountain tices " of North Carolina on the 12th of May. Snow storms sometimes occur in New-York as late as the one recorded by Mr. B. on the Roan ; cold, damp fogs are not found destructive to sheep in some parts of England and Scotland, where they prevail proba- bly quite as much as on these mountains ; and there are many parts of the grazing region of New-York, and good i^razing lands, too, where the in- habitants " do not raise com sufficient for their own consumption." As Mr. B. gives neither the dates nor the altitudes of his own thermometrical observations, no conclusions can be deduced from them. Speaking of the region about Asheville, the more definite statement is made by him, that during the summer of 1842, the thermometer ranged generally fi-om 70 to 85 degrees, (which he pronounces not much, if any, warmer than Western New-York,) " while on the mountains it was frequently about 60 degrees, and sometimes much lower." If by frequent, he meant ordinary temper- ature, the stimmer climate of these lofty mountains much resembles that of New-York in June — usually considered the month of the pleasantest * This table was prepared by James H. Coffin, a tutor in Williams College, from the Report of these facts annually required to be made by the Academies to the Regents of the University. This and some other tables and statements of Mr. C.'s, which I shall have occasion to quote, appear in a very able paper fi-om him on the Climate and Temperature of New-York, in the forthcoming volume on Agriculture, in the Natural History of the State : some sheets of which have been politely seat me by Doct. Emmons, tha fk«te rfh of the latter would give a corresponding increase in profit. One hundred sheep, properly littered, will make at least forty loads of manure during the one hundred and fifty days during which they are confined to dry feed, in our Northern wintcns. The grazing lands of New-York, cut up as they are into small farms, || and each being provided with dwelling and farm lniildin are also far more efficient than any other animal (if we except the worthless goat) in clearing up new lands, or neglected old ones, of those biiers and shrubs which it is often difficult to eradicate without plow- ing; and they often abound on lands which cannot be plowed with jnofit. And, when plowed, the slirubs in the fence corners must be left (to the utter sharne of all good husbandry), or the fence must be removed — some- times at a great inconvenience. The sheep delights to browse on the buds, and to strip the bark of most slirubs, § and they thus soon destroy them. It would be good economy for the farmer to keep his neighbors' sheeji, with- out charge, on all very Iniery or coppiced unarable lands, if he could not so stock them himself. Finally, it is generally believed by experienced flock-masters — and ob- servation has led me to fully coincide in the opinion — that sheep not onlv improve the lands they depasture more than any other animal, but that they exert an almost specific influence in improving the cJiaractcr of tlu vegetation. All wild, poor glasses gradually disappear from their pastures * I spenk, of course, of the cost of i-eann;i and feedinjr. t Gazzeri found thiit 100 parts of recent cow-dung contain 05 per cent, of dry, solid matter, and that 5 pel eent. of this is lost in 40 days by exposure to the air. I do not think this indicates the full loss which would be sustained in a southern latitude. X These rounded pellets are covered, too, in the animal in good condition, with a coating of mucus, which farther protects them from evaporation. II Their urine, also, is voided in quantities which render it highly beneficial ; while that of the horse and cow is voided in such larae quantities in one place that it is not only in a great measure wasted, but in a Jry time (so that it is not diluted by the moisture in the soil), its rich salts, so far fiom benefiting, actually kill the verdure. ^ This is particularly fnie of the blackbeny or bramble (Ruhrtts viUnsvs), and the raspben-y (Rubta idoeiif), •iftrn creat pests on new or neglected lands at the Ner on the natural pastures of the Udc-u-ater zone in South CcLrolina.* The broad-tailed, and other large breeds, now mainly fed there, consume nearly double the amount of feed required by the fine- wooled sheep. But, to make our estimate perfectly a safe one, we will assume that two fine-wooled sheep only will consume the summer herbage of an acre. Fields of rye sown in Sejitember or October, you farther in- form me, will support " two sheep and their lambs" per acre, " from the 20th of December to the 10th of March." Numerically, then, here you have the same stocking that is borne by the lands of New- York, viz. three sheep per acre. And, making the allowance already alluded to for the different consumption of bi'eeds, an acre would sustain three full-grow» Merino sheep. As the rye subsequently yields its crop, the wool is not chargeable with the expense of its tillage. Rye will continue to grow in the winter on all lands not too sterile, oi too elevated, south of latitude 36°, and, in favorable situations, at leas) two degrees farther north. Grass, and some other hardy esculents, also maintain a winter vegetation in many portions of the whole of this re- gion .t R. L. Allen, Esq., after a recent visit to the plantation of Col. Wade Hampton, near Columbia, S. C, thus speaks of the winter verdure in thai region : " Though everything like grass or weetls is rigidly excluded in the early stages of the crops, yet, as these approach maturity, the thick netting of crab and vaiious other grasses and plants, which are ever struggling tor existence in this wami clime, are allowed to CDine forward and mature ; and their growth furnishes forage for cattle and sheep during the win- ter, and an important addition to the vegetable manures for turning under and adding to the fertility of the soil. . . . The sheep, together with the cattle, mules and horses, whicli are not at work, are turned into the natural pastures in summer, and, in addition to th^se, they have the run of the corn-fields in winter, and without seeing any other slielter ag'iinst the severest storms than a thicket or hill -side, they thrive and fatten throughout the ye.ir. — This condition is secured by the mildness of the climate, and the consequent gi'owthof vege tation during the entire winter." * IThese statpments and all others credited to Col. Allston, are, when not otfierwise specified, contained ;■ letters from that gpntlfm;in to the writer ] t Amona thsfe, " a plant called • Wild Rye,' aflbiding excellent herbage dimns the winter month?, springs ftp spontonoously on the rice-field banks, and between the cotton beds, on some plantations on the River Bongaree, S "iJ " SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN'THE SOUTH. 59 John S. Skinner, Esq. thus writes me :* " Col. Hampton's flock numbers 800. I believe. He kills the finest sort of mutton throu^^h out the winter and spring — very fat and excellent in all respects. He told me last summer Kt Saratoga, that they never get a mouthful except what they can find in the woods and fields." Hon. R. F. Simpson, Member of Congress, of Pendleton, South Caro lina, thus describes the region in which he resides, and some of the contig- uous ones :t Henry S. Randall, Esq. Washington, Jan. 22, 1847. Dear Sir : I take much pleasure in answering your uiqiiiries, and only regret that I have not moi'e time to do full justice to the subject. If my answers fail to inform you with suffi cient clearness on any point, I shall be most happy to add to them, at your suggestion. The Allegaiiv Mountains, as you are aware, nm from N. E. to S. W. That part of them north of the S. C. line lies .spread out hi different chains or ridges to a distance of nearly 50 miles ; and the whole region is commonly called " on the mountains." The climate is healthy and the grass fine. Many of the valleys in this region are very rich, particularly on the wa- ter-courses. The grountl is covered with snow as nuich as four weeks annually. The ran^e is good, but there may be too much humidity for sheep. t The land is cheap, say $1 per acre — but much can be bought at .'JO cents. I have learned from good auiiiority that sheen can be farmed out dm-ing the winter at ten cents a hcail, in any ordinaiy (]uanlity. The famiers who take tliem, too, will be liable ior loss by death, in many instances. There is a strip of country lying east of the Blue Ridge, and parallel to it, from 20 to 30 miles wide, extending thiough North and South Carolina and Geoigia, which I think espe- cially adapted to shee[) husbandry. The land is poor for the production of our southern sta- ples, and is sparsely sfHtled, but the jiasturage is good. There is a perennial grass, known as " woods griiss," which springs u]) in the woods after tiny are burn< il each winter, which makes excellent pasture for all kinds of stock. It starts vigorously in the spring, and sheep fatten on it by the middle of July. It la.sts all the sunnner, and provides sufficient food for sheep during the entire winter, except wlien snow is on the ground, which is not more than two or three days at a time and usually not more than ten days during a winter. The few days during which tlie grass is covered uj) with snow aie the only ones, during the entire year, when it is necessary to feed sheep. This is usually done with oats in the sheaf . . . Sujiposing ten sheep equal to one cow, I think one acre would afford sub sistence to three sheep. But few people mow here. In a few instances, herds-grass has been sown and mowed, but the product tiot weighed, to my knowledire. Both herds-grass and the natural ones, on our bottom lantWlyok nnich richer, and to all ap])earance would turn ofl' a heavier crop of hay tliau any iiflCB|n's to be seen on the line of travel through Virginia. As I have bel<^^ remarked, the land is poor, except the small bottoms on creeks and branches. The latter are rich, and will produce 30 bu-shels of corn and from 10 to 15 bush- els of wheat per acre. They also prochice oats and rye, but I do not know how much by measurement. I suppose from 10 to 20 bushels each. The land is valued low — from 50 cts. to $1 50 per acre — and it is only necessary to buy $500 or $1,000 worth of it, to embrace sufficient bottom to raise provisions, and oats to feed sheep when snow is on the ground. — The rangell is very large, and everybody's stock has liberty to roam over it, without hin- drance or compensjition. Our common method of managing sheep is as follows: The flock are kept in the planta- tion during tlie winter Ijysome; others turn out in the woods. In May they are sheared, the lamlis marked. &.C., and they are turned into the out jiaslures. \Vhen they come up. they are salted, and no other attention is paid to them until fiifl, when most persons shear again. They iire rarely brought up unless to get a lamb for tlie tabh^. This treatment ren- ders them wild, and prone to jump into the owners' or neighbors' wheat fields, fiom which they are driven out with rocks and sticks, and sometimes with dogs. They are, in all re- * Jan. 15, 1847. t This letter would have been more appropriately included in my IVth Letter, but was not received is time, and it is by tar too valuable and interr?liiii; to be oniited. J The etl'oct of A(««/rf)d, sheep thrive in the peculiarly foggy atmosphere of England — al.^o in Holland. Their healthiness on mountains is proverbial, yet these elevations are usually subject to fogs, and clouds rest on the sides or summits of the loftier ones. As the southern mountains are cleared of iheir trees, their atmo- sphere will be less humid, and that soft vegetable mould (which excited the fears of Mr Buckley) will ac- quire the consistency which it always does'on a dry foundation, when exposed to the sun and air; and it •will be the means of supplying the sheep with rich vegetable nutriment, instead of poisoning them with ••hoof-ail." ■ . ^ ^ fl The provincial siiinitication of this word, .'^outh, is the uninclosed pasturage m the forest and "oat fields,"— i.e., worn-out lands thrown out to commons. 60 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. •pects, treuted more like outlaws than domestic animals. When out, all the flocks in tha neighborhoixl mingle together. From their disposition to ramble, and the incursions of doga, they get scattered, and scarcely any farmer can get up to the fall shearing more than one- half of his count. The region above described includes Pickens, Grenville and Spartansburg, so far as this State is concerned. Going east of this strip, you at once get into good land, where the set- tlements ave frequent. Here snow is rare, and vsheat, rye and barley are used for winter pastures for slieep, and they continue growing during the winter. Wood grass does not abound in tliis region, as the woods are not kept burnt.* Very resuectfully, yours, &.C. R. F. SIMP.~ON. The preceding statements give a sufficient idea of the expense of feed- ing sheep in the Caiolinas, Georgia, and the Gulf States. In all of these, there is a sticking similarity in soils and natural products, and also in cli mate — with, perhaps, the exception of North Carolina, which is a trifle colder. In all of them, as well as in all the other Southern States, land can be bought at the same low prices.! The cost of the winter forage of sheep' in Tennessee may be inferred from the statements of Mr. Kramer, (in Letter IV.) On even the lofty Cumberland Mountains, in that State, grass grows during the entire win- ter, and snow rarely covers the ground to exceed forty-eight hours ! Judge Beatty's statements in relation to Kentucky (in the same letter) show that the luxuriant blue-grass pastures of that State will sustain sheep during the entire winter; and that they frequently obtain their whole subsistence on the grasses, even on the mountains. Let us now turn to Virginia, the most northern of the Southern States. In a recent letter to me, John S, Skinner, Esq. says : " Hon. Mr. Coles, a Member of Congress fi-om Virginiat — a sedate, attentive and practical fanner — ouce informed me that his flock of 200 slieep, kept in good condition summer and winter, (lid not cost him $10 a year You must know that they, in the general way, as I believe, never leed their sheep, winter or summer, except where the ground is covered with snow — which is i-arely the case, and then the sn(jw does not lie more than a day, or at most two days. ... No doubt winter pasture might be provided by sowing rye in the pro[ier seasrju (the usual system is to sow it the last thing, and as long as the farmer can " catch a chance") and putting the ground in good conditiojti^ind in that way adequate i>rovision might be made for any deficiency of natural pasture.* . . . . ^Vhen the snow does cover the ground in Virginia, they give the sheep corn-blades — an excellent fodder. I think tjie rule was when I was a l)oy (in the rare exigency alluded to) to give them a bundle of blades each. A bundle of blades compacled would l)e about as large as the upper part of your ami." North- Western Virginia seems to be considerably colder than the corre- sponding portion of the Sinte east of the mountains; and the winter fod- dering season is not grtjutly shorter — though the amount of fodder con- sumed must be far less — than in Western Pennsylvania, or in many por- tions of Nri\\'-York.|| Yet, singularly enough, more sheep are bred here in proportion probably, than in any other portion of the Southern States ! * Some other paragraphs from this letter me omiucd ibr quotMioii under the heads ol" vvliich tlicy specip ically trciit, t iliin S •^iron-jr. n Member of Congress from this (N. Y.) Slate, writes me, after coiisiiUation with vari- ous Southern Member-, thai " good lands may be purcliased for 81 50 per acre, and in great ainiiidance. in most of the Souilierii St-ite-." Mr. Garret \ndicws, of Wilkes Co., Georgia, in a communication in the Amcriran Affi-iculiuiist (April, 1844), says: : " :^e\cri'l htmdred acres (in ilic. middle or hilly zone) arc often sold lor a dollar or less per ■ere. Tiie usual rule is to pell the wood-land for what it niay be thoui'hl to be worth, ami yivc the pur- chaser ihi; old lands and the hou.-cs for nothing For §1.000 or $l,oOO. u eoniforlalilc house and out-hou-es, garden. &c. iriay he had, -.ilh tCveral hundred acres of land, . . wanting iiothiiig but a fair chance to become lis fciiile Of may be le^ii-ed. . . . 'J'here is no end oi'lbe nintfiial? fciv iiiiVinire." I recejitly 6 i\/ it elated by a gor.Memrin in a communication whii-h was juildisbrd in the N. Y. Fanner and Mechani •, that tie was authorized to gicc away good land in the (Cumberland .Mounlains to .coberand iiidua* trious setilcif. Th>' prices in the N C. Mountains will be ."oen from Mr. Clingman's letter, (Letter IV.) % Mr. Coles resided in Pittsylvania, a county adjoinins North^Iarohna, in the middle or hilly zone. II .lcs«c KdL'iiiiiO'i. of Holliiiay's Cove, Brooke Co , Va . writes me: " Our avenco time of foddering If at least 4 months, and we generally piovidc provender equal to 5 tons of hay for" each hundred croWM sheep, for the winter." SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 61 This region being essentially Northei-n in its characteristics no allusion will be had to it in subsequent remarks. It will be seen from the preceding statements that in many, if not most situations, throughout the whole Southern States, sheep will obtain suffi- cient food throughout the year from the pastures,* or from autumn-sown grains, excepting on the higher or more northern mountains. As has been before I'emarked, as the grain subsequently yields its crop, its tillage is not properly chargeable among the expenses of producing wool. The prepa- ration of hay, and labor of foddering, are also dispensed with. By the rule of estimation followed in relation to New-York, the items on the debit side of the account would then be — interest on purchase money; interest on land ; expense of shearing ; salt, tar, and general supervision ; and loss by death. The items on the credit side would be the same with those of New- York. Your own statements. Sir, as well as those of Mr. Simpson, show that, in many situations, both in the tide-water and hilly zone, three sheep can be supported on the herbage of an acre, without other fodder. His state- ments show that such lands can be bought at "from 50 cents to 81 50 per acre." The annual account then would stand thus : Ur. $ as. 100 gheop — to interest on purchase money, at $1 2^) per head $8 75 To interest on '.i^ acres of land at $1 SO 3 50 " expense of shearing 4 00 " salt, tar, and general supervision 8 00 " loss hy death 2 per cent, over and above value of pulled wool 2 50 Total .$26 75 9 Ct9. By ;)00 lbs. of vvool at 31 cents per pound. . .§93 00 •' 80 lambs, at daj- cents per head 50 00 " Manuret 28 00 Total $171 00 Balance $144 25 Making $4 32, or ttco hundred and eighty-eight per cent, clear profit per acre, on lands worth $1 50 ! By the respective estimates it will be seen that the gross cost of pro- ducing a pound of wool (allowing 3 lbs. to the fleece) is, in the Southern States, SyL cents ; in New-York 27^ | ccnts|— or vcarhj three and a half tii7ies greater in the latter ! I have ])ut down the expense of shearing the same in both cases, and the supervision. South, twice as high as the sum mer care, in the North. Shearing always costs $1 a day, per hand, in the North, and the summer care devolves upon the paid laborer whose eveiy hour counts. The shearing would not be worth to exceed S2 a hundred on a plantation where slaves are kept, and the supervision or care could scarcely be considered an expense, when it could be borne mainly, if not entirely, by superannuated or decrepit slaves, or even by children. The real expense of growing wool on land of this quality and price would be about 5jJj cents per pound ;|| and calling the fleece 4 lbs. (which weight it always ought to be made to attain) it would but little exceed 3^ cents,§ This is above Mr. Coles's estimate of expense in southern central Vir- ginia, and Mr. John S. Skinner has repeatedly expressed tie opinion that it could be grown in various parts of the Southern States at .3 cents per * This supply could be rendered far more certain and available, where desirable, by leaving a portion of the fields undepastuied in the latter part of summer and autumn. This "fog'' or after-grass would not only ailbrd much food, of itself, but it also greatly favors the sprouting of the young grass underneath it, by the protection it offers from frosts and cold winas. t 1 have put this down the same as at the Noinh, because I suppose it is just as valuable at the South, and quite as much needed. Few are disposed to appreciate the value of manure when it is not presented to their view in bulk, as in the barn-yard; but it is Worth quite as mtirb, dropjied in the first instance over the fields. I feel confident that I have not over-estimated its value either for the h'outh or the North, J To obtain these results, 1 divided the whole annual expense, as set down in the respective estimates, Tvith the excejition of the charge of 2 per cent, for loss by death, by the amount of wool produced. Fol reasons already given, I do not consider the wool chargeable with such loss by death, except in an e* Umate where the full product of wool and lambs is carried out. 8 In this estimate I call shearing $2 per hundr»i »alt and tar $1, and supervision nothing. Estimated as in the preceding note. 62 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. pound.* My own impression, however, is that the land, properly in- closed, that will support 3 sheep per annum, will cost, ex-^ept in occa- eional localities, not less than $i or $5, let the amount be mure or less ; and this would bring the cost of production (with 3-lb. fleeces) to between 7 and 8 cents per pound. I shall hereafter assume it to be 8 cents. On many of the more northern mountains of the Southern States, and on the high peaks farther south, neither the grasses nor grain grow suffi ciently to support sheep, unless the range is very large in proportion to the number, during the winter.t Here, as in the Northern States, dry feed must be prepared for the winter subsistence of sheep. This can be read- ily done, as the best meadow grasses of the North and the clovers floiJH'ish on the sides of the mountains.| There is little doubt that sheep can be wintered on dry feed on many of the mountains, and yet, on account of the extreme cheapness of the lands, the cost of producing wool not exceed eight cents per pound. In the circumstances of many of the lowland plantations, it would be a most economical arrangement to summer the sheep on the mountains, and then drive them to these plantations to be wintered on pasture, fog, or grain fields, according to convenience. After the lambs have reached a sufficient age in the spring, and the sheep are shorn, marked, &c., a flock might be sent thirty, fifty, or even a hundred miles to its summer range on the mountains, at a trifling expense ; and large numbei's could 1)6 kept there under the surveillance of a single shepherd and a brace oi two of dogs. By this system the lowland plantation would be saved from maintaining pasture on more expensive lands ; many of its less marketa- ble products could be converted into wool, meat, and manure ; and it would be enriched by the winfering of the sheep. Such, you are aware, is the system of sheep husbandry in Spain. The sheep are wintered on the plains of Estremadura, sometimes reaching the north of Andalusia. Both of these provinces, though in a latitude cor- responding with that of a portion of the United States, extending from Albemarle Sound to a little north of Philadelphia, are parched, during the summer, to a state of arid sterility, by the burning winds of Africa.|| In * See Monthly Journal of AgriculUire. t With sufficient rani!;e, however, they not only obtain subsistence, but get fat. .John P. Skinner, Esq., writes mo : " In the mountains of Virginia, viz , at the Warm Springs, Dr. Brockcnboro told me that a flock of sheep which he had bought for use during the watering season, strayed, and got off beyond reach during the summer ; that the winter after they were rarely seen : and that as chance otlbred they were g/iot ; and that finer and latter mutton he never desired to see." The Warm Springs are in Balli county, among the Western or Allegany Mountains, a few minutes north of latitude 38°. i See Mr. Go^xu'in's statements in Letter IV. Since the above was written, I have received the following statements from Mr. W. Murdock, of Asheville, Buncoinbe county. North Carolina : " Excellent swards of grass are grown in this district from Orchard grass or Cock's-foot. Titnothy and Italian Kye grass I have found to thrive remarkably well. I never saw them do better in any country. 1 received my seeds from England, and they succeeded admirably, and in ground by no means fiivorable to a fair trial. Turnips succeed remarkably well here, and even InO miles farther south, as I am informed by Mr. Edward Calhoun— the kinds I don't know — but here the Globe. Aberdeen, Norfolk, &c., do well If grounds were reserved as you suggest, for the winter feeding of sheep, the fall trrowih beinji under- pastured, and if some of the stubbles were plowed up and sown broadcast with turnips mixed with rape or colza, very little fodder will be required, in fact only when snow is on the ground, which seldom ex- ceeds fifteen or twenty days during the year." ['I'his fully confirms the positions assumed by me near the close of Letter IV.] ■'I think that Curied Kale would be excellent for the winter keep of sheep, or cattle of any kind. I got some seed from England and sowed it like any cabbace seed. I put out the plants two feet asunder in but tolerable ground. It grew three feet high and two feet in diaineter. That 1 planted in the open field the sheep got at in October, and ate it, stock, branchi^s and all, to the ground. That planted in the garden has, like the rape, stood the severe frosts uninjured. It is a delightful vegetable all the spring, and stands a warm or a cold climate This and rape are, I think, all the green food necessary to keep sheep through the winter, with the addition of a little hay. Rape may be sown broadcast in mois'. .s'eather in May or June, and mown oft" for the sheep, when required, about six inches above ground. If the shoots are not required for pasture, let them go to seed, and the feed will pay better thaii any other crop, for making oil and rape cake." II Here is a notable instance of the want of correspondence between isothermal and latitudinal lines be- tween the vvest of Europe and the eastern portion of our own Continent. The two Spanish provinces tha Utitudc of which is above given, have a climate more resembling the scorched llanos of Caraccas than an} portion, even the most southerly, of the United States. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 63 the winter, however, they are covered with veixlure. About the lirst of May the sheep start for the mountains.* Formerly many of them rested on the \ohy 2}(if'affii'ras and mountain sides of Old and New Castile — the latter bleak, sterile and craggy, compared -with the sides of our own South- ern mountains. But a friend recently from Spain informs me that those once magnificent flocks (now, alas ! thinned by confiscation,! the whole- sale plunder of invaders,| and for the subsistence of adverse armies, ||) do not at present stop in any considerable numbers on the Castilian mountains, but pass north to the Cantabrian, and that portion of the Iberian range north of Soria — or crossing the latter, spread over the Eastern Pyrenees, and the mountains of Saragossa nortli of the Ebro. Anything like an elaborate comparison between the facilities for sheep husbandry furnished by the mountains of Spain and the Apalachians of the United States, south of the Potomac, would, perhaps, be out of place in this connection. But a glance at them may throw useful light on the question of comparative profit. If the Spaniard can giow wool at a profit, where the natural and physical features of the country gives him no ad- vantage over us, we can certainly do so ; for in every other respect we have the advantage. The Eastern Pyrenees rise to a hight of 10,000 feet,§ more than double that of the Peaks of Otter, or that of any other poilion of the Apalachian range, with the exception of a few summits in Xojth Carolina. Mount Perdu, one of the Pyrenees, is 11,283 feet in hight, ^1 or 4,807 feet higher than the Black, the highest mountain of the United States east of the Mis- sissippi. Maladetta, Vignemale and others rise considerably above 10,000 feet.** Glaciers exist on different parts of the whole chain. " The acclivity of the Pyrenees on the side of Spain, is often extremely steep, tt present ing a succession of rugged chasms, abnipt precipices, and huge masses of naked rc)ck."|| Minano, a Spanish writer of authority, in defending hia countrymen fram the charge of indolence, speaks particularly of the ef forts of the hardy peasantry on the " almost inaccessible mountains of the Asturias, Galicia and Catalonia." The vegetation on these mountains is ex- tremely variable, in some places being as luxuriant as the best on our South- ern Apalachians, but more fiequently dwarfish and meager. On large portions of them it is entirely wanting. The northern acclivities are fre- quently swept by cold and pierciiifj gales from the ]>ay of Biscay. On the whole, it will be seen that they do not com])are with our southern moun- tains in the advantages which they offer for sheep husbandry. 1| || * For Finsnilnr anil iiiterostina; pavtiouliiis in relation to their march, &c., and the municipal regulations pertaining thereto, see Livingi=ton on Sheep, p. ^6 it siipra. t Some of the choicest flocks in .*pnin were contiscnted hy the Government during the great nnti-fiallic Btruggle. Tn the winter of ]8(i'.), tlio Spanish Junto confiscated the great Hocks of the infamously celebrated Godoy and several other nobles, and they wore bought by foreigners for exportation. JThe French iMarshals, not finding anythine in .'^pain to benefit the/j(c arts aflnbille France as in Italy, condescended, it is said, to benefit her A^ricutlHrc. by driving home some of the best flocks of Spain. The Allied Armies compelled the restitution of the vtarhle and rnnras, but ihosc itricclcxs Jlocks either could not be re-collected, or they were not regarded as of sufticienl importance to be returned. II The Commissariat of the English, French and Spanish armies, "The foe, the victim, and the fond ally," found the great Spanish flocks a very convenient resort, and availed themselves of it fully. The Oucrillaa^ contrabandists, and fugitive inhabitants, of course, did the same. f. Malte Brun. H lb. ** Kncyclo])tedia Americana : ai1. PyrcnecK. rt Montserrat (in Catalonia), so famous for its monastic establishments, will occur to you in this connec- tion — where the steepness is so great that the monks ascend from hermitage to hermitage by ladders oi stairs cut in the rocks I \X F.ncyclopjedia Americana ; art. Pyrenees. II II How much the associations of early life — early reading — dispose ViS to exr.sserate even the physical extent of the region covered by these mountains, connected as they arc T.'ith so many rnmanti'; and inter- esting remembrances I The whole chain, f xtending from Cape Finisterre to Port \'endros. iloes not exceed 250 miles in length ; and the space covered by it is not, in Western parlance, a •' circumstance " to that oc- cupied by our Southern Apalachians I Yet. in the western Aa// of this chain. Pelayo and his successors maintained their Visi-Gothic kingdom, overthrew the descendants of the Aliassiiles and ()mrniails of our South-eastern coast, and purchase the virgin and fertile lands of the South-west (even including the extra expense of building and fencing), than to attempt to reclaim the former by means so expensive as those above indicated. What, then, is the resort 1 Are there any means by which those lands can be frojitahhj reclaimed % I answer. Yes ; and the resort is a mixed system of green and animal manuring — the latter made attainable by sheep husbandry. Experience is the best test of all theories. And we have had * I am inclined to think, however, that this mud, if spread directly on the surface, would contaminate the straosphere with unhealthy miasma, generating agues and bilic'se diseases. If so, it would require in- corporation with the soil, by plowina;. ( It seems to me, however, that these expensive manure? would be more profitably applied in kreping Kp the fertility of the best lacds, or as assisiajas to other and cheaper raearis of reclaiming the poor ones. SHEEP TIUSBAxXDRY IN THE SOUTH. 71 BO little experience in the premises, in our own country, let us tuni to that of the first agricultural nation of the Old World. There is no foreio-n na- tion where so high a degree of intelligence is brought to bear on farmine operations — where cause and effect are so carefully studied and accurately noted — as in England. This care and accuracy are indispensal)]y neces- sary in a country where high rent and heavy taxation render good farmino- or bankruptcy unavoidable counter-alternations to the agriculturist. Pre- vailing conclusions among such a class of agriculturists — undisjmtcd con- clusions, too — are assuredly entitled to great respect, and may almost be regarded as settled facts. Now the farrhers of England are perfectly fa- miliar with every kind of manure accessible to our Southern farmers, un- less it be swamp mud and cotton seed. Lime, for example, is plentiful and cheap, and is much used in Agriculture all over the kingdom. If either this, or any of the manures of commerce, were considcied, of them- selves, economical fertilizers of the poor, sandy or light upland soils of England, there is no country in the world where they are mcjre plentiful, and, when the use of the soil and the price of products are taken into con- sideration, more cheap. What the settled conclusions of the English farmers are, in relation to the profitable amelioration of those soils, will be seen from the following undisputed testimony of some of the most eminent and respectable of thera« taken before the Committee of the House of Lords, charged with the in- quiry into the state of the wool trade, &c. in Great Britain, in 1828, from which I have so freely quoted in preceding Letters. Mr. \Nu.\.i\yi Vi}iK}iF.y , Salishury Plain: Land such as T occupy could not be main tained willioiU tlie aid ot" slieop. . . . The sheep are our i)rincipaJ depeiidcucc for sup* porting our crops ; indeed, I could not occu{)y my faim vi'iUiotit my flock. Mr. John Eli.man, Jr., Sussex : I do not consider it jK).ssiljle for the light lands upon the Downs to be kejit in cultivation without flocks. I could not keep the fiinn I now hold without sheep. . . On the South Downs tlie wool must be giown, let the price be what it will. Mr. Francis Half., Alrinpham, Suffolk : The description of land I occupy could not be kept in cultiviktiou witliont the aid of sheep. Mr. Henry King, CliihnarJc, Willslihe : The size of my farm is about 4,000 acres. I clip annually about ().r)0() South-Down sheep. . . . Such lands as I occupy cannot be kept in cultivation without the aid of sheep. Mr. John Woollkdce, near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk: An estate near the aboTo place contains 8,fi90 acres, let to tenants, and consists principally of jwor sandy and gi-avelly land, the produce of which in frraiii is very ])r(H'arious, ani(iuntinicrs, therefore, de[)end almtjst entirely on their flocks of shec}) for the payment of their rents and the einploynient and siip]iorl of the population. ... I am of opinion that two-thirds of the counties of Suflblk and Norfolk may be comprehended in the sheep districts, and that they produce two pounds and a half of wool, and tlnee-fourths of a lamb, to the acre, upon an average. . . . The produce of the land depends materi- ally upon the folding system; there is not sufficient straw for m;umre without the assistance of sheep. Mr. William Ilott, Abbey Milton, Dorsetshire : I calculate the annual giowth of wool in Dorsetshire at 10,000 packs of 246 lbs. each. It is estimated . . . that 000,000 sheep, or one sheep and one-seventh per acre, . . . are kept in this county. A con.siderable part of the county of Dorset is composed of light lands, and can only be kept in tillage by the aid of sheep. C. C. Western, Esq. : It is utterly impos-sible that the Down Di.stricts can be cultivated to advantage without sheep. We never fold our Merino or other sheep ; the land is too wet. Lord Napier : If we had not sheep upon our lands (the liighlaiuls of Scotland), it would become the hibitation of foxes and snipes, and return to waste ; it would produ('e nothing but grouse and wild game of different sorts. Is it asked, Why are sheep preferred to honied cattle 1 Many of the reasons are given in my preceding Letter. Then, again, the scanty and short pasturage of light lands, on which sheep will thrive, will not afford sufficient " bite" (as it is provincially termed in the Northern States) to 72 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. profitably cany large stock. And, finally, there seems to be a settled con- viction among tlie Knglisli farmers that sheep give a better return for the food consumed, and therefore better repay the extraordinary expenditure iiecessaiy to bring poor lands in a fit state for the plow, than any other animal. In an able essay in the London " Plough" (June, 1846), the fol- lowing remarks occur, which may be probably regarded as an expression of the prevailing opinion in England : " It is justly admitted that, of all the domestic animals reared and fed for profit in Great Britain, shee[) are of the greatest consequence, both individually and in a national point of view, and atlbrd a better return than can be obtained either from the rearing or feeding ol cattle ; the very fleece sliorn annually from their backs is worthy of consideration. . . Sheep husbandly deserves to be esteemed in all its different branches, and claims the prior- ity of consideration among agriculturists."* The manner in which the " very fleece " is here spoken of, shows that wool occupies but a mere subsidiary place in making up the profits of English sheep husbandry. I know many intelligent and experienced farm- ers in tills countrij who think sheep feeding more profitable, or equally profitable, with cattle feeding, leaving the wool out of the account.f The experience of the English farmers accords with that of those of our own Northern and Eastern States, in relation to the superior advantages of sheep husbandry on poor and light soils. Observation has shown both that such soils do not profitably carry bullocks or other large animals, and that such animals are j^oorer manurers than sheep. But their methods of availing themselves of the advantages of this husbandry are entirely dis- similar. The English farmer finds mutton and grain the marketable pro- ducts which pay best. The first returns a profit . on the crop (turnips) which produces it, and at the same time fits the land for the latter. The high price and ready sale of mutton allows the English farmer to force the growth of turnips on poor soils, by the application of highly condensed maimres.l In the fall the sheep are turned upon small patches of them, surrounded by an inclosure of hurdles. The turnips are drawn, sliced, and laid in troughs for the sheep. When one patch is consumed, the hurdles are removed, and thus the field is gradually passed over — the sheep con- verting the whole crop into animal products and manure. The land is then })lowed for grain, and a succession of crops are taken from it. By this means the land is soon reduced to its former level, and the same sys- tem is again entered upon. * After i-eading this and the preceding testimony, one cannot look back without a smile on the nnac- countiible monotnanin of thnt excellent man and public benefactor, Col. John Taylor, in relation to sheep. In one of the essays of "Arator," he says: " My conclusions are that they require and consume far more food, in proportion to their size, than any other stock ; that they are more liable to disease and death ; and that they cannot be made a profitable ob- ject throughout the whole extent of the warm, dry climate and sandy soil of the United States, but by ban- ishing tillage from vast tracts of country." . . . '• It is proliable that the hot constitution of sheep pro- duces a rapid digestion, and that insatiable appetite, by which the fact is accounted for of their flourishing only, to any extent, in tine meadows or extensive wildernesses. If this voraciousness is not gratified, the animal perishes or dwindles ; if it is. he depopulates the country he inhabits. The sliccp of Spain have kept out of existence, or sent out of it, more people than the wild beasts of the earth have destroyed from the creation ; and those of England may have caused a greater depopulation than all her extravagant wars. It may be owing to this animal, the independence of one country is almost overthrown, and of the other tottering." (!!!) lie farther expresses the opinion that England, " by the help of her moisture and verdure, can raise wool cheaper than the United States." (!) It would appear that Col. Taylor formed nil his conclusions on a small flock kejit by himself They may have been a bad and unthrifty flock. But it is strongly probable that he was influenced by deep-rooted prejudices, imbibed before his judgment was ripened, or his experience formed ; and that these, unknown to himself, warped all his views. I can account in no other way for the evident and palpable hallucination under which he made nearly every statement in his Chapter on Sheep. t A gentleman who has been one of the most successful feeders of cattle and sheep in this State (P. N, Rust, Esq. of Syracuse) recently remarked to me in conversation that he had invariably found that sheep paid better for feeding than cattle. J Bone-dust, and frequently guano or some other manure with it, is drilled in with the turnip seed, so that much cost is obviated by making a little go a great ways ; and there is a remarkable congeniality in the climate and atmosphere of England to the growth t * this root. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 73 In die United States, much of this system would be inapphcable and unprofitable. Here wool, instead of mutton, is the principal object. Even in the Southern States, where the climate would render the English sys- tem practicable, the expense of producing either of these articles, by win- ter turnip feeding and folding, would add so much to its cost that it could not profitably compete with that grown in the ordinary manner. The same remark applies to the relative expense of the two systems of manur- ing. A constant rejiletion of rich succulent food, like turnips, would sen- sibly increase the amount of manure, and, by folding, it would be more evenly distributed. But neither of these considerations would begin to offset against the increased expense, in a country where good lands are so cheap and bread-stuffs so low. Besides, no good, but, on the other hand, positive injury, would result from thus annuaWy J}/ ttcning "store"* sheep, kept for the production of wool and for brecding.t The system of improving poor lands in the Northern and Eastern States by sheep husbandry, is mainly by summer pasturage. The droppings of the sheep gradually enrich tliem,| and consequently increase their herb- age. Thus, in a few years, poor and scanty pastures are converted into rich, productive ones. This might be far more rapidly done by giving these pastures also the winter manure of the sheep, made in the feeding yards. But it is generally thought moi'e profitable to give the winter ma- nure to the richer tillage lands, which are made to supply the grain and hay of the farm. The light pasture lands are thus kept permanently in pasture, or are only plowed, by the provident, at very long intervals. This system is rendered necessary, or, at all events, convenient, by the topo- graphical features of our farms. Here the poorer and lighter are generally the higher and more broken lands, which are less convenient of aration, ai>sl for the hauling on of manure, or the hauling of!" of crops. In the Southern States, on lands which now yield even a smallish sup- ply of esculent gi-asses, the northern system is all that is vcccssarily re- quired. Those grasses will every year increase, and the land will be grad- ually fertilized, by the droppings of the sheep, without a cent's expendi- ture on it of any kind ; and every particle of herbage will be tunied to its most profitable account, by being. converted into wool, mutton and ma- nure. • But where there is not sufficient existing verdure to form the gertn, so to speak, of a future good pasture — or, in other words, to sup])ort a suffi- cient number of sheep to convert it, within a reasonable time, into good pasturage — some other course must be adopted. Proper plowing and seeding, simply, will, I have not a doubt, be found adequate in a great many instances where it would hardly be suspected. It is very natural to take it for granted that a soil, not spontaneously producing the grasses, is not fertile enough to produce them, even if properly sown upon it. But experience has amply demonstrated the contrary in several of the North- western States. There are vai-ious causes, besides a want of fertility, which may produce such nudity ; but this is not the place to enter upon speculations on this topic. Two very common and obvious causes are too great looseness or compactness of the surface, which prevents seeds from taking root, especially in a dry, hot climate. Plowing would always loosen * This convenient word is provincially applied, in the Northern and Kastern States, to sheep and swine which are to be kept over the year, to breed from (and the former to produce wool), as contradislinguiahed from those which are fattening for slaughter. t This point will asrain be adverted to. It is sufficient now to say that breeding-ewes, jf brought to a high etate of fmness, raise fewer lambs. The lambs are bom weak, and are very apt to perish. There are alee other objections. } Aided by an occasional top-dressing with gypeum. K 74 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. hard, and frequently stiffen loose surfaces.* The grass seed haiTowed into a properly prej)aied soil, at the suitable season of the year, might so root itself as to vvillistand the subsequent heats, while those dropped on a hard or a loose surface by birds, or borne there by winds, would be exposed directly to t!ie rays of the sun, which, if it did not entirely prevent germ- ination, would dry up and kill the tender roots before they could strike deep enough to resist its influence. Much will depend, in this experi- ment, upon a proper selection of the variety of grass sown. That variety should be sown vvliich is found to flourish best on similar soils, in the same climate, even tliough relatively it may be an inferior grass.t By means as cheap and attainable as these, I have not a doubt that no inconsiderable portions of the nearly naked .soils of the lide-WLter zone might be brought into pasture sufficiently good to make their ultimate con- version into prime pastures, by means of sheep husoandry, certain. On the worn-out granite soils of the middle region, the once fertile red clay lands — now occupied only by dwarf pines, worthless broom-grass, etc. — deej) plowing and thorough sowing (with the aid of steeps and the cheap top-dressing, before adverted to) would gencralU/, I believe, bi-ing these lands into pretty good pasture. These soils, having been subjected only to the one-horse plow, and hand tillage, arc tcorn out only on the surface. This is proved, in innumerable instances, in Fairfax, and other northern counties of Virginia. Lands considered entirely worn out, and sold for a mere trifle, are subjected to the northern two-horse plow, and fiom one to three inches of earth, never before disturbed, is brought to the surface, which readily supports grass, and even grain crops — the latter tempora- rily. Thus, most fortunately, the means are still left, with the aid Df pas- turage, to make many of these lands profitably productive, and to restore them to much of their former fertility. We come now to another class of lands which may, in many cases, be worth reclaiming, but which will not, by merely being plowed and sown, produce sufficient grass to make their fertilization by sheep husbandry at- tainable — or attainable within a moderate period of time. These are the inferior (but not the worst) sands of the tide-water zone. Here green manuring must be resorted to, by means of })lants which will better with- stand the climatic and other difficulties in the way of their getting well- rooteyd, and which will flourish in poorer soils than the grasses. Both of these conditions are answered by various plants. SpuiTy ( Spergula arven- sisj and white Lupins fLupinus albus) will flourish on dry, barren, and even shifting sands, and are extensively used as green manuring crops on such soils, on the Continent of Europe. From their rapid growth and ex- traordinary productiveness, they are admirably adapted to this end. The introduction of these plants would probably supply an important desidera- tum in Southern Agriculture, imless, as I have already expressed the opin- ion,J the pea leaves little to wish for, as a green manuring crop on every class of southern soils. Soaked in a solution of nitro — rolled in lime — top- dressed, after sprouting, with a slight sprinkling of ashes and gypsum|| — * The sands of the tide-water zone are everywhere, at greater or less depths, underlaid hy clay. These might in some cases be reached by the plow, and portions of them incorporated wiih the superincumbent eoil. t See Letter III. X In Letter III. 11 Spreiiuel's analysis, in Letter III., ,'hows the larire amount of potash required for the seed, and of lime for the straw of the pea. The lUvorable effect of plaster on this, as on mo.«t other leaiiminosa;, is well known. Ashes, planter and lime can he purchased here at an average of less than ten cents a bushel, A bushel of cypsum, mixed with say two bushels of ashes, makes a top-dressing which will pay for itself a number of nm''s over, on any land to which 1 have ever seen it applied. In addition to rolling the seed ia ,ime, a few bu.^hels of if, or of marl, would make a aood, and, where accessible and cheap, an economical top-dressing. When I speak of the price of lime here, 1 do not refer to marl. The latter, in its natural ttate, could be purchased at the beds for probably a shi' ing a load. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 75 the pea would probably take root and flourish in any soil which the price of land in this country would justify an effort to render productive, now, or for a long term of years to come. Indeed, the capacity to produce this plant mau afford the best practical test of the economy and expediency of attempting it in any given case. If a good green manuring ciop can be made to grow on the soil without any more expensive aids thijn those above suggested, the lever of improvement — cheap, but effectual — is placed in the hands ol' the planter, and, if he possesses the least degree of energy, \g has no occasion to seek a new soil and home by emigration. Mr. Ruffin states, if I remember aright, that a few quarts per acre, of peas, are sown by the Southern planters. In the North, three husheh, at least, are sown; and this quantity would be little enough to pioduce the largest amount of green manure. Theory would indicate that the crop should be turaed under before it comes into full flower,* but experience and convenience both deserve con- sulting in the premises. An active span of horses, with a Northern two-horse plow, and an ex- pert plowman, would readily plow two acres per diem, on sandy soils, and plow it well.t The expense of getting in a crop of peas can then be read- ily estimated. • If one crop can be made to take root and gi'ow, and is plowed under wlien green, the great point is attained, and there will be neither difficulty nor uncertainty subsequently. The organic matter thus deposited in the soil is the basis on which future improvements can be effected ad lihitum. As far south as South Carolina, at least two, and probably three crops could be plowed in during a single seascm. This might be done in time for winter grain, and a crop of the latter sown as a covering crop with grass seeds. The grain would refund much of the previous expense. Plowing in two or three crops in succession may, at first view, seem an expensive process; but, with the exception of the extra seeding, it is no moi'e labor than is bestowed on every wheat crop by a large proportion of the farmers of Western New-York ! When the ground is summer fal- lowed, the ordinary practice on our wheat lands is to have it three times thoroughly plowed and harrowed, and the first time a crop of clover is plowed in. All this is a light outlay compared with thorough marling, or manuring with swamp mud. And, after either of the latter processes, the land has yet to be plowed and seeded.^ It would not be necessary to plow in as many as three crops of peas, to 'ay the foundation of ordinary pasture. Two, and possil)ly one, would suffice. The comparative utility of forcing forward the fertilization of land, rapidly or gradually, depends much upon the amount of ca})ital which the landholder has to devote to this object. The amount of labor subtract- ed from the ordinajy 02:)erations of the plantation would be very small, in any case, in proportion to the object to be attained. A single expert plowman, with a good team, could give even the three plowings to a 1^'ge field.ll * " Because flowpr-leave?," says Johnston, give off nitrosen into the air ; and, as this element is sup posed especially to promote the growth ol' plants, it is desirable to retain as much of it in the plant and soil ae possilile." — Ag. Chem., vol. ii , p. 185. t Perhaps more. That amount is frequently exceeded here, on stubble lands. J So that the expense to be otfsetted against one of those processes (in estimating their comparative economy as a means of reclamation with green manuring) is plowing, harrowint', and seeding twice. II I have attempted to fix no definite data on this point, because you, who are nctiuainted with plowing Southern lands, are belter competent to do so 1 would remark, in this connection, that my convictions are very strong that the introduction of the two-horse plow of the North would leiid to a decided improve- ment in your Agriculture, from the superior miinner in which it does its work, vnH by leading to deeper plowing. The wheel will cause It to run as shallow as a one-horse plow, however, where the character of the soil renders it desirable. 76 SHEEP HUSRANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Even in the case of either of the two classes of soils before treated of (those now producing thinnish pasturage, or which can be converted into pastures simply by plowing and seeding), one or more green manuring crops would form a most excellent and accelerating initiatory step, and, where sufficient capital is possessed, I have no doubt, a most economical one, toward their fertilization. In view of all my preceding statements, do you ask me if I advocate sheep husbandry exclusively, on all the lands at the South which already are, 3r should be devoted to grazing 1 Most assuredly not. I have al- ready laid it down as a maxim that " agricultural production should be controlled by the demand or want, and the adaptation of the country to such pi'oduction." By this rule, the South should, at least, never import a horse,* a mule, a pound of beef, pork, butter, cheese or wool. She loants them all, and she can j^f^^uce them all mere economically than she can import them. That declared impossibility in politics, an ivipcrium in im- perio, should be in Agriculture, so far as it may be consistently with the above maxim, the attitude of every farm and plantation. Each should be independent to the greatest economical extent, so far as the production of the necessaries, comforts and luxuries of !ife ai'e concerned, of every other farm or plantation in the world ! This I'ftixed and multifarious farming is objected to by theorists, inasmuch as it trenches on the division of labor principle. But it favors rotation, and thereby prevents the exhaustion of soils — leads to a more bountiful use of the every-day comforts of lifet — and, finally, it is less hazardous. The one-crop farmer, if croj? and market are both in their most favorable state, realises great profits. But if the market is poor, or the crop small, the less is proportionately large. The farmer pursuing mixed husbandry will not generally fall greatly behind the hest prtjfits of the other, and his losses are rarely considerable. It is better to play for a liit than a gammon, where, as in the case of the small capitalist, affluence or penury "stand the hazard of the die .'" If the above positions are true, the South is called upon to increase the breeding of other domestic animals as well as sheep. To an extent suffi- cient to supply her own wants, I consider her imperiously called upon so to do. I advocate the breeding of sheep specially — on a vastly more ex- tended scale — because, as has been already shown, they are the best (if not the oidy) reclaimers of your unproductive lands ; and because in that surplus of the products of grazing, which these extensive reclamations will bring about, they furnish you the exporting'^ article f wool J for tvhich you can find the largest extra-llmital market, and in growing which you can best compete with other 2'>roducers. Let us suppose, for the sake of the argument, that these newly reclaimed pasture lands would carry heavy beasts as well as sheep, and with equal benefit to the land. After supplying the home demand, what would be done with the surplus horses, mules and beeves 1 To what markets in the world could you export horses and mules, with the exception of some of the West India islands — the markets of which a few thousand head^of these animals would annually glut % Do you ask me what would prevent your sending your surplus beef to England 1 Nothing. But neither the South, nor the North, nor the East, can compete with the great North-west * Unless for the improvement of breeds. t I mean by this that the planter who raises all the necessaries of life will be more liberal of them than tlie one v;ho purcliofscs them J I do not use *he word here in its technical sense. I mean carried beyond mere local limits for sale— whether that sale be eft'ected in the same State, in some other part of the U. S., or abroad. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 77 in producing beef (or pork*) for exportation to foreign countries. Irs im- mense natural pastures — the profusion and cheapness with which Indian corn can be produced on its virgin soils — give it an advantage which in- creased transportation by no means counterbalances. The question then arises — Why, for the same reasons, cannot the vast North-westeni plains produce wool more cheaply than the South, and undersell her in our own and the foreign markets ] In the first place, the western pastures — that is to say, the wild or natural ones — which produce beef so cheaply, are. by reason of the coarseness and rankness of their verdure, not adapted to the growing of sJiecp. Secondly, the shortness and mildness of the south- ern winter give a decided advantatre in wool growing, by affording green winter feed — an advantage not profitably available probably, on an extend- ed scale, with large grass-feeding animals. Again, in the North-west, though there is less snow, the winter is about as long, for all the practical purposes of husbandry, as in New-York.t Killing frosts come as early in autumn ; the naked ground is frozen as solidly, and far more deeply ; and verdure puts forth but little if any earlier in the spring. The South then possesses the same gi-eat advantage with the North-west in the jiroduction of wool — cheap lands ; and, superadded to this, she has the short, mild winters, which give her a decided advantage over both the North and North-west. She has a marked advantage over the Northern and Easteni States in hoth particulars, and, instead of importing manufactured wools fi"om them, she ought to supply them, by export, with at least the raw ma- terial. And she will do this at no distant day, unless her sons are content, in the gieat struggle and battle of industrial interests, to sacrifice their own by apathy or in-esolution. * I hare not alluded to the rearing of swine any more fully, as they are but partially a grazing animftl. — But if the position assumed in th.§ * Hon Aiidn^w Stevenson, John S. Skinner, etai.m Monthly Journal of Agriculture, &c. t If such piou'ctioii has prejudiced the South, what stronger reason why she should remunerate herself by uppropriatiiii a shun" of it ! \ Monthly Journal of Airriculture, July, 1845. II The theory of M. De (.'andolle, apparently fo strongly supported by the experiments of M. Macaire, has found many believers. Rut the statements of the latter have been contradicted by M. Braconnet, M. Mir- bel, and tinally are totally overthrown, in my judgment, by the experiments and investigations of Mr. Alfred Gyde, of Scotland. Mr. Gyde shows that the minute excretions of plants have the same conipot^ition with iheir sap ; and he also watered plants with a solution of their excretions, not only without injury, but to their mauife.-^t benetii I For Mr.,Gyde's able Prize E.ssay on this subject, see the Transactions of the High- land and Aarici.huriil Socit ty of Scotland (March, 1846). I am not aware that this essay has been repub- lished in our countiy. It certainly should be. § Of the latter evil, the past year furnished a pregnant example. I saw it stated last winter, in the South Carolinian (published at Columbia, S. C), on the authority of an United States Senator, ihnt the falling off in the cotton crop would be enormous, by reason of the depredation of wirrms. 'this evil is con.^tantly iu creasing, and must continue to, while the planter continues to provide aliment for each succeeding hords of destroyers, by continuing on the soil the piants on which they prey. 82 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Experience has sliovvn that if vegetables of different classes are made to follow each other, the soil will much longer retain its productiveness. — Even when " exhausted" of some one or more of those ingredients neces- sary for the healthy production of a particular plant, it is i'ound to produce others luxuriantly which do not require the lacking ingredients, or but very minute portions of them And, by a most beautiful arrangement of phys- ical causes and effects, when a plant is removed from the soil, and notwith- standing its place is occupied by others, a process of restoration at once commences to replace all that the absent plant has appropriated, and to prepare the kindly bosom of the earth again for its reception. Nature herself, in ministering to this beneficent end, becomes a great laboratory ; and in her most ordinary, as well as her most unusual operations, she is constantly producing those chemical changes, and furnishing those chem- ical ingredients, which restore what has been abstracted by man's cupid- ity, or lost by his improvidence. The gentle rain brings down ammonia and carbon to plants. The frost rives the solid rocks, to disengage their fertilizing constituents. The sun, in his flaming path, looks down not only to warm and give us light, but to perform functions in the vegetable econ- omy without which all hei'bage, except a few misei'able fungi, would per- ish ; and to all he imparts their varied and beautiful coloring. The thun- der which shakes the walls of cities, and strikes man with awe, brings to our aid one of the most efficient promoters of vegetation. Even the burst- ing volcano converts its fiery crater into a crucible and retort, and gives off that gas which forms so large a portion of all the vegetable and animal productions of the globe : and the wild winds, which strand navies in their course, equally diffuse it over the earth. It follows from the above positions that naturally good lands* which are more or less exhausted, will be gradually resuscitated by " rest," or an en- tire exemption from tillage ; and hence the absurd idea that lands require physical " rest," in the same sense in which the tired animal muscle re- quires it, after continuous exertion. But, apart from the theciy, the prac- tice of ''resting" lands is inexpedient, for the following reasons: If a plant is not continued on a soil until it consumes any of those inorganic constituents necessary to its production — if, on the other hand, it is suc- ceeded by a plant which makes its heaviest drafts on those inorganic sub- stances which its predecessor required the least of, and vice versa — the natural recuperative process above adverted to, aided by means whicli lose to us none of the value of the crops, will repair the waste made by each plant, before it again occupies the soil, in a judicious rotation. Hence, by a rotation of crops, fertility can be indefinitely sustained, and the earth each year return its increase. Thus the ends of "rest" are attained, with- out its great and unprofitable sacrifices. To sustain the fei'tility of the soil, some portion of the crops of every rotation must be converted into manure. These aie the " aiding means" above alluded to. They may be converted into green or animal manure. If the former, the whole crop is plowed under. If the latter, the crop is first partly converted into animal manure, by animals depastured on it, and then this animal manure, with the remaining vegetation, is plowed under. The last is always the most economical method, on good lands, f because the crop is worth almost as much for manure, after 2}<^ssi?ig through the * I Bay "naturally good lands," for those entirely deficient in several of the necessary constituents of ■ tertile soil might require ages of rest to obtain these constituents — if, indeed, they ever would, by merely natural causes. t I have limited the assertion to " pood lands," because a crop of green manure, turned under at the proper stage of its giowth, will undoubtedly make rather more manuie than in any other way : and it may be expedient many times to give poor lands all. This is especially true in the reclamation of barren lands. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 83 bodies of animals^ as it would he turned under qreen ; and tlien we have all the profit made on or hy the animals — meat, wool, &:c. — without any additional cost. Sheep, heing the best minurers, and otherwise the most profitable animals, will (with enough other animals to su})ply all tlie home demand for the necessaries furnished by them) best sustain a profitable ro- tation. Here, perhaps, the discussion of this topic in connection with the sub- ject matter of these letters should terminate ; but I am unwilling to aban- don it, without making a few practical suggestions as to the rotation which would be found most profitable at the Scith — more particularly on the valuable cotton lands, which are suffering most for the want of it. It is manifet^tly impossible to lay down any rule or rules on this subject, which can or should be rigidly acted upon, in all instances. Leading principles can only be declared, and, if correct, the intelligent man can always vary their ap{)lication so as to meet the exigencies of his particular case. First, I should consider it indispensable on all cotton (or tobacco) lands,* under all circumstances, to keep at least one-third of them in pasturage, to insure the proper amount of manure, over and above cotton seed, and such occasional supplies of swamp mud and marl as might be obtained at spare intervals — and all other incidental manures. Another third, 1 be- lieve, should be generally devoted to grain for bread stufls, for fattening the necessary amount of bacon, and for the winter forage of horses, mules, swine, &c. Unless the horses and mules, and, perhaps I should add, the cows, were wintered entirely, or in great part, on grain and the offal of the grain crops, one-third tjf the cultivated hind in grass, would not support animals enough to produce the manure requisite for two-thirds in cotton and grain. But in making the above division, I spoke only of the arable lands fit for the growth of cotton. Most plantations have poor, or swampy, or rough lands, which would most profitably be kept permanently in grass, and these would supply the deficit. The remaining third of the arable lands might be devoted to cotttm, or, in the tobacco region, to tobacco. By the course above proj^osed, the cotton (or tobacco) and wool would be made the salable products. The grain, grass, dairy products, bacon, &c., would be consumed on the plantation. This is as it should be. Eu- ropean famine has given a stir to the latter products this year, (and it may for a ^ear more,) in the Sontl\,crn markets ; but with the ordinary Euro- pean demand, the old Southern Atlantic States cannot, as we have seen, compete at a profit with these commodities, which debouch through the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and the northern canals. With the tivo wools, as they are sometimes called, the " vegetable and animal," these States can undoubtedly sustain themselves against the pressure of any out- ward competition. Such a division of crops as the one above proposed, could be effected by a six-course system of rotation. Let us suppose tlie land of the planta- tion fit to grow corn and cotton, divided into six equal fields. I then pro- pose the following rotation : Grass depastui-ed. Cotton. Cotton with yard ma- nure, iScc. Corn with peas. Small grains with grass seed. Grass depastured. 1 St year ed .. Grass depastured, do. do. 1st yea 2d - 3d .. Cotton. 3d .. 4th .. Cotton with yard ma- nure, &c. 4th .. r.th .. Corn with peas. 5th .. 'Jth .. Small grains With grass seed. 6th .. 1st year, Cotton. 2d 3d 4th 5th 6th Cotton with yard ma- nure, &c. Corn with peas. Small grains with gras* seed. Grass depastured, do. do. * I have not included the rice lands, because bein<» deep beds of alluvial deposits, composed in a great measure (if organic matter, anf" being susceptible of irrigation, they will not wear out like ordinary BOilS, iiiid gland less in need of rotac' n in their crops. 84 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. lat year Cotton with yard ma-j 1st year Corn with peas. 1st year Small, arains with grass nure, &c. 2d .. Small i^'rains with grass seed. 2d .. Corn with pea.?. seeds. 2d .. Grass depastured. 3d .. Small grains with grass 3d .. Grass depastured. 3d .. do. do. seed 4th .. do. do. 4th „ Cotton. 4th - Grass depastured. .=ilh .. Cotton. 5th .. Cotton with yard ma- 5th .. do. do. fith . . Cotton with yard ma- nure, &c. 6th .- Cotton. nure, &c. 6th .- Corn with peas. Supposing each of these fields to contain 50 acres, this would give 100 acres of grass, 100 of cotton, and 100 of grain (50 of corn and 50 of small grains) annually. Bv this course all the hauled* matiure, each year, would be given to one-sixth of the land, and consequently the same field would not receive it but once in six years — yet every crop would be adequately manured. The first cottcni crop would receive an ample amount from the grass roots and the droppings of animals for two years ; the second, from the hauled manure ; the corn, from the manure left by the previous crop, and, if needed, by a small amount of cotton seed, ashes, (or some other mineral fertilizer,) in the hill ; the small grain crop would be amply manured by the peas sown with the preceding corn ; and the land would go back into grass in excellent "heart," and, if the previous tillage was what it should be, entirely free from v/eeds. The corn might intervene between the two cotton crops, and thus remove the objection which exists against taking ■;wo crops of the same kind in succession. But I placed cotton 4th, be- lause there should come a manured crop at this period of the rotation, and I thought it better to give the manure to the more valuable crop, and be- cause cotton, as the 5th crop, would not admit of the cultivation of the pea, to provide manure for the small grain succeeding. The rotation might be thus varied, however, if circumstances should seem to render it desirable. I have put down no meadow in the rotation on the arable lands. But I believe the growth of hay to a certain extent, not only to supply any or- dinary deficiency in winter feed beyond the quantity furnished by the usual sources — but to guard against coiitingencies, would be good econo- my in all cases. All farm animals must be well wintered, to give a prof- itable return in summer ; and those occasional scai'cities of fi)dder always liable to overtake the farmer, should be providently guarded against. It is never considered poor economy, in the North, to have a few tons of hay even to summer over. The necessary mea^lows for the plantation might be made on some of the less arable lands before referred to — and, when the tillage lands are in an uncommonly fertile state and pasturage plenty, it would do to mow one of the grass crops (the second one) of the above rotation, though, if avoidable, I should think the other course entirely pref- erable. On poorer lands — the poorest class which can be profitably devoted to cotton growing — I would propose a five-shift course, as follows : 1st year, Grass depastured. 3d year, Cotton. 2d .. do. do. 4th .. Com witli peas. 5lh year. Small grains with grass seed. The manure to be given to the third or fourth crop, according to circura stances, or divided between them. On lands of a still inferior grade, but which it may be expedient tc plow at intervals, I would propose the following : 1st year, Grass depastured. 4th year. Grass depastured (or mown.) 2d .. do. do. 5th .. Com with peas. 3d .. do. do. 6th .. Small grains with grass seed. • I mean by this, the manure from every source which is carted upon the land in quantity, as contradli. tlBgnished from that which is dropped there by animals made by plowing under vegetables, or carried on to smaU quantities to drop in the hill, &c. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 85 The number of years depastured to depend upon fertility — the poorer the land, the h)nger it should be kept in pasture. The following is the rotation which was introduced by Col. Taylor, north of the cotton-growing region : 1st year; Corn. 3d year, Clover (and weeds) not mown nor 2d .. Wheat and clover sown — if too grazed. poor for wheat, left at rest and not grazed. 4th . . Clover not mov^'n nor grazed. Of this, Mr. John J. Thomas, one of the Editors of the Albany Culti- vator, very justly remarks : " It was mateiially opposed to the principles of good husbandry iu several respects. It furnished vegetable manure only to the land. A large portion of the value of this vegetable growth was lost, by dissipation into the air, during its decay. The retimis from the land were necessarily small, as only two years out of four produced crops for har\-esting. And it greatly increased the labors of tillage, by the increase of noxious weeds." Had this clover been fed off by sheep, a portion of the above objections would be inapplicable, and there would be no danger of the corn leaving the soil too impoverished for wheat, particularly if peas were sown with the former, to be plowed under. A crop of tcecds is, of all others, the most to be avoided, as the seeds deposited by it will continue to sprout for years with the subsequent tillage crops, rendering them foul and difficult of cultivation. I may be in a profotind eiTor, but I cannot but believe, after carefully studying Southern Agriculture, and the circumstances which invest it, that l)y adopting the six-shift system of rotation above recommended, or something analogous to it, on the cotton lands, the desideratum expressed in Judge Seabrook's Report will be attained. More cotton will ulti- niiitely, if not even now, be produced from less land : the other necessa- ries of life will become mainly the product of the plantation ; a new staple will be introduced to employ the surplus capital, as profitable at least in its acreable products as cotton, and tending to the constant reparation, as cotton tends to the constant waste of the fertility of the land. I will not tire you. Sir, with a comparison between the relative profits of wool and cotton growing. On looking over the answers of Southern gentlemen to Mr. Walker's Treasvuy Circular, (1845,) I find that the stated profits on cotton in the Atlantic and Gulf States, west of Louisiana, range frum 1 to 8 per cent, on capital invested — the average of all the statements being about 4i per cent. ! I may remark incidentally that in your own able replies to that Circular, you set down "the profits of rice growing between 1842 and 1845, at 7^ per cent. ; for the ten preceding years, at " about 8 per cent." A reference to Letter V. will show you how these profits compare with those of wool-growing. Admitting the accuracy of the data therein given, there is no verij great diflTerence in the cost of growing a pound of wool and a pound of cotton ! We come now to the fourth point of view in which we are to regard the profits of sheep husbandry in the Southern States — " whether independent of preceding considerations, and even if the staples furnished by sheep hus- bandry proved no more profitable, in direct returns on capital invested, than some of the present staples, it would not be better economy, on the whole, for the South to produce the raw material and manufacture do- mestic woolens, particularly for the apparel and bedding of slaves, than to be dependent for them on England and Massachusetts 1 " The woolen apparel and bedding of slaves, when no part of it is manu factured on the plantation, costs about $6 per head per annum. The blankets imported from England weigh about 4^ lbs. and cost a little over 86 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. $3. Th>) Welsh plains, imported from England, weigh usually not far fiom 13 ounces per yard, and cost from 65 to 70 cents; and the Chelmsfords, a heavy, coarse article, from Massach>isetts, from 50 to 58 cents. Now what is the cost of manufacturing (including wool and every other expense,) cloth of the same amount of stock, and better quality, than Welsh plains 1 To the present weight of the cloth per yard add one-third, and you have the weight of the wool in the fleece — as bought of the farmer.* If, then, the Welsh plains weigh 13 ounces per yard, they required 17^ ounces of fleece-wool as stock. Wool of the quality worked into " plain cloth " or " sheep's gray," in this State, (New-York,) many shades better in qual- ity than the stock of Welsh plains, has averaged from June to December, 1846, from, say, 20 to 22 cents a poundf — or, if pulled from the pelts of slaughtered sheep, as is the case Avith large quantities of it worked into these cloths, it did not, during the same period, stand the purchaser-in to exceed 18 cents per pound. Assume the average to be 21 cents per pound, and the stock of a yard of these cloths (17^ ounces) would cost 22| cents. You are familiar with the character of the " sheep's gi'ays " of New- York. They are worn almost universally by our farmers. Of the twenty- five thousand men you saw at the vState Fair at Rochester, at least three- fourths of them ordinarily wear this quality of cloth for pantaloons, and say one-half of them for coats. Its ordinary weight is from that of the Welsh plain to 16 ounces per yard, and its style and expense of manufac ture are superior to those of the former. It can be manufactured, in eluding use of machinery, &c., and every process after the wool is received in the fleece, to fitting it for market, for eleven cents per yard ! A mer- chant of this State owns a manufactory, employing say $25,000 or $30,000 of capital, which turns off" from 500 to 600 yards of cloth per diem — the fleece-wool being converted into finished cloth in eight days. His whole expenses, including use of manufaccoiy, averages, according to Jiis own statements, not to exceed the above named price per yard. Add this sum to the cost of wool, and cloths containing an equal quantity and quality of stock with Welsh plains would cost 33f cents per yard ; and you there- fore pay for this class of cloths about one hundred per cent.heyowA the first cost, for transportation, duties, and manufacturer's profits. The latter, of course, absorbs most of the immense sum thus paid, or rather thrown away, annually by the Southern States. The Chelmsfords, and various other woolen goods imported by you, are probably manufactured at nearly equal profits. Is it sinp'ular, then, that " acres of woolen manufactories " ai-e now in the process of erection in the North 1 or that existing establishments are declaring dividends of from ten to fifteen per cent. If But I have not done with the data of manufacturing. The manufac- turtn- above alluded to has, to my certain knowledge, exchanged " sheep's grays " requiring a pound of stock per yard, for wool of the same ({uality as the stock, giving a yard of cloth for 1-j lbs. of wool. Calling this wool * After hein? washed in the ordinary manner on the back of the sheep. t Wool has risen since December. \ I did contemplate an emimeralion of the new woolen mannfactories now building, or in contem))lh- tion, mthin my knowiedjie, in this Siate and New-England ; but will mention but a few of the mnn im- portant ones. The Bay State Mills, now in process of erection in the new city of Lawrence. Mass.. will work up 2,000,001) lbs. of wool per annum. One. of the mills, -200 feet long and six stories high, will go into operation tlii^ summer. The machine-shop, wool-house, etc., the tnere offices,) wiil he, includinsj win^s, thirteen hundred ftet in length, and three stories hiah. Their very spwcr will cost $2.%0(10 I A splendid steam mill has just gone into oj^ration in Utica, in this folate, which will work up 1.000,000 lbs. of wool pei annum. Another of the same size is in contemplation, in Utica; another in Syracuse; another in Auburn &c. ! Theie never was a time when Ameiican manufactures stood on a firmer basis, or were making bet ter profits with a prospect of having them continuous. This is conceded by the ablcit of the manufacturert thenistlots. as 1 shall, in the proper place, show. SHEEP HUSBANDRY I.\ THE SOUTH. 87 21 cents per pound, the cloth would thus cost the purchaser 36| cents per yard. Any of the manufactories doing custom-work will manufacture these g(jods " at the halves," so that a yard requiring a pound of stock would cost two pounds < f wool, or 42 cents. That as heavy as Welsh plains would thus cost 45^ cents, it heing from 19^ to 244^ cents per yard Jess than you now 2^aj/. Yet here the manufacturer oi custom-work admits the suffi ciency of the profit, by asking no more. Blankets are of still coarser wool, having the appearance of Smyrna, or inferior South American. They are not " sheared,"* which diminishes the waste. Neither do they need dyeing matter. But independent of these considerations, calling cost of stock per pound, and the waste fi-om all causes the same, 6 lbs. of fleece-wool would make a blanket. To the wool costing 21 cents a pound add 11 cents per pound (of the stock) for manufacturing, and the actual cost of the blanket is $1 92. Have them manufactured by the halves, and they would cost you 12 lbs. of wool each, or $-2 52. I have in the previous estimates, based my calculations on the marhet -price of the lower quality of medium wools.t But there is another and a most important view of the subject. It has already been shown that the South can produce wool, to any desirable extent, at a sum not exceeding 8 cents ])er pound — and, in favored localities, at a much lower rate. By the exchanging system (wool for cloth) you would get a yard of cloth equaling the Welsh plain in stock, and superior in quality, for 2 lbs. 2|- oz. of wool, costing the producer just 17^ cents ! A blanket weighing 4^ lbs. would be obtained fjr 12 lbs. of wool, costing 96 cents ! Does this sound a little like dreaming, Sir ? I ask you to carefully examine the premises, and see if there is any escaping from these con- clusions ? Will the South continue to slumber on, thus throwing away the fnxits of her industry ? Do you tell me that her people know nothing about manufacturing, and have no taste for it \ The necessary knowledge is as readily ac(]uired by a Southern as a Northern man ; and when that is ob, tained, and there is a prospect of jirofit ahead, the taste will not long be wanting! You have the capital: you have natural facilities to an un- bounded extent both to propel the machinery and produce the staple. What more do you want 1 What more can you ask 1 A joint stock asso- ciation of planters, at any suitable point, might cause a manufactory to be erected worth say S25,000, under the direction of a skillful and experi- enced machinist. This would turn off, say, oOO yards of cloth per diem. If the machinery was in all respects good, and the water-powei sufficient and unfailing, a competent and responsible Northern manufacturer could be obtained (if desired), to take the establishment, furnishing hands, &:c., and work the wool furnished him into cloth of the kind before described — containing about the same stock with Welsh plains, and fitting it for mar * After a sufficient mimlier of fibres have been torn up from the threads by the teazles or cards of the " gis-mill " to fi'rm a sufticiently thick nap on tbe surface, these fthres are cropped or "sheared " by a ma- chine for that purpose ; and in supertine cloths the process is several times repeated, each t-mc cutting,' off an additional portion of tilne, which is called "flocks." A dishonest custom now prevails anionsj smne manufacturers of vv-orkins these flocks ajain into the body of the cloth to give them weight, dcnseiiess, and apparent firmness. By this means the gigging and shearins process can be continued on thiniiish cloths un- til a beautiful surface is obtained, without the additional thinness and lightness consequent thereon heing apparent to any but an exjierienced eye. .'^heep's grays and other coarse cloths are gisged and sheared but elightly. In some manufactories the former process is altogether omitted, and the cloth is simply " brushed " prior to shearing. Such cloths are stronger, but do not look as well. t Ray of the quality of common South-Down and Native and Lons wools, with a sufficient dash of Me- rino biood in the last to make them carding-wools, and to bring them to about the santc lineness with the fir* ramcd. 8S SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. ket. for eio^ht or nine cents a yard.* I know of a manufacturer, at no great distance fi'om me, who thus takes a manufactory worth perhaps $8,000 or S10,000, and furnishes the cloth (of the above stamp,) fitted for market, for nine cents a yard, the owner furnishing the wool, the use of the manufac- tory, and the dyeing mattei-.t The supply of water at this establishment, fails during two or three months each year ; and one competent to judge informs me that seven cents would be better pay per yard, if the machine- ry could be kept in motion the year round. It is probable that it would cost rather more at the South to provide the necessary fixtures, obtain machinery, etc. ; and it would also cost more, for a period, to carry on manufac!iiri ng, from the gi-eater difficulty of obtaining operatives in case of losing any of those attached to the establishment. All these disadvan- tao-es, however, not of much importance at the first, will soon disappear. Slaves should, as rapidly as the nature of the case admits of, be converted into operatives, aid when the number becomes once adequate to the end, it might he indefinitely multiplied, without those embarrassments which so commonly attend the attempt to mingle white and black labor. It is cheaper to manufacture by hand,t (with the exception of carding, fullino-, and dressing,) than to purchase your slave cloths at present prices, if slave costs no more than free lahor. On the average, 15 knots of warp, and 15 of fiWing, make one yard of flannel about 5 quarters wide. The ordinary shrinkage of this, in fulling it into cloth, is one quarter in length and width. It would therefore re- quire 40 knots to make a yard of fulled cloth. The carding here in small parcels costs 3 cents per pound, and 18|- cents per pound for fulling, dye- ino- and dressing. In considerable quantities, the carding can be hired done for 2 cents per pound, and the other processes for one shilling per yard. Spinning (by considerable quantities and for " cash-pay, "|1) can be hired done for 7 cents a run (20 knots) for warp, and 5 cents for filling — averag- ing- 6 cents for both. Weaving can be hired done for 6 cents per yard (of flannel), which brings it, in the dressed cloth, to Scents per yard. The ac- count would then stand thus : 1 lb. ol' wool Carding same Spinning Weaving Dyeing, fulling and dressing Total Small parcels. Large parcels. 21 cents. 3 •' 14 " 10 " 18| " 21 cents. 12 " 8 " 12| " 663 cents. 5."i^ cents. Making 55 L cents the price of a yard of domestic cloth, estimating the wool at market ])rice : estimating the latter at cost of production (Scents) the price of the finished cloth would be 421 cents per yard, and it is £ better article for wear than either the Welsh plains or Chelmsfords.§ * I have no doubt it cniild be done at a fair profit in the North for 7 cents per yard. I am understood, ol course, to moan thai the manufacturer pays do rent, insurance, nor for repairs. The stockholders furnish the wool, which is worked up hy the former, at the stipulated price. t Modern ingenuity has reduced the expense of this to a mere trifle. Most of the " shee|i's !rray.«>," you hnve observed, are of ferruginous hue Those of this color are dyed principally by tan bark—ihe bark of the hemlock ( .ihies canadensis), which is sold here at $1 75 to $2 a cord! t I am aware that to "manufacture" is to make hy hand, but I use the word in its popular and more gen- eral si^nitiiation. It would have been better to have compounded a word from the Latin matltina and facjo (machinfacturo'O lo signify jnacie by machinery, and. thus expressed the two ideas by properly de- lived and detinitive words. II This word " cash-pay " is one of mighty import in the regulation of prices in the interior, where a very cenN'al (but now decreasing) system of barter prevails, and under which Wealth loo often dictates tc Want what it shnll receive for its labor, and also prescribes the prices of the commodities in which it pays. 5 Home-made fabrics are usually stronger and wear better than those made by mai-hinery, ^or, in other words, maniifactiircd cloths outwear marJiinfactiired ones !) but this is not necessarily so. The several processes can be done undoubtedly, and probably, generally are more perfectly by machinery than by hand. But in machine-made cloths the yarn is commonly spun tiner, so there is less stock in a yard. And ihevare submitted to processes, described in a previous Note, which farther impair their strength. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 89 [,500 will set up a cartling and cloth-dressing factory, which, with three good hands, will turn off 50 yards of cloth per diem. By Table I, it appears that in 1839 there were but 114 of these factories south of the Potomac and west of the Mississippi, doing an annual business of $320,- 938, while in the single State of New- York there were 323 factories, doing an annual business of $3,537,337 ! Of the 114 Southern factories 66 were in the States of Kentucky and Tennessee; 41 in Virginia; 3 in each of 'he Carolinas; 1 in Georgia, and in the remaining four, none ! The luimber is decreasing in New-York, as manufactories of the com- mon fabrics, worn by farmers and other laboring men, are increasino- in every direction — many of them doing custom-work either at the halves, or at a fixed sum per yard — and all of them exchanging cloth for wool. By either of these methods, the cloth can be obtained as cheaply, jierhaps cheaper, than to manufacture it in families. Eut circumstanced as you are at the South, you can, as before asserted, manufacture more cheaply by hand (excepting carding, fulling and dressing), than to import your slave cloths at present prices, if provided with factories to perform the ex- cepted processes. Where the institution of slavery exists, and where spinning, weaving, etc., can be done in those intervals of bad weather when the time of laborers would otherwise be entirely thrown away, it is doubtful whether any extension of even the coarse cloth manufactories would, or ought to, in an economical point of view, banish the hon^e-made article. If we count the slave labor thus sqvcd one-half the value of free labor, and dispense with the fulling and dressing* (which we usually dis- pensed with in manufacturing domestic slave cloths, in the inferior of the Carolinas, Georgia, etc.), the cloth would cost but 20 cents a yard, and the dyeing might cairy it to 22 cents. Let one-half the fabric be made of cot- ton, and the cost would be still farther reduced.! Since the above was written, I have received the samples of Welsh plains, Chelmsford plains, and slave blankets forwarded by you. None of these goods exceed in quantity the estimate I have put upon thei.i in my preceding remarks. The Welsh plain which you state cost 65 cents per yard by the piece, (32 inches wide,) is about the thickness of rather heavy — but not the heaviest — sheep's gray. It is not, however, by many shades, so close and firm a cloth, for the want of equal fulling ; and perhaps even this would not give it equal firmness, by reason of the loose twist of the yarn. The yarn is considerably coarser, (larger in diameter,) than that ordinanly em- ployed in sheep's gray — but it derives no inconsiderable portion of its bulk (which gives the cloth its thickness) from the loose and im])erfect man- ner in which it was twisted in spinning. This is particularly the case with the fi/fing, which you can scarcely detach from even so open a web, without its breaking in pieces. Accordingly, the cloth tears very easily lengthwise, for that presenting such an apparent amount of stock. With a sufficient amount of fulling, dyeing, (it is white,) and a little gigging and shearing — or simply brushing — it would become identical in * But still you want caiflin2:-mnchines, to card the wool ; for, by hand, it is a slow and expensive process. t I was shown a new article ()f satinets a day or two since It was double or broadcloth width, black, and the cotton warp dyed black, and could only be distinguished from a veiy fair piece of black broad- cloth by examinini; the cut edae. The manufacturer stated that the cotton war)) weighed but 3 oz. per yard : but I do not credit the assertion. One is strongly inclined to susjiect that a cloth of this character could not have been "got up" for any very legitimate purpose, but that it belongs in the wooden-nutmeg wid horn-rtint category I The ordinary satinet, when well made, is a profitable, cheai> cloth. M 90 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH appearance witli heavy sheep's gray, excepting in the quality of the wool. That is inferioi- to any I ever saw in a single piece of the former. It appears to be of two qualities, the finest about like the Asia Minor or Afi'ican ("Smyrna" or " Mogadore ") wools; and this intermixed with occasional still coarser sharj) j^ointcd liairs, which could come only from an animal not many removes from the wild Argali.* In both, there is a peculiarly dry, harsh, wiry feeling, not found in North American wools, and which is more indicative of an inferior staple — of brittleness, and want of felting properties — than even their coarseness. The staple is not appa- rently a very long one. 1 conjecture that it is Iceland wool — or that, mixed with Orkney, or some of the coarsest short or medium staple wools of Scotland. The Ohelmsfords, (31 inches wide,) twilled, undyed,t cost, you inform me, 58 cents per yard. The plain article, (/. e. untwilled,) 28 inches wide, costs 50 cents per yard. The sample of the twilled, forwarded by you, is a thicker, decidedly stronger cloth, with larger and far more tightly twisted yam, than the sample of Welsh plains. The wool is of about the same quality, though at first view it strikes you as decidedly coarser, as the longer nap shows more of the coarse fibres on the surface, and these are rendered more conspicuous still by their variety of color. But on re- solving portions of each cloth back into unmanufactuied wool, I can detect little or no difference in its fineness, unless it be that the stock of the Chelmsford plains possesses none of those peculiarly coarse fibres or hairs which characterize the otherT The wool used in the Chelmsfords is ap- parently of a longer staple. It is probably South American, though it may be Smyrna or Mogadore, as it bears a strong resemblance to tbe \v..cl of the broad-tailed sheep of Asia and Africa. You state that the Welsh is generally thought to outwear the Chelmsford plain. This may be true of the ordinary articles, but I think it cannot be of the samples forwarded. Of these, the latter possesses nearly double the strength of the former, and is much the heaviest cloth. The slave blanket, 6 feet 11 inches long, by 6 feet 5 inches wide, weigh- ing 41 lbs., you state cost about $3 121 by the piece (a piece containing 16 blankdts costs $50). It is manufactured of a very coarse and a long stapled wool — not much fulled — with a long nap raised on both surfaces. The wool in quality resembles that used in the Chelmsfords. On the receipt of these samples, I forwarded a specimen of the Welsh plains to two manuficturers of experience and perfect pecuniary respon- sibility, asking them at what price per yard they would contract to furnish me 100,000 yai'ds of cloth of the same style and equal quality with the sample. The question was put to both of these gentlemen and received by them, as purely a commercial one — the opening of a commercial nego- tiation. Each stood ready to enter immediately on the fulfillment of a contract, based on his offer. The following is the answer of one of the above named gentlemen ; Henry S. Randail, Esq. Morrisville, N. Y., April 20, 1847. Dear Sir : Yours of the 13th is at hand and duly noticed. I have no wool of the quality of tho sample sent, and do not wish to work foreign wool. I would like to make for you 100,000 yards like the sample, out of our American or domestic wool. I would make it as thick ami tii,'ht as the sample sent, 32 inches wide, at 40 cents per yard. I could not say how much less it would cost to get up the article from the same kind of wool with that used in the sample. I do not kno\* what that kind of wool i.s now worth in market. I have not worked any of it for two rears past Yours, truly, C. TJLLINGHAST. * Many of the unimproved breeds have, as is common with wild animals, a coating of hair over a finer pe lage beneath, and it is difficult to perfectly separate them. t A small portion of the wool eni|iloyeil in the filling is black, giving the cloth a dirty drab or ash color. But this I take to be the natural color of the wool. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 91 The first answer of the other manufacturer, S. Newton Dexter, Esq. of Whitestown, Oneida Co., N. Y., (head of the Oriskany Manufacturino- Company,) it is not necessary to transcribe entire. Mr. Dexter informed me that his machinery is calculated for the manufacture of fine cloth ; that the carding of coarse wool would injure his cards ; that its manufatiture would throw him out of his regular course of business ; that he had no wool of the quality used in the sample on hand ; that he should be com- pelled to use domestic wool ; and that for these reasons and some others named by him, he could not undertake to fill the contract at less than 42 cents per yard — which he knew would be considered a high price. Mr. Dexter being a gentleman equally distinguished for his correct and able business character, and for that capacity and range of information which give value to his opinions on all the topics connected with this in- vestigation, I addressed him a second communication, asking him what he could manufacture the cloth for, giving him time to procure stock of the same quality used in the sample. I also inclosed him proof-sheets of the preceding part of this letter, asking him his opinion of the correctness of my statements, in relation to the general cost of manufacturing, &c. The following extracts from his reply will be read with interest : Col. Henry S. Randall : Whitestown, April 24, 1847. Dear Sir: Yours reached me on Wednesday. There is no doubt at all but what if I felt cer- tain that wool could be procured of the quality of which your .sample was made, at a price pro- portiouably low, 1 could have allbnled to have manufactured the cloth at 37 cents per yard, as well as at A-i, and u.se our coarse native wool, at a probable cost of 25 cents There lias been an advance of more tlian 70 per cent, in the price of lard oil. The price a «^)iort time since wa» 55 cents. Tlio last I b()Ui;;ht cost 95 cents in New-York. Five quarts of this oil are wanted to every 80 yards of these cloths I cannot iniaiiinc where the wool was from out of which the sample was made, piobably from Iceland — for I recidloct some tw euty years ai:o the Oriskany Manufacturinf,' Company obtained just such wool som(^where, when American wool was deemed too hitjli. and manufactured it into mi.seral)le satinets, by whicli they lost a great deal of money. The wool was said to have been imported from Iceland. 1 was one of the Directors of the mill Uieu, bul had notbin;,' to do with " operating "it You request iny opinion as to the correctness of your statements of the probable cost of Welsh plains, &c., and generally of the statements put forth by you on the subject of woollen manufac- tories. I am not vpri/ ffood authority as to the cost of manufacturing coarse woolens, never hav- ing done much in that way. I am free to say, liowever, that your estimates may generally be relied on. Certainly you have allowed liberally lor what would have been the cost of such wool by the pound last year ; but I think your estimate of nj oz. of wool in the fleece, out of which to manufacluie one yard of cloth 32 inches wide, similar to the sample inclo.sed in your letter, too low. I .sluiuld think it would certainly take 20 oz., or \| pounds. The allowance of 11 cents for manufacturing will, I am inclined to think, pay charges, but it will not afford any profit, nor in- terest on capital, nor leave anything tor keeping machinery in repair. It is a very close calcula tion, when fuller's .soap, lard oil. fee, are so high. The sheep's gray cloths that you speak of you will ob.serve, are generally not quite J wide — say 2t) inches — while the sample you sent me was 32 inches. One pound of well washed fleece wool iril/ make a yard of sheep's gray of medium quality ; but unless the goods axe flocked, the calculalion is a very close one indeed. I am inclined to think that you overestimate the profit of manufacturing woolen goods, although I admit that in well managed institutions, that have the most improved machinery, with an abun- dant capital, the profits have, at times, been very large indeed, and our friend Samuel Law- rence, of whom you speak, is the most prominent example of such a manufacturer within my knowledge Every new manufactory erected, if built with judgment, has one advantage over those already in operation, and that is, they have availed themselves of all the improvements of those in operation. And as machinery is constantly being produced at cheaper rates, a factory of increased capacity will probably have cost less money The Oriskany Manufacturing Company is the oldest company now manufacturing woolen goods in the United States. Tliey have made satinets which have sold readily at $3 50 per yard, and have made cloths which have as readily .sold for $12 per yard. Satinets full as good can now be bought at To cents, and handsomer, if not better cloths, for $3. Wba^a change is here f And yet the Oriskany Manufacturing Company was perhaps never doing better than now. This Company availed itself of the opportunities offered last year to obtain wool very low, to purchase a supply for nearly two years. 'This year the business will be good, that i.s, pay a profit of 10 per cent, on investment.?, even where wool is ])urchased at current rates ; but I do not believe it will Day more. I will furnish you with a brief estimate : 92 SIIKKP HUyiiANDRY IN THE SOUTH. A mill Willi ;i CMiiiiHl orij! 1 00.000 wili niiiniiCiiciiiri!. fiiy 90,000 yards of 6-4 cloth, which will I. nil,;; in iiiarkcl ii'ii iiv.T;ii;i' ; anil transportation, to l-' per cent $16,200 Con or22."),U()0 Ihs. of wool al :iO cents 67.500 . .. ;i,:)UO gallons sperm and lard oil at $1 3,:i00 . . Soap, soft and hard 3,500 .. fUO.OOO teazles 1,000 .. Dveini: materials of all kinds 11,500 .. l-liel.r 1,000 .. I'aper. tape, twine, nails, lumber, cards, candles, 7 cents per yard, could he procure the same quality of wool now employed in the inanufac- ture of those cloths at a price proportionably low with domestic wools, calling the latter 25 cents per pound. Blankets are manufactured at equally exorbitant jjrofits ; and the Clielmsfords, paying less transportation and no duties, approach the same standard of profit — though, judging from your samples, I consider them the cheapest goods. I have given Mr. Dexter's undoubtedly fair and candid statements in the premises — my object in these letter's being, as I once before have stated, to arrive at truth, and not to support a favorite hypothesis, or to maintain, at all hazards, preconceived views. My own estimates and those of Mr. Dexter, of the actual cost of manu- facturing Welsh plains, it will be seen, differ — but not so materially as would as first appear, when the advance of wool, soap, oil, &c., are taken into consideration. I have no doubt that, in making his estimates, he had his eye more on the better and more elaborate machinery of his own mills — the more e*jiensive and perfect performance of the various manufactur- ing processes common in that class of establishments, than on the cheaper machinery and processes necessary in the manufacture of coarse goods. My estimates, or rather statements of cost of maiuifacturing sheep's gray, you will recollect, were given on supposed actual hnoieledge of what a maimfacturcr of these goods Aa^Z made them at. To 'hese Mr. D. seems to take no exceptions. In relation to the snrinkage of wool, Mr. Dexter undoubtedly bases liia SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 93 opinion mainly on his own experience in manufacturing broad and other cloths of fine quality. In these, the shrinkage of the wool from the fleece is concededly at least half. And the firm, well finished and honestly made Oriskany cloths, I have no doubt require the highest rate of shrinkage in the stock. But Mr. D. concedes that a " pound of fleece wool will make a yard of sheep's gray of medium quality." Now the Welsh plain, of the quality of the sample, weighs 13 oz. per yard. As I have already stated, "the ordinary weight of the sheep's gray is from the weight of the Welsh plain to 16 oz. per yard." Thus a yard of "medium" sheep's gray out- weighs a yard of the Welsh plain. If this is so, the former, of course, re- quires the greatest amount of stock, the mere tvidth making no difference whatever. Mr. Dexter was led into this error, evidently, by overesti- mating the iveight of the Welsh plains — and this arose from the smallnesa of the samj)le submitted for his inspection. His statement of the cost of manufacturing broadcloths by the Oriskany Company is entitled, I have no doubt, to the fullest reliance. In conse- quence of his remarks on this topic I have changed a statement in the preceding part of this letter alluded to by him, for fear it might convey an eiToneous idea. Where I spoke of " existing establishments declaring dividends q^ fifteen per cent.," I have changed it, so that it now reads "from ten to ffteen per cent.," these being the dividends, respectively, of the Oriskany and Middlesex* Companies last year, and exhibiting about the range, probably, •f well-managed companies. * Mr. Lawrence's great oetabliahment at Lowell, which wcrks up 1,700,000 'bs. of wool per auQaak 94 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. LETTER VUI. PROSPECTS OF THE WOOL MARKET— FUTURE DEMAND AND SUPPLY. Amount of Wool which may be grown in the Pouthem States.. .If the demand is already supplied, where ifl it to tind a M nket (. . .The cheaper Producer can drive his rival ft-om the market, unless the disparity of Capital is greatly Hgninst him. ..In Individual Capital, the South possesses the advantage over the North. . -The South can produce Wool cheaper than New-York. . .North of latitude 4 1" there will he little diti'erence in the cost of producing Wool. . .(.'ost of producing it in Ne W.England — Pennsylvania— New-Jer- sej' — Ohio. - .The Pi airies — Their vast Extent — Their anticipated Advantages for Sheep Husbandry — Flocks driven on them — Anticipations blasted, so far as keeping Sheep economically on the Natural Griisscs is con- cerned. . .Character of iht? Prairie Grasses — Flourish but during a short season, rendering the time of fodder- ing longer than even in New-England. . .Another Difliculiy — The Wild Grasses which the Sheep feed on rapidly become extirpated — Statements of theEditor of the Prairie Farmer confirmatory of this, and of the ussertion in relation to the length of the time of foddering.. .His proposition to introduce Grasses which will groK in the IViiver — Impracticability — Reasons. . .Burning over the Prairits— Objections. . .Indifterent quality of Praiiie Hay Principal Advantages of the Prairies for Sheep Husbandry narrowed down to two— Cheapness of Land — Privilege of Pasturing the Public Lands... The latter Advantage rapidly lessening.. .Cost of Preparing the Prairies for Sheep Husbandry — Mnterials for Fences, Buildings and Fuel entirely wanting on the interior of them Coal for Fuel plenty, but not economically availahle. . .Fences — those of earth inadequate.. .Hedges — Require /.Jices to protect rcf ?>?>*, (so named by the early French settlers from t-he French word signifying meadow,) which can be purchased of the Government in the natural state for %\ 25 per acre, and which are usually covered with natural grasses — would seem, if these grasses are adapted to the summer and winter subsistence of sheep, and there are no counterbalancing disadvantages, to unite facilities for the cheap production of wool not possessed in any other region of our country. And such supe- riority has actually and often been claimed for them. 96 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. I propose to investigate this question at considerable lengtli, because there are various con&idetatioiis which, at first view, give great plausibility to this claim. And if the prairies can produce wool cheaper than the South, it is in vain for the latter to embark in the business — at least, beyond the ex- tent of supplying the home demand — for so limitless is the extent of these natural pastures throughout the whole northern basin of the Mississippi, that they could, perhaps, supply the entire market demand of the United States for this staple, for an indefinite period, vast as that demand is des- tined to be. But a very few years have elapsed since the most sanguine anticipations were indulged in, by large numbers of our Northern and Eastern flock- masters, in relation to the superior capabilities and advantages of the prai- ries over E astern lands for sheep-walks ; and large flocks were driven hun- dreds of miles, lands purchased, and establishments created, to realize these supposed advantages. It is not too much to say that these anticipa- tions — so far at least, as keeping sheep on the natural herbage of the prai- ries is concerned, were briefly and summarily blasted. Many of the flocks driven there, actually perished in the midst of seeming plenty. On the whole, the experiment is generally conceded to have resulted in failure. Let us see whether this was occasioned by mismanagement — tcraporaiy and removable causes — or whether we must look for those causes in na- tural and unchangeable circumstances. A-jfortion of the wild prairie grasses are relished by sheep, and they thrive on them ; but these grasses, as well as all the other varieties growing there, flourish during but an unusually limited portion of the season. They be- gin to dry up and lose their nutritive qualities in midsummer, and long be- fore the foddering season has commenced on the bleakest highlands of New-England, they are as unfit for the subsistence of sheep, as dry brush! Where the natural grasses are alone depended upon, the foddering season on the prairies, north of latitude 40°, will range from six to seven months — rarely, perhaps, fall short of six, on lands which have been previously depastured, provided the sheep are maintained in good condition. And there is another material difficulty with the prairie grasses which sheep feed on. They soon — many of them even in a single season — ^be- come extirpated if kept fed down while growing. This is so singular a fact in vegetable physiology, that I chose to state it in the woi'ds of an in- telhgent resident of the prairie region — whose local pride and partiali- ties would naturally prompt him to give as favorable a coloring to the agricultural advantages of his chosen home, as a regard for truth would admit of. From a communication of J. Ambrose Wight, Esq., Editor of the Prairie Farmer, to L. A. Morrel* — replete with useful information, and character'ized by an admirable candor — I make the following extracts : •' Sheep or other stock, but more particularly the former, put upon a given piece of wild prairie, and confined to it, unless the range be very large, would not continue to keep fat one season after another, though they woukl at first ; but if allowed a new range each season, they would always keep fat. The reason is this : Sheep in such castas will go over their range and select such food as they prefer, and will keep at it until it is gone. Hence the wild bean and pea vine, and a few other kinds of plants, will obtain their constant at- tentions, and will be kept so short that they will, on a given piece of land, die out the first year. Tlierefore if turned out on the same grounds another season, the best food will be gone, Euid the poorer, with which they must then take up, and which itself gets continually poorer, will not sustain them in their first condition. A small flock of sheep will thus run over a large extent of ground. Hence the utter hoUowness of a supposition which appears to be common at the East, £hat large flocks of sheep can be sustained on the wild grass of the prairies alone. There 9re many places, it is true, where a fanner might keep a large flock on the vtnld prairies 'American Shepherd rP- 138—145. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 97 duriu? the summer moiitlis with profit, provided he had not too nianv neighbors in the same hiisiiipss. Rut sucli Hocks would conTinuMlly lessen tlieir own ranse, at the same time that it is I'jsseiiiii^ by irnniit,'ratiou, settlement and extended culture. I have been in the coun- try about nine years; having ijone, at the first, into an entirely unsettled region, and have piid much attention to the matter; and it is my belief that the wild prairies are desirable for wool-growing to a very litnited degree ; but that the cultivated prairies are desirable for this purpose to an almost limitless extent." The fullowing fully sustains my preceding statements in relation to the time of foddering. In answer to Mr. Morrel's question, " what leno-th of time is foddering necessary in Northern Illinois 1" Mr. Wight says : " The seasons have been extremely vaiiable since my residence here — now nearly nine years. The winter of 18-12 and '43 was the severest one since the settlement of the State • and the foddering season lasted from the middle of October to the middle of Atiril. The winter of 18 13 and '44, and the present one (1844-5) woidd require foddering f()r a less time by full two months. Thin i.t on the supposition, however, that good nrtifirinl pasfura'^e is provide.'l. If the wild prairies are relied on alone for pastm-e and hay, full two months must be added lo the foddeniig season ; and stock would barely get throuirh al that ; and I think that shei']), in mull itiides of instances, would perish. In this latitude with Timothy Red-to[) and Clover pastures, the avei'age time would be from 4^ to .*> months. If a "ood blue-grass pasiure were provided, in such winters as the last and present, it midit be reduced to two months, and I am told that S'ime so provided foi", one hnndred miles south of here have, the present winter, sciircely foddered aiall. I api)rehend. however, that our winters here will always be variable, and that it w^ill be far more difficult to predict their length and intensity than in New-England." In another place Mr. Wight says : " If, however, the question is a.sked, ' Does not the pasture on the prairies fiiil early in au- tunm, so as to compel the removal of sheep to other pasture before it is time to go into winter quarters ?' I answer, yes — long bet()re. In many sections the prairies afford no adequate !)asture for dairy |)nr[)oses after the first of Sejitember The wild gi-asses are extreme- y vigorous while they last, but are all, without an exception, short-lived." The great diminutiim of the foddering season, where the domestic or cultivated grasses are already inade use of, which Mr. W. anticipates rna^i result from the introduction of blue-grass, will be found utterly unattain- able. 131ue-grass (known as June or spear grass), is one of the common- est varieties in New-York and New-England. Peoria, in Illinois, is in about the snme latitude with the City of New-York, and consequently that portion of Illinois north of Peoria, corresponds with a considerable portion of New-York, and all of Connecticut and Rhode Island. And the climate of the former is not less rigorous, and is far more variable, than in the lat- ter named States, as I shall presently show. Now in no ])ortion of New- York or New-England will the blue-grass reduce the foddering season to two months, or anything like it. It is true that small flocks will pick up a subsistence on this and other grasses in the winter, when the ground is not covered with snow, and if the pastures are not fed dowji in the fall. To stij>pose, however, that this or any other herbage will cnnt'invc to groio, when the earth is frozen almost to the consistency of a solid rock, far be- low its lowest roots, is an obvious enor. In New- York, the ground remains so frozen usually during the entire winter, and in Northern Illinois the cold is equally intense, and there is less snow to protect the earth from its ef- fects. The ground, therefore, is frozen quite as solidly, and considerably deeper than in the former. Grass left standing for winter consumption. in either State, becomes, by freezing and thawing, tough and innutritions In New-York, the larger flock-masters have long since ceased to make any provision of this kind, for winter-feeding — ^preferring to keep their sheep in yards, and entirely from grass. As Mr. Wight himself very accurately remarks in another part of his communication, " It is found to be decidedly better to keep sheep up in small flocks, with very little ground to run over, while kept on hay, than OS SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. to let them run out a part of the time and get such grass as they can pick, while there is not enough to sustain them." But the reason for this given by Mr. W., that " they eat much dirt, are liable to be poisoned and lose their appetite for hay," is very far from being the correct one. Green grass always, in a great measure, deprives sheep of their appetite for dry hay. The grass thus left standing loses its nutritive qualities, so that it will but imperfectly sustain animals, and when the snow falls and cover* it, sheep not only cannot obtain it, but they are left without apjietite for other food. Open winters, i. e., winters without snow, are always particu- larly fatal to sheep which are suffered to run on the pastures, in this climate, and for the reasons above assigned. They sometimes appear to be doing well enough up to toward the close of February ; but they are imperceptibly losing condition and strength, and when the trying month of March, with its stormy and fickle weather, sets in, they begin to drop off, and all sorts of diseases — gi'ub in the head, " the distemper," -etc. — are assigned as the causes. It is in vain to attempt to shoiten the foddering season north of latitude 40^, on this side of the Rocky Mountains, by seeking for any plant to con- tinue its growth and thus jiroduce green feed in winter, unless in limited districts, and. on the margins of large bodies of water. No plant can draw its nuti-iment from solidly frozen ground. Mr. Wight proposes burning over portions of the prairies at intervals, to cause the vegetation to start afresh, and thus prolong the grazing sea- son on the prairies. Mr. Flower makes the same suggestion. In some localities, and under favorable circumstances, this might, temporarily, ac- complish the desired object ; but as population increases, and buildings and iiiclosures are erected, it would constantly lead to those unfortunate accidents, which have already, I believe, led at least one of the Western States to prohibit by severe penal enactments, the setting fire to the dead grass of the prairies^ Besides, we have Mr. Wight's own authority for stating that sheep actually extirpate those of the prairie grasses which they will feed on, so that burning over could not cause these to re-sprout the same season or afterward. It requires but little knowledge of the habits of the sheep to know that grasses rejected by it in summer, will not constitute a proper aliment for it in winter, and that if confined to such food, it will not prosper. A few sheep with liberty to fich and tcaste, will live on very inferior herbage in either summer or winter, (and hence the sanguine and erroneous state- ments put foi'th by owners of small flocks on the prairies,) but confine flocks to the same food — flocks which are too numerous to be allowed the privilege of selection and rejection in their food, and the disastrous conse- quences will not be long in exhibiting themselves. In reviewing the preceding facts, the principal advantages of the prai- ries for the production of wool seem to be narrowed down to two points : the cheapness and fertility of the lands, with a contingent right inuring to the settler to use, without paying for it, all the unappropriated public do- main ! If we admit that the soil of the prairies is as well adapted to the artificial grasses as that of New-^ork or New-England, (a point which, to say the least of it, is doubtful, for experience has shown it to be other- wise in Michigan and some other portions of the West,) the only peculiar and exclusive advantages which the prairies have over the lands of the old Middle and Eastern States, is their cheapness and freedom from rent where unsettled. Emigration is rapidly abridging the latter privilege, howevei" — more rapidly than can well be appreciated without a reference to the statistics of the several new North-western States, And it will be SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 99 remeni]ieied that when a prairie is belted round by population, and de pastured by numerous flocks and herds, its better grasses — at least foi sheep — would be soon exterminated, and, consequently, though there might be ten or fifty thousand acres of common and free pasturage, it would be of trifling avail to the flock-master. But taking this privilege for what it is worth, and taking iito account the difference in the price of lands — calling one $1 25, and the other $2C per acre — and then, in my judgment, the Eastern will j^rove cheaper, all things considered, than the prairie lands, for Sheep Husbandry. I speak, of course, of the prairies as wholes — not of that narrow margin of each, whicli is attached to the farms lying partly on the outer and wooded lands. The prairies must first be plowed, undoubtedly,* to seed them down ef- fectually with the cultivated grasses. It requires from four to six yoke of oxen, says Mr. Solon Robinson, to break up from one to one and a half acres per diem. Suppose we concede this expense to be paid for by the first grain crop used as a covering for the grass ; then the prairies are to be fenced — adequate buildings and other fixtures provided, for the use of a family, the storage of hay, the shelter of animals, &c. Where are the materials for these things and for fuel to be found, on a plain wholly desti- tute of trees, unless on the occasional " islands" — and where stones are entirely wanting, excepting sparsely scattered bowlders, and, very larely, rocky ridges or cliffs '? Conceding that all the wood on tlie margins of the prairies will not be wanted for the local supply — which, as a general thing, it undoubtedly will — what would be the cost offences, buildings and fuel, where every stick was transported from three to fifteen milest by land carriage 1 Fuel, it has been said, can be obtained from the local deposi- tions of coal. It is true that Illinois and south-western Indiana, at least, constitute one vast coal l)asin. But any one possessing the slightest prac- tical acquaintance with the subject, knows that it requires associated, ag- gregate and corporate wealth, to carry on mining operations to an extent sufiicient to steadily and efficiently supply a considerable market. Even in a level country where coal is covered with a deep superficial deposi- tion of earth, individuals may, where the stratum is cut through or uncov- ered in ravines or the beds of streams, quany their own coal ; but such opportunities are rare. The idea that individuals would find it within the compass of their means to sink vertical shafts and raise coal — each one for himself — on the bosoms of the prairies, is utterly preposterous. Coal has never yet borne a price in our cities, which would justify even Compa- nies in lifting it by vertical shafts. Let the coal, however, be as cheap as it may be, at the points of excavation, the mere cartage of it, for the wants of a five-months winter — where the thermometer frequently indi- cates a degree of cold from 5° to 30° below 0° — will be an onerous tax on agricultural industry. And canals can never furrow the bosoms of most of those vast dry plains ; and ages must elapse before railroads will so interlace them, as to bring coal cheaply within the reach of populati'^r. scattered over their entire surfaces. If we suppose that adequate buildings can be constructed, with suffi- cient economy, with transported timber, the question still remains, What resource is there for fences 1 Fences of earth have been proposed, but these will not stand long enough to pay for building, unless their sides are con- structed at such an angle as would be wholly inadequate to " turn " sheep Hedges, besides the other considerable expense of cultivating them, would " I liave peen it stated that the seeds of the cultivated grasses would "catch " sown on the surface of the priiiiie sod I That they would do this effectually and generally, is an assertion which no practical farmed will credit. t I'lairies are from one to thirty mOes in diameter. 100 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. require fences to protect /ItC77i from animals, until they attained a consider- ble size; and it is exceedingly questionable whether any good hedge- plant can be found, which is capable of resisting the rigorotis and fickle climate of the North- western States. The different thorns, and other plants used in England, have generally failed in all the Northern States. Timber maj/ be grow/?., both for fuel, houses and fences, by the proper planting, cultivation and protection of suitable trees — but the expense and delay attending this course would raise the prairies to, or above the price of New- York and New-England sheep lands. It has been claimed that the shepherd system will render fences unne- cessary, to any but a very limited extent, on the prairies. Now, while there is but here and there a settler on the margins of some of these great plains, and while a flock of sheep can constantly seek new pasturage, as the old fails, over a boundless range, without encountering another man's flock, sheep require so little looking after that the shepherd system is entirely feasible and economical, notwithstanding the high price of labor. Under such circumstances, one man, provided with a horse and a brace of dogs, can perhaps give the necessary attention to 1,000 sheep, and have some time for other occupations. Bat this state of things, terminated already on most of the prairies this side of the Mississippi, will soon be unkiiown even on those in the territones bordering on the Missouri and its west- ern tributaries. When wool-growers become to any degree numerous on the borders of the prairies, (as they certainly soon will, if these regions do possess any peculiar advantages for this branch of husbandry,) how are sheep to be kept separate, without that multitude of shepherds which the same services requii'e in Spain, Germany, or Australia 1 — and whose labor and subsistence* would cost more, during a series of years, than the fences in regions where wood and stone are plenty. If the sheep are not kept separate — if allowed to rrm promiscuously to- gether, how could the property of each holder be separated out of the vast general flock on a prairie five, ten or fifteen miles in mean diameter, for the purposes of slaughter, sale, washing, shearing, folding, or any other inci- dent of their husbandry 1 What protection would there be against whole- sale theft, when no man could count his scattered flock 1 What would prevent promiscuous interbreeding — and what object would it be, there- fore, to attempt to procure choice breeds, or improve those already pos- sessed] What security would there be against those vagabond rams which the carelessness of some individual is always sure to let loose on a neighborhood, to beget lambs on every poorly-fenced farm, to perish in the storms of February and March If Finally, how could contagious and — unless promptly checked — highly malignant and fatal diseases, like the scab and hoof-ail, be met with the proper vigor, and treated with the necessary skill and care, among a multitude of holders scattered over miles of surface ; and supposing all the necessary vigor, skill and care brought into action, what would they all avail where it was impossible to sepa rate the healthy from the diseased — the cured from the sick 1 1 Let either of these diseases break out among a flock of ten thousand sheep, ruiming together without inclosures, and any one familiar with their diagnosis and treatment, knows that if it were possible to drive them from the flock — which is extremely doubtful — it would cost far more than the value of the * Cnstins four or perhaps six times more in this than in the former countries. t It i^ questionable whether in a flock running in common on a prairie, one ewe in ten would escape untiini-lv imprcsnation. X B'lih of these diseases are susceptible of beinjr communicated from a diseased sheep to one bul recently cured of them ; consequently, separation is thf ^nly safe and economical method, in large fiocks. to pruvcut constant reinoculation. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 101 sheep. True, these diseases have not yet visited, so far I am aware, thd Western States. The scab is, in fact, but little known at present in any part of the United States. It may at any time, however, reappear.* The hoof-ail, after the fury of its first onset is over, assumes a milder form — one which does not lead to death, if remedies are applied but once or twice during a season — and for this reason, probably, it is allowed to linger in many flocks in the sheep-growing regions of the U. S. It is a strictly contagious disease, and one animal having it would rapidly innnc- late, in the hot weather of summer, by itself and others receiving the dis- ease from it, one or five hundx'ed thousand sheep having access to each other. A few years since it was a stranger to tJiis region. Like the small- pox when unchecked by vaccination, or any other contagious malady, it gradually progresses from neighborhood to neighborhood — from State to State. Good fences, confinement to the farm, and a rigorous system of exclusion of all strange sheep, may and do save many flocks from its vis itation, but accidents and acts of carelessness are constantly occurring— and so long as they continue to occur, this malady will continue its on ward march. I con.sider it just as certain that it will visit and sweep over the North-western States, as I do that flocks are scattered along between those States and the jncj-cnt seat of the ditease. And when it does visit them, if it finds any great flocks congregated on the prairies, not in a situ- ation to be immediately divided into small flocks, I venture to predict that, with all the care and attention which the sheep u-ill receive, the miserable animals, eaten while yet alive by maggots — and festering in loathsom** rottenness, will perish in multitudes — by whole flocks.t Another objection to pasturing in common, would arise in the diflficulty, if not impracticability, of establishing and c?) forcing an equitable system of joint occupancy, over or around a large prairie, so as to compel each farmer to regulate the number of his flocks and herds by the aniount of cul- tivated pasture possessed by him. But if we concede all the preceding diflficulties to be removable, or even removed ; if we suppose the great north-westera plains to be amply sup- plied with materials for building, fences, and fuel — there are two other dif- ficulties in the way of their becoming the best class of sheep-walks, which, from their nature are fixed, and, in the main, unchangeable. 1 allude to the scarciti/ ofu-ater, and the climate. On the " dry and rolling prairies " — those claimed to possess the greatest advantages for Sheep Husbandry — running water is scarce, frequently ex- tremely so. The occasional streams are shallow and sluggish. Washing wool on the back of the sheep, conduces, I think, to the health of the ani- mal. It causes the sheep to shear much more easily — biings the wool into a better marketable condition, and diminishes transportation. Streams of considerable depth and rapidity (where, what is better, falling sheets of wa- ter over mill dams, &c., cannot be found), are almost indispensable to an effectual perfitrmance of this process. Sheep, also, in many periods of weather, require water for drink. When they are confined to dry feed, it is indispensable, in the absence of that snow which is often, in the Eastern States, made a substitute for water. Neither are attainable during consid- erable periods each winter, on the prairies, without resort to a pump — a sorry — and, (including the time of working it, when large flocks are to be watered), an expensive and troublesome substitute for running water. Finally, the climate of the Western and North-western States is more * Since wiitintr the above, I have found, to my utter surprise, that this disease is within three miles of my own farm, in a flock driven into the country last fall. t A history of this disease and irs gloomy diagnosia, when neglected, will be given in a subsequect L,euer. 102 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. variable — exhibits more sudden and greater extremes, than the climates of New- York and New-England. The weak and easily prostrated musculai and vascular system of the sheep, will better endure great extremes of con- tinuous heat or cold, than rapid and marked variations in temperatui'e. Subjected to the latter, catarrh not violent enough to kill in its inflammato- ry stage, but assuming a chronic form — aid followed by a slow and wast- ing debility, frequently attacks flocks. Sometimes it assumes an epizoo- tic and malignant character — as during the past winter — and sweeps away thousands of sheep. The isothermal line (or line of equal mean heat), does not vary particu- larly between the same latitudes in New- York or Wisconsin — or between Virginia and Missouri. But as we leave the ocean and other large bodies of water, the isotheral and isocheimal lines are found to diverge more and more from the isothei-mal one — and the range of the thermometer (the extremes of heat and cold indicated by it), rapidly increases. The foUow- ino- Table of temperatures, kept by officei"s in the Army, for a series of nine years, is from Doct. Forry's excellent work on the " Climate of the [Jnited States, (fee."* It strikingly illustrates the fact asserted. The four points specified are in about the same latitude. Fort Wolcott. Newport, Rhode Island Highest. Lowest. Aiinuat Itaiufi: 85 87 96 104 -1-2 -f9 —10 —16 83 78 106 120 Council Bluffs, near the confluence of } the Platte and Missouri \ Doct. Forry states that the mean annual range of the thermometer at the following places, is as follows : at Fort Sullivan (Eastpoit, Me.) it is 104'^, while at Forts Snelling (confluence of the St. Peter's and Mississippi in Iowa) and Howard, (Green Bay, Wisconsin,) in about the same latitude, it is respectively 119^, and 123^. At Fort Preble (Portland, Me.) Fort Niagara (near the mouth of the Niagara River, N. Y.), Fort Constitution (Portsmouth, N. H.) it is 99^, 92^, and 97^ ; at Fort Crawford, (confluence of the Wisconsin and Missis- sippi Rivers in Wisconsin,) on the same parallel, it is 120^. The above instances are not isolated ones. The same law is found — other things being equal — to generally prevail throughout our own, and [)erhaps all other countries t While the cold of the Northei-n, and pai-ticularly the North-western States, so greatly exceeds that of the Southern States, few would be pre- pared for the proposition that the extremes of heat in the former, often reach points unknown many degrees farther South ! Yet such is the fact ! Fort Snelling, in latitude 44"^ 53', and occupying a central position in that vast territory lying between the Great Lakes and the Missouri, and between the 41st and 49th parallels of latitude— and which may therefore be pre- sumed, to a certain extent, to afford a type of the climate of that wholere- glon — -feels a maximum summer heat of 93^ — the same with that of Wash- ington City, in latitude 3S^ 53', and Old Point Comfort, Va., in latitude 37^ 2'. At Fort Johnston, on the Coast of North Carolina, in latitude 34°, the maximum heat is but 90^ ; at Fort Moultrie, in Chai-leston Harbor, n latitude 32^ 42', it is also 90° ; at Fort Marion. St. Augustine, Florida, * See the above named work. p. 43. I am also indeotecl to Doct. Forry for all the records of thermometri- 3al o'lservations. at the U. S. military posts, which are .subsequently quoted. ' Local exceptions exist, owini; to the prevailins; winds and other causes. For example, Fort Howard l» much nearer a large body of watei than Fort Snelling. Altitude also exei-ts its influence. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 103 in latitude 29^ 50', it is 92^ ; at Fort Brooke, Tampa Bay, Florida, in latitude 27° 57', it .is 92° ; and at Key West, the most southern ^possession of the United, States, it is 89° ! It will thus be seen that the summer heat rises higher at Fort Snellino- than at points on the sea-board more than 20° farther South ! Now let us compare their winter tem2)erature. The minimum tempera- ture of Fort Snelling is — 2G°.* That at Washington is + 9°; Old Point Comfort + 20° ; Fort Johnston + 28° ; Fort Moultrie + 21° ; St. Augus- ine + 39°; Tampa Bay + 35°; Key West + 52° ! So the gieatest cold of Foi't Snelling is 35° below that of Washington — the most northern and by far the coldest of these posts — and it is actually 78° belowthat of a post, (Key West), which its summer heat exceeds hy four degrees! At Fort Howard, latitude 44° 40', the seasons are even more violently contrasted. Its maximum heat is 98°, its minimum — 25. At Rock Island, 111., latitude 41° 28' we have already seen that the maximum is 96°, the minimum — 10°; and at Council Bluff's, latitude 41° 45', the maximum 104°, the minimum — 16° ! At Petite Quoquille, near New-Orleans, the maximum is but 94°, the minimum -f- 30° ! And an examination of the monthly variations in temperature, at our North-western posts, will show that these are as excessive, in proportion, as those of the year — and their suddenness can scarcely be credited by an inhabitant of southern regions — more particularly those bordering on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.t It cannot be said that Fort Snelling, or Rock Island, or Council Bluffs, have the summers of Italy or the South of France — for the weather is much hotter at intei-vals, and is subject to far more frequent, abrupt and violent chnnges than in the latter: nor have these posts winters as mild as those of Europe, many degrees farther north .| And their winter exhibits the same sudden and violent changes which characterize the summer climate. These focts, in my judgment, fully explain the remarkable mortality in the flocks which have been carried on the prairies, and which is usually attributed to over-driving, poisoning, &:c. The climate itself, though not always a rapid, will prove one of the surest of^w/,v«?;.?, unless great care — much greater than is requisite even on the bleak and sterile hills of New- England — is taken to protect them from its deleterious influences. Facts sufliicient have been adduced, probably, to convince eveiy South ern man how much he has to fear, ultimately, from prairie competition, in the production of wool. Having thus attempted to measure the capabili- ties of the various regions of our own country for the cheap production of this staple, it may be well to turn our eyes to the comparative advan tages of other countries and nations — and to ask the :juestion whether there is any danger to the domestic pioducer from foreign competition. This can be done but briefly and rapidly in the limits which I have assigned to myself. It will not be necessary for the jnirposes of the present inquiry, to ex- amine the climate, flora, &:c., of all portions of the world. The wool- producing countries — those which have natural advantages to enable them to pioduce wool cheaply enough, and in sufficient quantities, to stand any chance in the general competition, are mainly embraced in a belt or region [* It will he unriorstood that the sign — before the numher of dpciees, indicates that it is that miniber of deaieos fic/ow 7,ern, and the fijn -|- used here, in the preceding Table, and in the subt-equcnt paratrraph. tc avoid confiif ion, sitmities ahove Zero. PiMishir.] t In the Report of the Fishing Creek Agricultural Society, of your Plate, 1843. the Committee actually coinplfiin (if the variableness of the climate ! Truly, 'we can only^judce by comparison !' X The mean winter teinpernture of North Cape in Norway, latitude 71°, is 23° 72— that of Fort Snellina 150 95- thai of Council BKiU's, 24° 47-that of Rock Island, 26o 86. 104 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH aljout 15^ in width, on each side of and at vai-ying distances from the Equator. The variation corresponds with the variation of tempei-ature ; in other words, the wool zone is bounded by isothermal instead of lat- itudinal hnes. Commencing on the eastern side of each continent, in the northern hemisphere, between about 30° and 45°, it bears northwardly, and sti'ikes their eastern shores, say between 40° and 55°. In the souths ern hemisphere, I am not aware that the isothermal deviations, in the corresponding parallels, have been noted — nor are they important, so small, comparatively, is the latitudinal area of the surfaces included be- tween them. Independent of minor deviations everywhere exhibiting themselves in the isothermal lines, more important local exceptions exist in many places, owing to elevation, proximity of bodies of water, prevailing winds, &c. Thus, south of latitude 30° in North America, the elevations of the Cordilleras give the mild weather of the tempei'ate, and even the rigors of the frozen zone; and the same is true of the Andes of South America — in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and New-Grenada — in the same latitudes, where, at the eastei'n foot of these declivities, the tropical sun burns up, as with fii"e, the verdure of the vast Ilauos of Brazil and Venezuela, and exhales death from the pestilent fens of Guiana, and the reptile-teeming marshes of the Amazon. Tiie same exceptions exist on the Eastern Continent, wherever mountain chains rise to sufficient elvations to bring to bear this well known and uni- form law for the depression of temperature, albeit in tropical or sub- tropical regions. The steady and mild climate of the Atlantic Ocean, and its continjial and peculiar motion on the west of Europe, preventing the ice, which the north wind wafts down from the Arctic seas, from lodffinff itself, or even approaching* those shores, strongly influences the climates of the British Islands and Norway, rendering them more temperate than others many degrees farther south in the interior of Europe and Asia. Eastern Prussia, and Polish Russia, are rendered disproportionably cold by the prevailing wind, which sweeps without resistance from the bosom of the Arctic Ocean to the Carpathian Mountains : and the north-east wind, laden with the frosts of Siberia, and untempered by the southern winds, from which it is cut off by the lofty Altay Mountains, carries a cold under which men, nay whole caravans,! perish in Persia, in the same latitude with Northern Africa, and the confines of the burning Sahara.| The Cas- pian and Black Seas — Mounts Caucasus and Taurus pi-event Asiatic Turkey, and Mount Hremus, European Turkey — from experiencing similar cold. The same wind entering Europe, reduces the temperature of its eastern considerably below that of its western confines ; and its effects are felt more or less westwardly, in proportion as its course is arrested by mountains. The climate of Silesia and Saxony is far colder and more mutable than than that of Bohemia, from which they are only separated by the Erzge- birge and Riesengebirge. In Northern European Russia, in Finland and the basin of the Dwina — in the same latitudes where Norway exhibits the " Make Brun's Geography — Art. Climate of Europe. t Sir Rnbei-t Kerr Porter. I From the delightful Arabian Nights — from the not less delightfiil strains of Lalla Rookh — from a thou- sand otUer sources, remembered and unremembered — song, fiction and Oriental tale — Persia always rises before fancy's eye a realrti and clime of beauty : " deep myrrh-thickets blowing round The ftately cedar, tamarisks. Thick roseries of scented thorn, Tall orient shrubs, and obelisks Graven with emblems of the time, In honor (if the golden prime. Of good Haroun Alraechid." There are portions of Persia where the soil is rich and the climate delightful— but, as a whole, it is a bleak, sterile, untiuiiful country— large portions of it covered with rugged inountains or saline deserts — with c I'liinate remarkable for the rapidity and extent af its variations. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOLIH. 105 flora of Northern Germany — spirits freeze and quicksilver becomes malle- able. But it is unnecessary to continue this eniimeration. Let us now take a rapid view of the wool-growing countries embraced in the specified zones. And we will first complete the desiripiion of our own continent. Mexico — that p . rtion of it north of latitude 30° — bears too close a re- pemblnnce to our Western Territories conterminous 'Ailh it, to require fi.eparale notice. But a small proportion of the great peninsula of South America is in- cluded between the 30th and 45th parallels of latitude, and admitting, what seems probable, that the contiguity of two great oceans would so af- fect the climate as to carry the northern line of the wool zone a little nearer to the Equator, this zone would still embrace but, sav, two-thirds of Buenos Ayres, nearly all of Chili, the little State of Uraguay, a mere point of Brazil, and the north of Patagonia. The growing of wool has already been commenced on the yn?cros often sweep the country with destructive fury, and there are in- stances in which flocks of sheep have been forced by them into streams and have perished. The inhabitants of the pampas are, on the north, the Gauchos — descend- ants of Spaniards — who, living in the saddle, and content to subsist on jerked beef and cold water — having few wants, and none which the lasso will not supply — lead a life of wild and roving liberty. Tribes of mount- ed Indians, wild, predatory, and constantly at war with the Gauchos, oc- cupy the southern pampas. The facilities for producing wool here closely resemble those of the North American prairies, though wood is wanting over much more exten- sive tracts. The price of land on the pampas is less, but they are more remote from markets, as there is little or no manufacturing done in South America. Besides the cost of transportation, wool must pay, before reach- ing market, the duties levied by some foreign nation. The duty in the United States, by the Tariff of 1846, is 30 per centum ad. valorem, with- out regard to quality, thus discontinuing that great discrimination in favor of the coarse article, which allowed a large proportion of the wools of * This woirl, lilte llanosm the Northern States of South America. BnrI prairies in the Noi-iti-Wpstem United Sliiie?, is applied to extensive plains. Those in the North of Chili are called ^am^as del sacramenic t Mc'"iilloch's CnnimerciHl Dictionary. An arroba is lOU lbs. avoirdupois. i liuenos A.vres is eo known in all the official documents of the United States. II Report of the Register of the Treasury, Dec.. 1846. 106 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Buenos Ayres, Africa, Turkey, &c., to enter our ports under a merely nominal duty. The present Tariff* raised the duty on these wools to six times the former rate, i. e., on wools costing 7 cents, from 3^ mills to 2 cents and 1 mill per pound. This will make an important difference to the for- eign grower and exporter. If these wools continue, as hitherto, to be im- ported in the grease and dirt, from which state they lose about half weight in being brought as clean as well washed United States wool, every pound ol them so imported will actually pay a double duty, or 4 cents and 2 mills, half of this being paid for dirt. If, on the other hand, they are washed j)rior to (exportation, a reduction of 50 per cent, in their weight will call for a corresponding advance in their price. Wool now costing 7 cents at Buenos Ayres or Smyrna, will cost 14 cents; and if this is exported into the United States, it must pay a duty of 30 per cent., or 4 cents and 2 mills per pound. It will be seen, therefore, that the lowest priced foreign wools cannot enter our country without paying about this duty (4 cents) per pound, unless under fraudulent invoices ; and this, as has been already shown, is half the cost of producing wool throughout a region of the United States much greater in extent than all that portion of South America in- cluded within the wool-growing zone. The English duty on wools costing less than 24 cents is 1 cent per pound ; over 24 cents, 2 cents per pound. The French duty is 22 per cent, ad valorem, without regard to cost. The security of life and property is far less in Buenos Ayres than in the United States ; the character of the agricultural population less industri- ous, less skillful, and less methodical. Capitalists from other coimtries may, on account of the cheapness of the lands, make it profitable to pur- chase lai-ge cstancias, and raise vast flocks of sheep ; and this has already been done by a few Europeans. But tlie pampas are subject to the same general objections* with the North American prairies, and when the con- tagious diseases, adverted to in speaking of the latter, once obtain a foot- ing on them, it is not difficult to predict how those diseases will be en- countered by the wild and, so far as agricultural labor is concerned, indo- lent Gaucho. The difficulty of encountering them, with the best skill and industry, under such circumstances — of preventing their unlimited spread, constant return and fiightful mortality, on plains without inclosures, where flocks have access to each other, or straggling sheep from one flock are liable, by every-day casualties, to be thrown among those of another flock — has been stated. It is not improbable that while land remains so low, and the sheep healthy, the actual cost of production in Buenos Ayres will be somewhat less than in the United States ; but taking all things into consideration, and looking to the future, I would sooner advise any one, even in an exclu- sively economical point of view, to purchase the cheap lands of our own Southern States for the objects of Sheep Husbandry, than any part of South America. With the pi-esent duty and the cost of transportation against the latter, there is no fear that it can undersell, in ovr markets, the produce of the former. The 7-cent South American wools, washed, will cost 14 cents, and washing will add about 1 cent a pound to thecost.t Add another cent for agent's commission, and also the U. S. duty, and the wool is brought to 20 cents a pound, independent of freight and insurance, which will carry it, I should think, to about two shillings. The United States producer can furnish wool of much better quality than the coarse South American article, at this price, and realize a high profit. * Unless it be climatic ones. On this point I have no information. I This will be attended with much trouble on large portions of the pampas, as on our prairies. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. ] 07 But is it s;iid that the 7-cent Soutli American wool sold in our markets in 1845 and 1846, was not all coaise — that much of it was actuallY of a superior quality 1 This is true. Many of the hales were partly made up of an article ranging with American Merino and Saxony wools. But there is little doubt that, to say the least of it, in very many such cases, if the in- voice of the wool was not fraudulent, nominally, it was rendered so, in reality, by a jirevious fraud. The inorhts oj^crandi is said to have been as follows : A sends his agent B to Buenos Ayres with instructions to pur- chase the best lots of wool and pay their market price ; and he farther gives him secret instructions to re-sell these avooIs to C (a second agent) for 7 cents per pound, ostensibly in the ordinary course of business. The second agent C is subsequently sent out to buy, with no information of the mission of his predecessor ; if he suspect the fraud, he has no direct Imotol- edge of it, and having purchased wool for? cents which cost B 15 cents, he can invoice it at the former rate and support the invoice by his oath. I have no direct proof of an instance of this species of fraud. The commonness of such transactions, however, was claimed to be a matter of perfect notoriety, by individuals who had investigated the subject. Allegations of this kind have appeared again and again in the most public manner, and I have yet to listen to the first denial of them, public or private. Fraudulent invoices are no new thing in, our commercial his- tory,* and the great discrimination made by the Tariff' of 1842, in the du- ties on wool, offered the strongest temptations to them. The same kind of fiaud may be still practiced, but the inducement to risk seizure lor un- dervaluation is less where the diminution of duty is merely ^//o rata with the diminution of cost, and where getting the latter invoiced at as low a rate as 7 cents, is not followed, as before, by escape from a specific duty and a sudden descent o^ fivc-siocths in the ad valorem one. I am free to confess, however, that it has always seemed to me that a determination to vigorously and faithfully discharge their duty in the premises, with a competent practical Inowledqe of the quality of the arti- cle, in the proper Custom-House officials, Avould always, in an unmanu- factured staple, and one so readily classified and valued as wool, be a suf- ficient safeguard against fraudulent undervaluation, to any extent, in the invoice. They might perhaps be undervalued one or two cents on the pound, without making a case strong and obvious enough to justify ap- praisers in legalizing a seizure ; but it is not for gains like these that per- juries would be ventured upon, or double agents and other expensive ar- rangements for the perpetration of more roundabout frauds, be found profitable. Not having room, within the limits of this letter, to discuss the capa- bilities of the Old World to compete with us in wool growing, I will reserve that subject for my next. * If nny one drpnms they are. let him read a speech on the Tariff made by Mr. Buchanan in the U. S Senate in 1842 — another byMr. Webster on ad valorem duties, made in the same body July i.5, 1846, &c. lOS SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. LETTER IX. PROSPECTS OP THE WOOL MARKET— FUTURE DEMAND AND SUPPLY. The Impoits and Exports of Trans-Atlautic Nations... Means of ascertaining their Comparative Produc- tion. ..Tablt! of the Imports of England. ..Amount of Wool grown in the United Kingdom, Consumption E.xport, Facilities, including Soils and Climate, for its Cheap Production, and Prospect of its Increase or Dim- inution— Same of France— Same of Spain- Same of Italy — Same of Turkey in Europe— Same of Germany; including Prussia and Ausiria, with the exception of Hungary — Same of Hungary — Same of Russia — Same of Asia Alinor .Same of Persia — Same of Independent 'J'artary— Same of Afghanistan and Beloochistan — Same of Tliiliet, Litile Bucharia, and the remainder of China — Same of the Cape of Good Hope — Same of Ausnalia and Van Dienien's Land. . .ConclusiDns in regard to Comparative Facihlies, etc.. of above Na- tions and the United States.. .The Northern States can compete with the most favored of ihem— and of coarse the South can. to much gi-eater advantage.. .The South might safely embark in Wool-Growing, re- lying on tht- European Market alone . . . Rapid Extension of that Market Past and Future . . . But the Ameri- can WoolGrov^er i^ not compelleii to seek a Foreign Market. . .Our Production does not meet the Demand of our own Mauuf;iclories.. .Table of the Imports of Wool into the United States.. .Table showing whence we Import Wool. ..Letter fiom Samuel Lawrence, Esq., showing the incrtasing call fir Man ufactories Tlie .Stability of existing ones — and their ability to compete with those of Foreign Countries.. Extent of our (Jon-uinpiion of Woolens above the Supply made by our Manufactories. . .Table of Imports of Woo'ens. ..Probable Increase of our Manufactories.. .Reflections on the Taritl. ..Rapidly Increasing Consumption of our Population — Amount Consumed per head- . .Table of Increase of our Population... Future increase. . .The Amount of Wool Necessary at various Future Periods. Dear Sir : Probably there are few men who now dream of any danger to the woi>l-giower of the United States, in the Ztawc market, fvonitra??s-At- lantic competition. But there is another point of view, in which a ghmce at the facilities of the eastern nations, for the production of this staple, may not be uninteresting. Mail we not. undersell them with the raw material, in their own viarh its ! He who carefully and intelligently examines all the facts involved in the solution of this question, will find, in S})ite of the vague popular impressions which prevail on the subject, that so far at least as those nations are concerned, which now produce the greatest amount of the wool which supplies the markets of the Old World, the United States can, if satisfied with equal profits, easily undersell them. As an importer of the raw and exporter of the raanuf^ictured article, England occupies the first place. In these particulars, she probably ex- ceeds, by fully one-half, all the other nations of the Old World. France ranks next, and largely takes precedence of the remaining nations. Hol- land, thougli shorn, by disastrous political revolutions, of much of her an- cient importance in this class of manufactures, still maintains a trade of some magnitude. Several of the Gerinan and Prussian States export par- ticular descriptions of woolens; Italy sends out some light cloths ; and Turkey the carpets of that name. A full exhibit of the exports of all the wool-producing nations, would not, of course, lead us to an accurate knowl- edge of the amount of their production — for there is no one which does not manufacture the raw material to some extent. But with what knowl- edge we can obtain of their manufactures, the former inff)rmation would enable us to asceitain, approximately at least, the amount of their produc- tirn. This is all that is necessary for our present purpose, for we do not now, in reality, so much seek their actual di?, \\\e\v comparative production. England, as I have before remarked, is the great importer and exporter. Her duties on imported wool ai-e, as has been seen,* exceedingly low, and she makes no discrimination in tnis particular, in relation to bottoms, or the places of export.t The vastness and variety of her demand give a * See Letter VIII. t With the exception, of course, of her own Colonies, from which it is exported free. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 109 greater cevtaiuty to the exporter of prompt and favorable sales, in hei markets, than in those of any other nation. France possesses the advan- tage of maritime contiguity, for securing the raw product of the nations bordering on the Mediterranean ; and therefore, in some instances, as in the case of Turkey, she receives more of that product, in proportion to her manufacturing consumption, than England. But in one respect the latter has the advantage in securing the trade of the Levant. Between the na- tural products, and, of consequence, the exports of France and those of the other nations bordering on the Mediterranean, there exists a great simi- larity. She cannot send her wines to Hungary, nor these nor her silks to Italy, in exchange for wool. Her fruits, and indeed all of her natural pro- ducts are the same with those of the whole south of Europe. England, the producer, and the great mart of the products of Northern Europe, can offer these in the Mediterranean on better terms than France ; and in the manufacture of cotton goods, the main article of dress, and consequently one of the great ones of import throughout the whole Levant, the former possesses a decided superiority. All these natural and artificial circumstances have their weight, sometimes in favor of one, and sometimes the other of these nations, in determining the course of trade — and habit, ancient com- mercial associations, and even national predilections also throw their weiorht into the scale. Iti looking at the subject as a whole, however, all these facts, unless in a very few instances, so far offset each other, that in obtain- ing a view of the wool trade of England — her imports — we obtain a suffi- ciently accurate picture or index of the inoiwrtionahle exports of all the nations of the Old World. Before proceeding to ascertain the actual facilities of the several coun- tries named in the Table, for the purposes of wool-growing, it may be well to briefly glance at that of England herself. Mr. Luccock* estimated the produce of wool in England and Wales, in 1800, to be 393,230 packs,t or 94,376,040 lbs.; and in 1828, Mr. Hubbard | placed it at 463,109 packs, or 111,100,560 lbs. According to a Table formed by order of a Committee of the House of Lords, the same year, the quantity produced on an average of years, in England, is 111,160,560 lbs. According to Mr. Luccock's estimate, (in 1800.) the number of sheep in England and Wales was 26,148,463. It is not thought to have varied much since. The Encyclopaedia Americana, || (published 1835,) on the authority of the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, sets down the then present number of sheep in the United Kingdom as follows: in Scotland 3,500,000 ; in Ireland probably under 2,000,000 ; in England and AVales the same number as in the time of Mr. Luccock; — so that the aggregate number would be about 32,000,000. It will thus be seen that England and Wales, with an area much less than that of Virtiinia,§ have almost 7,000,000 more sheep than the whole number in the United States in 1839 ! Large as is the amount of wool produced in the United Kingdom, it does not meet, in the number of pounds, the amount required for woolena consumed in the United Kingdom alone.^ It is true that England has exported some combing wool, of her own growth, to meet the wants of a certain class of manufactories (of worsted) in France, which could not ob- tain stock of equal quality in any other quarter; and she has also exported considerable quantities of her own coarse short wools. Of the latter, I am ashamed to say, the United States have been considerable purchasers. The whole export of England, in 1824, amounted to but little over 18,000 * See Luccock on Wool, p. 3U and Table. t A pnck of wool is ?40 lbs. t Quoted by Mr. Bi-schoft' — See vol. ii., Appendix. |{ Encyclopsedia Americana— art. Sheep Raising fc The area of Virginia is 70.000 square miles, that of Er gland and Wa. js 60,000. if See Bvschoff, vol. ii., p. 171. 110 SHEEP IrUSnA^DRY[N THE SOUTH. lbs. From that time it has gradually increased, and in 1838 it reached 5,851,340 lbs. ; in 1839, 4,603,799 lbs. ; in 1840, 4,810,387 lbs.* Under the last year of" the late Tariff, we received from England, of wools not costing to exceed 7 cents per pound, 1,188,800 lbs., and of those exceeding 7 cents, 28,406 lbs. ; and from Scotland, of the cheaper class, 21,132 lbs. t This, however, only shows a surplus in kind, not in quantity. The Eng- lish short wools have, as has been abundantly shown by the testimony of her most eminent manufacturers, | a harshness and want of felting jnof' erties which i-ender them unfit, unmixed with a better stamp of foreign wools, for any but the very lowest description of cloths and stuffs, such as blankets, baizes, army cloths, flushings or bearskins, &c. Nor will they make prime articles, even of these low descriptions. England, therefore, after consuming such portions of these wools as she can, in the manufac- ture of the above-named and similar articles, and by mixing them, in the nature of an alloy, with better foreign wools in a low class of fabrics, such as flannels, livery and sergeant's cloth, etc., exports the balance to such nations as duve foolish enough to purchase it.|| The following Table, compiled from official sources, from Bischoff's " Comprehensive History of the Woolen and Worsted Manufactures, &€.,"§ gives the imports of England every fifth year from 1810 to 1840, TABLE No. 8. Countries fm.whiik Imp'ted 1810. 1815 1820. 1825. 1835. 1840. Russia Norway Denmark Swerfen Prussia Germany Holland Belgium France Portugal .Spain Gibraltar Italy Malta Ionian Isles Morea, &c Turkey Syria Cape of Good Hope Africa, other parts St. Helena East Indies New South Wales Van Diemen's Land Port Philip Swan Ptiver South Australia British Arneiicn British West Indies United States of America. Guatemala Colombia Brazil Rio de la Plata Chili Peru Mexico Guernsey and Mhh 32,149 11.930 351,741 15,424 123,057 778,835 7,873 3,018 961 5,952,407 349,053 21,554 40,040 1,217 2,894 297.H11 40.984 424,82-- 32,889 105,073 3,137,438 432,832 756,427 1,146,60 J,929.57M 12,891 97.679 55,804 12,513 23,363 75,614 13,527 107,101 5,113,442 186,051 230,919 95,187 3,536,229 3,t-51 2,815 5,050 189,.'i84 13,869 43,014 73,159 53 8,533 4.311 41,527 8,056 99,415 139 760 578 4,977 68,759 14,792 19,015 1,992,101 302 554,213 3,497 131,100 28,799,661 1,059,243 436.678 953,793 8,206,427 19.250 227.4.53 72,131 25,983 513,414 27,619 323,995 202.871 179,717 380 713.246 26,073,882 939,123 45,093 461,942 1.643,515 9,461 33,407 • 973,330 993,979 70 80,468 37 331,265 2 14,313 22,266 1,725 7,313 1,148 19,441 5.741 7,745 4,iiai,740 366,444 1,431 256,147 2.3,79-',186 5 301,8.55 / 231.222 104.535 683 231 1,602,752 476.73 1,051,005 39,913 816,625 1,281,839 191,624 5.102 295.848 1 4,210,301 14 2.029 237,306 18,760 962,900 1,213,740 246 4,518,563 605,521 5.961 24.646 21,812,099 46,247 134,095 48,830 374.915 1,266,905 242,734 1,668,.541 2,209 121,110 42,893 655.964 34,049 751,741 .337,908 4.683 2.441,370 ( 6,21.5,329 ) 2,626,178 785,.398 42,748 51,590 15,793 3,286 115,095 3,009 842 9,182 616,721 536,796 11.830 Total Pounds weight. 10,914,137 13.610,375 9.789.020| 43,795,281 32.313,059 42,174,532 46,^4,781 * BischotT, Table 6th. Appendix. t Report of the Secretary of tjie Treasury, 1846. t See Bisohott; vol. ii.. pp. 107, 153, 1.54, 163, 173, 175, 176, &c. The testimony here alluded to, or ar abstract of it will bo given in a subsequent Letter. II If these sound like strong expressions, I have to say that I shall be prepared to prove them, and .shall BO do. in a subsequent Letter, from the testimony of the first manufacturers of Ensland before a Committee of the H'Hise nf Lords. Nor were the facts disputed by an interest represented before the same Committee, who had every inducement to do so, if they could be sustained in it § See Ajjperidix of the above work, vol. ii. Misled by the title on the cover, I have nowhere before given the proper desiiriiHtion to Mr. Bischoirs work. Wherever the authority of this gentleman is given Vou will understand that it is derived from the workjust named. Pubhshed London, 1842. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. HI and therefore indicates, as well as the case admits of — home manufacturea remaining the same — the rise or decline of wool-growing, in the several nations, for the period indicated. It will be seen from the above, that Spain, (and we may include the whole Peninsula,) once so famous for her wools, has sunk to a fifth or sixth rate wool-producing country, and that her exports are still constantly declining ; that Germany and Prussia have reached their climax, and are on the wane ; that Russia, Italy, Australia and the East Indies are the most rapid increasers. The high prices of land and provisions — nearly double those on the Con- tinent* (far more than double those on many portions of it) — the onerous gen- eral taxes and parochial assessments, will not allow wool to be grown in England for its own sake. The sheep must be reared, as a matter of pure necessity, to sustain her present system of convertible husbandry. A sheep fitted for that object, and to make the most meat in the shortest time, is the main desideratum. Wool is but a secondary consideration. None but the coarse, early maturing breeds will, therefore, ever be grown there. Unless some great revolution should take place in her Agriculture, these are not likely to ever materially increase or diminish from their present number. If any effect is produced on this husbandry by the abolition of the Corn-Laws, I think it will be to diminish rather than increase the num ber of sheep. France, especially in some of her Southern Provinces, is admirably adapted to Sheep Husbandry. In 1825, the number of sheep in the King- dom was estimated to exceed 30,000,000, but it is supposed to have mate- rially diminished since that period, by reason of the division of landed property, and other causes.'*' With a population variously estimated from 1G34- to 1G8 to the sqiiare milc,| a soil a fair portion of which is well adapted to the growth of bread-stuffs, and the remainder to the vine, fruits, the mulberry (for silk), etc., France finds it better economy to cultivate these, and draw a considerable portion of her supplies of wool from other countries — her fine wools from Germany and Spain, her coarse ones from the regions bordering on the northern shores of the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Venice, and the Black Sea. France exported 84,799 lbs. of wool, costing less than 7 cents a pound, to the United States in 1846. || This small amount might have been of her own growth, or derived from her transit trade. By the statistical Tables appended to his description of France, by Make Brun, it appears that of the 51,777,000 hectares§ which he estimates to comprise the surface, 22,818,000 are in arable land, while the entire extent of meadows and pastures (which are divided about evenly) but little exceeds 7,000,000 hectares.^ Spain, it appears from the Table, now exports less wool to England than Italy or Russia ! and is still (as late as 1840) on the deci'ease. This is not owing to the increase of her manufactui'es,** or by a diversion of her exports into other channels. The export to France would, undoubtedly, show a similar falling off". That to the United States is but nominal. In 1836 it was but 20,730 lbs., ft and as this was wool costing less than 7 cents per pound, and came from the MediteiTanean side of Spain, it was prob ably in her ports merely in transitu. The Gibraltar trade, given in the Table, I take to be exclusively or mainly a transit one. From the Balan- * See Circular of John Maitland and others, Committee of the Woolen Trade in London — BiechciT, vol ii., p. 3;). t Bischoft", Yountt. t Mitchell assumes the former, and Morse the latter to be the population. II Report (if .Secretary of the Treasury, 1846. § A hectare is 2 jcres 1 rood and about 25 i rods. IT Malte Brun, Am. ed. vol. iii., p. 1029. •* Spain 19 not estimated to manufacture more than one-twentieth of the woolens consumed by hor. Eii cyclopsedia Amer., art. Spain. tf Report Secretary Treasury, 1846. 112 SHEEP IIUSnANDRY IN THE SOUTH. za McrcantU* published by the Government, it appears that the exports of Spain of all kinds, in 1826, amounted to only =£1,587,507. The exports of raw and manufactured silk and gut reached c£243,390 ; lead, c£215,360 ; wines, 6£lSf),;J40 ; wool, ^£161,650 ; fiuits, ^£152,075 ; brandy, c5ei07,715 ; barilla, =£79,200, etc. This exhibits not only the smallness of the entire export of wool, but the diminished comparative importance of this once great national staple. The number of sheep in Spain is still placed by many writers as high as 10,000,000 f )r the migratory flocks, and 8,000,000 for the stationary ones. Even Mr. Yuuatt has fallen into this, as it strikes me, unquestionable eiTor.i If Spain possesses 18,000,000 of sheep, what does she do with the wool, which should amount to at least 54,000,000 lbs. 1 Admitting — which prob- ably exceeds the fact — that her export to France and other nations equals that to England, and that she manufactures a quantity equal lo twice her whole export, the aggregate amount would be less than 8,000,000 lbs. The author of the article on Sheeji Raising in the Encyclopaedia Ameri- cana, places the number of the whole fine-wool sheep in Spain at 4,000,000. This I think high enough, and probably not far from the truth. This is a million less sheep than those of the State of New-York in 1839 ! The actual facilities for growing wool in Spain have already been al- luded to in ray fifth Letter. I should not consider it necessary to bestow farther examination on them, were it not for the fact that owing to various associations connected with the early history of the Merino slieep, and the lead once taken by Spain in the production of fine wool, her facilities have been, popularly, prodigiously overrated, and even the difticulties under which she has labored for this husbandry, magnified into advantages. Her northern mountains are high, broken, cold, and exposed to peculiarly piercing north winds, | and the winter on them lasts, as I infer from Mr, Livingston, about six months. He says : H " When the severe weather commences on the mountains, the shepherds prepare to de- part, which is irenerally al)()iit the end of September and throughout the month of O';tober, to seek more temperate climates and fresher pastures. In April or Way, according as the season is late or early, they return to the niountams." It might be practicable to prepare hay for winter use, in favorable posi- tions, and paiticularly on the pa?-amcras, on these mountains, and thus the migratory sheep might become stationary on them. But the Spaniard is too much wedded to ancient customs, too little in love with change of any kind, and, most of all, a change bringing an addition of labor, to thus in- novate on his own habits or those of his flocks. The high basins of the Douro and Tagus (embracing the two Castiles and Leon) are too valuable for the cultivation of grain, vineyards, fruits, etc., to be profitably devoted to the pasturage of sheep. The wheat of Spain is among the best in Europe,§ and it is stated in Mr. Jacob's Tracts on the Corn Trade, that she frequently does not raise enough for her own consumption.^ For the vine, olive, fig, mulberry, barilla, and various other products of equal profit both for home consumption and for export, she is not excelled probably by any country in Europe. A friend of mine who traveled in Spain in 1845, describes the valleys above alluded to, as almost exclusively devoted to tillage crops. In the Southern Provinces, * Quoted by McCuUocli — Cora. Die. art Cadiz. \ See Youatt on tlie -heep, Lond. ed., p. 147 et supra.. Mr. Livingston in his day estimated the migratory sheep at 5,000,000, the stationary at 8,000,000. See Essay on Sheep, pp. 36, 39. Mr. L. was also undoubt- edly in error. | Malte Brun. || Livingston on Sheep, p. 36. ^ Note by Percival to .4m. ed. of Malte Brun ; art. Spain. ^\ Quoted by McCuUoch — Com. Die. ; art. Odessa. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 113 whei-e rain does not sometimes fall for months in tlie summer,* the grass becomes entirely dried up, so that flocks, to be made stationary there, would require hay or other prepared food for several of the summer months The Transhumantcs or migratory flocks must ■still continue, then, to travel from the northern mountains to the warm basins of the Guadiana and the Guadalquiver for their winter quarters, and return to the moun- tains in the summer, or this branch of the husbandry would undoubtedly become extinct. The effect on the health and condition of the sheep, and the inijiortant item which it would form on the debit side of the account in Sheep Husbandry, to thus drive flocks a six weeks' journey twice a year, (consuming nearly a qvartcr of the year on the road,) can be estimated by any one acquainted with such matters.t The losses and expenses thus in- curred would absorb all the jsrofits of the husbandry, were it not for the extraordinary privileges confeiTed on the flockmasters (mainly consisting of the King, nobles and clei-gy) by the absurd and tyrannical regulations of the Conscjo de la Mcsta.\ The abolition of the " Council of the Royal Troop," there cannot be a reasonable doubt, would be immediately fol- lowed by the downfall of the migratory Sheep Husbandry in Spain. That the day has gone by when this unfortunate and distracted country can ever again enjoy the blessings of permanent peace and settled institutions, under which this or any other branch of husbandry can increase or steadily flourish, until she reaches a point of political civilization entirely incom patible ivith the continuance of a relic of tyranny and barbarism so mon strous as the Mesta, I consider equally certain. I see, therefore, no possible, or at least probable contingency under which the migratory Sheep Hus- bandry of Spain is likely to be extended, or even to permanently main- tain its present footing. Nor is there any probability of her again rising into importance as a wool-producing country, fiom her stationary flocks. Italy, though too accessible to the dry, hot wind of Africa, (the Solaiio,) to exhibit the uniformity of deejD-green verdure seen north of the Alps, is nevertheless — much of it — a country of fine pasturage. The gieat plain between the Alps and Appenines, the basin of the Po — including Lom- bardy, Sardinia, Parma, Modena, etc. — is one of the most productive in Europe, and its extraordinary facilities for iirigation allow five or six crops of hay to be mown in a single season. In Tuscany, the orange and lemon begin to make their appearance — the soil is alluvial and rich, and the mountainous districts are finely adapted to pasturage. The States of the Church are also highly fertile, and abound in good herbage ; and on the deadly Campagna di Roma, and even the Pontine Marshes, flocks and herds find an abundant subsistence in winter, and are driven to the Appe- nines in summer. The same remarks apply to the northern portions of the Kingdom of Naples. The southern extremity of Italy is exposed to a burning climate, and exhibits the vegetation of Africa. The whole superficial area of Italy does not exceed 122,000 square miles, and her population is 172 to the square mile. Scarcely raising bread-stuffs enough for her own consumption, taking one year with an- other,] | there is not the most remote prospect of her ever becoming an im- portant wool-exporting country. * See Hon. Wm. Jarvis's Letter to me on the subject of Merino Sheep, when I acted as Corr. Sec'y of the N. Y. t^tate Agriculturnl Society — Transactions, 1841, p. 322. t Since giving this as the distance from " the middle of Estremadura to the Cantabrian Mountains" (Let- ter v.), I see it stated in the Encyclopaedia Americana that "the whole journey fi-om the mountains to the interior of Estremadura is reckoned at about 690 miles." Measurement on the map will show that it does not exceed 4 degrees or 277 miles, but the difference may be made by the circuitousness of the route, or the writer may refer to more eastern portions of the great Appenine Chain. 1 find it stated by several wri- ters that each iourney consumes six weeks. X For a description of this odious tribunal see Livingston on Sheep, p. 35. II See McCuIloch's Com. Die. : art. Odessa. P 114 6I1EEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Turkey Lotli in Europe and Asia, it would appear from Table 8, is but; a trifling- exporter of wool. It should be remarked, however, that the wools of the Western Provinces, and of Greece, are generally exported from Trieste to France.* Under the late American Tariff, (" Tariff of 1842,") the export to the United States was becoming an important one — much greater than that to England. In 1846, it amounted, of wools costing less than 7 cents a pound, to 5,744,328 Ibs.f European Turkey has a colder and less uniform climate than Italy, but still it is a fine one,| and being a broken, mountainous country, well adapted to pasturage, and but sparsely populated, (55 to the square mile,) it is wonderful that so little attention If&s been paid to the culture of wool. But the proud and indolent Turk spurns all rural labor, or all interest in it, leaving it to his vassals — and these, destitute of any security to person or property, taxed, oppressed, liable to be compelled to make forced sales to bey or ay an — or, what is worse, their property seized outright — have little inducement to accumu- late a species of property so easily pounced upon.|| Germany (including Prussia and Austria) is now the gi'eat producer of fine wools, supplying not only her own manufactories — which are es- timated to consume half the whole product — but exporting the large sur- plus indicated in the Table. Nor is this all ; for to France, the Nether- lands, Switzerland, &c., she is supposed to export half as much as toEng- land.§ The whole region thus included — leaving out the Austrian States in Italy, which have already been considered — comprises a teiVitory of 468,000 square miles, and a population of 58,800,000, or 130| to the square mile. The country on the north is level, vast plains extending from tlie declivities of the mountains which occupy the center of Germany, to the North Sea and the Baltic. The center is mountainous, and its plains ai-e very elevated. The extreme South is covered with mountains. From the Little Carpathian or Jablunka Mountains, and from the eastern termina- tion of the Styrian and Julian Alps, stretch away the vast Hungarian and Transylvanian plains to the confines of Turkey. The great northern plain of Germany is low, sandy, flat, often consist- ing of naked silicious sands or those covei'ed with lichens, interspersed with frequent marshes, and terminating in many places on the Baltic in vast morasses, or land redeemed from the sea by dikes. As a whole, the land, particularly in the maritime Provinces, is of an inferior quality, but some portions of it, as for example in Silesia and Saxony, is of a quality rano^ing from medium to good. The soil of Central and Southern Ger- many (including Austria) must, of course, exhibit many varieties. In gen- eral, however, it may be set down as productive in the valleys, and or- dinary or poor on the high lands. The lower plains of Wirteraberg, Baden, the South of Bavaria, etc., are exceedingly fertile. The plains of Hungary on the south-east not uncommonly exhibit soils of remarkable richness, but they alternate with inferior ones, and with vast and un- healthy morasses. Taken together, the region which I have included un- der the designation of Germany, though not a sterile country, is not favored with soils naturally as productive as those of Italy or Spain ; nor would it at all compare with that portion of the United States west of the Apalachians. The climate of Germany is thus summed up by Malte Brun : ^ * Southey, quoted by Bischoff. vol. ii. p. 356. t Report of the Secretary of the Trea.sury, 1846. t For j tions of the Imperial Government. She cannot, therefore, export cheap heavy articles, such as provisions, to so great advantage as the Levantine nations : l)ut every circumstance points to her as a country which should be one of the first on the Eastern Continent, for the production of wine, silk, wool, &c. Separated from Hungary and Transylvania cwily by the Carpathian JM oun- tains and Turkish Moldavia, lie the fertile provinces of South-eastern Rus- sia, the basins of the Dniester, the Dnieper, and the Don. From the Car- pathians to the Caspian, across the entire extent of the plains of ancient Scythia, not an elevation which could be properly dignified with the ap- pellation of a mountain, breaks the immense expanse ! The lower valley of the Dniester or Borysthenes, formerly known as the Ukraine, has been celebrated for centuries for its pasturage — for its horses \ and cattle : and re- cently Hocks of Merino sheep have been introduced there and successfully crossed with the native variety. In 1839, Mr. Slade states that manv of the colonists on the Step])0 and in Bessarabia had 20,000 sheep. Merinos were introduced into Crimea or Taurida, by M. Ilouvier, a French ad- venturer, in about 1802. || In this favored peninsula, which the learned Pallas describes as little less than an earthly Paradise, they have multiplied exceedingly, and extended to Cherson, Ekatherinoslav, Bessarabia and other provincial Governnients.§ The export of wool from Odessa in 1829 was 3,402 lbs.; in 1830, 21,361 lbs.; in 1831, 35,058 lbs.; in 1832, 41,558 lbs. ; in 1833, 60,457 lbs.; in 1834, 66,901 Ibs.^] In one respect Southern Russia has the advantage over Hungary. It is more sparsely p()j)ulated, and land is ])erhaps in still lower estimation. As in the latter, the land, much of it, is fertile and well adapted to pasturage, and the price of labor is next to nothing. But for causes adverted lo in the opening part of my eighth Letter, there is a wide disparity in the climates of the two countries, if we leave Crimea out of view. That of Russia, affect- ed by the north and north-east winds — which the Carpathians exclude fiom Hungary — has a winter w^hicli for length and intensity is entirely unequaled in the latter, excepting in its northern mountainous regions. Sheep must be housed, and fed for some months on dry fond, in Southera Russia. Taking into view the broad, level sfej'pes** and their luxuriant natural verdure — taking into view the climate, warm in summer, cold and exposed to winds of great severity in winter, it strikes me that there must be no inconsider- able resemblance between this portion of Russia and our own north western prairies in corres2:)onding latitudes (45° to 46°). But when the cost of land and labor is taken into consideration, wool can be i^roduced cheaper, in my judgment, in South-western Russia than in Spain, France, (.i(u-many, Italy or any other portion of Europe, excepting Hungary. Were * 'J'liis power is remarkable for its liberality in all its regulations which ati'ect the trade and commerce of otlier nations. t e. g-, the policy of England in relation to the navigation of the St. Lawrence. \ This wild rcspon and it.* horses have been rendered classic by Mazeppa. Who, that ever read, has for- got the description of the horse on which the Hetman performed his fiery and perilous ride I II For an interesting account of the adventures of this fortunate French Jason, see Slade's " Travels in Germany and Russia," published London, 1840. § See Slade's Travels; also McCulloch's Com. Die. — art. Odessa. \ McCulloch's Com. bic— art. Odessa. ** This Russian word has a similar signification Xoprairit, pampas, llanos, &c. 1|<5 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. European Turkey differently populated, and under different institutions, il might constitute another exception. Central and Northern Russia, like the States north of Germany, are north of the wool zone. Their winters are too long and severe to allow them to compete with regions lying farther south, in wool-growing. Asia Minor, or Turkey in Asia, and Persia have been alluded to — the former, much of it, a fine country with a most delightful climate; but its natural advantages all neutralized by its political systems and the charac- ter of its population — the latter, except in occasional favored positions, such as the valleys of vShiraz and Ispahan, a land of mountain and desert, of intense heat and inter.se cold. Independent Tartary, lying immediately north of it, is less exposed to the hot winds of Arabia, but more so to the freezing ones of Siberia. Its vast dry plains are usually deserts, excepting on the borders of its exceed- ly rare streams. Great Bucharia, however, in the south-east, on the head waters of the Amoo (Oxus) — from the Capital of which Timour (Tamer- lane) issued on his desolating path of conquest — is a country of great fer- tilitv. Its natural beauties constitute a favorite theme with the poets and geographers of Persia and Arabia. Since the opening of the navigation of the Indus, it has annually sent some wool to Bombay, which constitutes a part of that which is shipped thence to England, and is known in Table S as East Indian wool. Afghanistan and Beloochistan, protected on the north from theSibeiian winds by the lofty Hindoo Koosh mountains, and less exposed on the south to those of Arabia, exhibits a milder and less variable climate than that of the conterminous regions of Persia. Among the Highlands of the north, and those skirting the Indus on the east, there is much good pasturage. Sir Alexander Barnes states that four-fifths of the whole surface of Cabul, a Province of the former, is excellent pasture land. The wool of the broad- tailed sheep of these countries also finds its way, by the Indus, to Bombay, and is classed as East India wool in the Table. From the high, cold, mountain regions of Thibet, Little Bucharia, &c., some wools are exported, through the same channels, which come under the same classification. These countries also export shawl wool.* Most of China north of the great Desert of Cobi is a cold, mountainous countiy. The southern portion, or China Proper, is too densely populated and closely cultivated to be devoted to pasturage. Tiie wool trade which followed the opening of the Indus (the raw ma- terial being supplied by Afghanistan, Great Bucharia, Thibet and some of the Hindostanese Provinces) might doubtless be swelled into one of great importance, particularly by introducing finer breeds of sheep; but we can scarcely expect this, from what we know of the habits, agri- cultural and commercial, of the population. Among constant political chauo-es wrought by the only Asiatic argument — the sword — the personal habits and occupations of the Asiatic remain ever the same, and are, per haps, the best type of persistency to be found in anything short of in' mobile matter. Indeed, the stony features of the Sphinx have changed scarcely less through revolving generations, than have the ethnic ones of this great family of the human race ! Let us now pass to those regions of the Old World, south of the Equa- tor, included in the wool-growing zone. The southern extremity of Africa — the Cape of Good Hope — is included ^ The table-land of Thibet is elevated 15,000 feet above the level of the 6ea. Mr. Trail remarks that everj iinimal here, including Carnivora, produce that down under their hair which is known as shawl tooo^ though that manufactured comes mainly from a species of goat. SHEEP HUSBANDRY L\ THE SOUTH. l]() in the wool-growing zone. The following description of it is by JRev. Robert Moffat, for twenty-three years a resident of it as the agent of the London Missionary Society :* " The Colony extentls from west to east about six luinJreJ miles, its average breadth being about two himcired Between the coast aud the vast chain of mountains, beyond \v hid; lie the Karoo, the country is well watered, feitile and temperate. The other "portions of the Colony, with few excej)fions, and without a change in the seasons, appear to be doomed to perpetual sterility and drouth. The Karoo country, which is in the backgi-ound of the Colony, is, as Lichstenstein correctly describes it, a parched and arid plain, stretching out to such au extent that the vast hills by which it is tenninated, or rather which divide it from other plains, are lost in the distance. The beds of numljerless little rivers, (in which water is rarely to be found) cross, like veins, in a thousand directions, this enormous space. The course of them might, in some places, be clearly distinguished by the dark green of the mimosas spreading along their banks. Excepting these, as far as the eye can reach, no tree or shrtib is visible But even on these hills and sunburnt plains thousands of sheep j)asture on a thin sprinkling of verdure and esculents Tlie entire country, extending in some places liundreds of miles on each side of the Orange River, and from where it emp- ties itself in the Atlantic, to beyond the 24t]i degree of east longitude, appears to have the curse of Gllboa resting upon it. It is rare that rains to any extent or quantity fall in those regions. Extreme diouth continues for years together. The fountains are exceedingly few, precarious, and latterly many of these have been dried up altogether." According to Barrow, nearly seven-tenths of the Colony are destitute of vegetation during a greater part of the year. Sand drives before the winds, exercising an unfavorable influence on sheep and wool. Lions, tigers, wolves, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, etc., are numerous on the very skirts of tlic settlements, making much vigilance necessary for the protec- tion of the sheep; and they must be nightly driven into the settlements to be folded. But the natives have proved a vastly more destructive enemy than thcse.t The shcej) introduced by the English colonists will probably eventually considerably isicrease beyond their presetit number in a country of so great extent, but we are scarcely authorized to believe that the Cape will ever take a high rank among the wool-producing countries of the world. That great island, or continent, known as New South Wales, or Aus- tralia, has a superficial area equaling that of the United States. But a limited portion of it, however, is included in the wool zone. All of Van Diemen's Land, or Tasmania, is in that zone. The export of wool from these countries, as will be seen from the Table,| reached nearly ten million pounds in 1840 — nearly half that of Germany, including Austria and Prussia, and almost eig/it ti?)ics that of Spain ! Here, as at the Cape of Good Hope, there are no woolen manufactories, and being Colonies of England, their export to that country exhibits their wliolc production. The soil, products, &c. of Australia are thus spoken of by Mr. McCul- loch : II " The fertility of the soil in most parts of New-Holland that have been explored with any care, is veiy far indeed from coiresponding with the glowing descriptions of some of its casual visitors, whose imaginations seem to have been dazzled by the magnificence of its botanical productions and the clearness and beauty of the climate. The truth is that the bad laud bears a much greater proportion to the good in New-Holland than in almost any other coim- try with which we are acouainted Of counse it is not to be supposed but that in a country of such vast extent there must be some fertile districts ; but along the east coast, with which we are best acquainted, these seem to be much more confined than might have been expected ; and the little experience we have had on the west side, at Swan River and other places, does not seem to lead to any more favorable conclusions." After stating that if the Government price of lands " is not a great deal * Missionary Labors and Scenes in Southern Africa, pp. 23—24. t See Letter V., and Note. \ Including Port Pliilip, Swan River, and Soutk Australia, the exports of which are carried out separately >o Tables. |] McCulloch's Com. Die. — Art. Sydney. 120 SHEEP HUSBANDRY L\ THE SOUTH. above the mark in New-Hf)l]-and, it must be a great deal below it in Upper Canada," Professor McCullocli continues: •'If the Americans exacted the same price for iheir public lands that we do, something might be found in favor of extending the principle to Canada. They, however, do nothing of the sort, l)ut sell much better land at a decidedly lower rate If slaves could be imparted into a Colony of this sort, there might be some chance of its succeeding. But while land of the very best quality may be had in the Valley of the Mississippi for about a dollar an acre or less, we think better of the common sense of our comitrymen than to suppose that any one able to cany himself across the Atlantic will resort to Austraha." Of the climate he says : " The climate of such parts of New South Wales as have been explored by the English is particularly mild and salubrious On the other hand, however, it has the serious defect of being too dry. It seems to be subject to the periodical recurrence of severe drouths. These prevail sometimes for 2_, 3, or even 4 years together. The last ' great drouth' beg:in in 1826, and did not terminate until 1829. Very Ihtle rain fell during the whole of this lengthened period, and for more than six mouths there was not a single shower, [n consecpieace, the whole surface of the ground was so parched and withered that all minor vegetation ceased; and even ctilinary vegetables were raised with much difficulty. There was also a pretty severe drouth in 1835. This is the great drawback of the Colony ; and were it more populous the drouths would expose it to still more serious difficulties." Another drouth occurred in 1841, and Mr. Hood thus describes its ef- fects on the sheep : * " It will be scarcely believed in England that the estimated number of sheep which have died within the last twelve months in the Colony from catarrh and drouth is 70,000 .' ! that colonists are compelled in order to save the dam from starvation, to cut the throat of her lamb ; that no means are adopted for securing a stock of lambs for next year ; -or that a stockholder would offer 8,000 sheep to any one that would remove them from liis runs, and finding that no one could be prevailed upon to taint his own flocks by accepting so danger- ous a present, had recourse to consuming them by fire, and had actually killed and burnt 2,000." .... Of the country Mr. Hood remarks : " The first object on the arrival of every settler should be to procure a good country for his (locks, and this, I have elsewhere said, is his grand difficulty. Let him be wary on this jMvint. Almost eveiy desirable or habitable spot in the old countries, as the early settled districts are called, is already occupied." Some diseases seem to be peculiar to the country, or, rather, peculiarly inveterate in it. Mr. Youatt says :t " The sheep frequently suffer from the wild and poachy nature of a considerable portion of the pasture. The foot-rot seems to assume a character of its own If neglected, it speedily becomes inveterate and preys upon and destroys the animal. The losses occasioned by it iu the early existence of the Colony were frightful." The astringency of the water and other causes have produced severe epidemics. In some years, some of the flockmasters have lost half of their sheep.| The scab is a prevailing disease, and Doct. Lang says : || " When a convict shepherd has a pique against his master, or even against his overseer, it is often in his pov^^er to subject the whole of his master's flock to this obnoxious disease, merely by driving his own flock a few miles from their usual pasture, and bringing them into contact with a diseased flock. The chief source of the wealth and prosperity of the Colony is thus, in a great measure, at the mercy of the most worthless of men." The cost of both land and labor is comparatively {id est, compared with tJie unoccupied lands of the United States) high. The Government mini- mum is 5s. ($1 15) per acre, but very little if any good land is sold at that price. Mr. Hood states that the portion of Capt. McArthur's immense estate which was obtained by purchase, cost, on the average, 7s. 6d, ($1 721) per acre. Shepherds receive from =£15 to c€20 ($69 to $92) with * Quoted by Ppooner in " History, Diseases, &c., of the Sheep." London, 1844, y. 67. t Youatt on Sheep, p. 189. | See Spooner, pp. 417-421. IJ Lang— Historical and Statistical Account, vol. i., p. 351. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 121 a house and rations, per annum ; overseers of a superior description c£50 ^o ^60 ($230 to $276),* also with a house and rations.t The sheep are exposed to the depredations of various animals, but the wild dog is their most dangerous enemy, with the exception of the run- awaij convict. The sheep are therefore folded nightly, guarded by a watchman with his dogs, and with a fire to scare away the wild beasts-l One shepherd usually takes care of about 300 sheep, and " in the more ;iterile ptirls of the Colony, where three acres of the unctdtivatcd gronnd an scarcely svfficitnt for the suj^port of one shccj), the labor is very severe." || Mr. Samuel Lawrence recently wrote me : " I saw a gentleman from England a few months since who has an admirable flock in New South Wales, of twenty-five thousand sheep, and he assured me he had not received a penny of income from them since 1838." Van Diemen's Land (containing 28,000 square miles) is claimed by Mr Youatt§ to be superior in several respects to Australia as a wool-growing country. Table 8 does not, however, show that its exports increase any more rapidly. Both of these Islands, as colonies of Great Britain, send their wool to the latter duty free, and they save 1 cent per pound on wool costing less than 24 cents, and 2 cents on that exceeding that value. But this by no means offsets against the additional cost of freight, over that exported from the United States, Hungary, or the south of Russia. While rt is only 3,375 miles from New-York to London, it is not less than 13,000 miles from Sydney or Hobart's Town to the latter place. Professor McCulloch states (art. Si/dnei/J that the expense of conveying a passenger to Sydney is about three times that of conveying one to Quebec. I see no reason why a corresponding difference should not exist in the freights ; and in that case, freights from the United States would be two-thirds less than from Australia. I pretend. Sir, to no power of vaticination on this subject, but the con- clusions which /draw from a review of all the foregoing facts are as follows : 1. That wool-growing is never likely to permanently and importantly^ increase in any of the countries of Europe, unless it be in Hungary, Tur- key, and the south of Russia. 2. That it is more likely to decrease than increase in Great Britain, France, Portugal and Italy. 3. That such a decrease is next to certain in Spain and Germany, (in- cluding Prussia and Austi'ia in the latter,) excepting Hungary and Tran- sylvania ; that the decrease will be much more considerable in Germany ; that its rapidity and extent will be proportioned to the lapidity and extent with which the market is supplied from countries which can grow wool cheaper, such as North and South America, Hungary, Southern Russia, and Australia. 4. That wool-growing will undoubtedly largely increase in Hungary and Southern Russia — and that it ought to in European and Asiatic Turkey, but will not, extensively, until the character of the people and their po- litical institutions are changed. 5. That it will also increase at the Cape of Good Hope, Australia and Van Diemen's Land ; but that its economical extension in either of these countries is limited, especially if America becomes a competitor. * Calling the English shilling 23 cents, according to Report of Director of U. S. Mint, 1827. t Report uf a Committee, &c., quoted by Mr. McCulloch — Com. Die. ; art. Sydney. JCunninaiham's Two Years in New S^oulh Wales, vol. i., p. 254. II YouHtt on the Sheep, p. 188. § Qmm vide, p. 190. TI I say " importantly," because Sweden, Norway, Denmark, &c., in that spirit of rendering themselres in- dependent of foreign supplies, which characterizes all nations, may, and probably will extend their wool culture ; but it will be too unprofitable a struggle against Nature, to be carried to a very great extent. a 122 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 6. That no part of the Eastern Continent or its islands, all things con- sidered, possess equal advantages for wool-growing with some parts of the United States. 1. The climate of many portions of the latter (in the South) is not excelled by that of the most favored situations in Hungary or Australia ; and in this respect it is decidedly superior to the south of Russia. 2. The soils of vast sections of the United States, with the above climate, are more miiformly fertile and adapted to pasturage than those of either Hungary or Southern Russia — and, as a whole, are entirely supe- rior to those of Australia. 3. The regions alluded to in the United States, are better watered with running streams than either of the other named countries — have not the vast and unhealthy morasses of Hungary — and are not subject to the destructive drouths of Australia. 4. The land is cheaper in the United States than in Australia, and (my impression is) than in Hungary or Southern Russia ; and, in the Southern States, labor costs no more than in the two latter, and far less than in the former. 5. In accessibility and nearness even to the great European wool market, the United States stand on equal terms, at least, with Hungary and Southern Russia, and the distance from Sydney (in Australia) to London is nearly four times the distance from New-York to London. 6. In no respect do either of these countries, the most favored in the Old World, excel, in my judgment, for the purposes of Sheep Husbandry, large portions of the United States ; and I believe those portions of the United States can sell wool in the English market at a better profit on all the capital invested than either of the above countries, with the possible exception of the most favored portions of Hungary. Our surplus wools can, thei'efore, at any time, be exported to England at a rcasoiuihle profit. This is true, even of wools grown in the Northern States. In 1845, the United States exported wool, (mainly to England,) to the value of $22,153 ; and in 1846, to the value of .$203,996. This was a commercial experiment, and although it is not understood to have resulted in any profit to the exporters, the wool sold at an advance on the Ameri- can prices current — and would have sold so as to have realized a handsome profit to the exporters, had it been properly sorted and otherwise ])repared to meet the requisitions of the English market. Statements of this kind have been published by one of the most prominent of the exporters. It would seem, from Mr. Lawrence's statement, already quoted, that the prices of Australian wools have not yielded a profit over all expenses, durino- the same years. The quality and style of our wool have been praised by the English press, and are understood to have given high satis- faction to the English manufacturers. On the whole, then, we may regard this experiment as a successful one. The American prices current of those years were about 32 cents per pound. We have seen that the actual cost of wool (including all expenses, and 7 per cent, on price of land and sheep) in the Northern States may be set down at about 27 cents per pound.* These facts show that a remunerating price can be obtained for even North- ern wool in England — if a profit on investment considerably exceeding the highest legal rate of interest (7 per centum) is to be considered " re- munerating." And if this is true of the Northern wools of the United Slates, how much more so would it be of those of the South, the first cost of which has been estimated at less than one-third that of the former ! t I see not, therefore, a shadow of a reason why our Southern States might not embark, at once, with perfect safety, in an extensive production of wool, if they had only the foreign market to look to. I hesitate not to * See Letter V. t lb. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 123 assert that they could drive all the European nations from the market, with tlie two or three exceptions heretofore specified ; and with these, as well as the most favored Austro-Oriental regions, they could main- tain a successful competition. The same remark is true of the Austro- Occidental regions of our own continent. And it is difficult to foresee the ultimate extent of this trans-Atlantic demand for wool. Vast portions of the Old World, in those zones where wool must eventually become the j)rincipal article of clothing, ai-e but just stepping within the vei'ge of civilization — just laying aside the skins and peltry of the pastoral nomad and the savage hunter, for garments of cloth. In 1771, England imported 1,829,772 lbs. of wool ; in 1840, the import was 52,9o9,22llbs. ! In 1771, the export of woolens was c£4,960,240. In 1840, the export of woolens was, c£5,652,917, and of woolen and worsted yam <:£3,796,644. INIaking all necessary allowance for the difference in prices, the increase in the ex- })ort bears no comparison whatever to that in the import. What seems to be the unavoidable conclusion] It is that the (■.onsumption of a population of 27,000,000 (the population of Great Biitain and Irelnnd) has thus enor- mously swelled within the period o? sixtij-nine years ! This too in a coun- try with a mild climate — which at the beginning of that period (1771) was as far advanced in social and political civilization, and the mass of whose people were as well clothed and better fed, than those of any nation on the Eastern Continent ! It is not necessary to follow up this idea. Progress is an inseparable condition of humanity,* and civilization is its fruit. With the latter, new wants — a demand for greater comforts and luxuries — steadily keep pace ; and with these again keeps pace the increase of population.f Both the latter causes conspire to swell tlie demand for cloths ; and both causes are at work in this Nineteenth Century, in a ve- locity of ratio which would fill a Malthus and Ricardo with consternation — if, indeed, it did not convince them of the fallacy of theii' gloomy theories. I dare to predict that the time will come when the present Russian Em- pire will consume a greater amount of woolens than the whole Eastern Continent now does! This may not come to pass in a day or a century — but unless retarded by unnatural, not to say vni/sual causes, our posterity in the third or fourth remove will be likely to witness it ! Away, then, with those fallacious fears of over-production of cotton, bread-stuffs, etc. — the opposite extreme of Malthusianism — which have disturbed the repose of producers who are not content to let the great natural currents of demand and supply regulate each other ; or rather, who are not content with those fair and just profits which they would receive under such an order of things. I But the American wool-grower is not compelled to look to the European market, unless he enormously increases his own production — and contin- ues to increase it with the increase of the population. The Census of 1840 shows that the number of sheep in the United States, in 1839, was nearly 20,000,000. These have been steadily increasing, and probably now greatly (exceed that number. Yet these have never supplied the demand of our •* This may not be thought to accord with preceding statements in relation to the unchangeabilitj' of Asiatic character and customs. Particular families or races of mankind have always advanced slowly, but the course of the world, as a whole, is onward. The circle of civilization widens, and races which come in contact with it, receive it, or are conquered and absorbed by the civilized races. t When I speak of luxuries promoting the increase of population, I do not use the word in its invidious sense. I mean by it those things whiclT, though not. strictly speakinjr, necessaries, tend to promote human comfort. % I mean this remark in no ultra spirit Governments must be supported and resources raised. Inci- dental protection may be justly afforded to the products of agricultural or mechanical skill, under certain circumstances. But the fewer of these restrictions that are found necessary, the more rapidly, as a general rule, the wealth and comfort of mankind and nations are advanced. 124 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. own manufactories alone. The following Table* will show the value of the imports of wool into the U. S. from 1837 to 1847 : TABLE No. 9. Average im- ports ol 1837, 1838 & 1839. Average im- ports of 1840, 1841 & l84j. t Import of 1843. Import of 1844. Import of 1845. Import of 1846. Wool not costing to exceed 7 els. a lb V $558,458 801,087 $759,646 1.004.312 $190,352 54,695 $754,441 97,019 $1,553,789 136,005 $1,107,305 26.921 Exc'dinsTcts.alb Total ..:... Sl,359..'i45 $1,763,958 1 $-245,047 $851,460 $1,689,794 $1,134,226 It may be a matter of interest to know from what countries these wools were imported. The following Table | will give this information for the last fiscal year, (1846,) and will also give a general idea of our wool trade. TABLE No. 10. "Whknce Imported. Wools not txcetxlhig 7 Ctnts per pound. Quantity. Russia Hanse Towns Holland - Dutch West Indies Belgium England Scotland . . -• G ibraltar Cape of Good Hope Bi-itish West Indies. ..... British American Colonies. Prance Spain Italy Trieste (Austria) . Turkey lilorocco (Africa). Mexico Brazil Argentine Republic. Chili Peru Asia, generally Total. Pounds. 955.163 6,966 10,774 7,177 1,188,800 21,132 207,006 83,662 8.694 168,589 84,799 20,730 81,156 111.981 5,744,328 72,816 425,148 45, 215 4,295,6.59 1.819,772 122,686 945,729 16,427,952 Dollars 60.678 330 556 248 3.5,944 1,382 12,339 6,810 537 9,543 5,424 1,425 4,720 8,151 398,822 4,554 26,984 3,083 327,572 130,837 8.588 58,778 1,107,305 Wools ezceediiig 7 cents per pound. Quantity. Pounds. 13,820 170 1.407 28,406 522 39,346 396 43,831 Pounds. 8,433 93 775 6,668 70 4,562 40 eon 269 130,295 26,921 That the course of trade indicated by the above Table, will, as has been already intimated, be materially. affected by the New Tariff, I think there can be but little doubt. That of several of the places enumerated, too, has been, heretofore, merely a transit one. To the following letter from the most extensive, and concededly leading American woolen manufacturer, I would call your particular attention. Several of its declarations, placed in italics, by me, are highly significant. Lowell, Mass., Feb. 10. 1847. tiENRV S. Randall, Esq., Cortland Village, N. Y. My Dear Sir : Your veiy kind and interesting favor of the 27tli ult. duly came to hand :tiid should, if ppacticable, have received an earher reply. The btisiuess of wool-growing in tViis coilntiy is destined to be of immense importance, and I am firm in the belief that within hDenlij-five years we shall produce a greater quantity than any other nation. * Compiled by me from Reports of the Secretary of the Treasury. t The fiscal year 1842 ended on the 30th of September. Since then, the returns of imports and export* have been made up to the 30th of June. This year, therefore, embraces the imports of nine months only, ending on June 30, 1843 ; and subsequent years end 30th of June, 1844, 1845, and so on. t Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, 1846. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. You a.-k, " Is the present home demand supplied ?" There is not enough annually raised iu the country by 10,000,000 lbs. to meet the demand of the manufactories. You ask, " What countries we can export wool to. &c. ?'' This country will not export wool reiiidarly for fifteen years, /«;• the reason that the consumptiomoill increase as rapidly as the pioihtrtion. I can point out articles made of tcool now imported, which will require thirty millions of pounds of that of a medium and fine quality, to supply the consump- tio7i The business of manufacturing wool in this country is on a better basis than ever before, inasmuch as the character, skill and capital engaged in it are such that foreign competi- tion IS DEFIED. A very few years and all articles of wool used here will be of home manu^ fact we. Now i beg of you to keep the wool-growers steatly to the mark. Let them aim to excel in the blood and condition of their flocks, and the day is not distant when they will be amply remunerated. I shall always have great pleasure in heanng from you, and remain Yours moet truly, SAM. LAWRENCE. Mf. Lawrence has certainly got the annual deficit of home wools low enough. Table 10 shows that it was upward of 16,000^000 lbs. during the last fiscal year, 1846. This, of itself, is something of a margin for the South, or some other new domestic producer, to fill ! Hitherto we have simply considered the amount of wool necessary to supply our mamifactorics. But these establishments fall very far short of working up all the wool consumed in the United States, even exclusive of home-made fabrics. The following Table* will show the value of the woolens imported for twenty-five years, up to and including 1845 : TABLE No. It. 1821.. $7,437,737 1822... 12,185,904 1823... 8,208,038 1824... 8,38fi,,'-.97 1825. ..11,392,204 1826.. $8,431,974 1827... 8,742,701 1828... 8,679,.'505 1829... 0,881,489 1830... ."5,770,390 1831. 812,027,229 1832... 9.992,424 1833...13.202,.509 1834.. .11,879,328 183.i... 17.834.424 1830. 821,080,003 1837... 8,500.292 1838. ..11, .'512,920 1839... 18,57.1,94.") 1840... 9,071,184 1841. $11,001,939 1842... 8,37.5,725 1843... 2,472,154 1844... 9,47,5,702 1845. ..10,600,170 Here is another and still broader " margin" for both the American Wool -Grower and the American Manvfacturcr to fill ! With a counlry well adapted to the production of wool as any the sun ehines on — which, all things considered, can produce it more cheaply than any extended portion of any trans-Atlantic country — shall we continue to import raw wool ? Whether we should continue to import woolens is sufficiently answered by the last paragraph but one of Mr. La\\Tence's letter, fully sustained as the facts therein set forth are by those infallible tests — the dividends of our manufacturing establishments. The minimum of these, in ^vell managed establishments, has already been stated to be about ten per centum per annum, t and in Mr. LawTonce's own great establishment the dividend of 1846 was fifteen per cent. Does any one suppose that the manufacturers of England, with all the advantage they can derive from cheaper labor | — (but with vastly higher prices for suitable sites and buildings — land taxes, parochial taxes, income taxes — freights and duties on imported wools, etc. etc.) — do or can make dividends touching even the lowest rate above stated % They cannot. || * Report of the Secretai^ of the Treasury, 1845. f See Letter VII. % Though not directly advised on the point, I take it for granted that the cost of machinery, also, is some- what less in England. II It may be said that the two last-named expenses fall on the consumer. They doubtless would, but the English manufacturer has to compete with those of France and the United States, a much larger propor- tion of whose stock is of home gi-owth — the latter entirely, in fine fabrics. The abrogation of the Corn-Laws ■will be of immense advantage to the English manufacturer, and enable him to better compete with other countries. But while the Bank of England ordinarily discounts paper at from 3 to 4 per cent., and while this is the common rate of interest in that country, it could not be expected that manufacturing capital would be allowed to draw 8 or 10, and much less 15 per cent. Such dividends, in a country whose uninvested capital, or that drawing so low a rate of interest, is so superabundant, would at once invite a competition which would speedily bring the profits of manufacturing capital down to a \evel with those of other commercial capita' We may, therefore conclude that no such dividends are made. x26 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE S . UTH. Is it said that our manufacturing companies have often been com- pelled to suspend, or break up, even under laws as favorable to them as those now in operation 1 The reason for this is too pointedly and perti- nently stated by Mr. Lawrence to require any addition at my hands, in the hdlowing extract from a letter to me, bearing date April 13, 1847; and it will be seen in the concluding sentence that the bold and manly decla- fal.ions of his preceding letter were not the result of a casual oi' momentary confidence, but are deliberately reasserted : " The manufacture of wool has often been disastrous to parties who have embarked in it for m-Liiiy reasons, two of which are sufficient — a want of capital and a want of skill. These difficulries are being obviated. Capitalists are more ready to embai-k under certain auspices, and the amount of skill is very fast increasing, so tliat this branch is on a footing not to be moved." Undisturbed by those changes of vacillating legislation, or those move- ments in the National Legislature pointing to such changes — at one time enormously pampering the manufacturing interest, and leading to over- action and rash adventure — at another, threatening it with disaster and utter subversion — our manufacturers will steadily, nay, rajjidly advance. If NOW LET ALONE, they will soon not only " defy foreign competition'^ in the home market, but there is not a single good reason to prevent them from defying it in the great and opening market of South America, and even in the Old World. Some evils or errors in commercial legislation are less to be deprecated than constant changes. The present Tariff, so far as it affects wool and woolens, is the result of a compromise of inter- ests. It may not be perfect in principle or detail. But it does not seem to flagrantly favor or oppress any interest. I speak not in the spirit of a politician, or of the representative of an interest or section, when I ex23res8 the hope that no change, will he made or attcmi'ted in this j^ortioii of the Tar/jf, 'until the lapse of years shall bring about other changes requiring it, or until ample experience shall clearly call for a revision of the system. I have spoken of two " margins" to be filled by the American wool-- grower — the ptresent deficit in supplying our own manufactories, and sec- ondly, the prospective one, as our manufactures increase, so as to overtake and then keep pace with the consumption of an increasing population. The demands of our manufactories will advance pari passu with the pro duction, Mr. Lawrence pi-edicts, for at least fifteen years. Why not foi fifty, or a hundred! Let us glance at the prospective consumption, and see if, independent of exportations, it is likely to require any cui'bs or limits to be placed on production or manufacture. In the debates in Congress on the Tariff in 1828-9, Mr. Mallary esti mated the consumption of woolens in our country at $72,000,000 per ann. ;— $10,000,000 imported ; $22,000,000 manufactured ; $40,000,000 home-made. The Committee of the " Friends of Domestic Industry," who met in New-York in 1831, reported that the proportion between the amount of wool worked up in factories to that in families was as 3 to 2 ; that the entire annual product of wool and its manufactures in the U. S, was $40,000,000. These ai-e the only accessible published estimates which now occur to me. The Census of 1840 shows that the value of woolens made in our manu- factories in 1839, was $20,696,999. The import of foreign woolens the same year was $18,575,945, and of raw wool* $1,359,445. It should be remarked, however, that the import of woolens is considerably higher than that of any year before or since. Taking the average of the same three " Taking the average product of 1837-&-9, as ia Table 9. The separate import of 1839 is not before me. SHEEP HUSBANDIli' L\ THE SOUTH. 127 years for which the import of the raw wool is given,* (1S37-S-9,) it would reach but $12,863,051. If we suppose the consumption to equal the sup- ply, this would give $33,560,050 as the value of the j'actor7/-7?iade woolens consumed in the United States in 1839. I confess I have no data other than conjectural ones, to determine the amount of the home-made manufactures for that or any other year ; nor do I know that any other person has, or can, have such information. The United States Census, singularly enouo-h does not include this as a separate item. It strikes me, however, that Mr. Mallary's estimate is too high, and that of the Report of the " Friends of Domestic Industry " too low. The proportion of home-made to factory woolens is, no doubt, annually decreasing, for reasons already stated ;t but as far back as 1839, it would perhaps be a fair estimate to set them down as even. This would give $67,120,100 as the value of the woolens con- sumed by a population of 17,069,453, or nearly $4 per head. Allowing that every dollar in the manufactured article would represent one pound of stock, or raw wool — and taking slave-cloths, blankets, carpets, coarse home-made fabrics, factory plains, etc., all into account, a dollar is an am- ple sum to offset against every pound of the raw material — it follows that our whole population annually consume four pounds of wool per head. Judge Eeatty of Kentucky, in an estimate j)ublished originally in the American Agriculturist, which has been much quoted, sets down the con- sumption as about 6 lbs. per head. An ordinary Northern farmer or la- borer, in comfortable circumstances, will consume about 20 lbs. per an- num ;| the poorer one not far from 15 lbs. ; a boy of 8 years old, full 4 lbs. ; a girl of that age (in the country, where females are dressed hi woolens,) something more than half of that amount. In the cities and villages there is a large class whose consumption for dress ranges from 30 to 40 and even 50 U)s., and, including carpets, much more. A Southern slave consumes from 8 to 10 lbs. Four pounds, therefore, would not seem to be a high es- timate, per head, for our whole population. Let us now take a glance at the increase of population in the United States. The six different Censuses give the following results : TABLE 12. 1790, Population 3,929,827 1800, 5,305,941 1810, 7.239,814 1820, Population 9,638,191 1830, 12,866,020 1840 17,069,453 It will thus be seen that our population increases at a compound ratio of about three per cent, per annum, which would double it — assuming three per cent, to be the precise rate -of increase — in 23 years 164 days. Cheap and abundant provisions — a supply of fertile lands for all who choose to occupy them, &c. — the causes which have conspired to give so rapid an increase, hitherto, still operate to as great all extent as ever, and will continue to, at all events, for half a century, after the Census of 1840. Suppose the rate of increase, then, decreases to two per cent., which would double the population, reckoning as before, once in about 38 years, and * In Table 9. t Letter VII. t He will wenr out, during b year, 1 coat, 4 yards ; 1 pair pants, 3 yards ; 1 vest, 1 yard ; 1 pair flannel drawers, 2 yards ; 1 tiannel shirt, 2i yards ; 4 pair hose, mittens. &c , li lbs., which, calling a yard a pound of wool, allround, would amount to 14 lbs. His extra or holiday suit. 8 yards, will last 3 year?, and bis overcoat, 6 yards, 4 years— making the annual consumption of both, 3 1-6 yards. Two flannel shirts, 10 yards, will last two persons say 3 years, making the annual consumption of one, 1 1-9 yards. No account is here made of coverlids, wool hats, carpets, still used by many, and the latter, more or lessof it, to be found in the houses of nearly all farmers in " comfortable circumstances." It will be seen that 20 lbs. of wool per head is a moderate estimate. The above enumeration would not equal to exceed tvi'o-tbirds, and in some cases half the clothing annually consumed by the smartly dressing young men who have labored on my fann! 128 SHEEP HUSBANDRY L\ THE SOUTH. that it doubles twice at this rate — and the following would be the result, and the amount of wool required by the population at the periods indicated : TABLE No. 13. Year. Population. Amount of Wool. 136,555,624 273,111.248 Year. Population. Amount of IVool. | 1863-4 1886-7 34,138,906 68,277,812 1925 1963 136,555,624 273.111,248 546,222,496 1,092,444,992 Thus in a little over one hundred years, our population is likely to ex- ceed the present one of Europe, (which is 233,500,000,) and we have now a sufficient territory to sustain it ! At 3 lbs. of wool per head the number of sheep requisite to supply the home demand in 1963, would be over 364,000,000 ! — far more than are now to be found on the whole globe ! — Such are some of the reasonable expectations which may be formed of the future prospects of the Home wool market. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 129 LETTER X. BREEDS OF SHEEP IN THE UNITED STATES. Enumoratinn of Imported Breeds.. .No indigenous ones..." Native " Sheep — their Orifrin — Views of Mr Yoiiatt — .Mr. Livingston — their true Origin— their Early In-jrease in New-England . . V'anderdonk's description of the .'^hifp and their increase introduced from Holland into New-Netherland (New- York). . .Character- istics of the N;ilivt! Sheep. . .Account of the Introduction of Merinos into the United States.. .Their valua- tion at different periods... The Spanish sub- varieties — Merged in the L'nited States.. .Purity of blood of the descendants of the Early Importations.. .Spurious Merinos Weight of Fleece of the Spanish and French (Rambouillel) families Description of the latter... American pHmilies — their Characte'isiics. .Doctor Em- mons's Measurements of the Fineness of Wool of individuals of the American, Spanish, and French families — also of oiher breeds. -The Characteristics of the Merino— its Crosses- ..The Saxon Sheep — its Oridn — Varietie- — Treatment in Germany. -.Introduction into the United States-. .Purity of blood in our present flocks — Weight of Fleece — Characteristics- ..The New Leicester or "Bakewell" — Oii^'in — Character in England — Introduction into the United States — Valuation in the latter — Characteristics. . .South-Down Sheep— Origin — Characteristics — Introduction into the United States- -Mr Ellman's description of a perfect anim'il- .Coi-wold Sheep — Original Stock — Crossed— the improved variety — Characteristics of— Introduction into the United States -.Cheviot Sheo|) — Importation into the United States — Original Stock— Crossed — improved varieiy — Characteristics... Broad-Tailed Sheep — Introduction into our Country— Characteristics. Dear Sir : It is believed by those competent to judge, and who have investigated the subject, that our country now possesses every Vnown breed of sheep which could be of particular benefit to its husbandry. In pro- ceeding to give an account of the sheep of the United States, I do not deem it necessary to take up your time with a detailed history of each race. The zoologist or breeder anxious to obtain this information, will find it given with great elaboration and accuracy, in the admirable work on Sheep by the late Mr. Youatt.* The principal breeds in the United States are the " Native," (so called) ; the Spanish and Saxon Merinos, introduced from the countries whose names tlu^y bear; the New Leicester or Bakewell, the South-Down, the Cotswold, the Cheviot, and the Lincoln from England. The common sheep of Holland were early imported by the Dutch emigrants who origi- nally colonized New-York, but have long since ceased to exist as a dis- tinct variety. The Broad-Tailed Sheep of Asia and Africa have several times been introduced from Persia, Tunis, Asia Minor, etc. Chancelhn- Livingston also speaks of two "races as 'indigenous ' to this country, which we have not enumerated, as it is not known to the Com- mittee + that they ai'e now bred in any poition of the United States, viz., the Otter and Smith's Island Sheep, breeds said to have been discov- ered on two islands on our Atlantic coast. An almost infinite variety of crosses have taken place between the Spanish, English, and ' native ' fami- lies. To so great an extent, indeed, has this been carried, that there are, • Also in Mr. Bischoft"'8, Spoonor's, etc., (English) works, and Sir. Morrel's "American Shepherd" — the historical parts of all of which are compiled mainly from Mr. Youatt t At the Annual Meeting of the New-York State Agricultural Society, 1837, a Committee was appointed to report at the next Annual Meeting of the Society, on the " Condition «!.■? Comparative Value of the Several Breeds of Sheep in the United States.'' The Committee consisted ot Henry S. Randall of Cortland, Henry D. Grove of Rensselaer, John B. Duane of Schenectady, Francis Rotch of Otsego, and C. N Bement of Alba- ny. These gentlemen were at the time breeders of all or nearly all the most important varieties, and it was expected that each would write that portion of the Repoit treating of the one or ones bred by himself The Committee, however, desired — or rather required me to write the whole Report, which I did, with the exception of quotations from authors. The Committee met in Albany, prior to the presentation of the Re- port, and the late Thomas Dunn and several other breeders were present by invitation. The Report was unanimously adopted by the Committee, and assented to by the breeders present. I do not now quote or adopt all the conclusions of that Report Experience has compelled me to modify some of my opinions, and actual changes in the breeds have taken place But I have mentioned the above facts, to slrow the au- thority on which the statements which I have quoted, rest ; and also because the Report has been often quoted from, sometimes without any credit, and sometimes erroneously credited. fTo save constant reference, it will be understood that all the matter quoted in this Letter from the Re- port will, unlike the cases where Mr. Randall quotes at any length from the writings of others, be printed m the same type with the body of the Letter, and simply marked with quotation points. Publisher.] R 130 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. com})aratively speaking, few flocks in the United States tljat preserve en- tire the distinctive characteristics of any one breed, or that can lay claim tc unmixed purity of blood." Native Sheep. — " Although this name is popularly applied to the com- mon coarse-wooled sheep of the country, which existed here previously to the importation of the improved breeds, there is, properly speaking, no X'ace of sheep ' native ' to Noith America. Mr. Livingston, in sjjeaking of a race as ' indigenous,' only quoted the language of another,* and his informant m as either mistaken as to the fact, or misapprehended the term. The only animal of the genus Ovis Aries, originally inhabiting this coun- try, is the Argali,t known to our entei-prising travelers and traders who have penetrated to the Rocky Mountains, where the animal is found, as the Big Horn.| Though the pelage of the Argali approximates but little to the wool of the domestic sheep, they are, as is well known, considered by naturalists to have belonged originally to the same species ; and the changes which have taken place in the form, covering, and habits of the latter, are attributed to his domestication, and the care and skill of Man during a long succession of years. " The common sheep of the United States were of foreign and mostly of English origin. The writer of the volume on Sheep in the ' Farmer's Se- ries,' [Mr. Youatt,] speaks of them as ' although somewhat differing in va- rious districts, consisting chiefly of a coarse kind of Leicester, originally of British breed.'|| Others have seen, or fancied they saw, in some of them, a strong resemblance to the South-Downs. Mr. Livingston was of this number.§ But it is far more probable that they can claim a common descent from no one stock. Our ancestors emigi'ated from different sec- tions of the British Dominions, and some portion of them from other parts of Europe. They brought their implements of husbandry, and their do- mestic animals, to fertilize the wilderness. Each, it woiild be natural to suppose, made choice of the favorite breed of his own immediate district to transport to the New World, and the admixture of these various races formed the mongrel family now under consideration. Amid the perils of war, and the incursion of beasts of prey, they were pi'eserved with sedu- lous care. As early as 1676, Mr. Edward Randolph, in a ' Narrative to the Lords of the Privy Seal,' speaks of New-England as ' abounding with sheep.' "^ Vanderdonk, writing in 1790, thus speaks of the sheep introduced from Holland into New-Netherland (now New-York) by the Dutch emi- grants : — *' Sheep are also kepi in the New-Netherlands, but not as many as in New-Eugland, where the vk^eaving business is carried on, and where much more attention is paid to them than by tlie New-Netherlanders. The sheep, however, thrive well, and become fat enough. I have seen mutton there so exceedingly fat that it was too luscious and offensive. The sheep breed well and are healthy ; they find good pasture in summer, and good hay in winter ; but the Hocks requii'e to be guarded fuid tended on account of the wolves, for which purjiose men cannot be spared. There is also a more important hindrance to the keeping of sheep, which are chiefly cultivated for their wool. New-Netherland is a woody country throughout, being almost everywhere beset with trees, stimips and brushwood, wherein the sheep pasture, and by which they lose most of their wool. This is not apparent until they are sheared, wnen the fleeces turn out very light." " The common sheep yielded a wool only suited to the coarsest fabrics, averaging, in the hands of good farmers, from 3 to 3^ lbs of wool to the " Livingston's Essay on Sheep, pp. 56, 60. f Godman's American Natural History. J Tlie " woiily sht-ep " of the Rocky Mountains, the description of which is quoted by Mr Morrel, (Ameri^ can Shepherd, "p 131,) from Capt. Bonneville, is a goat. It will be found described in Godman's Natural History, vol ii. p. 326, et supra. ;) Vol on Sheep, p 134. § Essay on Sheep, p. 53. % Colonial papers of Massachusetts. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 131 fleece. They were slow in arriving at maturity, compared with the im- ))rovecl English breeds, and yielded when fully gi'own, from 10 to 14 lbs. of a middHng quality of mutton to the quarter. They were usually long- legged, light in the fore-quarter, and narrow on the breast and back, al- though some rare instances might be found of flocks with the short legs, and some approximation to the general form of the improved breeds. The comuion sheep were excellent breeders, often rearing, almost entirely des- titute of care, and without shelter, one hundred per cent, of lambs, and in small fl :)cks a still larger proportion. These, too, were usually dropped in March ■)r the earlier part of April. Restless in their disposition, their impa- tience of restraint almost equaled that of the untamed Argali, from which tliey were descended ; and in many sections of our country it was common to see from twenty to fifty of them roving, with little regard to inclosures, over the possessions of their owner and his neighbors, leaving a large por- tion of their wool adhering to bushes and thorns, and the remainder placed learly beyond the possibility of carding by the Tory weed ( Cijnoglossum oljlcinalcj and Burdock (Arctium lappa) so common on new lands. " The old common stock of sheep, as a distinct family, have nearly disap- peared, having l)eon universally crossed, to a greater or less extent, with 1 lie 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 real's wool only for domestic pur- poses. The fleeces are of uneven fineness, being hairy on the thighs, dew- lap, &c. ; but the general quality is much improved ; the quantity is con- siderably augmented ; the cai'cassis more compact and nearer the ground ; and they have lost their unquiet and roving propensities. The cross with the Saxon, for reasons which we shall hereafter allude to, has not been genei-ally so successful. With the Leicester and Downs the improvement, so far q>> form, size, and a propensity to take on fat are concerned, is manifest." r «« F.B.CAnpSMTcn. MEUIXO UAM. \T)eJMiic& \ muntlis old, bred by and the properly of Ilenry S. Randall.] 132 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Spanish Merino. — " The history of this celehrated race of sheep, so far as it is known, has so often been brought before the public that it is deemed unnecessary here to recapitulate it. The first importation of them into the United States took place in 1801. Four were shipped by Mr, Delessert, a banker of Paris, three of which perished on the passage.* The fourth arrived in safety at Rosendale, a farm owned by that gentle- man near Kingston, in this State. The same year Mr. Seth Adams, of Massachusetts, imported a pair from France. In 1802, two pairs were sent from France l>y Mr. Livingston, the American Minister, to his estate on the Hudson ; and later the same year, Mr. Humphrys, our Spanish Minister, shipped two hundred, on his departure from that country, for the United States." Hon. William Jarvis, of Weathersfield, Vermont, then American Consul at Lisbon, sent home large and valuable flocks in 1809, 1810, and 1811. The particularly favorable circumstances for obtaining the choicest sheep of Spain, under which these were procured, you will find detailed in a letter tome from Mr. Jarvis, dated December, 1841, pub- lished in the Transactions of the New-York State Agricultural Society of that year. Various subsequent importations took place, which it is not important to particularize. The Merinos "attracted little notice, until our difficulties with England led to a cessation of commercial intercourse with that power, in 1808 and 1809. The attention of the country being then directed toward manufacturing and wool-growing, the Merino rose into importance. So great, indeed, was the interest excited, that from a thousand to fourteen hundred dollars a 'head was paid for them." Unfortunately some of the later importations " ar- rived in the worst condition, bringing with them those scourges of the ovine race, the scab and foot-rot. These evils and the increased supply, soon brought them down to less than a twentieth part of their former price ; they could now be bought for S20 a head. When, however, it was established, by actual experiment, that their wool did not deteriorate, as had been feared by many, in this country, and that they became readily acclimated, they again rose into favor. But the prostration of our manu- factories, which soon after ensued, rendered the Merino comparatively of little value, and brought ruin to numbers who had purchased them at their previous high prices. The rise which has since taken place in the value of fine wool, as well as the causes vvhich led to it, are too recent and well understood to require particular notice. With the rise of wool, the valua- tion of the sheep which bear it, has of course kept pace. " The Merino has been variously described. This arises from the fact that it is but the general appellation of a breed, comprising several varie- ties, presenting essential points of difference in size, form, quality and quantity of wool." And writers of high authority differ even in their descriptions of these families or varieties. M. Lasteyrie, so celebrated as a wi'iter on sheep, and particularly on the Merino, and Mr. Jarvis directly contradict each other on several points.t It is scarcely necessary now to quote their conflicting statements, or inquire which is right — as the ques- tions involved possess no practical importance. These families have, gen- erally, 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, has long since been the only standard which has guided sensible men in selecting sheep of this breed. Families have indeed sprimg up, in this country, ex- * Archives of Useful Knowledge.— Cultivator, vol. i. p. 183. f See Lasteyrie on Sheep — or, if not accessible — his statements quoted by Mr. Youatt, p. 156. Jarvis's statements, see his Letter t~ \i. D. Gregoi-y, quoted in American Shepherd, pp. 73, 74. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 133 hibitlng wider points of difference than did those of Spain. In some cases they doubtless owe it to particular courses of breeding — but more often, probably, to concealed or forgotten infusions of other blood. The point has, indeed, been occasionally mooted, whether there are any Merinos in the United States, descendants of the early importations, oi unquestionuhle purity of blood. That there ai'e, has been recently defi nitely settled by a connected chain of undisputable and undisputed testimo- ny,* not necessary here to be repeated. That, on the other hand, in the recent rush of speculation, a marvelous facility has been evinced, in some instances, in suddenly recollecting lost links in the chain of pedigree — or in forgetting others which it would not be expedient to remember, no one would require any proof who has seen some of the animals which have been hawked through the country as full-bloods. " Taken collectively, the Spanish rams, according to Chancellor Living- ston, yield about eight and a half pounds of wool, and the ewes five, which loses half in washing — making four pounds and a quarter the average weight of fleece of the rams, and two and a half the average of the ewes.t Some varieties considerably exceed this estimate, and probably it woiild fall short if applied to the prime sheep of any variety." The fleeces of the Merinos at Kambouillet in France, it is stated in the Report of M. Gilbert, to the National Institute, quoted by Mr. Living- ston, I weigh, in the rams, from twelve to thirteen pounds (unwashed) wool — taking rams and ewes together, it has " not quite attained to eight pounds, after deducting the tags and the wool of the belly, which are sold sepa- rately." Mr. Livingston remarks that the French pound is about one- twelfth heavier tlnni the English ; but on the other hand, that from the man- ner of folding and housing sheep and feeding them on fallows in Franco, they are very dirty, and hjse GO per cent, in washing."!] This would bring the average of the Rambouillet flock to about four pounds, exclusive of tag and belly wool. M. Lastevrie gives the following annual averages per head of the Ram bouillet flock : 1796, 6 lbs. 9 oz. ; 1797, 8 lbs. ; 1798, 7 lbs. ; 1799, 8 lbs. , 1800, 8 lbs. ; 1801, 9 lbs. 1 oz. — This is unwashed wool, and will lose half in washing. Mr. Livingston's imported -ewes averaged 5 lbs. 2 oz. ; his rams 6 lbs. 7 oz., of unwashed wool.§ The later importations will, judg- ing from the specimens I have seen, average much higher than the latter. They are a large sheep, with good, but not the best, quality of Merino wool — some of the larger stocks being rather coarse — and not very uni- form, one with another, either in their appearance or fleeces — and are most remarkable for the loose pendulous skin which hangs about their necks, and lies in folds about their bodies. They are free from hair — their v/ool, which is of good style, opens with a creamy color, and rich lus- tre, on a fine rose-colored skin. Their wool is long on the back, shortish on the belly — thick, but not so thick as that of many of the American Me- rinos — very yolky, but destitute of concrete external gum. The American Merino has, as already intimated, diverged into families or varieties presenting wide points of difference. The minor distinctions are numerous, but they 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 piopf it to those early crosses. The fleeces of the American Saxons weigh, on the average, from 2 or 2\ to o lbs. 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, late maturity, and longevity, they resemble the Merinos, from which they are descended ; though they do not mature so early as the Merino, nor ordinarily live so long. They are poorer nurses ; their lambs smaller, fee- bler, and far more likely to perish, unless sheltered and carefully watched. They do irot fatten so well, and, being considerably lighter, they consume an amt)unt of food correspondingly less. Taken together, the American Saxons bear a much finer wool than the American Merinos ; but Dr. Emmons's measurements show that this is not always the case, and many breeders of Saxons are rrow crossing with the Merino, in the expectatioir of increasing the weight of their fleeces without deteriorating its quality.* Though I am in possession of wool from Saxons in Connecticut and Ohio, which compares well with the higher grades of German wool,t and though there are doubtless other flocks of equal quality in the country, | our Saxon wool, as a whole, falls considerably below that of Germany ; and I never have seen a single lock of the American equaling some samples, given me by a friend recently * Mr. Lawrence believee this practicable, and Mr. Morrel and various other Saxon breeders have for some time bred in this way. t Fully equaling, and, I think, better than some German wool I recently saw, which, all expenses in- cluded, stood the purchaser in $1 60 per pound ! J Dr. Emmons stated, subsequently to his measurements above, that he had received wool from the flock of Dr. Beekman. considerably finer than the Sa? in wool figured. 142 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. from Europe, which came from Styria, south of Vienna, in Austria. The inferiority of the American to the German wool is not due to climate or other natural causes, nor is it owing to a want of skill on the part of our breeders. It is owing- to the fact that but a very few of our manufactur- ers have ever felt willing to make that discrimination in prices which would render it profitable to breed those small and delicate animals which pro- duce this exquisite quality of wool. No American breeder thinks of hous- ing his sheep fro in the summer rains and dew, or observing any of the hot- house regulations — at least in the summer — of Graf Hunyadi, or Baron Geisler ! If he did, his wool would not probably pay half of its first cost. When our manufacturers wish to find these wools in the home market, they must learn to j^'^II ff>i' them in the home market as liberally as they are compelled to to obtain thqm in foreign ones ! WMi 'mMMmm. THE NEW LEICESTER, OR BAKEWELL. The portrait above is copied from one of a sheep of this variety, belong- ino- to the Duke of Bedford, given in Mr. Youatt's work on Sheep. " The unimproved Leicester was a ' large, heavy, coarse-wooled breed' of sheep, inhabiting the midland counties of England. It is described also as having been ' a slow feeder, and its flesh coarse-grained, and with little flavor.' The breeders of that period regarded only size and weight of fleece. The celebrated Mr. Bakewell, of Dishley, was the first who adopt- ed a system more in accordance with the true principles of breeding. He selected from the flocks about him those sheep ' whose shape possessed the peculiarities which he considered would produce the largest propor- tion of valuable meat, and offal,' and having observed that animals of me- dium size possess a greater aptitude to take on flesh, and consume less food than those which are larger, and that prime fattening qualities are larely found in sheep carrying a great weight of wool, he gave the prefer- ence to those of smaller size, and was satisfied with lighter fleeces." To reach the wonderful results obtained by Mr. Bakewell, it was supposed that he resorted to a cross with some other varieties, but it is believed by some that he owed his success only to a judicious principle of selection and a steady adherence to certain prin'?iples of breeding. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 143 . . • It is exceedingly unfortunate that this eminent breeder has left us so much in the dark in relation to those principles of breeding, adopted by him, which led to such signal success in his efforts to improve both the cattle and sheep of the region in England in which he resided. All of his measures were veiled in impenetrable secrecy even from his most intimate friends, and he died without voluntarily throwing the least light on the subject. The whole inception and management of his famous " Dishley Society"* betrays selfishness the most intense, and, in plain English, mean- ness the most unalloyed. Should a man claiming to be a gentleman, in t7i,is country, make valuable discoveries in breeding, or in any other de- partment of husbandry, and closely conceal them from the public, his con- duct would meet with universal reprehension and contempt ;f yet the thing seems to be considered a matter of course, or is at least passed over with- out censure, in Youatt, Spooner, Bischoff, and a host of earlier writers, all of whom laud Mr. Bakewell to the echo ! " 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, &c. Where there is a sufficiency of feed, the New Leicester is unrivaled for its fattening properties, but it will not bear haixl 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 ap- propriate situation, on the luxuriant herbage of the highly cultivated lands of England, it possesses unrivaled earliness of maturity ; and its mutton, when not too fat, is of a good quality, but is usually coarse, and compara- tively 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 f(ir. 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 aJrout six pounds. It is of coarse quality, and little used in tlie manufacture of cloths, on account of its length, and that deficiency of felting properties common, in a greater or less extent, to all the English breeds. As a combing wool, however, it stands first, and is used in the manufacture of the finest worsteds, &;c. " The high bred Leicesters of Mr. Bakewell's stock became shy breed- ers and poor luirses, but crosses subsequently adopted " have, to some ex- tent, obviated these defects. So far as my experience has extended in this country, however, the lambs are not very hardy, and require considerable attention at the time of yeaning, particularly if the weather is even moder- ately cold or stormy. Neither can the grown sheep be considered, in my opinion, rcrj/ h^rdy. They are much affected by sudden changes in the weather, and a sudden change to cold is pretty sure 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 re- turn which a sheep possessing such fine feeding qualities is enabled to make, renders it a general favorite with the breeder. Instances are re- corded of the most extraordinary prices having been paid for these ani- * For the Regularions of this Society, see Youatt, p. 317. t Of cour.^e I do not include in this categoi-y those nameless venders of recipes for killing Canada This tle^^, rat?, &c. &c. ; and men who spend their time and property in inventing improved implements, etc., are entitled to the pay ofl'ered by the Patent laws. But, among our agrirultiirists of .standing, who has ever liiiown of a single instance of avaluable discovery in the operations of hu..;l)andry being concealed or with, held tVimi the public ? Who has known a breeder of rank wheedle a partner out of one-half of a valuabl* hull, and then refu.'e the quondam partner the services of that bull at any price, lest he should prove dHii^f-rouB rival in breeding? Yet, what Enghsh writer has expressed any contempt for such meanness Tliese things would not " go down" tunong us " ntpudiators" 1 144 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. mals, and Mr. Bakewell's celebrated buck " Two Pounder" was let foi tbe enormous price of four hundred guineas for a single season ! The New Leicester has spread into all parts of the British Dominions, and been imported into the other countries of Europe and the United States. They were first introduced into our own country by the late Christophei Dunn, Esq., of Albany, about twenty -five years since.* Subsequent import- ations have been made by Mr. Powel, of Philadelphia, and various other gentlemen." It is no more than justice to say that this breed has never proved a fa- vorite 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 — the general want of green feed in the winter, robs 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, from the much to be regretted dearth of worsted manufactories in our counti-y. Its early decay and loss of wool constitute an objection to it, in .a counti-y where it is often so difficult to advantageously turn off sheep, particularly ewes. But, notwithstanding all these disadvantages, on rich lowland farms, in the vicinities of consid- erable markets, it will always probably make a profitable return. The following description of what constitutes the desirable characterist- ics of this breed, is from the pen of Mi\ Youatt :t " The head should be hornless, long, small, tapering toward the muzzle, and projecting horizontally forwaid. The eyes ])rominent, but with a quiet expression. The ears thin, rather lonir, and directed backvvaid. The neck full and broad at its base, where it proceeds from the chest, so thai there is, with the slightest possible deviation, one continued horizon- tal line from the rump to the poll. The breast broad and fidl ; the shoulders also broad and round, and no uneven or angular formation where tlie 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 through 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 bare of wool. The chest and barrel at once deep and round ; the ribs fomiing a considerable arch from the spine, so as in some cases, and especially when the animal is m 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 grad- ually diminishing in v\adth toward the ramp. 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 mcxilerate length ; the pelt also moderately thin, but soft and elastic, and covered with a good quantity of white wool — not so long as hi some breeds, but considerably finer." The South-Down. — " This breed of sheep has existed for several centu- ries in England, on a range of chalky hills called the South Downs. They were, as recently as 1776, small in size, and of a form not superior to the common wooled sheep of the United States. Since that period, a course of judicious breeding, pursued by one man (Mr. Ellman, of Glynde, in Sussex), has mainly contributed to raise this variety to its present high degree of per- fection, and that, too, without the admixture of the slightest degree of foreign blood. In our remarks on this breed of sheep, it will be understood that we speak of the pure improved family, as the original stock, presenting, with trifling modifications, the same characteristics which they exhibited sixty years since, are yet to be found in England — and as the middle space 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 is an upland sheep, of medium si?e, and its wool, which in point of length belongs to the middle class," has been estimateo' to rank with half-blood Merino, and was so estimated in my Report, quo •• Now nbout 35 years since. t Youatt on Sheep, p. 110. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 145 tations from wliicli constitute so laro-e a portion of this Letter. But both subsequent expeiience, and information derived from other sources, have convinced me of the erroneousness of this opinion. South-Down wool is SOUTH-DOWN RAM. essentially different from Merino wool of any grade, though the fibre in some of the finest fleeces may be of the same apparent fineness with half or one-quarter blood Merino. The following cut from Youatt,* gives the microscopic appearance, says that gentleman, of a " prime specimen of picklock South-Down wool," 1 being viewed as a transparent, and 2 as an opaque object." The fibre is g-^oth part of an inch in diameter. 1 The cups or leaves of 2 " are roughened irregular, and some of the leaves have ex- ceedingly short angles," but they are far sharper, more numerous and regular (the points which give wool its felting property) than in ordinary South-Down wool. In the latter, the cups are rounded and have a "rhomboidal" in- stead of that sharp and "hooked" character which distinguishes the Me- rino and Saxon. South-Down wool is deficient in felting properties. It makes a " fui"zy, haivy " cloth, and is no longer used in England, unless largely admixed witn foreign wool, even for the lowest class of cloths. The following testimony was given by some of the most eminent manu- facturers, wool-factors, staplers, and merchants of England, before the Committee of the House of Lords in 1828, several times previously al- luded to :t * Youatt, p. S»6. t See BiBchoff, vol. ii. pp. 145 to 155. T 146 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Mr. Charles Bull, wool agent, Lewes. — " Fomierly it [South-Dowai wool] was used for clothing pni-[)osed ; now it is impossible to sell it for that manufacture ; . . . it is used for baizes and flannels in a very large way." Mr. William Cunnington, wool-stapler, Wiltshire. — " The public will not wear the South-Down cloths, thoy are so very coarse." Mr. .James Flson, wool dealer, Thetford. — "There has been deterioration in the quality of (South-Down) wool ; the general weight of the fleece 20 years ago was 2 pounds to 2|, and it is now 3 pounds to 3^, our wool used to be made into cloths, and retmued into Nor- folk, and used by myself and the agriculturists. We do not get the same cloth now ; neither myself nor the farmer would wear it, because of the deterioration of quality." Mr. James Hubbard, wool agent, Leeds. — South-Down wool is not "now employed for the purpose of making cloth ; it has been forced down two or three steps in the scale of wool, and is now used for flannels and baize The wool gets more frothy and open, and in rnanufactuiinir it does not ielt and improve so well ; it works more flannely." .... Mr. John Drooke, manufactmer, Howley. — " Manufacture principally blue cloths from 7s. to 24s. and 25s. per yard, and also narrow cloths Had the Duke of Norfolk's wool, Mr. EUman, junior's, clip from 1817 and 1822, and Mr. Ellman, senior's, from 1817 to 1821 Kept to English wool longer than any house in the neighborhood Ceased to manufac- ture it entirely in 1823 or 1824, .... found our neighbors were sending out better cloths than we were, not only at the same price, but better manufactured cloths, and we lost our cus- tomers." Mr. Bekjamin Gott, merchant and manufacturer, Leeds. — " I formerly used 150 packs of English wool weekly ; the disuse of English wool was gradual, commencing about the year 1819, continuing to 1823 and 1824, about which time I began to manulacture exclu- sively from foreign wool. Tlie disuse of English wool arose from the quality and the ad- vantage of Tising foreign wool compared with our own. 1 could not now make an article which would be merchantable at all for the foi-eign market, (that remark applies equally to the home trade.) in certain descrijitioDS of cloth, except of foreign wool." . . . These wools (the domestic and foreign,) " have different properties." Mr. William Ireland, Blackwell Hall factor, London. — " We have been using English wool for second and liveiy cloths, but recently they have been so very much lowered in quality we have not been able to make use of them at all, and have been obliged to make use of low German and low Spanish wools for that purpose." Mr. J. SuTCLiFFE, wool-stapler, Huddersfield. — " South-Down wool was formerly ap- plied for making cloth for home consumption regularly, for the clothing of servants, &c. It was also used for army clothing. It is now no longer used for those purposes. It makes a furzy, soft, hairy piece ; it has not that fastness in it that foreign wool has." Many other individuals testify to the same effect, and the extremely low character of South-Down wool for carding purposes maybe regarded as definitely settled. But as it has deteriorated it has increased in length of staple in England, and 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, in England, 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, perhaps thi would not be the case. And it may be problematical whether the proper combing length will be easily reached, or at least maintained in this coun- try, 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 3 lbs. ; on rich lowlands a little more. Mr. John Ellman, Jr., testified before the Com- mittee of the House of Lords that he was then *' keeping his sheep better than formerly — fattening them, which rendered the fleece heavier — that they then averaged about 3 lbs. of wool."t " But the Down 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. The Down is turned off" at two years old, and its weight at thai age is, in England, from 80 to 100 lbs. High fed wethe^ have reached * Nearly or quite every individual who testifies to the deterioration and increased length of the E^outb Down wool before the Lord's Committee, a&sign this as the cause of the change. t Bischoff, vol. ii., p. 137. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 147 from 32 to even 40 lbs. a quarter ! Notwithstanding its weight, the Down has, in the language of Mr. Youatt, 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 Leicester, Lincolns, &c., 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 Eng- lish varieties much subject. to the catarrh or "snuffles," and no sheep bet- ter withstands our American winters. The ewes are prolific breeders and good nursers. The Down is quiet and docile in its habits, and though an industrious feeder, exhibiting little disposition to rove." Like the Leices- ter, 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 wooled breeds than the Leicester. " A sheep possessing such qualities must of course be valuable in upland districts in the vicinity of markets. They have been introduced into every part of the British Do- minions, and imported into various other countries. The Emperor of Russia paid Mr. Ellman three hundred guineas for two rams, and in 1800 ' a ram belonging to the Duke of Bedford, was let for one season at eighty guineas, two others at forty guineas each, and four more at twenty-eight guineas each.' These valuable sheep were introduced into the LTnited States a few years since by Col. J. H. Powell, of Phi].adolphia, and a small number Avas imported by one of the members of this Committee in 1S34. The last were from the flock of Mr. Ellman, at a cost of S60 a head. Sev- eral other importations have since taken place." The rnm and ewe, the portraits of which are given, are the descendants of the importation of Francis Rotch, Esq., alluded to in the preceding paragraph. They are most spirited likenesses, and were kindly furnished me by that gentleman, to accompany this Letter. They are exceedingly SOUTH-DOWN EWE. characteristic of the Ellman stock. Not so large as the later importations of Mr. Rotch from the celebrated flock of Mr. Webb, they are, in the 148 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH, opinion of that gentleman, as well as in my owti, a more beautifully formed and not less profitable animal. For compactness — great weight in a small compass — they are perhaps unrivaled. The following is the description of the perfect South-Down by Mr. Ell- man, the founder of the improved breed : " The head small and hornless ; tlie 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 ana tliin ; the ears tolerably wide aiid well covered with wool, and the fore- head 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 projectins, that it may not form a fatal obstacle in lambing. " The neck of a medium length, thin toward the head, but enlarging toward the shoul- ders, where it sliould be broad and high and straight in its whole course above and below. The breast should be wide, deep, and projecting forwai'd between the fore-legs, indicating a good constitution and a disposition to thnve. Corresponding wnth 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 comuig out horizontally from the spine, and extendhig 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 i-ump broad and the tail set on high, and nearly on a level with the spine. The hips wide ; the space between lliem and the last rib on ei- ther side as nan-ow as possible, and the ribs generally presenting a circular fomi 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 haviu!? a direction rather outward, and the twist, or the meeting of the thighs behind, being j)articiilarly fiill, the bones fine, yet having no appeeirance 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 spiry projecting fibres." '^^^sa^^SSS^si- liiiiiiifif noUNO THE COTSWOLD SHEEP. The above cut is copied from one in Mr. Spooner's work on Sheep — die original drawing being by Harvey. The Cotswolds, undl improved by modei-n crosses, were a very large, SHEEP HUSBANDRY Ii\ THE SOUTH. 14<1 coarse, long-legged, flat-ribbed variety, light in the fore-quarter — shearino a long, heavy, coarse fleece of wool. They were hardy, prolific breeders and capital nurses. They were deficient in early maturity, and did not possess feeding properties equaling those of the Down or New Leicester. To a cross with the latter variety we owe the modern or improved Cots- wold. Having had no personal experience with the breed,* I prefer quoting the descriptions of the later standard English writers, to the task of compilation. The following is from Spooner : t " The CotswolJ is a large breed of sheep, with a long and abundant fleece, and the ewes are veiy prolific and good nurses. Formerly they were bred only on the hills, and fatted in the valleys, of the Severn and the Thames; but with the inclosure of the Cotswold Hills and the improvement of their cultivation they have been reared and fatted in the same distiict. They have been extensively crossed mth the Leicester sheep, by which their size and fleece have been somewhat diminished, but their carcasses considerably im- proved, and their maturity rendered earlier. The wethers are now sometimes fattened at 14 mouths old, when they weigh from 15 lbs. to 24 lbs. per quarter, and at two years old increase to 20 lbs. or 30 lbs. The wool is strong, mellow, and of good color, though rather coarse, G to 8 inches in length, and fi-om 7 lbs. to 8 lbs. 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 mUk, have rendered them m many places rivals of the New Leicester, and have obtained for them, of late years, more attention to then* selection and general treatment, under wliich man- agement still farther improvement appears very probable. They have also been used in crossing other breeds, and, as before noticed, have been mixed with the H;impshire Downs. It is, indeed, the improved Cotswold that, under the tenn New or Improveil Oxfordshire Sheep, are so frequently the successful candidates for prizes offered for the best long-wooled Bheep at some of the principal agiicultiu-al meetings or shows in the Kingdom, The quality of the mutton is considered superior to that of the Leicester, the tallow being less abundant, with a larger development of muscle or flesh. We may, therefore, regard this breed as one of established reputation, and extending itself throughout every district of the Kingdom." Of the method of crossing between the Cotswolds and Leicester, Mr. Youatt remarks 4 " The degi-ec to which the cross may be carried must depend upon the natiu-e of the old stock, antl on the situation and character of tlie farm. In exposed situations, and somewhat scanty pasture, the old blood should decidedly prevail. On a more slieltered soil, and on land that will bear closer stocking, a greater use may be made of the Leicester. Another circumstance that will guide the farmer is the object that he principally has in view. If he expects to derive liis chief profits from the wool, he wiU look to the primitive Cotswolds ; if lie expects to gain more as a gi-azier, he will use the Leicester ram more fi-eely." Cotswold sheep of good quality have been imported into the United States by Messrs. Corning & Sotham, of Albany, and are now bred by the latter gentleman. I believe there were several earlier importations — but of their dates or particulars I am not advised. The Cheviot Sheep. — Sheep of this breed have been imported into my immediate neighborhood, and were subject to my frequent inspection for two or three years. They had the appearance of small Leicesters, but were con- siderably inferior in correctness of proportions to high-bred animals of that variety. They perhaps more resemble a cross between the Leicester and the old " native " or common breed of the United States. Their fleeces were too coarse to furnish a good carding wool — too short for a good combing one. Mixed with a smaller lot of better wool, their this year's clip sold for 29 cents per pound, while my heavier Merino fleeces sold for 42 cents per pound. They attracted no notice, and might at any time have been bought of their owner for the price of common sheep of the same weight. I believe the flock was broken up and sold to butchers and others this spring, after shearing. They were certainly inferior to the description of the breed by Sir John Sinclair, even in 1792, quoted by Mr. Youatt, |i and * With evci-y breed previously described, I have had ample personal experience. I have merely seen Cotswold flocks. t Q. v., p. 99. % Q. v., p. 340. || Q. v., pp. 285, 286. 50 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. had all the defects attributed to the oiigiiial stock by Cully* They miffht not, however, have been favorable specimens of the breed. On the steep, storm-lashed Cheviot Hills, in the extreme North of Eng- land, this breed first attracted notice for their great hardiness in resisting CHEVIOT EWE. cold and feeding on coarse heathery herbage. A cross vv^ith the Leices- ter, pretty generally resorted to, constitutes the improved variety. ■ The characteristics of the Leicester are quite evident in the portrait of the Cheviot Ewe, above, copied from Mi'. Youatt. Professor Low thus speaks of the result of this cross : " The Cheviot breed amalgamales with tlie Leicester, and a system of breeding has been extensively introduced for producing the first cross of this descent. The rams employed are of the pure Leicester breed, and the progeny is superior in size, weight of wool, and tenden- cy 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 mfeiior to the pure Leicester in fomi and fattening properties, and to the pure Cheviot in hardiness of constitution. Of the improved Cheviot Mr. Spooner says : " This breed has gi-eatly extended ilseif throughout the mountains of Scotland, and in many instances supplmited the Black-faced breed ; but the change, though in many cases ad- vantageous, has in some instances been otherwise, the latter being somewhat hardier, and more capable of subsisting on heathy pasturage. They are, however, a hardy race, well suited for their native pastures, beanng with comparative impunity the storms of winter, and thriving well on poor keep. Though less hardy than the black-faced sheep of Scotland, they are more profitable as respects their feedmg, making more flesh on an equal quantity of food, and making it quicker. They have white faces and legs, open countenances, lively ej'es, without horns. The ears are large, and somewhat singular, and there is much space between the eai's 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 cov- ered with wool, as well as the body, with the exception of the face. The Cheviot wether is fit for the butcher at three years old, and averages fi-om I'i lbs. to 18 lbs. per quai-ter — the mutton beuig of a good quality, though uiferior to the South-Down, and of less flavor than the Black -faced The Cheviot, though a mountain breed, is quiet and docile, and ea« sily managed. The wool \sjine, (?) closely covers the body, assistuig much in preserving it * See Cully on Lire Stock, p. 150. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. from the effects of wet and cold ; the fleece averaging about 3.^ lbs. Formerly the wool was extensively employed for making cloths, but having given place to the finer Saxony wools, it has SLUik in pr-ice, and been confined to combing purposes. It has thus become altogether a secondary consideration." . , . If Mr. Spooner is not made to say that the wool is " fine " by an omis- sion of quahfying words, or some other misprint, his ideas of Jineness must be singular indeed ! The South-Down wool, rejected for carding pur- uoses, is several shades finer than the Cheviot ! The latter is of about the quality of Leicester, the number of serrations about the same, and, says Mr. Youatt, speaking of the microscopic appearance of the wool, " the derivation of the breed (from the Leicester) is well illustrated by the formation of the fibre." Mr. John Varley, manufacturer, of Stanningley, near Leeds, thus testi- fied before the Lords' Committee :* " I attinbute the low price of Cheviot wool to deterioration ; it is deteriorated very much in point of hair ; it was formerly the fashion of the day for Cheviot wool to be woni as cloth ; it is not the fashion now. It is not fit to make fine cloths, as it was then The wool ia grown coarser and longer, and only fit to make low coatings and flushings." This is confirmed by the testimony of other witnesses before the Com- mittee; and Mr. Youatt on the same subject remarks,! "that the wool is inferior to the South-Down." Broad-taileo Asiatic and African Sheep. — I allude to the Broad- tailed race of sheep, not from any high estimate which I place upon their value, but because they constitute one of the breeds now exislino- in a state of purity in the United States. Some " Tunisian Mountain Sheep " were received by Col. Pickering when abroad, and were distributed by him in Pennsy]vaiiia.| They are highly spoken of by Col. Powell as a cross with the Dishley and South- Down. They have, I believe, long since become extinct. It was Commodore Porter, I think, who, you informed me, sent home some of the Broad-tailed sheep of Asia, obtained from Smyrna, pure- blooded descendants of which yet exist in South Carolina.|| I have care- fully examined the specimens of wool of the full blood and the grades of this variety forwarded by you. No. 3, taken from the skin of a full-blood, is 8 inches long, pure white, consisting of coarse hairs, uneven in their length and diameter — the same hair of uneven diameter in different parts of it, and the whole intermixed for about 4 inches from the roots, with a fine, downy or cottony wool. No. 2, about 3j inches long from the side of a three-fourths blood ram, is much evener in quality, with no hairs as coai'se or wool as fine as in No. 3. It contains some jarr, or short, sharp- pointed hairs, and is a dry, and, I should judge, rather unworkable wool, not tveU adapted to either carding or combing. No. 1, fi'om thigh of same animal, is 8 inches long, resembles X ). 3, but not so great a distinction between the hair and the wool. No. 4, from a three-fourths blood 4-year- old ewe, is about 2 inches long, contains a few colored hairs, resembles No. 2, but is somewhat coarser. All these samples are destitute of yolk, and apparently come from loose, light, di-y, open fleeces. Tht^y do not strike me as wools which could be as profitably cultivated as many others, for any objects or under any circumstances. If the object is mutton instead of wool, it seems to me that a better se- lection can be made, from some of the English breeds — which intermingle * Bischoft', vol ii , p. 144. Mr. Youatt quotes the substance of the above, and fully sustains Mr. Varley'a views. t Q. v., p. ac^S. + See Essay on Various Breeds of Sheep, by Col. John Hare Powell, published in the Memoirs of the Board of Agriculture of the State of New- York, vol. iii., p. 377, (1826.) » II In Letter Vth I inadvertently spoke of these as a larffe breed of sheep. They are not above medium size, or rather, may be said to be a smallish race. 152 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. their fat and muscle in such a manner as to render both palatable, instead of depositing a greatly disproportioned share of the former in one luscious mass, forming an impediment to breeding, and an unsightly appendage in the eye of the breeder. All the different varieties of the Broad-tailed and Fat-rumped sheep will be found described in Youatt, and I will not now consume your time with them. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 153 LETTER XL THE MOST PROFITABLE BREED OF SHEEP FOR THE SOUTH.— PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. Breeds should be adapted to the ciicamstances of a Counti-y...Circiimetances requiring a Mutton Sheep . . .Cotnparison between Mutton Sheep — The South-Downs, Leiccsters and Cotswolds. . -How far the Feed Market?, cfcc, of the South demand such breeds.. .What breed of Sheep will give the greatest value of Wool from the feed of an acre ?... Comparative Consumption and Wool Product of the Mutton breeds and the Merino— Other Expenses — Comparative Hardiness, &c. . . A pound of fine wool can be grown as cheaply as a pound of coarse — worth more for market or fur consumption.. .The Mutton of the Merino and its Crosses.. -What suh.yariety of the Merino best adapted to the wants of the South ?... Review of the His- tory of Wool-Growing and the Wool Markets since ] 824 ... Tariffs and Prices.. .Injudicious course of the Manufacturers — Have discouraged the growth of fine wool and encouraged that of medium and coarse. .. A surplus of medium wools, and a bare or short supply of fine.. . Manufacturers now in the power of fine wool grovi'crs.. Interest of the Manufacturers to encourage the t.Towth of fine wools by paying better prices— are beginning to do so— will be compelled to continue this course.. .Will the North "furnish the increasing deniand V — No — Reasons... Fine wool in every point of view more profitable than coarse for cultivation in the South.. .Comparison between Merinos and Saxons. . .Crosses between them. . .Points which constitute excellence in a Merino — proper size — per centage of wool to live-weiiiht — shape and gen- eral appearance — skin — wrinkles.. .The wool — what parts it should cover— its gum — length and weight of fleece— evenness — style— softness— serration — manner of opening. Sec... Principles of breeding. . . In and-in breeding... Crossing... English Crosses with the Merino... Views of Mr. Livingston concerning the use of cross-bred rams — of the French breeders— of the author.. .Great importance of starting a flock with choice rams — with different strains of blood. Dear 8ir : 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 valu- able for wool, is comparatively deficient in carcass. Some varieties will flourish only under certain conditions of feed 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, we are to take into consid- eration Jirst, the feed and climate, or the surrounding natural circum- stances ; and, second, the market facilities and demand. We should then make choice of that breed which, with the advantages possessed, and un- der all the circumstances, will yield the greatest net value of 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 markets where mutton finds a prompt sale and good prices, then all the conditions are realized which call for a 7nut- ton, as contradistinguished from a 7cool-producing sheep. Under such cir- cumstances, the choice should undoubtedly, in my judgment, rest between the improved English varieties — the South-Down, the New Leicester, and the improved Cotswold or New Oxfordshire sheep. In deciding between these, minor and more specific circumstances are to be taken into account. If we wish to keep large numbers, the Down will herd* much better than the two larger breeds ; if our feed, though generally plentiful, is liable to be shortish during the drouths of summer, and we have not a certain sup- ply of the most nutritious winter feed, the Down will better enduie occa- sional short keep : if the market calls for a choice and high-flavored mut- ton, the Down possesses a decided superiority. If, on the other hand, we * That is, remain thriving and healthy when kept together in large numbers. u 154 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. wish to keep but few in the same in closure, the large breeds will be as healthy as the Downs ; if the pastures be wettish or marshy, the former will better subsist on the rank herbage which usually grows in such situa- tions ; if they do not afford so fine a quality of mutton, they, particularly the Leicester, possess an earlier maturity, and both give more meat for the amount of food consumed, and yield more tallow. The next point of comparison between the Long and Middle wooled families, is the value of their wool. Though not the first or principal ob- ject aimed at in the culture of any of these breeds, it is, in this country, an important item or incident in determining their relative profitableness. The American Leicester* yields about 6 lbs. of long, coarse, combing wool; the Cotswold something more, but this perhaps counterbalanced by other considerations ; the Down from 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. of a low quality of carding wool. None of these wools are very salable, at remunerating prices, in the American market. Both will become more so, as manufactures of worsted, and of flannels and baizes, increase. The diflerence in the weight of fleeces between the breeds is, j>^^ se, a less important consideration than would first appear, and for reasons which will be given when I speak of the connection between the amount of wool produced and the food con- sumed, by sheep. Of the Cheviots I have taken no notice in this connection, as they are ■obviously inferior to the preceding breeds, except in a cajiacity to endure rigorous weather, and to subsist on heathy herbage. No part of the South has a climate too severe for the more valuable races, and its grasses and other esculents, wherever found, and as far as they go, are, making the proper allowances for wet and dry lands, highly palatable and nutri- tious to all the varieties which respectively feed in such situations. Under the natural and artificial circumstances already alluded to, which surround Sheep Husbandry in many parts of England — where the fattest and grossest 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 producer and consumer, and are of unrivaled value. To depasture poorer soils — sustain a folding system — and furnish the mutton which sup- plies the tables of the wealthy — the South-Down is an equal desideratum. Have we any region in our Southern States, where analogous circum- stances demand the introduction of similar breeds 1 The climate, so far as its effect on the health is concerned, is adapted to any, even the least hardy varieties ; but not so its effects on the verdure on which they are to subsist. The long, scorching summers, so utterly unlike those of England, leave the grass on lands stocked heavily enough for profit, entirely too dry and short for the heavy, sluggish Long Wools. This is particularly true in the tide-water zone. Mutton, too, sheeted over extei'ually with three or four inches of solid fat,t even if it could be made acceptable to the slave, in lieu of his ration of bacon — a thing more than doubtful — would never find any considerable market off from the plantation. So far as the supply of feed is concerned, the above remarks apply, though not equally, to the South-Down. It will live and thrive where the Long Wools would dwindle away, but it is a mistake to suppose that the heavy im- * I use the word " American " Leicester, because it is notorious that this, as well as the Cotswold — and all the other heavy English varieties, soon lose in the weight of their fleeces when subjected to the climate Bnd the (best ordinary) system of feeding in the United States. I should except, perhaps, a few highly pampered animals. t Five and even six inches of solid fat, on the rib, is not uncommon in England. In the Cotswolds the fat and lean are more intermixed, and the mutton is of a better quality j but it would be considered en- tirely too luscious and tallowy by Americans. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 155 proved South-Down will subsist, and attain its proper weight and fatness, on very poor or very scant herbage. The old uniinproved variety would, like some other smallish and hardy races, obtain a living on keep aa poor as that which gi-ew on the lightest and thinnest soils of Sussex. INIoulded by the hand of Ellman, and other breeders, to better fulfill the conditions of a mutton sheep, in size and other particulars, they demand that in- creased supply of food which the formation of additional fat and muscle require. Retaining some of the properties of the parent stock, tliey are less sluggish, and bear travel better than the Long Wools ; but with them as with the latter, and all other animals, much or prolonged exercise in pursuit of food or otherwise, is unfavorable to obesity. Men, and par- ticularly owners, in advocating the claims of this breed and that, seem not unfrequently to forget that the general physical laws which control in 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 appropiiate it in particular direc- tions — in one breed, more especially to the production of fat — in another, of muscle or lean meat — in another, wool. But, catcris paribus, 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 nutri- tious food, and they must exercise but little in order to prevent the unne- cessary " combustion " in the lungs, of that carbon which forms more than seven-tenths of their fat. No art of breeding can countervail these estab- lished laws of Nature. Again, there are no facilities in the South for marketing large quantities of mutton — of a tithe of that which would be annually fitted for the sham- bles, were Sheep Husbandry introduced to anything like the extent I have recommended, and with the mutton breeds of sheep. With few cities and large villages — with a sparse population — with an agricultural pojiulation the greatest drawback on whose pecuniary prosperity is their inability to market their own surplus edibles — not a particle of rational doubt can ex- ist on this point. True, I have expressed the opinion that, both as a mat- ter of healthfulness and economy, mutton should be substituted for a moi- ety of the bacon used on the plantation ; but with such a change, in a country so exclusively agricultural, each landholder would raise his own supply, and thus no market be created. It may then be regarded as a set- tled point that the production of wool is the primary, the great object of Southern Sheep Husbandry. In instituting a comparison between breeds of sheep for wool-growin"' purposes, I will, in the outset, lay down the obviously incontrovertible proposition that the question is not what variety will shear the heaviest or even the most valuable fleeces, irrespective of the cost of production. — Cost of feed and care, and every other expense, must be deducted, 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 tico of the smaller sheep. The true question then is, with the same expense in other particulars. From what breed will the verdure of an acre of land produce the greatest value of wool ? Let us first proceed to ascertain the comparative amount of food con- sumed 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 con- sumption is in proportion to the live weight of the (grown) animal. Of course, this rule is not invariable in its individual application, but its geu- i5Q SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. eral soundness has been satisfactorily established. Spooner states that grown sheep take up 3^ per cent, of their weight in what is equivalent to dry hay per day, to keep in store condition. Veit places the consumption at 2^ per cent. My experience would incline me to place it about midway between the two. But whatever the precise amount of the consumption, if it is proportioned to the weight, it follows that if an acre is capable of sustaining three Merinos weighing 100 lbs. each, it will sustain but two Leicesters weighing 150 lbs. each, and two and two- fifths South-Downs weighing 125 lbs. each. Merinos of this weight often shear 5 lbs. per fleece, taking flocks through. The herbage of an acre, then, would give 15 lbs. of Merino wool, and but 12 lbs. of Leicester, and but 9f lbs. of South-Down (estimating the latter as high as 4 lbs. to the fleece) ! Even the finest and lightest fleeced sheep ordinarily known as Mei'inos, average about 4 lbs. 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 ! 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 I have, in the preceding estimate, placed the live-weight of the English breeds low, and that of the Merino high. The live-weight of the four- pound fine-fleeced Merino does not exceed 90 lbs. It ranges from 80 to 90 lbs., so that 300 lbs. of live-weight would give a still greater product of wool to the acre.* I consider it perfectly safe to say that the herbage of an acre xcill uniformly give nearly double the value of Merino y that it will of any of the EnglisJi Lojig or Middle jvools. The important question now remains, What are the other relative ex- penses of these breeds "? I speak from experience when I say that the Leicestert is in no respect a hardier sheep than the Merino — indeed, it is my firm conviction that it is less hardy, under the most favorable circum- stances. It is more subject to colds, and I think its constitution breaks up more readily under disease. The lambs are more liable to perish from ex- posure to cold, when newly dropped. Under tinfavorahle circumstances — ■ herded in large flocks, pinched for feed, or subjected to long journeys — its capacity to endure, and its ability to rally from the effects of such draw- backs, do not compare with those of the Merino, The high-bred South- Down, though considei'^bly less hardy than the unimproved parent stock, is still fairly entitled to the appellation of a hardy animal. In this respect I consider it just about on a par with the Merino. I do not think, how- ever, it will bear as hard stocking as the latter, without a rapid diminution in size and quality. If the peculiar merits of the animal are to be taken into account in determining the expenses — and I think they 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 South-Down ewe not only frequently yeans twin lambs, as do both the Merino and Leicester, but she possesses, unlike the latter, nursing properties to do justice by them. But this advantage is fully counterbalanced by the superior longevity of the Merino. All the English mutton breeds begin to rapidly deteriorate in am unt of wool, capacity to fatten, and in general vigor, at about 5 years old and their early maturity is no offset to this, in a sheep kept for wool- growing purposes. This early decay would require earlier and more rapid slaughter or sale than would always be economically convenient, or even possible, in a region situated in all respects like the South. It is well, on * Tt is understood that all of these live-weights refer to erces in fair ordinary, or what is called stora condition. ( I speak of full-blood Leicesters. Some of its crosses are much hardier than the pure bred 8h«ep. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 157 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 Down and Leicester at Jive or six. — I have known instances of Merino ewes breeding uniformly until 15 years old! The Improved Cotswold is said to be hardier than the Leicester; but I have said less of this variety, throughout this entire Letter, as from their great size* and the consequent amount of food consumed by them, and the other necessary incidents connected with the breeding of so large animals, the idea of their being introduced as a tcool-growing sheep any- where, and particularly on lands grassed like those of the South, is, in my judgment, utterly preposterous. There is one advantage Avhich all the coarse races of sheep have over the Merino. Either because their hoofs do not grow long and turn under from the sides, as do those of the Meri- no, and thus hold dirt and filth in constant contact with the foot, the coarse races are less subject to the visitations of the hoof-ail, and, when contract- ed, it spreads with less violence and malignity among them. Taking all the circumstances connected with the peculiar management of each race, and all the incidents, exigencies, and risks of the husbandry of each fairly into account, I am fully convinced that the expenses, other than those of feed, are not smaller i)er capita, or even in the number required to stock an acre, in either of the English bi'eeds above referred to, than in the Me- rino. Nor should I be disposed to concede even equality, in these I'espects, to either of those English breeds, excepting the South-Down. You wiite me. Sir, that many of the South Carolina planters are under the impression that coarse wools will be most profitably grown by them, first, because there is a gi-eater deficit in the supply, and they are better protected from foreign competition ; and, secondhj, because they furnish the raw material for so great a portion of the woolens consumed in the South. Each of these premises is true, but are the conclusions legitimate ] Notwithstanding the greater deficit and better protection, do the coarse wools bear as high a price as the fine ones % If not, they are not as profit- able, for I have already shown that it costs no more to raise a j^ound of coarse than a pound of fine wool. Nay, a pound of medium Merino wool can be raised more cheaph/ than a pound of the South-Down, Leicester, or Cotswold ! This I consider clearly established. Grant that the South requires a much greater proportion of coarse than of fine wool, for her own consumption. If a man needing iron for his own consumption, wrought a mine to obtain it, in which he should happen to find gold equally accessible and plentiful, would it be economical in him to neglect the more precious metal because he wanted to use the iron ? or should he dig the gold, obtain the iron by exchange, and pocket the differ- ence in value 1 Would it be economical to grow surplus wool, wool for market, worth from 25 to 30 cents per pound, when it costs no more per pound to grow that worth from 40 to 45 cents 1 And even for the home want, for the uses of the plantation — for slave-cloths, &c. — fine tcool is wort7i more jycr pound than coarse for actual icear or use ! Is this propo- sition new and incredible to you ] I challenge the fullest investigation of its truth, through the testimony of those familiar with the subject, or through the direct ordeal of experiment. It is true that a piece of fine broadcloth is not so strong, nor will it wear like a Chelmsford plain of treble thick- • I Raw two at the late N. Y. State Fair, at Saratoga, which weighed over 300 lbs. each 1 158 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. ness. The threads of the former are spun to extreme fineness to econo« mize the costly raw materiah To give it that finish which is demanded by fashion — ';o give it its beautiful nap — these threads are still farther re- duced by "gigging" and "shearing." But spin fine wool into yarn as coarse as that used in Chelmsfords, and manufacture it in the same way, and it would make a far stronger and moi'e durable cloth. The reasons are obvious. Merino wool is decidedly stronger than the English coarse Long and Middle wools — or any other coarse wools — in proportion to its diameter or bulk. It felts far better, and there is therefore a greater co- hesion between the diffei'ent fibres of the same thread, and between the different threads. It is also moi'e pliable and elastic, and consequently less subject to " breaking" and abrasion. Unless the views I have advanced are singularly erroneous, it will be seen that, for wool-growing purposes, the Merino possesses a marked and decided superiority over the best breeds and families of coarse-wooled sheep. As a mutton sheep, it is inferior to some of those breeds, but not so much so as it is generally reputed to be. If required to consume the fat and Jean together, many who have never tasted Merino mutton, and who have an unfavorable impression of it, would, I suspect, find it more palatable than the luscious and over-fat New Leicester. The mutton of the cross between the Merino and " Native " sheep would certainly be preferred to the Leicester, by anybody but an English laborer used to the latter. It is short-grained, tender, and of good flavor. The same is true of the crosses with the English varieties. These will be, hereafter, more particularly alluded to. Grade Merino wethers (say half-bloods) are favor- ites with the Northern drover and butcher. They are of good size — ex- traordinarily heavy for their apparent bulk* — make good mutton — tallow well — and their pelts, from the greater weight of wool on them, command an extra price. They would, in my opinion, furnish a mutton every way suitable for plantation consumption, and one which would be well accept- ed in the Southern markets. In speaking of the Merino in this connection, I have in all cases, unless it is distinctly specified to the contrary, had no reference to the Saxons — though they are, as it is well known, pure-blooded descendants of the former. Assuming it now as a settled point, that it is to the Merino race that the wool-grower must look for the most profitable sheep, let us now jiroceed to inquire which of the widely varying sub-varieties of this race are best adapted to the wants and circumstances of the South. A brief glance at the history of wool-growing, and of the wool markets, for the last few years, will form an useful preliminary inquiry, and will assist us materially in arriving at a correct conclusion. On the introduction of the Saxons, about twenty-four years since, they were sought with avidity by the holders of the fine-wooled flocks of the country, consisting at that time of pure or grade Merinos. The TariflT of 1824 imposed a duty of 20 per cent, on wools costing above 10 cents per pound, gradually rising to 30 per cent., and 15 per cent, on those costing less than 10 cents. Foreign woolen cloths t were subject to an ad valorem duty of 30 per cent, until June 30th, 1825, and after that it was raised to 33^ per cent. The Tariff of 1828 immediately raised the duty on all wools to 40 per cent, ad valorem and 4 cents per pound specific duty, and 5 per cent, was to be annually added to the ad valorem duty, until it should reach 50 * On account of the shortness of their wool, compared with the coarse breeds. t Where 1 use the word " cloths " here and in the statements of the difterent Tariffs which follow, yoi will understand that I do not Include carpetings, Wankets, worsted stuff goods. &c. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 159 per cent, (in 1831.) The duty on woolen cloths was also raised (after June, 1829) to 45 per cent., and that exceeding $4 the square yard to 50 per cent. Under the decisive encouragement offered to both the wool- grower and manufacturer by this Act, a great impetus was given to the production of the finest wools, and the Saxons everywhere rapidly su- perseded, or bred out by crossing, the Spanish Merinos. The latter dis- appeared almost entirely from New-York and New-England. In the fine-wool mania which ensued, weight of fleece, constitution, and every- thing else, were sacrificed to the quality of the wool. The Tariff of 1832 imposed a 40 per cent, ad valorem and 4 cents per pound specific duty on wools costing over 8 cents ; and it raised the duty on all broadcloths to 50 percent. It made wools costing less than 8 cents per pound fi-ee of duty. The " Compromise " Tariff of 1833 commenced a system of progressive reductions until the maximum rate of duties should not exceed 20 per cent. The following Table will give the duties of each year, on wool and cloths, under this Act, estimating the ad valorem and specific duties on wools exceeding 8 cents, together in an average per centage :* TABLE L4. Per ct ad val. 1833. 1835. 1837. 1839. 1841. 1842. Wool costin;,' loss than 8 cents per pound P free. 54 50 free. 50-60 47 • free. 47-20 44 free. 43-80 41 free. 40-40 38 free. 30-20 29 20 20 20 Wool costing over 8 cents per pound Woolen cloths The Tariff of 1841 struck out the 20 per cent, duty on the 8 cent wools. The Tariff of 1842 again imposed an ad valorejn duty of 5 per cent, or wools costing seven cents or under, and raised it on the higher wools to 30 per ceut. ad valorem and 3 cents per pound specific duty, and on cloths to 40 per cent, ad valorem. The Tariff of 1846 established an ad valorem duty of 30 per cent, on all wools, and on cloths. By referring to Table 7, Letter V., it will be seen that the prices of wool have not been controlled by the amount of the protection. They reached their maximum in 1836, and then fell off, not again to rally, (except during the single year 1839) — < not again to reach 40 cents — until 1844. AVhy was this 1 What pro- duced the sudden depreciation of 1837 1 The Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 ^dive too much protection to both wool-grower and manufacturer. Their pursuits became the El Dorado of agricultural and mercantile speculators. Skill without capital, and capital without skill, and in some cases probably thirst of gain w^ithout either, rushed into these favored avocations. The bank inflations of the period fiinned the fires of speculation, and taught some of the wisest commercial hfeads of the country to forget the provi- dence that had hitherto distinguished them. The natural result followed. In the financial crisis of 1837, manufacturing, and all other monetary en- terprises which had not been conducted with skill and providence, and which were not based on adequate and real capital, were involved in a common destruction, and even the solidest and best conducted institutions of the country were shaken by the fury of the explosion. Wool suddenly fell almost 50 per cent, (from 54 to 30 cents per pound.) t In 1838 it ral- lied a little, and in 1839 it again reached 50 cents, but it went down nearly to the minimum point in 1840. The grower began to be discouraged. He who bred the delicate Saxons, (and, as I have already said, they now comprised the flocks of nearly all the large wool-growers in the country,) * The reduction of one-tenth of the excess over 20 per cent, toolj place Dec. 3l8t. each year, to 1841 ; then one-hair of the residue of the excess ; and on the 30th of June, 1842, the other half of said residue was de- ducted. t The quality of the wools here «Iluded to will be found specified in a note on the second page of Letter V. 160 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. was not obtaining the actual first cost per pound of his wooh He clam- ored loudly for an increase of duties on the foreign article, as the reduc- tions of the " Compromise " Act were now approaching their ultimate standard — 20 percent. — and he attributed the low prices to this cause: Saxon wool continued low, and did not pay its first cost in 1841 and 1842. Was this due solely to the reduction of the Tariff] A reference to Table 11 (Letter IX.) will show that the import of foreign woolens was less from 1836 up to and including 1842, than for the six preceding years ! Where then was the foreign competition which was driving the manufacturer to keep down the price of wools 1 The Tariff of 1842 raised the duty on wool 10 per cent, and added a specific duty of 3 cents per pound ; and it raised the duty on cloths from 20 to 40 per cent. The import of foreign woolens sunk, the succeeding year, to a lower point ihan it had touched since 1821, and in 1844 and 1845 it did not reach the average of the six years preceding the enactment of the Tariff of 1842. A reference to Table 9 (Letter IX.) will show that the import of foreign fine wools also largely fell off. This coincided with the expectations of the advocates of a higher Tariff, but another and equally legitimate expectation entertained by the great body of Northern wool-growers — that thexj were to share in the benefits arising from the exclusion of foreign competition — was sig- nally disappointed. The Tariff of 1842 was enacted on the 30th day of August, and part of the clip of that year was sold under its operation. Wool sold that year loioer th^n it had for the five preceding years, viz., for 30 cents. The next year it advanced o.ne penny ! General discourage- ment now seized upon the growers of fine wool. The market was not overstocked — foreign competition was light, but still tJicy could not sell their wool for its first cost ! To add to their mortification, the manufac- turer, by a most short-sighted policy, would scarcely make a discrimina- tion of 6d. per pound between Saxon wool and medium Merino and grade wools weighing nearly twice as much to the fleece. If the grower of me- dium wool got 25 cents per pound for fleeces weighing 4 lbs. — thus real- izing $1 per fleece — the ordinary Saxon grower would get but. 30 cents per pound for fleeces weighing 2^ lbs., and thus realize but 75 cents ! * When the Saxon growers found that the Tariff of '42 brought them no relief, they began to give up their costly and carefully nursed flocks. The example, once set, became conlagious, and there 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 sacri- fice of their fixtures for rearing sheep. Others crossed with coarse-wooled breeds, and rushing from one extreme to the other, some even crossed with the English mutton breeds ! Some more judiciously went back to the parent Merino stock, but usually they selected the heaviest and coarsest wooled Merinos, and thus materially deteriorated the character of their wool. As the preceding period had been distinguished by its mania iox fine wool, this was, by its mania for heavy fleeces !] The English crosses, however, were speedily abandoned.| The Merino regained his * And though the larger, stronger sheep, bearing the medium wool, would eat more, it was far hardier, required less protection and care of every kind, and would increase more rapidly — circumstances which would far more than counterbalance its excess of consumption. t I make no claim of havins possessed greater sagacity or foresight in these particulars than the mass of breeders. I began with the Merino. These I crossed with the Saxon, and I also bred the pure-blood Sax- ons for several years. Unsatisfied with these, I made some experiments with the English mutton breeds, both as pure bloods and crosses. Finding none of them equal to the Merino as a wool-producing sheep, I returned to the latter, and I bred for heavy fleeces until the manufacturers saw fit to make a juster discrim- ination in the prices paid by them for the dift'erent qualities of wool. X I mean by those who sought to improve their fine-wooled flocks by an English cross. English and all other coarae-wooled sheep are immensely and rapidly improved, for wool-growing purposes, by a propei fine-wooled cross, as 1 have already and shall again have occasion to mention. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 161 supremacy, lost for nearly twenty years, and again became the popular favorite. It was generally adopted by those who were commencingr flocks in the new Western States, and gives its type to the sheep of those re- gions. It will be seen from the preceding facts that the supply of fine wool* has proportionably decreased, and that of medium and coarse increased. This has driven the manufacturers to make a juster discrimination in prices. They now realize that their own short-sighted economy has been all but fatal to fine wool-growing in the United States. And they cannot but feci that in destroying this interest, tlicy destroy themsclccs. Our manufacturers are not so miserably blind as to dream of drawing iheirraw material from foreign countries — of paying an import duty of 30 per cent, and then competing with the English manufacturer who pays an import duty not exceeding two pence per pound ! It is doubtful, in my mind, whether the home supply will not fall considerably short of the home demand for fine woo] far this year !] The point has been already reached where but a little moi'e discouragement, or a little longer continued discouragement, would have banished these wools from the country ! S9 far, the manufac- tories have not felt this evil, for they have not been compelled to import. Neither pampered nor persecuted by the Tariff of 1846 — called for by the consumjition of the country — with solid capital and greater experience and skill at their command — they are rapidly increasing, and rising on a solider basis than ever before. So, to sustain our viamifacturing interest, (that engaged in the manufacture of fine cloths,) it is absolutely necessary that the diminution o^ fine wools be not only immediately arrested, but that the growth of them be immediately and largely increased. These facts now fii'st beginning to be clearly appreciated by the manufacturer — will deter him from resorting to his former suicidal jjolicy. Instances have recently come to my knowledge of manufacturers offering to contract with fine-wool growers for their entire clips, for a term of years, at an ad- vance on present prices — prices, be it remembered, higher than they have been except for two years (1839 and 1844) since the overthrow of 1837. Should the manufacturer, however, again forget his own interest, the fine- wool grower has it in his power to teach it to him most effectually. In- stead of being discouraged and driven from the business, lie has but to withhold his wools for a season — say for a few months, to com])el the for- mer to import wools at a ruinous cost — stop his machinery, or pay fair prices at home ! I believe in no combinations to control prices. Some- thing far better than vague report, however, says that several of the large manufacturing establishments of New-England employed the sa^ne agents, last seasoiMto buy much, if not all of their wools — and that these wools were subsequently divided by bidding or othermse, among the parties to the transaction ! Is this, denied 1 I think it will not be denied. If this was so, what was it but a combination to control prices ]| But whether * To make myself clenrly understood, I will, in the remarks which follow, classify wools ns follows : svr perf^ne, the choicest quality of wool grown in the United States, and never grown here excepting in com- paratively small quantities ; fine, good ordinary Saxon ; good medium, the highest quality of wool usually known in the market as Merino ; medium, ordinary Merino ; ordinary, erade Merino and perha})S selected South-Down fleeces ; coarse, the English lona; wools, &c. This subdivision is not minute enoutrh, by any means, to express fully the number of well-defined classes which exist in woo|. A farther multiplication of them here, however, I have thought would only tend to confusion. i The position has been all alone taken that the general supply was under the demand, but the deficit hitherto has been principally in medium and coarse wools. See Table 9, Letter IX J And before leaving this point, I will ask another question : Why were most of the wools of New- York and New-Ensland untouched and unlooked at by the agents of the manufacturers this year, contrary to all preceding customs for two or three months subsequently to shearing? These same a^'ents "i.icked in droves to the Western States and bought up their entire clip immediately after shearing, while i-eports were constantly coming back that this manufactory and that had purchased its entire suppiy for a year, or perhaps two years ? Was this because the Eastern growers demanded exorbitant prices 1 W»s it because •nything like an approach to a supply of fine wools could be found in the West 1 Or waa it ttd result of a A. 162 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. so or not, when we compare the profits which have inured to the growers and manufacturers of fine wool for the last few years, it behooves the for- mer both to speak and act decidedly. Their interests have been sacrificed long enough ! But it is to be hoped that the grower of these wools will not be hereafter driven to the alternative of either suffering himself, or of defending himself by retaliatory measures. Some few of the manufac- turers have always, I believe, taken a high and liberal course. Enough others, as already remarked, now see the necessity of such liberality to prevent any combined or general effort to depress prices. Will the North again turn its attention to the growth of superfine and fine wools — again supply the demand, and keep up with it as it increases 1 Not unless stimulated by the inducement of extraordinary profits — not, certainly, against the competition of the South. The climate north of 41^, or, beyond all dispute, north of 42°, is too severe for any variety of sheep commonJy knoini, which bear either of these classes of wools. In fact, the only such variety, in anything like general use, is the Saxon ; and this is a delicate sheep, entirely incapable of safely withstanding our Northern winters, without gpod shelter, good and regularly administered food, and careful and skillful management in all other particulars. When the season is a little more than usually backward, 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 in such a crisis, as it often happens, a north-east or north-west storm comes driving down, bearing snow or sleet on its wings, or there is a sudden depression of the temper- ature from any cause, no care will save multitudes of lambs from perish- ing.* And it will not do to defer the time of having them diopped to es- cape these evils, or they will not attain size and strength enough to pass safely through their first winter.t A few large sheepholders, whose farms, buildings, etc., have been arranged with exclusive reference to the rearing of these sheep, may continue to grow fine wool until driven from it hy the competition of the South ; but many of these have recently adopted a Merino cross. The ordinary farmers, the small sheepholders, who, in the aggregate, grow by far the largest portion of our Northern wools, have im- bibed a deep-seated aversion — nay, a positive disgust — against the Saxon sheep. They have not the necessary fixtures for their winter protection, and they are entirely unwilling to bestow the necessary amount of care on them. Besides, mutton and wool being about an equal consideration with this class of farmers, they want larger and earlier maturing breeds. But, above all, they want a strong, hardy sheep, which demands no more care than their cattle. The strong, compact, medium-wooled Merii^ — or, per- haps still more generally, its crosses with coarse varieties, proaucing the wool which I have classified as ordinary — will be the general favorites. — The same reasons will weigh still more strongly in the North-west, where, as I have shown, the climate is a still worse one for delicate sheep. All these causes will tend to swell the amount of medium, ordinary and coarse concerted movement to bring the Eastern grower into taking last year's prices ? It actually did so, in a multitufle of instances — or, he was contented to receive the slightest advance on them ! This will be found true of nearly all who sol4 soon after the market opened in the East. If not the result of a concerted and combined movemrnt, the general desertion of the Eastern and resort to the Western market hy the manu- facturers was a most singular coincidence ! These manufacturers are now /am to purchase Eastern wools at a considerable advance from the prices of 1846— and. as already hinted, it is highly problematical, in my mind, whether thoy will not be compelled to import at a still higher advance, to eke out a deficiency ! It is to be hoped that this will be the last Aci in the drama of folly and suicide played by our manufacturers. * Not even in close barns, and with constant attendance. t North of latitude 42°, it is necessary, as a general rule, that lambs be dropped in the first half of May, to give them this requisite size and streiisrth Occasional cold storms come nearly every season up to that period, and not unfrequently up to the tirst of June. Mr. Grove was a decided advocate of early lamb*.— He used to say that " it was better to lose two of them in the spring than one in the fall." SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 163 wools. Though the reaction has been but recent, the market demand for medium and ordinary wools is now better supplied — nearer being glutted, 60 far as I am enabled to judge — than that for fine and superfine. And should the market become glutted with either or both, it is important to remember that the latter will be far more profitable for exjwrt than the former. Every consideration, then, in my judgment, points to wools ranging from good medium upward, instead of the lower classes, as the most profitable staples for cultivation in the South. The only question which now arises on this point is, from which variety, the Saxon or Merino, shall the South attempt to cultivate these wools ? It is generally supposed, and as a general thing it is true, that the Me- rino bears no better wool than that which I have classified as good medi- um. But the measurements of Dr. Emmons (given in Letter X.) show, by the infallible testimony of the microscope, that heavy-fleeced Merinos sometimes equal — nay, surpass Saxons, in fineness. The fact is more de- cisive, as the Saxon fibres there measured came not only from the most celebrated flocks — from the prize sheep at State Fairs — but it also came from samples, in most instances, given by the owners for i^uhlic exhibition. I do not claim that Merinos like these are common. They are rather to be regarded in the light of those prodigies of excellence which occasion- ally appear, but which it is difficult to reproduce with anything like uni- formity. Nor are lesser fleeced Merinos, bearing wool equal to ordinary Saxon, very common. During the Jine wool mania, all, who sought fine wool, bred the Saxon sheep, or crossed with it ; and the few who stood out, and clung to the Merino, generally aimed to distinguish it as widely as possible from the former, by increasing the weight of its fleece, to the disregard of its fineness. This, too, was the general disposition during the heavy -fleeced mania. Of consequence, but very few of our breeders liave ever, or until i-ecently, sought a high degree of fineness in fleece in breed- ing the Merino. Recent experience has satisfied me that this is rapidly attainable. Mr. Lawrence, in a quotation already made by me (in Letter I.), says : " I believe a breed may be reared which will give four pounds of exquisitely fine wool to the fleece." I know by multiplied experiments that once interbreeding between an ewe bearing good medium wool (the fleece weighing, say, from 4^ lbs. to 5 lbs.), with a Merino ram of suflS- ciently high quality, will produce wool in the offspring equaling ordinary Saxon, and a fleece averaging 4 lbs., with none of its weight made up of gum. The result of two such interbreedings will bring the progeny of a heavy-fleeced medium ewe (provided her fleece is properly even) to the same point. The four-pound fine-fleeced Merino would be a far more profitable animal than the Saxon, other things being equal. But other things are not equal. The former is every way a hardier animal, and a better nurse. It is about 20 lbs. heavier, and therefore consumes more feed ; but I consider this additional expense more than counterbalanced by the additional care and risk attending the husbandry of the Saxon. If required to keep the number good, and give the proper attention to the rearing of lambs, I would sooner engage to keep, at the same price, one thousand such Merinos for a year, than % keep the same number of Saxons. It would be practicable, doubtless, to increase the Saxon's ffeece to 4 lbs. ; but any one, familiar with such experiments, knows that it is far easier to increase fineness of wool, by diminishing weight of fleece and carcass a little, than it is to increase weight of fleece and carcass without lowering the quality of the wc^ol. And there is this additional objection to the latter 164 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. system of breeding, so far as the Saxon is concerned. The breeder is no. only called upon to increase the weight of its fleece and carcass, but to en- graft on it hardiness of constitution, nursing properties, etc., which by no means follow, as a matter of course, its improvement in the former partic- ulars. These, and particularly the latter, could only be attained, so as to be transmissible with a proper degree of certainty from parents to offspring, by years of breeding, accompanied by a rigorous course of selection. If, therefore, you were called upon to form a variety just suited to your wants, the Merino would present the most ductile and the safest materials. But the Southern agiiculturist, just entering upon sheep-rearing, would not be prepared to conduct nice experiments in breeding. He wants a breed or variety already prepared to his hand. And for the same reasons, notwith- standinp- the fineness of his climate, he wants a hardy breed — one that de- mands no extra skill, no great experience, for its management. Merinos reaching or closely approaching the standard above specified are now to be found, while there is no corresponding variety of Saxons ; and to incur the risks arising from inexperience, want of preparation, &c., the superior hardiness of the former would, of course, render them entirely prefer- able. Some have recommended a cross between the Saxons and Merinos, as a cheap and ready method of obtaining a four-pound fine-fleeced sheep. A properly selected Saxon ram, crossed with good medium and medium- wooledMerino ewes, cutting from 5 lbs. to 5^ lbs. of wool, will almost uni- formly produce this result. And it is easier noiv to get the Saxon than the Merino, fine enough for this purpose. Or a flock may be bred up from Saxon ewes and a Merino ram. The objection to both courses is the same, though not equal to that which exists against breeding the full-blood Sax- ons — viz., the production of a feeble and a poor nursing sheep. The latter evil, especially, clings for generations to these ci'oss-bred animals, so far as my experience and observation have extended. And unless Saxons are selected which do not possess the characteristic faults of the variety, the cross-breds are inferior to pure-blood Merinos in many other and essential particulars, notwithstanding the fleece may be all that we desire. There is another important point where the pure-blood Merino possesses a marked advantage. Few Southern wool-growers will commcyice their flocks exclusively with high-bred animals of any kind. With a few of them to breed rams fi-om, and to grarhially grow up a full-blood flock, they will mainb/ depend upon grading up the common sheep of the country. With the long-legged, bare-bellied, open-wooled sheep common in the South (as it once was in the North ^, the Saxon makes an indifierent cross. Their faults run too much in the same direction, in all save the fineness of wool, for, however good its shape, the wool of the Saxon is comparatively short and open. It therefore shortens the wool of the common sheep, without adding much or any to its thickness, and thus the fleece remains a light one. Precisely all this is the reverse of what results from a cross between the Merino and the common sheep. The wool is but little shortened, un- less the staple of the common sheep was very long ; it is essentially thick- ened ; it is made to extend over the belly ; the fleece is, therefore, greatly increased in weight ; the^heep is rendered more compact and " stocky," and it is brought nearer to the ground. Even the first cross, though its fleece is somewhat tineven, is a prime sheep for the wants of ordinary farm- ers, and among these it is, accordingly, a decided favorite, over the whole Northern States. A majority of them would, I think, give it preference over any other kind or variety of sheep. Two or three more proper Me- rino crosses raise it to the rank of a first-rate wool-growing sheep — scarcely SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 165 uilerior to the full-blood Merino in anything, save that it does not transvih its good qualities with quite so much certainty to its offspring* Let us now proceed to inquire what are the points which constitute ex- cellence, or mark a departure from it, in the class of Merino sheep which I have attempted to show form, in every point of view, the most suitable variety to commence wool-growing with in the South. What should be its size, weight of fleece, shape, general appearance, style of wool, &c. &c. 1 Size, within extremes, is not, 'per se, a matter of much consequence. — There should, however, be uniformity in this particular, at least through the same flock, not only for their good appearance, but larger sheep are apt, by their superior strength, to crowd away small ones from the rack oi trough. A sheep very snfall of its breed and family, is commonly less hardy. If very large, it must travel farther to fill itself ; and, therefore, this would be a|^ objection to it in a breed designed to graze on short and scant pas- turage — for the extra exercise thus made necessary would cause it to waste (in the form of carbon, in the lungs) a considerable portion of the food, which would, under other circumstances, be converted into animal tissues. Very large, like very small animals, of the same species — and, 1 am in- clined to think, the former more frequently — lack the robustness, vigor of muscle, capacity to endure unusual and protracted exercise, or privation of food, or any other unfavorable deviation from ordinary habits, possessed by compact medium-sized animals. This rule will be found to apply among all domestic animals. Lastly, I am not prepared to prove, but I believe that, with the same breeding, the woolly, like the osseous and muscular tis- sues of a large Merino sheep, will not be as fine as those of a smaller one. I do not found this opinion, so far as wool is concerned, u])on, nor do 1 claim that it is supported by, any analogies. I state it as solely the result of individual observation. If it is a tendency which can be successfully re- sisted, 1 never have been fortunate enough to have a sufficient number of instances brought under my eye, in any one flock, to have them constitute anything more than sparse exceptions to what I deem a well established rule. I have never known a family of very large Mei-inos bearing anythine: better than medium wool ; and the first step to any decided improvement in them immediately reduces their weitjht, for it can only be effected by interbreeding with finer and smaller families. Ewes weighing from 80 lbs. to 90 l])s. alive, in good fair store condition, are of about the proper size, in my judgment, where fine wool is the object.t Rams should weigh 40 lbs. or .50 lbs. more. Ewes of the large Merino families weigh ftom 100 lbs. to 110 lbs. — the rams 50 lbs. more; nor do even these equal the size of some of the late imported French Mennos. A relation analogous to the preceding one, exists between the weii^ht of the fleece and its quality. Tliis point has already been sufficiently set forth on another page. The o])inion is there expressed that the Merino may be easily bred, by judicious selection of sire and dam, to bear 4 lbs. of fine wool, or wool equaling ordinary Saxon. I would now add that, as a gen- eral rule, and in large flocks, I do not believe more than this can be ob- tained, without a depreciation iii the quality, among ewes. The ram's fleece should in all cases, in a very superior animal, be about double that of the ewe. Five per cent, of the live-weight of the carcass, with ewes, is the maximum weight of fine wool, which we can, in the present state of breeding, look for with any uniform certainty. This would give a fleece of 4 lbs. to 80 lbs. of live-weights As the fine-wool Mei'inos increase, and thus give a wider range and better selection of materials for nice experi* * The latter point will be more particularly adverted to in a subsequent part of this Letter. (■ Saxons weigh about 20 lbs. less. 1(36 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. ments, it is very possible that the per centage of the fleece may be increased Mr. Lawrence, in speaking of attaining a four-pound fleece of" exquisite' quality, undoubtedly alluded to the wool which I have classed as superfine, The four-pound fleeced fine Merino can undoubtedly be made superfine, by diminishing the weight of its fleece 10 or 12 ounces or a pound ; and even then it will be a hardier and better animal than the finer class of Saxons which now produce this wool. But whether Mr. Law- rence's standard can be fully attained, neither experience nor obser- vation enable me to decide. If it could, and the sheep be equal to the four-pound ^?2e-fleeced Merino in other respects, we should have a ^?e7;/cf^ liccjp. Such wool has sold this year at upward of 60 cents per pound, which would bring the fleeces to $2 40 a piece ! • It may be well here to glance at the comparative worth of fleeces in the several Merino families, taking this year's prices, and taking the weights which are usually found accompanying the several qualities, in prime ordinary flocks. Kfi^ic fleece of 4 lbs., at 50 cents,* would be worth S2 ; good medium, weighing 4^ lbs., at 40 cents, $1 80 ; medium, weighing 5 lbs., at 32 cents, %\ 60. And the consumption of feed rises with the diminution of quality. Admitting the daily consumption of hay for 150 days to be 3 jier cent, to the live- weight, 100 fine Merinos, averaging 85 lbs. each, would consume about 19 tons of hay; and 100 medium Merinos, averaging 105 lbs. each, would consume about 23-^ tons — an important difference in their relative ex- penses ! The fine-wooled Merino does not, like the Saxon, lose his ad- vantage in this particular by his inferior hardiness. The shape and general appearance of the Merino should be as follows :'f 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, being usu- ally characteristic of the Merino, many prefer to see them. The face should be shortish, 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, 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 ca- pacious ; the flank well let down ; the hind-quarters full and round — the flesh meeting well down between the thighs, (or in the " twist.") The bosom should be broad and full ; the legs short, well apart, and perpendic- ular, {i.e., 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, of a rich, delicate pink color. A colorle.ss skin, or one of a tawny, ap' proaching to a butternut hue, indicates bad breeding. On the subject of wrinkles, there is a difference of opinion. Being rather charactei'istic 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 nov- ices, 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 .vrinkled skin ; and this is the view * This is not high forfne Merino wool. Though I sold my lot for 40 cents, I was offert-d 50 cents for th« fleeces of nearly all my later-bred sheep, if I would sell them separately. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 1G7 of the case which has induced both the Spanish and French breeders to cultivate them — the latter to a monstrosity. I confess that I agree, to a considerable extent, with Mr. Joshua Kirby Trimmer,* that " this idea is as wild as that which some of our theorists have entertained, that, by lay- ing lands ill high ridges and low furrows, the surface of the earth and its produce is increased." Though I once entertained a different opinion, the steel-yards have satisfied me that an exceedingly wrinkled neck does not add but a little to the weight of the fleece — not enough to compensate for the deformity, and the great impediment which it places in the way of the shearei'. I have owned rams, the labor of shearing six of which, in a nice and workmanlike manner — cutting the wool off short and smooth, on and among the multitude of folds and wrinkles — was fully equivalent to shear- ing fifteen ordinary Merino rams, or twenty-five ewes — that is to say, a day's work for one man. And none but a skillful shearer could, with any time given him, clip the wool short and smooth among the wrinkles, with- out frequently and severely cutting the skin. A smoothly drawn skin, and absence of all dewlap, on the other hand, would not, jjerhaps, be desirable. The wool of the Merino 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 liocks — but long wool covering the legs, and on the nose below the eyes, is unsightly — without value — and on the faces it frequently impedes the sight of the animal, causing it to be in a state of perpetual alai'm, and disqualifying it to escape real danger. Neither is this useless wool, as seems to be thought by some, the slightest indication of a heavy fleece. 1 have as often seen it on Saxons scarcely shearing 2 lbs. of wool, and on the very lightest fleeced Merinos. The amount of gain which the wool should exhibit, is another of the mooted points. Here, as in many other particulars, experience has changed my earlier impressions. Merino wool should be yolky or " oily," prior to washing — though not to that extreme extent, giving it the ap- pearance of being saturated with grease, occasionally witnessed. The extreme tips of the wool may exhibit a sufficient trace of gum to give the fleece a darkish cast — particularly in thef ram — but a black, pitchy gum, resembling semi-hardericd tar, extending an eighth cTr a quarter of an inch into the fleece, and which cunnot he removed in ordinary washing, is, in my opinion, decidedly objectionable. There is a white or yellowish concrete gum, not removable by common washing, which appears in the interior of some fleeces, which is equally objectionable. The weight of fleece remaining the same, medium length of staple, with compactness, is preferal)le to long, open wool, inasmuch as it constitutes a better safeguard from inclemencies of weather, and better protects the sheep 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 whole body. Shortness on the flank, and shortness or thinness 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 liairy on the thighs, dewlap, &c. Rams of this stamp should not be bred from by any one aiming to establish a superior fine-wooled flock, and all such ewes should be gradually excluded from those selected for breeding. The ''Style of the wool" is a point of as much consequence as mere * " Practical Observations on the Improvement of BiitUh Fine Wools, &c." by the above, 1828. 168 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. fineness. Some very fine wool is stiff and the fibres almost straight, like hair. It has a dry, cottony look. This is a poor, unsalable article, how- ever fine the fibre. Sofi:ness of" wool — a delicate, silky, highly elastic feel, between the fingers or on the lips, is the first thing to look after. This ia usually ail index, or inseparable attendant, of the other good qualities, so ihat an experienced judge can decide, with little diflSculty, between the quality of two fleeces, in the dark ! Wool should be finely serrated or crimped from one extremity to the other — i. e., it should present a regular series of minute curves, and, generally, the greater the number of these cui-ves in a given length, the higher the quality of 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 dense enough to con- eeal 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 look not surpassed in the best silk. The points in the form of the Merino which the breeder is called upon particularly to eschew, are — a long, thin head, jiarrow between the eyes — a thin, loTig neck, arching downward before the shoulders — bad crops — back falling behind the shoulders — narrow loin — flat ribs — steep, narrow hindquarters — long legs — thighs scarcely meeting at all — legs drawn far under the body at the least approach of cold. All these points were sep- arately or conjointly illustrated in many of the Saxon flocks which have been recently swept from the country. The points to be avoided in the ■fleece have been suflnciently adverted to. Having thus attempted to establish a standard for the Merino-breeder, it remains that we examine some of the most important principles, in breeding, by which that standard is to be reached or maintained. The first great starting-point, among pure-blood animals, is that "like will beget like." If the sire and dam are perfect in any given point, the offspring will generally be ; if either is defective, the offspring will (sub- ject to a law presently to be adverted to) be half way between the two; if both are defective in the same point, the progeny will be more so thaii either of its parents — it will inherit the amount of the defect in both pa- rents added together. There are exceedingly few perfect anim-als. Breed- ing, then, is a system of counterbalancing — breeding out — in the oftspring, the defects of one parent, by the marked excellence of the other parent, in the same joints. 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, t^je 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 impro- priety, provided we possess the proper ram for that purpose ; but the flockmaster, aiming at a high standard of quality, should gradually throw out from breeding all ewes possessing even considerable defects. Every year should make him more rigorous in his selection. But from the be- ginning — and in 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 crops, a thin fleece, or a nighly 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 females will be lessened, and gradually bred out. But it being diflicult to 'tmiS. perfect lams, we are to take those which have the fewest and lightest defects, and none of SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 169 these material ones, like those just enumerated. And these defects are to be met and counterbalanced by the decided excellence (sometimes running to a fault) of the ewe, in the same foints. If the ram is a little too long- legged, the shortest-legged ewes should be selected for him ; if gummy, the dryest-wooled ewes ; if his fleece is a trifle below the proper standard of fineness, (but he has been retained, as it often happens, for weight of fleece and general excellence,) he is to be put to the finest and lightest fleeced ewes, and so on. Having a selection of rams, this system of coun- terbalancing would require little skill, if each parent possessed but ont fault. If the ewe was a trifle too thin fleeced, and good in all other par- ticulars, it would require no nice judgment to decide that sliei needed to 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 ince versa, re- quires not only plentiful materials to select from, but the keenest dis- crimination. The time and the convenient method of selecting the ewes for the several rams, and the subsequent management, will be hereafter pointed out. We will now suppose that the breeder has established his flock — that he has done so successfully, and given them an excellent character. He is soon met with a seiious evil. He must " breed in-and-in," as it is called — that is, interbreed between animals more or less nearly related in lilood — or he must seek rams from other flocks, to the risk of losing or changing the distinctive character of his flock, hitherto sought so sedulously, and built up witli so much care. It is contended by the opponents of in-and-in breeding that it renders diseases and all other defects hereditary, and that it tends to decrease of size, to debility, and a general breaking up of the constitution. Its apologists, on the other hand, insist that, if the parents are perfectly healthy, incestuous connexion does not, per se, tend to any diminution of healthiness in the offspring; and they also claim, what must be conceded, that it enables the skillful breeder much more rapidly to bring his flock to a particular standard or model — and much more easily to keep it there — unless it be true that, in course of lime, they will dwin- dle and grow feeble. So far as the effect on the constitution is concerned, both positions may be, to a certain extent, true. But it is, perhaps, diffi- cult to always decide with certainty when an animal is not only free from disease, but from all tendency or predisposition toward it. A brother and sister may be a})parently healthy — may be actually so — but may possess an idiosyncrasy which, under certain circumstances, will manifest itself. — If these circumstances do not chance to occur, they may live, apparently possessing a robust constitution, until old age. If bred together, their off"- spring, by a rule already laid down, will possess the idiosyncrasy in a double degree. Suppose the ram be interbred with sisters, half-sisters, daughters, grand-daughters, &c., for several generations, the predisposition toward a particular disease — in the first place slight, now strong, and con- stantly growing st' ongei* — will pervade, and become radically incorporated into, the constitution of the whole flock. The first time the requisite ex- citing 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 recui'ring intervals. The same remarks apply, in part, to those defects of the outward form which do not at first, fr< m their slightness, attract the notice of the ordinary breeder. They arc 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 breed- Y 170 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. ing, with such skill as it is ordinarily conducted, all know who have given attention to the subject ; and for these reasons the system is looked upon with decided disapprobation and repugnance, as among all kinds of domes- tic animals, by nine out often of the best jiractical farmers of the Northern States. How, then, shall the sheep-breeder avoid the effects of in-and-in breed- ing, and at the same time preserve the character of his flock 1 He should do so by seeking rams of the same breed, and possessing, as nearly as fos- sihle, the characteristics which he wishes to preserve in Ms own flock. If the latter rule is neglected — if he draws indiscriminately from all the different families or varieties of a breed — some large and some small — some long and some short-wooled — some medium and some superfine in quality — some tall and some squabby — some crusted over with black gum, some entirely free from it, &c. &c. — breeding will become a mere hotch-potch, and no certain or uniform results can be looked for. So many varieties cannot be fused into one, for a number of generations ;* and it not unfre- quently happens, as between the different classes of Saxons alluded to by Mr. Spooner,t that certain families can never be successfully amalgamated. But suppose the breeder has reached no satisfactory standard — that his sheep are deficient in the requisites he desires 1 If the desired requisites are characteristic of the breed he possesses, he is to adhere to the breed, and select better animals to improve his own inferior ones. If he has an infe- rior flock of South-Downs, and wishes to obtain the qualities of the best South 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 thevi. If the possessor of South- Downs wishes to conveit them into a fine-wooled sheep similar to the Me-, rino, he should cross his flock steadily with Merino rams — constantly in- creasing 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 any other coarse race. Tliere are those who, forgetful that some of the finest varieties now in existence, of several kinds of domestic animals, are the result ol crosses, bitterly .inveigh against the practice of crossing, under any and all circumstances. As fre- quently conducted, where objects incompatible with each other are sought to be attained — as, for example, an attempt to unite the fleece of a Merino and the carcass of a Leicester, by crosses between those breeds — it is an unqualified absurdity. But under the limitations already laid down, and with the objects specified as legitimate ones, objection to crossing savors, in my judgment, of prejudice the most profound, or quackery the most unvarnished. The cry, " buy full-bloods," with such men, generally means, " ^uy our full-bloods ! " It is neither convenient, nor within the means of every man wishing to start a flock of sheep, to start exclusively with full- bloods. With a few full-bloods to breed rams from, and to begin a full- blood flock, the Southern 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, fair size, good shape, and a robust constitution, are the main points — the little difference that exists between the quality of the common sheep's wool is 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 un- necessary evils on their progeny. * This occasions the want of uniformity in the Rambouillet flock in France, which -was begun by a f/txy ciiscuoua admixture of all the Spanish families. t Q'loted in Letter X. HEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 171 I have already spoken, in this Letter, incidentally, of the effect on the fleece of the common sheep, by crossing with the Merino and breeding steadily toward the latter ; and also of the mutton of this cross, as well as that of the Merino and the English breeds. The result of the cross with the common sheep has been sufficiently described. I would add a few remarks in relation to that with the South-Down and Leicester — both of which I have tried until sufficiently satisfied with the result Resolved on making an experiment with a Down and Merino cross, a few years since, and finding it difficult to obtain Down ewes* of the proper quality, I obtained a small, compact, exceedingly beautiful, fine and even- fleeced Down ram,t and crossed him with a few large-sized Merino ewes. The half-blood ewes were bred to a Merino ram, and also their female progeny, and so on. The South-Down form and disposition to take on fat manifested itself, to a perceptible extent, in every generation which I bred,| and the wool of many of the sheep in the third generation (|-blood Merino and -i-blood Down) was very even, and equal to medium, and some (jf them to good medium Merino. Their fleeces were lighter than the full-blood Merino, *but increased in weight with each succeeding cross back toward the latter. Their mutton of the first, and even the second cross, was of a beautiful flavor — and it retained some of the superiority of South-Down mutton to the last. I at the same time purchased a few Leicester ewes,]| and, as in the preceding case, taking one cross of the blood, I bred toward the Merino. The mongrels, to the second generation (beyond which I did not breed them) were about midway between the size of the two parent stocks — with wool shorter, but far finer and more compact than the Leicester — their fl.eeces about the same in weight as in the present stocks§ — and alto- gether they were a showy and profitable sheep, and well calculated to please the mass of farmers. Their fleeces lacked evenness — their thighs remaining disproportionately coarse and hairy ; and making up my mind that this would always be a tendency of the sheep of this cross, 1 aban- doned them without farther experiment. In relation to the number of crosses necessary before it is proper to breed from a mongrel ram, there is a difference of opinion. Mr. Livings- ton says :^ , " It is now so well established as not even to admit of the smallest doubt that a Merino in tlie fourth generation, from even the worst-wooled ewes, is in eveiy respect equal to the stock of the sire. No difference is now made in Europe in the choice of a ram, whether he is a full-blood or a fifteen-sixteenths." .... " The French agriculturists say that however coarse the fleece of the parent ewe may have been, the progeny in the fouith generation vvdll not show it." I am constrained to differ with even this high authority. I admit 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. As soon as a mongrel reaches the point where he stamps his characteristics on his progeny, with the same certainty that a full-blood does, he is equally valuable, provided he is, individually, as perfect an animal. But I do not * To caiTy out the commonly received principle in breeding, that in crossing between diflferent races, the ram of the smaller should be put to ewe of the larger one. t This ram, obtained from Francis Rotch, Esq., was got by a prize ram of Mr. EUman's, and from one of his choicest breedins-ewes, and showed infinitely more style, as well as fineness and evenness of wool, than the common Downs of our country. He was not larger than a large-sized Merino ram. I These I finally put otf to save myself the trouble of breeding several kinds of sheep on the same farm. II Descended from the flock of the late Robert Adcock. of Otsego County, N. Y. — considered at the time equal to any flock in the State. § That is, about 5 lbs. I have put down the Leicester fleece, in my description of the breed, at 6 lbs., a< this is the amount generally claimed for them ; but in the few cases brought within my direct koowledge. they have never averaged it. .My ewes above alluded to did not, I think, average quite 5 lbs. If Essay on Sheep, pp. 181, 183. 172 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. believe that this can Le depended upon, with any certainty, in rams of the fourth Merino cross. My only experience in this particular is in the ob- Bervation of other men's flocks who have bred with high-grade rams.* These have invariably lacked 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, but I confess I should still prefer to adhere to the latter. Pure blood is a fixed stand- ard, and were every breeder to think himself at liberty to depart from it, in his rams, each one more or less, according to his own judgment or caprice, the whole blood of the country would become adulterated. No man would be authorized to sell a ram of any cross, be it the tenth, or even the twentieth, as a full-blood. It is all-important for those commencing flocks either of full-bloods, or by crossing, to select the choicest rams. A grown ram may be made to serve II from 100 to 150 ewes in a season. A good Merino ram will, speaking within bounds, add more than a pound of wool to the fleece of the dam, on every lamb got by it, from a common-wooled ewe.§ Here is 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, 800 or 1,000 lambs ! Nor is the extra amount of wool all. He gets from 800 to 1,000 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 seems to me, quite as vahiable 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 one is sufficiently obvious. Every one desirous of starting a flock will find it his best economy, where the proper flocks to draw rams from are not near him, to purchase several of the same breed, of course, but o{ different strains of bloo^ Thus, ram No. 2 can be put on the offspring of No. 1, and vice versa ; '^o. 3 can be put upon the offspring of both, and both upon the offspring of No. 3. The changes which can be rungr on three distinct strains of blood, without in-and-in breeding close enough to be attended with any considerable dan- ger, are innumerable.^ But if these rams of different strains are bought promiscuously, without reference to similarity of characteristics, there may, and probably will be differences 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 necessaiy individual and family uni formity. * I have never knowingly bred vrith any other ram than a pure-blood, of any stock, or for any purpose. II By methods hereafter to be described. § That is, if the ewe at 3 years old sheared 3 lbs. of wool, the lamb at the same age will shear 4 lbs. of wool. IT The brother and sister are of the same blood ; the father and daughter, half; the father and grand- daughter, one-fourth ; the father and great grand-daughter, one-eighth, and so on. Breeding between an- imals possessing one-eighth of the same blood, would not be considered very close breeding ; and it is nol uncustomary, in rugged, well-formed families, to breed between those possessing one-fourth of the sues blood. 1 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 173 LETTER XII. SUMMER MANAGEMENT OP SHEEP. Tagdng- necesBlty of — method of doing it... Burs — how avoided... Lambing — time of— Inclosures for^^ Mechanical Assistance — when rendered — assisting the Lamb — Feeding — necessary care in — Warming- Foster Ewes., -Pens. .." Finning".. .Numbering and Registering — advantages of — Von Thaer's System of Numbering — manner of doing it conveniently — Mr. Grove's form of a Kegister. . .Castration and Docking — j)roper time and method.. -Washing— time— necessary apparatus — "wetting" — manner of washing — ordinary waete in subsequent cleansing.. . Cutting the Hoofs — best time — implements — method.. .Time between Washing and Shearing.. . shearing — proper conveniences for— catcher's business — directions to shearer — general directions. . .Shearing Lambs — shearing Sheep semi-annually — objectionable practices. .. Doing up Wool — Wool Table and Trough — handling fleece — arrangement on table — folding — rolling— ty- ing — pioper twine.. .Storing Wool — Wool-Room.. .Sacking Wool — methods.. .Sorting the Flock at shear- ing—how done.. -Marking Sheep — the proper way.. -Cold Stonns after Shearing Sun-scald Tick#— how destroyed.. -Maggots — preventives.. .Cutting the Horns.. .Division of Flocks for Summer.. .Hop- pling — CloL'ging, (fee. ..Danserous Rams.-.Fences.,. Salt... Tar... Water. -.Shade.. .Weaning Lamba... Fall Feeding.. -Shepherd's Crook. Dear Sir : Agreeably to your request, and that of various other South- ern friends, I proceed to give directions for the practical management of sheep " plain and minute enough for the guidance of those entirely unac- quainted with the subject." I will begin with their Summer Management.* Tagging. — If sheep are kept on dry feed through the winter, they will usually purge more or less, when let out to green feed in the spring. The wool around and below the anus becomes saturated with dung, which* foims into hard pellets, if the purging ceases. But whether this takes place or not, the adhering dung cannot be removed from the wool in the ordinary process of washing. It forms a great impediment in shearing, dulling and straining the shears to cut through it when in a dry state, and it is often impracticable so to do. It is difficult to force the sheai's be- tween it and the skin, without frequently and severely wounding the latter. Occasionally, too, flies dejiosit their eggs under this mass of filth prior to shearing, and the ensuing swarm of maggots, unless speedily discovered and removed, will lead the sheep to a miserable death. Before sheep are let out to grass, each one should have the wool sheared from the roots of the tail down the inside of the thighs, over the surface included between the dotted lines in ^'s- 16. the cut. The wool should be sheared from off the en- tire bag of the ewe, that the newly dropped lamb may more readily find the teat, and from the scrotum, and so much space round the point of the sheath of the ram, as is usually kept wet. If the latter place is neglected, soreness and ulceration sometimes ensue from the con- stant maceration of the urine. Sometimes each tagger catches and holds his own sheep, but it is, on the whole, better, I think, to have an assistant catch the sheep and hold them while they are tagged. The latter process requires a good shearer, as the wool must be cut off" closely and smoothly, or the object is but half accomplished, and the sheep will have an unsightly and ridiculous appearance, when the remainder of their fleeces is taken off; * I have not thought it necessary to mark with quotation points, various extracts in this Letter, from a teries of Letters written by me a number of years since, and published in the " Valley Fanner " 174 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. and, on the othei' hand, it is not only improper to cut the skin of a sheep at any time, but it is peculiarly so to cut that on the bag of an ewe near lambing. The wool saved by tagging will far more than pay the ex- penses of the operation. It answers well for stockings and other ordinary domestic purposes, or it will sell for something like half the price of fleece wool. Humanity and economy both dictate that care should be taken in han- dling sheep at all times, and it is especially important with ewes heavy with lamb. It is highly injurious and unsafe to chase them about and han- dle, them roughly, for even if abortion, the worst consequence of such treatment, is avoided, they become timid and shy of being touched, render- ing it difficult to catch or render them assistance at the lambing period — and even a matter of difficulty to enter the cotes where it is sometimes necessary to confine tlr '^m at that time, without having them driving about pell-mell, running ovej their lambs, &c. It may not be known to every one, that if a sheep is .suddenly caught by the wool when running, or is lifted by its wool, the skin is to a certain extent loosened from the body at the points where it is thus seized, and if killed a day or two afterward, blood will be found settled about those parts. A man knowing this, and subsequently guilty of such gi'atuitous brutality, richly deserves to be kicked out of the sheep-yard. When sheep are to be handled, they should be inclosed in a yard just large enough to hold them without their being crowded — so they shall have no chance to run and dash about. The catcher should stop them by seizing them by the hind leg close above the hock, or by clapping one hand before the neck and the other behind the buttocks. Then, not waiting for the sheep to make a violent struggle, he should throw his right arm over and about it immediately back of the shoulders, place his hand under the brisket, and lift the animal on his hip. If the sheep is very heavy, he can throw both arms around it, clasp his fingers under the brisket, and lift it up against the front part of his body. He then should set it carefully on its rump on the tagging-table, (which should be 18 or 20 inches high,) support its back with his legs, and hold it gently and conveniently until the tagger has performed his duty. Two men should not be permitted to lift the same sheep together, as it will be pretty sure to receive some strain between them. A good shearer and assistant will tag 200 sheep per day. Where sheep receive green feed all the year round, as they will do in many parts of the South, and no purging ensues from eating the newly- starting grasses in the spring, tagging will not be necessary. Burs, &c. — If sheep are let out in the spring into pastures where the dry stalks of the Burdock (Arctium lappa), or the Hoinid's Tongue, or Tory^weed ( Cynoglossmii officinale), have remained standing over the win- ter, the burs are caught in their now long wool, and, if numerous, the wool is rendered entirely unmarketable, and almost valueless. Even the dry prickles of the common and Canada thistles, where they are very numer- ous, get into the neck-wool of sheep, as they thrust their heads under and among them to crop the first scarce feed of the Northern spring ; and, in- dependently of injuring the wool, they make it difficult to wash and other- wise handle the sheep. The Burdock being a large and not very frequent plant, there is no excuse for its being found on the farm. The Hound's Tongue is very prevalent in forests and partly wooded pastures in the North, and it is not conspicuous enough to be easily eradicated, though careful sheep-farmers often do so. If sheep are let into pastures contain ing it, it must be only in the summer and fall, after shearing. The buis, SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 175 not sunk so deeply in the short wool, will wear cut during our winters — but no man thinks of letting his sheep into pastures containing it, before shearing in the spring. Indeed, sheep should be kept on the cleanest pas- tures — thjse free from these and all similar plants — during this period; and, in a region where they are pastured the year round, if such pests are not eradicated — which /should consider indispensable — the sheep should be kept from contact with them for some months prior to sheai-ing. Lambing. — Lambs are usually dropped, in the North, from the first to the fifteenth of May. In the South, they might safely come earlier. It is not expedient to have them dropped when the weather is cold and boister- ous, as they require too much cai'e ; 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 earli est grasses, reserved for the early spring feed of the breeding ewes ; and, if these can be contiguous to their shelters, it is a great convenience — for the ewes should be confined in the latter, on cold and stormy nights, during the lambing season. If warm and pleasant, and the nights are warmish, I prefer to have the lambing take place in the pastures. I think sheep are more disposed to own and take kindly to their lambs thus, than in the confusion of a small inclosure. Unless particularly docile, she^ in a small inclosure crowd from one side to another when any one enters, running over young lambs, pressing them severely, &c. Ewes get separated from their lambs, and then run violently round from one to another, jostling and knocking them about. Young and timid ewes get separated from their lambs, and fre- quently will neglect them for an hour or more before they will again ap- proach them. If the weather is severely cold, the lamb, if it has never sucked, stands a chance to perish. Lambs, too, when just dropped, in a dirty inclosure, in their first efforts to rise, tumble about, and the mem- brane which adheres to them becomes smeared with dirt and dung — and the ewe refuses to lick them dry, which much increases the hazard of freezing. Nevertheless, all this must be incurred in cold storms, and in sudden and severe weather ; and, therefore, it should be the effort of every shep- herd to teach his sheep docility. I have seen the late Mr. Grove walk about a barn filled with his Saxons, not only without their crowding from side to side, but many of them absolutely lying still while he stepped over them ! I say it " must be incurred." I mean by this that it is the safest course with all breeds, and a matter of necessity with others. It takes but a very moderately cold night to destroy the new-born Saxon lamb, which (the pure blood) is yeaned 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. Inclosures, when used for yeaning, should be kept clean by frequent lit- terings of straw — not enough, however, thrown on at one time, to embar- rass the lamb about rising. The ewe does not often require mechanical assistance in parturition. — Her labors will sometimes be prolonged for three or four hours, and her loud meanings 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 showing at the mouth of the vagina. But, if let alone, Nature will generally finally relieve hei\ Tiiis might not do with the 176 • SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. heavy English breeds. I should infer not, from the elaborate directions in the premises, by Youatt, Blacklock, and other English wiiters on Sheep; though with the comparatively small number of these varieties which I have bred, I hive had no difficulty in this particular. Among the thou- sands and thousands of fine-vvooled sheep which I have bred, I never have known a single instance of a false presentation of the fcEtus, and never have had mechanical assistance rendered in to exceed half a dozen in- stances. 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, the gentlest force should be aj^plied, and only in conjunction with the efforts of the ewe. While the lamb is tumbling about and attempting to rise, and the ewe is licking it dry, it is better to be in no haste to interfere. A lamb that gets at the teat without help, and gets even a small quantity of milk, knows how to help itself afterward, and rarely perishes. If helped, it sometimes continues to expect it, and will do little for itself for two or three days. — The same is true when laixibs are fed from a spoon or bottle. But if the lamb ceases to make efforts to rise, particularly if the ewe has left off licking it while it is wet and chilly, it is time for the shepherd to render his assistance. It is better not to throw the ewe down, as is fre- quently practiced, to suckle the lamb, because instinct teaches the latter to point its nose upward in search of the teat. It is doubly difficult, there- fore, to induce it to suck frd^ the bag of the prostrate ewe ; and when taught to do this, by being suckled so sevei-al times, I have invariably no- ticed that it renders it awkward about finding the teat in the natural posi- tion, when it begins to stand and help itself. Nothing is stupider than a weakly lamb ! Carefully disengaging the ewe from her companions, with his crooh, the assistant should place one hand before the neck and the other behind the buttocks of the ewe, and, then pressing her against his knees, he should hold her firmly and stilly, so that she shall not be constantly crowding away from the shepherd. The shepherd should set the lamb on its feet, inducing it to stand, if possible ; if not, supporting it on its feet by placing one hand under its body — place its mouth to the teat, and encour- age it to suck by tickling it about the roots of the tail, flanks, &c., with a finger. The lamb, mistaking this last for the caresses of its dam, will re- double its efforts to suck. Sometimes it will evince great dullness, and even apparent obstinacy, in refusing for a long time to attempt to assist itself, crowding backward, &c. ; but the kind and gentle shepherd, who will not sink himself to the level of a hrtite hy resenting the stupidity of a brute, will generally cany the point by pei'severance. Sometimes milking a little into the lamb's mouth, holding the latter close to the teat, will in- duce it to take hold. If the ewe has no milk, the lamb should be fed until the natural supply commences, with small quantities of the milk of a new-inilcli cow. This should be mixed, say half and half, with water — with enough molasses to give it the purgative effect of biestings, or the first milk — gently warmed to the natural heat (not scalded and suffered to cool), and then fed through a bottle with a sponge in the opening of it, which the lamb should suck, if it can be induced so to do. If the milk is i^oured in its mouth from a spoon or bottle, as already remarked, it is frequently difficult afterward to induce it to suck. And, moreover, unless milk is poured in the mouth slowly and with care — no faster than the lamb can swallow — a speedy wheezing, the infallible precursor of death, will show that a portion of the fluid has been forced into the lungs. I have known lambs frequently killed in this way. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. I77 If a lamb becomes chilled, it should be wrapped up in a woolen blanket, and placed in a warm room — giving a little milk as soon as it will swal- low. A trifle of pepper is sometimes placed in the milk, and 1 think with good effect, to rouse the cold and torjjid stomach into action. Some of the Yanlicc old ladies, under such circumstances, " hake " the lamb, as it is called — /. c, put it in a blanket in a modei-ately heated oven, until warmth and animation are restored. Others immerse it in tepid water, and subsequently rub it dry. This is said to be an excellent method where the lamb is nearly frozen. I never have tried it. A good blanket, a warm room, and sometimes, perhaps, a little gentle friction, have always sufficed. If a strong ewe, with a good bag of milk, chances to lose her lamb, she should be required to bring up one of some other ewe's pair of twins — or the lamb of some feeble or young ewe, having an inadequate supply of milk. Her own lamb should be skinned, as soon as possible after death, and the skin sowed over the lamb which she is required to foster. She will sometimes be a little suspicious for a day ov two, and if so, she should be kept in a small pen with the lamb, being occasionally looked to. After taking well to it, the false skin may be removed in three or four days. If no lamb is placed on a ewe which has lost her lamb, and which has a full bag of milk, the milk should be drawn from the bag once or twice, or garget may ensue. If it does not, permanent indurations, or other re« suits of inflammatory action will often take place, injuring the subsequent nursing properties of the animal. When milked, it is well to wash the bag for some time in cold water. It checks the subsequent secretions of milk, as well as abates inflammation. Garget will be treated under the head of Diseases of Sheep. Sometimes a young ewe, though exhibiting sufficient fondness for hei lamb, will not stand for it to suck ; and in this case, if the lamb is not very strong and persevering, and especially if the weather is cold, it soon grows weak and perishes. The conduct of the dam in such cases is occasioned by inflammatory action abo"t the bag or teats — and, perhaps somewhat by the novelty of her position ! In this case the sheep should be caught and held until the lamb has exhausted the bag, and there w'ill not often be any trouble afteiward, though it may be well enough to keep them in a pen together until the fact is determined. I have several times spoken of pens. They are necessary in the cases 1 have mentioned, and in a variety of others. It is therefore well for the flock-master to be always provided with a few of them for emergencies. They need not be to exceed eight or ten feet square, and should be built of light materials, and fastened together at the comers, so they can be readily moved by one, or, at the most, two men, from place to place, where they are wanted. Their position should be daily shifted when sheep are in them, for cleanliness and fresh feed. Light pine poles, laid up fence fashion, and each nailed or pegged to the lower ones, at the cor- ners, as laid on, would make excellent ones. Two or three sides of a few of them should be wattled with twigs, and the tops partly covered to shel- ter feeble lambs from cold rains, piercing winds, &c. Young lambs are subject to what is technically called "pinning," — that is, their first excrements are so adhesive and tenacious that the orifice of the anus is closed, and subsequent evacuations prevented. The adhenng matter should be entirely removed, and the part rubbed wdth a little dry clay to prevent subsequent adhesion. Lambs will frequently perish from this cause if not looked to for the first few days. Z i7S SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Numbering and Registering. — This is not absolutely necessary for the ■cool-grower, though it is, in many points of view, a vast convenience to Iiim, and leads to a degree of system in his efforts after improvement, and gives a definiteness and precision to the execution of his plans, otherwise unattainable. But the breeder — he who makes it his business more par- ticularly to raise choice animals to sell for breeding purposes — is unwor- thy of the name, if he does not regularly number and register his sheep, 60 that he can trace the descent of any ram or ewe, through any number of generations. This is not merely to gratify an idle curiosity, or to fur- nish a purchaser with a sounding pedigree. Every breeder is vmder the ne- cessity of directly breeding in-and-in, or of occasionally employing new strains of blood. If the latter step is often resorted to, the hazard is in- creased of changing the character of the flock.* If he numbers and regis- ters his sheep, he can breed " closer,"! and consequently longer, without a change, without the hazard of confusion or mistake. Where half a dozen, or even three or four rams are used in the flock the same year, it would be beyond the power of any breeder, relying on his memory alone, to decide, six or eight or ten years subsequently, which were the daughters, grand- daughters, and great-grand-daughters of each. If the rams A and B be un- related, A may be put to the daughters of B, and then B be put to the produce, (?'. e., his own grand-daughter, got by A,) without "close" breed- ing — because they possess but ojie-quartcr of the same blood. Then the great-grand-daughter may be again put to A, because she possesses but one- quarter of Ms blood. As I remarked in my last Letter, with tliree strains of blood to start with, the breeder may ring innumej-able changes, without ever trenching on that line which marks the boundaries of close breeding. He who pretends that he can preserve such multiplied classifications in his memory alone, is unworthy of the least confidence. There is another very important consideration. Numbering and regis- tering enables the breeder to trace breedivg effects definitely to their causes. Suppose that he finds that an unusual number of his young ewes are poor nurses — or exhibit some imperfection of form or wool. He can re- move the present effccthy throwing out the defective ones. But the undis- covered ccaese may still remain in operation. It may be a particular ram, or the result of interbreeding between such ram, and ewes of a certain strain of blood. If this ram, or 2>erhaj)s others got by Mm, be permitted to breed, or breed with a particular class of ewes, the evil creeps along in the flock, its cause remaining undiscovered. But if the breeder could fix the precise pedigree of every sheep, from an accurately kept register, he would soon ascertain what strains of blood, or the conjunction of what strains, produced the evil. By the same means, he could as' readily trace the sources of particular excellence. The system of numbering invented by the celebrated Von Thaer is far preferable to any other which I have seen.J It is as follows : || ' A ram of a new strain of blood, though of prime quality, and apparently possessing the same charac- teristics with the tiock, does not always interbreed well with the flock in all those minute particulars which the breeder is bound to notice, though they might escape the eye of the ordinary tiock-master. Every breeder, therefore, who has a flock that suitshim, is exceedingly averse to an infusion of new blood, and resorts to it only as a matter of necessity. t That is, he can breed in-and-in somewhat. " Close" breeding is breeding between near afiinities, such as between brother and sister, whichare of the same blood, or between a father and a grand-daughter be- gotten on a daughter, which would be three-fourths of the same blood, &c. } It will nut cause half the mutilation of the system given in the American Shepherd— is simple, and gives the age. which the former does not. Neither can this system of giving the age be ingrafted on that system of numbering. II As furnished me by Mr. Grove, a number of years since, with this exception, that the point of the right ear cut square off, he made to stand for 700 instead of 500, as I have placed it. I made this change, ti the notch and clip standing for 100 and 400, coming on the point of the same ear, there was no com ''ination to express 500. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 179 Right ear. No. 44—1841. One notch over the left ear, (that which is on your left when the face of the sheep is from you,) stands for 1 ; two notches over the same, for 2. One notch under the left ear stands for 3. Three such notches "carry up the number to 9. One notch over the right ear stands for 10 ; two such for 20. One notch under the same stands for 30 ; and three such for 90. Combinations of the above (three notches under each ear) would carry up the number to 99. Tliese four classes of notches which express all parts of a hundred, are shown in the first of the annexed cuts. A sheep marked like fig. 17 would be No. 44. A notch in the end of left ear, as in fig. IS, stands for 100 ; in right do. 200. In addition to' these there are on the same cut two 1 notches, one 3 notch, one 10 do., and two 30 do. Adding the whole together, the sheep would therefore be No. 375. As the 100 and 200 notches, together, make 300, no separate notch is required for the latter number. The point of the left ear cut square off, as in fig. 19, cut, stands for 400 ; the point of tlie right cut square '^"o off, for 500, The latter and the 100 notch would make 600, and so on. The lambs of each year and each sex are num- bered from 1. The age is expressed by round Jioles through the ears, standing for the year in which the sheep is born. • As thei'e is no possibility of making a mistake of ten years in the age of a sheep, these marks are the same be- tween each tenth year of the century. Between 1840 and 1850, no hole would express 1840 : one Role in the left ear, 1841 ; two holes in the left ear, 1842 ; one hole in the right ear, 1843 ; one hole in the right and one in the left, 1844 ; one hole in the right and two in the left, 1845 ; two in the right, 1846 ; two in the right and one in the left, 1847 ; two in each, 1848 ; three in the right, 1849 ; none in either, 1850 — and the same for the next ten years. Examples are given in the preceding cuts. In other words, one hole in the left ear signifies 1, and one in the right 3, as applied to the years between each tenth of a century — and the combinations of these holes are made to express all the intermediate years, with the exception of the tenth. Every ewe, when turned in with the ram, should be given a mark (en- tirely distinct from the mark of ownership) which will continue visible un- til the next shearing. Nothing is better for this purpose 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, or a minute of it in the sheep-book. Thus it can be determined at a glance by what ram the ewe was tupped, any time before the next shearing. The holes in the ears, indicating the year, being the same on the whole annual crop of lambs, may be made at any convenient time. The holes are most conveniently made by a saddler's spi'ing-punch, the cutting cyl- inder of which is about j^ of an inch in diameter. If too small, the holes will grow up in healing. In numbering, it is difficult to prevent mistakes, if it is deferred until No. 909—1848. 180 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. the lamb attains much size. If penned with the dams when a month ot two old, hours will sometimes elapse before each lamb will suck — the only certain indication to which ewe it belongs. It being perfectly safe to per- form this process when the lamb is only about'a day old (or as soon as the lamb can walk, if it is a strong one), the shepherd carries the notcher in his pocket, and a little book, each page being ruled into six columns, and headed, as in the register presently given. This constitutes the day-book, which is subsequently drawn off on the Register. The notcher which I use is of my own invention, and I have found it far preferable to any I have seen elsewhere. It consists of a saddler's spring- punch — the cutting cylinder being taken out, and a little sharp chisel of the same length being screwed in its place. The edge of the chisel de- scribes a semi-ellipsis, cutting a notch out of the ear \ of an inch deep, and a little over j^g wide at the base. A triangular cut in the ear, with so nar- row a base, will grow together for some distance from the apex. This instrument is far more convenient than a chisel and block. The shepherd, on finding a lamb of the right age to mark, goes quietly up to it, stopping it by the neck with his crook if it attempts to run away. The ewe will come near enough, in a moment or two, to be secured by the crook, and then the shepherd notes her number and age, and enters it in his pocket-book, and also by what ram tupped. The lamb then is num- bered with the notckcr, and this and its general appearance is noted down in the appropriate columns. If the ewe is too wild to be caught, the lamb may be notched — the number of the sire, &c., entered — and the number of the ewe subsequently ascertained in the pen. I have two forms of Breeding Registers, originally furnished me by ray lamented friend, the late Mr. Grove. One contains ten columns, the other eight. I have adopted the simplest one, omitting two of the columns, which leaves the Register in the following form : BREEDING REGISTER— 1845. No. of Dam. Tupp'd by Ram. No. Date of Lambing. No. of Rams. Lamb. Ewes. 22—40 16—39 May 4. 1 50—41 25—42 May 4. 1 6—42 7—43 May 5. 2&3 11—41 7—43 May 5. Classification, and Remarks. Coarsish — wrinkly — thick, short-legged, and stout — bad crops — ewe plenty of milk, and kind. Fine — thin — long-legged — wool short — will lack constitution — ewe kind — little milk. 'Small, liut of good shape and fine wool — No. 3 ' wrinkly and like sire — No. 2 more like dam. — Ewe plenty of milk, but careles.s. 'The lamb was bom dead, very small. Same last ' year. This ewe had better be thrown out of [ breeding. The first entry above records the following facts : " The ewe No. 22, boi-n in 1840, tupped by the ram No. 16 of 1839, dropped on the 4th of May a ram lamb, which was marked No. 1, its character being as describee? under the head of ' Classification and Remarks.' " The column of " Remarks" is a very important one, if the minutes are made with accuracy and judgment. It should include an enumeration of all the prominent characteristics of the lamb, and of the appearances of the ewe as a breeder and nurse. These records will, in a single season, decide the character of a ram as a stock-getter, and that of the ewe, in a year or two, as a breeder and nurse. Emasculation and Docking. — These should usually precede washing, as at that period the oldest lambs wall be about a month old, and it is safer to perform the operations when they are a couple of weeks younger. — Dry, pleasant weather should be selected. Castration is a simple and s.aft; (644) y SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 181 process. Let a man hold the lamb with its back pressed firmly against his breast and stomach, and all four legs gathered in front in his hands. — Cut off the bottom of the pouch, free the testicle from the inclosing mem- brane, and then draw it steadily out, or clip the cord with a knife, if it does not snap off at a proper distance from the testicle. Some shepherds draw both testicles at once with their teeth. It is common to drop a little salt into the pouch. Where the weather is very warm, some touch the end of the pouch (and that of the tail, after that is cut off) with an oint- ment, consisting of tar, lard, and turpentine. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, however, they will do just as well, here, without any application. The tail should be cut off, say one and a half inches from the body, with a chisel on the head of a block, the skin being slid up toward the body with a finger and thumb, so that it will afterward cover the end of the stump. Severed with a knife, the end of the tail being grasped with one of the hands in the ordinary way, a naked stump is left which it takes some time to heal. It may occur to some unused to keeping sheep, that it is unnecessary to cut off the tail. If left on, it is apt to collect filth, and, if the sheep purges, it becomes an intolerable nuisance. Washing. — This is usually done here about the first of June. The cli- mate of the Southern States would admit of its being done earlier. The rule slumld be to wait until the water has acquired sufficient warmth for bathing, and until cold rains and storms, and cold nights, are no longer to be expected. Sheep are usually washed by our best flock-masters in vats. A small stream is dammed up, and the water taken from it in an aqueduct (formed by nailing boards together), and carried until sufficient fall is obtained to have it pour down a couple of feet or more into the vat. The body of water, to do the work fast and well, should be considerable — say 24 inches wide, and five or six deep — and the swifter the current the better. The vat should be say 3^ feet deejj, and large enough for four sheep to swim in it. A yard is built near the vat, and a platform from the gate of the yard extends to and encircles the vat on three sides. This keeps the washei Fig. 20. 2 -iSss==:Ti^^ WASHING APPARATUS. from standing in the v.^ater, and makes it much easier to lift the sheep id and out. The cut here given exhibits all the necessary appendages. I'he 152 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. yard is built opposite the corners of two fields (1 and 2), to take advantage of the angle of" one of them (1), to drive the sheep more readily into the yard (3). This yard should be large enough to hold the whole flock, if it does not exceed 200 ; and the bottom of it, as well as of the smaller yard (5), un- less well sodded over, should be covered with coarse gravel, to avoid be- coming muddy. If the same establishment is used by a number of flock- masters, graveling will be always necessary. As soon as the flock are confined in yai'd 3, the lambs are all immediately caught out from among them, and set over the fence into yard 4. This is to prevent their being trampled down, as it often happens, by the old sheep, or straying ofl' if let loose. As many sheep are then driven out of yard 3 into the smaller yard 5 as it will conveniently hold. A boy stands by the gate next to the vat, to open and shut it (or the gate is drawn shut with a chain and weight), and two men, catching the sheep as directed under the head of tagging, com- mence placing them in the water for the preparatory process of "wetting." As soon as the water strikes through the wool, which occupies but an in- stant, the sheep is lifted out and let loose.* The vat should, of course, be in an inclosed field, to prevent their escape. The whole flock should thus be passed over, and again driven round through field 1 into yard 3, where they should stand, say, an hour, before washing commences. There is a large per centage of potasht in the wool oil, which acts upon the dirt, independently of the favorable eftect which would result from thus soaking it for some time with water alone. If washed soon after a good shower, previous wetting might be dispensed with ; and it is not ahsohitehj necessary, perhaps, in any case. If the water is warm enough to keep the sheep in it for the requisite period, they may be got clean by washing without any previous wetting — though the snowy whiteness of fleece which tells so on the purchaser, is not so often nor so perfectly attained in the latter way. Little time is saved by omitting " wetting," as it takes propor- tionably longer to wash, and it is not so well for the sheep to be kept such a length of time in the water at once. When the washing commences, two and sometimes four sheep are plunged into the vat. When four are put in, two soak while two are washed. But this should not be done, unless the water is very warm, and the washers are uncommonly quick and expert. On the whole, it is rather an objectionable practice, for few animals suffer as much from the efiects of a chill as sheep. If they have been previously wetted, it is wholly un- necessary. When the sheep are in the water, the two washers commence kneading the wool with their hands about the breech, belly, &c., (the dirtier parts,) and they then continue to turn the sheep so that the descend- ing current of water can strike into all parts of the fleece. As soon as the sheep are clean, which may be known by the water running entirely clear, each washer seizes his own by the fore parts, plunges it deep in the vat, and taking advantage of the rebound, lifts it out, setting it gently down on its breech on the platform. He then, if the sheep is old or weak, (and it is well in all cases,) presses out some of the water from the wool, and after submitting the sheep to a process presently to be adverted to, lets it go. There should be no mud about the vat, the earth not cov- ered with sod, being graveled. Sheep should be kept on clean pastures from washing to shearing — not where they can come in contact with * Where there are conveniences for so doing, this process may be more easily peiformed by driving the eheep through a stream deep enough to compel them to swim. But sioimming the compact-fleeced, fine- wcoled sheep for any length of time, as is practiced with the Long- Wools in England, will not properly cleanse the wool for shearing \ Vaiiquelin, quoted by Youatt, says that it consists mostly of soapy matter with a basis of potash; 2. Carb. of potash ; 3. Acetate of potash; 4. Lime ; 5. Muriate of potash SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 1S3 the ground, burnt logs, &c. — and they should not be driven over dust\ roads. The washers should be strong and careful men, and protected as they are from anything but the water running over the sides of the vat, they can labor several hours without inconvenience, and witliout drinkin" whisky until they cease to know whether a sheep is well washed or well treated, as was the bad old fashion. Two hundred sheep will employ two expert men not over half a day, and I have known this rate much ex- ceeded. It is a great object, not only as a matter of propriety and honesty, but even as a matter of profit, to get the wool clean and of a snowy whiteness. 'It will always sell for more than enough extra, in this condition, to offset against the increased labor and the diminution in weight. Mr. Lawrence wrote me, a few years since, that the average loss in American Saxon wool, in scouring, (after being washed on the back,) was 36 per cent., and in American Merino 42^ per cent. ! Cutting the Hoofs. — The hoofs of fine-wooled sheep grow rapidly, turn up in front and under at the sides, and must be clipped as often as once a year, or they become unsightly, give an awkward, hobbling gait to the sheep, and the part of the hoi-n which turns under at the sides holds dirt or dung in constant contact with the soles, and even prevents it from being readily shaken or washed out of the cleft of the foot in the natural movements of the sheep about the pastures, as would take place were the hoof in its proper shape. This greatly aggravates the hoof-ail, and the difficulty of curing it — and in England it is thought to originate the disease. It is customary to clip the hoofs at tagging, or at or soon after the time of shearing. Some en:iploy a chisel and mallet to shorten the hoofs, but then the sheep must be subsetjuently turned on its back to j)are off the projecting and curling-under side crust. If the weather be dry, or the sheep have stood for some time on dry straw, (as at sheaiing,) the hoofs are as tough as horn, and are cut with great difficulty — and this is in- creased by the grit and dirt which adheres to the sole, and immediately takes the edge off from the knife. The above periods are ill chosen, and the methods slow and bungling. It is particularly improper to submit heavily pregnant ewes to all this un- necessary handling at the time of tagging. When the sheep is washed and lifted out of the vat, and placed on its rump on the platform, the gate-keeper advances with a pair of toe-nippers, and ^'s- 21. the washer presents each foot sepa- rately, pressing the toes together so they can be severed at a single clip. The nipjiers shown in the cut, can be toe-nippers. made by any blacksmith who can tem- per an ax or chisel. They must be made strong, with handles a little more than a foot long, the rivet being of half-inch iron and confined with a nut, so that they may be taken apart for sharpening. The cutting edge should descend upon a strip of copper inserted in the iron, to prevent it from being dulled. With this powerful instrument, the largest hoofs are severed with a moderate compression of the hand. Two well-sharpened knives, which should be kept in a stand or box within reach, are then grasped by the washer and assistant, and with two dexterous strokes to each foot, the side crust (being free from dirt, and soaked almost as soft as [^4 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH, a cucumber,) is reduced to the level of the soles. Two expert men wilJ go through these processes in less time than it will take to read this de- scription of them ! The closer the paring and clipping, the better, if blood is not drawn. An occasional sheep may i-equiie clipping again in the fall. Time between Washing and Shearing. — This depends altogether gt circumstances. From four to six days of bright warm weather is suffi- cient. If cold and rainy, or cloudy, more time must elapse. I have known the wool to remain in an unfit condition to shear a fortnight after washing. The rule is, the water should be thoroughly dried out, and the natural oil of the wool should so far exude as to give the wool an unctuous feel and a lively, glittering look. If.you shear it when dry, like cotton, before the oil has exuded, you cheat yourself, and the wool will not keep so well for long periods.* If you leave it until it gets too oily, you cheat the manu- facturer, or what more often happens, you lose on the price. Shearing — Is always done, in this country, on the threshing-floors of our barns, sometimes on low platforms, but more commonly on the floor itself. The following cut represents a common Northern bara properly aiTanged for this purpose. SHEARING ARRANGEMENTS. On the threshing-floor, three men are seen shearing — two of them using a low table or platform, say 18 or 20 inches high. The " bay " t (1. 2) nearest the eye is divided by a temporary fence, one part (1) being used for the yarding of the sjieep, and the other (2) for doing up the wool, &;c. The inclosure 1 should communicate by a door with another and larger yard outside of the barn. Both of these should be well littered down with * It is also very difficult to thrust the shears through tliis dry wool in shearins;. t The room for storin>: hay, arain, &c., which is always found on one. and sometimes on each side of the threshing-floor in a Northern barn, is pruvincially termed a " bay " — and the low division betweeu this and the threshing-floor a " breastwork." SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 185 Straw, aiid fresh straw thrown on occasionally, to keep the sheep clean while shearing. No chaff, or other substances which will stick in the wool, should be used for this purpose. When the dew has dried off from the sheep, on the morning chosen for shearing, a portion of the flock suihcient to last the shearers half a day, is driven into the outside yard, and a con- venient number into the bay (1). An assistant catches the sheep, lifts them off from the floor as already directed, and delivers them at the door througl) the " breastwork " (3) to each shearer. The shearer before taking the sheep, picks off any loose straws sticking to its wool, an*d if dung ad- heres to any of the feet, brushes it off with a little besom formed of twio-s, hung up near the door for that purpose. The shearer then takes the sheep to his stand, and commences shearing. The floor or tables used for shearing should be planed or worn perfectly smooth, so that they will not hold dirt or catch the wool. They all should ^^e thoroughly cleaned, and, if necessary, washed, preparatory to shearing. It is the catcher's business to keep the floor constantly swept, dung re- moved, &c. Having a new stand or place swept for the shearer who has just finished his sheep, he catches him another, and then clears up the stand previously occupied. He first lifts the fleece, gathers it up so that it shall not be torn or drawn asunder, and turning his arms so as to invert It, [i. c, bring the roots of the wool downward,) deposits it on the foJding- tahle (4). ] le then picks up the " fribs " (small loose locks) left on the flooi', which are deposited in a basket or on a corner of the table. Lastly, he sweeps the spot clean, to be again occupied by the shearer. An active fellow will tend four shearers, and do up the fleeces. But he should not be hurried too much, or he cannot give sufficient time to doing iiji. A small boy or two are handy to pick up fribs, sweep, &c. If there are any sheep in the pen dirty from purging or other causes, they should first be caught out, to prevent them from dirtying the others. It is difficult, if not impossible, to give intelligible practical instructions which would guide an entire novice in skillfully shearing a sheep. Prac- tice is requisite. The following directions from the American Shepherd,* are correct, and are as plain, perhaps, as they can be made : " The shearer may place the sheep on that part of the floor assigned to him, resting ou its rump, and lumsell in a jiostiive with one (his riglit) knee on a cushion, and the back of the ani- mal restinir against liis U'ft thigli. He grasps the sliears about half-way from the point to the bow, resting his thumb along the blade, which affords him better command of the points. He may then commence cutting the wool at the brisket, and proceeding downward, all upon the sides of the belly tt) the extremity of the ribs, the external sides of both tliighs to the edges of the ilanks ; then back to the biisket; and thence upward, shearing the wool from the breast, front, and both sides of the neck — but not yet the back of it — and also the poll or fore part, and top of the head. Now the 'jacket is opened ' of the sheep, and its position and that of the sheiu'cr is changed, by being turned flat upon its side, one knee of the shear'>r resting on the cushion, and the other gently j)ressing the fore quarter of the animal, to pre- vent any struggling. He then resumes cutting upon the flank and nnnp, and thence on- ward to the head. Thus one side is complete. The sheep is then turned on to the other side, in doing which great care is retjnisite to prevent the fleece from being torn, and the shearer acts as upon the other, which finishes. He must then take his sheep near to the door through which it is to pass out, and neatly trim the legs, and leave not a solitaiy loci' anywhere as a harbor for ticks. It is absolutely necessary for him to remove from his stand to trim, otherwise the useless stuff from the legs becomes intermingled with the fleece-wool. Jn the use of the shears, let the blades be laid as flat to the skin as possible, not lower the ()oints too much, nor cut more than from one to two inches at a clip, frecpiently not so much, depending on the part and compactness of the wool." In addition to the above, I would remark that the wool should be cut off as close as conveniently practicable, and even. It viayhe cut too close^ 90 that the sheep can scarcely avoid " sun-scald," but this is very unusual * Pages 179, 180. 2 A J 86 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOU^'H. If tlie wool is left ridgy and uneven, it betrays that want of workmanship which is so distasteful to every good farmer.* Great care should be taken not to cut the wool twice in two, as inexperienced shearers are apt to do. It is a great damage to the wool. It is done by cutting too far from the point of the shears, and suffering the points to get too elevated. Every time the shears are pushed forward, the wool before cut off by the points, say a quarter or three-eighths of an inch from the hide, is again severed. To keep the fleece entire, so important to its good appearance when done up, (and therefore to its salableness,) it is very essential that the sheep be held easily^/' itself, so that it will not struggle violently. To hold it still by main strength, no man can do, and shear it well. The posture of the shearer should be such that the sheep is actually confined to its position, so that it is unable to start up suddenly and tear its fleece, but it should not be confined there by severe pressure or force, or it will be constantly kicking and struggling. Heavy-handed, careless men, therefore, always complain of getting the most troublesome sheep. The neck, for example, may be confined to the floor by placing it between the toe and knee of the leg on which the shearer kneels, but the lazy or brutal shearer who lets his \eand long enough to prevent it from being easily overturn- ed. The lower side board should be narrower than in fig. 31, on account of the increased hight given its upper edge by the sills. Still better, but somewhat more expensive, would be a rack of the same construction, with the sides like those of fig. 32. Or, the sides might consist of rundles as in fig. 33. In either of the preceding, the top might be nailed down, and the fodder inserted by little doors in the ends. The ffdlowing form and description of an English rack is from the " Book of the Farm."* Fig. 33. SPARRED RACK. " I have foiiud," says Mr. Stephens, " this form convenient, containing as much straw at a time as should be given, admitting the sti-aw easily into it, being easily moved about, of * It will be found in the reprint cf this splendid work, in The Farmers' Library, toI. ii. p 449 2C 202 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. easy access to the sheep, and being so near the gi'ound as to form an excellent shelter. It is made of wood, is 9 feet in length, 4.^ feet in hight, and 3 feet in width, having a sparred rack with a doulile face below, which is covered with an angled roof of boards to throw off the rain. The rack is supported on two triangular-shaped ti-essels b, shod with iron at the points, which ai'e pushed into the gromid, and act as stays against the effects of the wind from either side. The billet c, fixed on the under or acute edge of the rack, rests upon the ground, and in common with the feet, supports it from bending down in the middle. The lid a is opened on hinges when the fodder is put into the rack Such a rack is easily moved about by two persons, and theii- position should be changed according to a change of wind indicative of a storm." I used racks formed of rounds (or " sparred ") for several years, and found them decidedly objectionable. The sheep grasping a lock of hay in its mouth, brings the head to its natural position, and then draws in the adhering fibres in the process of mastication. But when eating fi-om a rack, it will not 2:)ich up the liay which it drops under foot. In the box or hole racks (figs. 31 and 32) most sheep will not withdraw their heads from the openings, as they can there hold them in the ordinary position for mastication, and as, if they stej-) l^cJi to do so, they are very liable to be crowded out of their places. The hay, therefore, is not drawn out of the rack, and if any is dropped, it falls within it and is saved. At a sparred rack, the sheep will not keep its nose between the rundles (in a horizon- tal or upward position) until it detaches a mere mouthfull of hay. It will, particularly when partly sated, tivitch out its fodder prior to mastication, and all which scatters off and drops to the ground, is trampled under foot and wasted, except for the mere purpose of manure. A considerable loss will always result from this cause. And there is another objection to this form of rack, particularly where it runs down to an acute edge on the bottom, as in fig. 33. The sheep frequently drawing the hay from the lower part, will shake down from above hay-seeds and chaff into the wool on their head and necks ; and the wind will sometimes carry these as far as their shoulders and even their backs. As heretofore remarked, these cannot be washed out, and they materially lower the niarket value of the wool. The following rack has been used and is highly approved by my friend, George Geddes, Esq., of Fairmount, N. Y., to whom I am indebted for the drawing and description of the cut. It serves both for a rack and feeding-trough. Fig. 34. THE HOPPER-RACK. " The above is intended to represent a section of what I think the best sheep-rack J have •een. " A piece of durable wood about 4.J feet long, 6 or 8 inches deep, and 4 inches thick has two notches, a, a, cut into it, and two troughs, made of inch boards, b, b, b, b, placed in SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 203 these notches, and nailed fast, constitutes the fiiundation. If the rack is to be 14 feet Inns thi-ee sills will be required. The ends of the rack are made by nailing against the side of the sill-boards that reach up as high as it is desired to ha^e the rack, and naiL drive;i thi'ough these end-boards into the ends of the side-boards/,/', secure them. The sides may he farther strengthened by pieces of board on the outside of them, and litted iuio the trough. A roof may be put over all if desired. With n roof, the fodder is ke[)t eulirelv from the vyeather, and no seeds or chaff can get into the wool." Trougrs. — Threshed grain, chopped roots, &c., when fed to sheep should be laid in troughs. With any of the preceding forms of racks, ex- cepting fig. 34, a separate trough would be required. For a number of years I have used those of the following form, and have found them every way satisfactory. Fig. 35. SHKKP-TKOOGII. One of the side-boards is usually about ten and the other eleven inchifis wide. The feet are commonly of two-inch plank, rising high enough on the sides to keep the sides of tlie trough firm in their places. In our snowy climate they are turned over after feedin"-, and when falls of snow are anticipated, one end is laid on the yard fence.* The following elaborately ingenious contrivance for keeping grain where sheep can feed on it at tcill, is from the " Book of the Farm," and I ap- pend the author's description of it.t Fig. 36. Fig. 37. VERTICAL SECTION OF INTERIOR OF GRAIN BOX. GRAIN BOX FOR SHEEP. " There is a mode of preserving com (grain) for sheep on turnips which has been tried with success in Fife. It consists of a bo.\ like a hay-rack, in which the grain is at all times kept closely shut up, except when sheep wish to eat it, and then they get it by a simple contrivance. The box a b contains the grain, into which it is poured through the small hinged lid y. The cover c d concealing the grain, is also hinged, and when elevated the sheep have access to the grain. Its elevation is effected by the pressure of the sheep's fore- feet upon the platform e f, which, moving as a lever, acts upon the lower ends of the up- right rods pr and k, raises them up, and elevates the cover c d, imder which their heads then find admittance into the box. A similar apparatus gives them access to the other side of the box. The whole machine can be moved about to convenient places by means ot * To you, Sir, living on the ocean shore of South Carolina, and who, I think, have not visited the North, in the depth of winter, the idea of a farmer's finding the racks used by him the day before, buried under from eighteen inches to three feet of enow, and having to dig^ them out, may be rather an odd one ! But, nevertheless, it is a matter of no very rare occurrence, at least at the lowest depth mentioned. t See Farmers' Library, vol. ii., No. 10, p. 476. 204 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. four wheels. The construction of the mterior of the box being somewhat pecuhar, another, fig. 37, is given as a vijrtical section of it, where b is the hinged lid by which the grain is put into the box, whence it is at once received into the hopper d, the bottom of which being open, and brought near that of tile box, a small space only is left for the grain to pass into the box, the hopper forming the grain-store , a is the cover of the box raised on its hinges by the rod /, acted upon by the platfoi-m e /, fig. 35 ; and, when in this po- sition, the sheep put their heads below a at c, and eat the grain at d. Machines of simi- lar constmction to this have also been devised to serve poultry with grain at will." I never have thought it best in feeding or fattening any animals, or, at all events, any quadrupeds, to allow^ them grain at will — preferring stated feeds ; and the same remark is applicable to fodder. If this system is de- parted from in using depository racks, as heretofore recommended, it is because it is rendered necessary by the circumstances of the case. A Me- rino store-sheep, allow^ed grain ad libitum, would stand a chance to inflict an injury on itself, and I cannot but believe that grain so fed would gen- erally be productive of more injury than benefit. Barns and Sheds, &c. — Sheep barns and sheds, at the North, are fi-e- quently made very elaborate contrivances — particularly on ijaper. But expensive barns, with feeding-cellars and other arrangements for keeping sheep toithin doors during a greater portion of the winter, would, it strikes me, be entirely out of place in the South. Even in our rigorous climate, none but the breeders of Saxons pretend to make a regular practice of feeding under cover. Humanity and economy both dictate, here, that sheep be provided with shelters to lie under nights, and to which they can resort at will. In our severe winter storms, it is sometimes necessary, or at least by far the best, to feed under shelter for a day or two. It is not an uncommon circum- stance in New-York and New-England, for snow to fall to the depth of 20 or 30 inches within 24 or 48 hours, and then to be succeeded by a strong and intensely cold west or north-west wind of two or three days' continuance,* which lifts the snow, blocking up the roads, and piling huge drifts to the leeward of fences, barns, &c. A flock without shelter will huddle closely together, turning their backs to the storm, constantly step- ping and thus treading down the snow as it rises about them. Strong, close- coated sheep do not seem to suffer a« much from the cold, for a period, as would be expected. But it is next to impossible to feed them enough or half enough, under such circumstances, without an immense waste of hay — entirely impossible, without racks. The hay is whirled away in an in- stant by the wind, and even if racks are used, the sheep leaving their hud- dle where they were kept warm and even moist by the melting of the snow in their wool, soon get chilled and are disposed to return to their huddle. Imperfectly filled with food, the supply of animal heat is lowered, and at the end of the second or third day, the feeble ones have sunk down hope- lessly, the yearlings and oldish ones have received a shock which nothing but careful nursing will recover them from, and even the strongest have suffered an injurious loss in condition. Few holders of more than 40 or 50 sheep now attempt to get along here without some kind of shelters. The following (fig. 38) is a very common form of a Northern sheep-barn with sheds. The sheds front the south, or, what is a better an'angement, one fronts the east, and the other, being turned to a right angle to the direction of this, fronts the south. I have represented hole racks, as in fig. 32, running round the sheds, as, although not yet in general use, they are undoubtedly the best in such sit- * These terribl? wind-storms are of much longer continuance in many parts of Nevy-England. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 205 uations. The sheds are not usually framed or silled, — but are supported by posts of some durable timber set in the ground. The roofs are formed of boards " battened " with slabs. The bam has no partitions within, and is entirely filled with hay. Fig. 38. SHEEP-BARN. There are many situations where these open sheds are very liable to ha\e snow drifted under them by certain winds, and they are subject in all cases in severe gales, to have the snow carried over them to fall down in large drifts in front, which gi-adually encroach on the sheltered space, and are very inconvenient — particularly when they thaw. I therefore much prefer sheep-houses covered on all sides, with the exception of a wide door-way for ingress and egi'ess, and one or two windows for ventilation when it is necessary. They are convenient for yarding sheep, for the various process- es where this is required, as for shearing, marking, sorting, "doctoring," Fig. 39. THE OUTSIDE STELL. &c., and especially so, for lambing places or the confinement of newly nhorn sheep in cold storms. They should be spacious enough, so that in 206 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. addition to the outside racks, others can be placed temporarily through the middle when required. In many parts of Scotland, " Stells," as they are called, are made use of to shelter sheep. Fig. 39 on the preceding page is the form of one given in " The Book of the Farm," and the author's description of it : " In a stoi-ni, their provender cannot be given to the sheep upon snow, safely and conven- iently, as gi-ound-drift may blow and cover both ; and no place is so suitable for the purpose 33 a stell It may be formed of planting or high stone-wall. Either will aflbrd shel- ter ; but the former most, though most costly, as it should be fenced by a stone-wall. Of this class I conceive tlie form represented (fig. 38') a good one, and which may be char- acterized as an outside stell The circumscribing strong black line is a stone-wall six feet high ; the dark ground within is covered with ti-ees. Its four rounded projections shel- ter a corresponding luimber of recesses embraced between them, so that let the wind bk)w from what quarter it may, two of the recesses will be always sheltered from the storm. The size of this stell is regulated by the number of sheep kept ; but this rule may be remem- bered in regard to its accommodation for stock, that each recess occupies about | part of the space comprehended between the exti-emities of the 4 projections ; so thatiu a stell covering 4 acres — which is perhaps the least size they should be, every recess will contain J an acre.' The two following are forms of stells, composed of stone-wall, without planting. Fig. 40. ANCIENT STELLS. Figures 42 and 43, on the following page, are forms of circular stells, the first made by stone-walls and planting, as in fig, 39. The open space a is occupied by the sheep, and h is a funnel-shaped opening to it. On the whole I should consider fig. 42 preferable to any of the preceding forms. Figure 43 represents one of the same form, but without the planting, with a stack in the middle, &c. Either of the stells which are foi-med in part of trees, would be convenient in severe winds, would form excellent shades in summer, and would constitute highly ornamental ob- jects on the farm, and in the landscape. On the most northerly of the Southern mountains, where considerable snow falls, they might even be good contrivances for winter shelter. They might also be convenient on the lowlands farther south, provided the shelter of evergreens could be made dense enough to pi-otect the sheep from the winter rains. In this case, the stell or covert might be of a-ny sliope, and ought to have no cen SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 207 ti'al opening. It would be mei-ely a dense clump of evergreen trees, for the sheep to take refuge under in storms of rain, and it might be surround- ed on the outside with a tight board fence or stone-wall, if much exposed Fis. 40. THK I.SilDf; CIRCIT.AR STKLL. to the sweep of cold winds. As the sheep would lie among the trees, a clump 50 or 60 feet in diameter — though 100 feet would be better — would suffice for 100 sheep. Fig. 43. THE CIRCULAR STF.LL FITTED UP WITH HAT-RACKS. But in determining upon the best winter shelters, for the various re- gions in the South, the fact must not be lost sight of that cold rains, or rains of any temperature, wJien immediatchj succeeded hy cold or freezing tveatlier, or cold, j^ierciyig ivinds, are more hurtful to sheep than even snow- storms — and that consequently sheep must be adequately guarded against them. Thei'e must also be suitable shelter from any storms to Avhich the country is subject, in the lamhivg season. Any person with the least ex- perience can determine whether an inclosed clump of trees will answer chese purposes, in his own immediate region. I think it very probable that in the Gulf States, and some of the lowei Atlantic ones — particularly in regions near the ocean — these tree coverts, 203 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. surrounded by fences to break the winds, would be found sufficient. In sections infested with wolves, they might also be made to answer for folds, by carrying the fence to the requisite hight, to bar the ingress of the wolf But farther north, and on the high lands and mountains, better shelters would, I am inclined to think, in the end, be found more economical. The simplest and cheapest kind of shed is represented in the following cut (fig. 44). It is formed by poles or rails, the upper 'ends resting on a strong horizontal pole supported by crotched posts set in the ground. It may be rendered rain-proof by pea-haulm, straw, or pine boughs. Fig. 44. SHED or RAItS. In a region where lumber is very cheap, planks or boards (of sufficient thickness not to spring downward and thus open the roof) battened with slabs, may take the place of the poles and boughs ; and they would make a tighter and more durable roof. If the lower ends of the boards or polea are raised a couple of feet from the ground, by placing a log under them, the shed will shelter more sheep. These movable sheds may be connected with hay-barns, " hay-baiTacks," stacks, or they may surround an inclosed space with a stack in the middle like fig. 43. In the latter case, however, the yard should be square, in- stead of round, on account of the divergence in the lower ends of the boards or poles, which the round form would render necessary. Sheds of this description are frequently made, in the North, between two stacks. The end of the horizontal supporting pole is placed on the stack-pens, when the stacks are built, and the middle is propped by crotched posts. The supporting-pole may rest, in the same way, on the upper girts of two hay -barracks ; or two such sheds (at angles with eacb other) might form wings to this structure. The " barrack," as it is pro- vincially termed in the North, would, it strikes me, affiard a most econom- ical and a most convenient way of storing fodder in the South. It is ea- sily movable, so that it possesses the same advantage that stacks do, in manuring different parts of the field or farm. On the other hand, the fod- der cannot be drenched by a winter rain, as in a partly fed out stack. Hay can be more rapidly stored in it than on a stack at any time, and you can pitch into it to the last moment, when threatened with rain, without stopping to round up the top as is necessary in a stack. The outside is not weather-beaten and damaged, as is the case with the sides, and fre- quently with a considerable of the top of a stack. Fig. 45 (on the next page) represents the form of a barrack. It is 12 feet square on the bot- tom, and the frame is formed by girting together four strong poles, 16 feet long, at the bottom, and 6 feet from the bottom. Boards 6 feet long are nailed perpendicularly on the girts. Two-inch holes are bored at con- venient distances through the corner poles, so that the roof, which rests SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 209 on pins thrust through these holes, can be raised or lowered, at pleasure. It is occasionally lowered as the fodder gets lower in the barrack, so that It seems to me that this structuie Fie 45. rain or snow shall not drive under it. would be remarkably well adapted to the storing and feeding out of un- threshed peas, which, as has been remarked in a former Letter, are so advantageously raised at the South, and constitute so admirable a feed for sheep. On all large sheep-farms con- venience requires that there be one barn of considerable size, to con- tain the shearing-floor, and the ne- cessaiy conveniences about it for yarding the sheep, &c. This should also, fur economy, be a hay-barn, (where hay is used,) and from its necessary size (for the shearing- floor), it should hold hay for 400 sheep. It may be constructed in the corner of four fields, so that four hundred sheep can be fed from it, with- out making improperly sized flocks. At this barn it would be expedient to make the best shelters, and to bring together all the breeding-ewes on the farm, if their number did not exceed 400. Thus the shepherd would be saved much travel at all times, and particularly at the lambing-time, and each flock would be under his almost constant supers'ision. I offer the following ground-plan of a barn with fixtures, &c., as one which I think will be found well adapted to the purpose above specified. The upper is the north part of the plan. Fig. 46. T y -Ui-*- The dotted lines a, a, a, a, are the fences dividing four fields, which would corner at the south-east corner of the bam. The barn is surrounded by double lines, and the sheds by double lines on the backs and ends — the dots in front of them, representing the crotched posts supporting their front. The single black lines round the yards, represent tight board fences, which screen the four yards b, c, d, e, from every wind. There are two pumps and troughs at h, h, which accommodate the whole four fields, if a want of springs or streams in them render these necessary. The sheds are so ar- 210 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. ranged that even without the screens they entirely shut out the north and west winds — the prevaihng and severe winter ones of this region — and if other ones are more prevalent in other regions, the sheds can be changed accordingly. Each of the sheds is 50 feet long and 12 feet wide — six square feet being the smallest ^ro/^er allowance of sheltered area for each sheep. The bam is 48 feet square, a floor 13 feet wide running east and west through the center, for shearing and for the drawing in of hay. An alley 4 feet wide and 8 feet high (boaided up on the side toward the mow, and covered at the top) cuts off the lower part of each bay from the east wall of the barn. This is for carrying hay into the yards h, c. It is carried into the yards t^, e, from the large doors at each end of the shearing- floor (or from smaller ones cut through them.) The south bay is repre- sented as divided by a temporary fence, cutting it into two pens/ g. The outside inclosure c, for yarding the sheep, communicating by a door with f, and g being used as a room to tie up wool in, presents precisely the same arrangement which is exhibited in the cut of the shearing-bam (fig. 22) in Letter XII. The barn here given (fig. 46) is probably larger than would be neces- sary for 400 sheep, in most parts of the South. Its necessary size is a question to be entirely determined by the climate. For large flocks of sheep, I should regard the storage of some hay or other fodder for winter as an indispensable precatitionary measure, at least, in any part of the United States ; and, other things being equal, the farther north, or the more elevated the land, the greater would be the necessary amount to be stored. The shearing-floor shortened to 30 or 35 feet, would still, perhaps, be sufficiently commodious, and this would reduce the dimensions of the barn east and west 13 or 18 feet ; and one of the bays might be dispensed with. But having constructed so large, so smooth, and so tight a barn-floor as the shearing one ought to be, it would be good economy to use it for the threshing of grain. One of the bays, therefore, might be used for the storage of grain in the sheaf. I have always considered this an excellent arrangement in a Northern barn of this description, as in our cold climate the sheep require much straw litter in their sheds, yards, &c. Thrown out to them daily, as threshed, much bright straw and chaff will be con- sumed by them — particularly of greenish cut oats. The yards c, e, in fig. 46 are represented but the width of the bam, 48 feet. If these were reduced too much, by diminishing the size of the barn, the shed of c could be carried farther west at^', and that of e farther north at i, being connected with the barn by wind-breakers, composed of a tight board fence, as high as the summit of the sheds. Or, what would perhaps be better, the fences thrown forward in a straight line from the ends of these two sheds might be continued until they intersected each other, and a fence from their point of intersection to the south-east corner of the bam would divide the two yards. Feeding Sheep with other Stock. — Sheep should not run or be fed, in yards, with any other stock. Cattle hook them, often mortally, Colts tease and frequently injure them. It is often said that " colts will pick up what sheep leave." Well-managed sheep rarely leave anything — and if they chance to, it is better to rake it vip and throw it into the colts'yard, than to feed them together. If sheep are not required to eat their feeds pretty clean, they will soon learn to waste lai'ge quantities. But if sheep are overfed with either hay or grain, it is not proper to compel them by starvation to come back and eat it. They will not unless sorely pinched, Clean out the troughs, — or rake up the hay, and the next time feed less. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 211 Hay-Holders. — Where hay or other fodder is thrown out of the upper doors of a barn into the sheep-yard, as it always must necessarily be in a barn constructed like fig. 38, or any -tnere Jiay-havn, or where it is thrown from a barrack or stack, the sheep immediately rush on it, trampling it and soiling it, and the succeeding forkfulls fall on their backs, filling their wool with dust, seed and chaff. This is avoided by hay-holders — yards 10 feet square — either portable by being made of posts and boards, or simply a pen of rails, placed under the doors of the bams, and by the sides of each stack or barrack. The hay is pitched into the holder, in fair weather enough for a day's foddering at a time, and is taken from this by forkfulls and jjlaced in the racks. I would here offer a necessary caution in rela- tion to the use of rails or j^oles, for stack-pens or hay-holders, The poles should be so small as to entirely prevent the sheep from inserting their heads between them after hay. A sheep will often insert its head where the opening is wide enough for that purpose, shove it along or get ciowded along, to where the opening is not wide enough to withdraw the head, and it will hang there until observed and extricated by the shepherd. If, as it often happens, it is thus caught when its fore parts are elevated by climb- ing up the side of the pen, it will continue to lose its fore footing in its sti'uggles, and will soon choke to death. Winter Dry Feed for Sheep. — The proper dry winter fodder for sheep has already been repeatedly alluded to, in general terms. Volumes have been expended on this subject, particularly in Germany — and curious and elaborate systems of feeding given. In Germany great stress is laid on varict)/ in the winter fodder. In the German Farmer's Encyclopaedia, the following table of the proper variations and amounts of feed is given by Petri. TABLE 15. I.oth, Loth, Lotli, 1 Bay. Lbs. equal Morning. Lbs. equal Noon. Lbs. equal Evening. Koz. 21 ~T 21 bay 21 hay hay o 1 1 rye straw 1 22 hay 1 1 rj-e straw 3 23 bean straw 26 vetch-hay 23 bean straw 4 1 wheat 8tra\v 1 sainfoin 1 wheat straw 5 1 6 oat straw 21 hay 1 6 oat straw 6 1 6 articboke stalk 1 19 red clover 1 6 artichoke stalk 7 1 8 turkey wheat 1 12 lucern 1 8 turkey- wheat str'w 8 1 8 buckwheat straw 1 16 hay 1 8 buckwheat straw 9 1 6 oat straw 7 horse-beans 1 6 oat straw 10 19 red clover 19 red clover 19 red clover 11 18 sainfoin 18 sainfoin 18 sainfoin 12 1 6 millet straw 1 6 millet straw 1 6 millet straw 13 30 lentil straw 21 hay 30 lentil straw 14 30 pea straw 21 hay 30 pea straw 15 30 barley straw 1 artichoke stalk 30 barley straw 16 1 10 horse-bean straw 1 10 horse-bean straw 1 10 horse-bean straw 17 1 1 rye straw 1 11 oat straw 1 1 rye straw 18 1 3 wheat straw 1 9 oat straw 1 3 wheat straw 19 1 6 rye straw 1 tnrkej'-wheat 1 3 wheat straw 20 1 6 oat straw 1 turkey-wheat 1 6 oat straw 21 1 3 wheat straw 22 artichoke stalk 1 6 oat straw 22 30 lentil straw 1 30 vetch straw 30 lentil straw 23 1 6 oat straw 1 6 wheat straw 1 6 oat straw The same writer gives the following as the proper winter feed of a ewe, the month preceding lambing : 212 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. TABLE 16. C In the morning, lib. of good oat straw. 1st day. noon . . . .i .. of good hay of clover. evening. .J - of good barley straw. morning -i .. of millet straw. 2d day . noon of potatoes with 4 oz. of chopped straw, and 4 oz. of oats. evening. ■ 1 -- of barley straw. morning ■ i - of hay. 3d day . noon ... -J -- of hay, evening. .1 .. of wheat, oat, barley or hackwheat straw. morning •1 -- of summer straw. 4th day. noon ... 1 -2 •- of chopped straw, with 3 oz. oats and 3 oz. bran, moistened with water. evening. -1 .. of winter straw. morning •1 -- of hay. 5th day. noon ... O of potatoes with | lb. of chopped straw. evening. ■-i :'. of winter straw. morning -t .. of hay. 6th day. noon ... .as in 4th day. evening. A lb. of straw. All this would be infinitely " more nice than wise," in any part of the United States. Variations of dry fodder are well enough, but hundreds and thousands of Northern flocks receive nothing but oi-dinary hay, con- sisting mainly of Timothy, (Yhleum irratcnsc,) some Red and White Clo- ver, ( Trifolium fratense ct rcpens,) and frequently a sprinkling of June or Spear grass, (Voa j)ratensis,) during the entire winter. Others receive an occasional fodder of corn-stalks and straw — and some farmers give a daily feed of grain through the winter. Where hay is the principal feed, it may be well, where it is convenient, to give corn-stalks (or " blades ") every fifth or sixth feed, or even once a day. Or the daily feed, not of hay, might alternate between blades, pea-straw, straw of the cereal grains, &c. Should any other fodder besides hay be the principal one, as, for example, cora- blades or pea-haulm, each of the otlicr fodders might be alternated in the same way. It is mainly, in my judgment, a question of convenience with the flock-master, provided a proper supply of palataMe nutriment within a proper compass, is given. Hay, clover, properly cured pea-haulm, and corn- blades are palatable to the sheep, and each contain the necessary supply of nutriment in the quantity which the sheep can readily take into its stom- ach. Consequently, from either of these, the sheep can derive its entire subsistence. The same remarks 7nay, possibly, apply to greenish cut oat and barley straw; but it would not, I apprehend, be economical or alto- gether safe to confine any kind of sheep to the straw of the cereal gi-ains unless some of those little hardy varieties of sheep which would be of no value in this country. Experiment will readily show the flock -master what kinds of food are palatable and agree with the health of his flock. The following exceedingly valuable Table, prepared by Boussingault, will give the value of various kinds of feed in comparison with ordinary natu- ral meadow hay, as ascertained by himself, Von Thaer, Block, and other distinguished Agricultural Chemists. The results are obtained by chemi- cal analysis, and by actual experiments in feeding. The amount of nitro- gen in 100 parts is made the chemical test of value, as it shows the quan- tity of fibrin, albumen, and casein, (by multiplying by 6.3.) The experi- mental result is obtained by weighing the animal and the feed, and giving him enough of each to maintain him in good condition. • SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOiTH. 213 TABLE 17. FODDERS. TABLE OF THE NUTRITIVE EQUIVALENTS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF FODDERS. Kinds of Food. Ordinary-natural meadow hay Do. of fine quality Do. select Do. freed from woody stems Lucern hay Red clover hay, 2d year's growth Red clover cut in flower, green, do. New wheat straw, crop 1841 Old wheat straw Do. do. lower parts of the stalk Do. do. upper part of do. and ear.. New rye-straw Old do Oat-straw Barley do Pea do Millet do Buckwheat do Lentil do Vetches cut in flower and dried I into hay j Potato tops Field-beet leaves Carrot do Jerusalem artichoke stems Lime-trees, young shoots Canada Poplar do Oak do Acacia do. (autumn) Drum cabbage Swedish turnip Turnip Field-beet (1838). Do. white Silosian Carrots ...» Jerusalem artichokes (1839) Do. (1836) Potatoes (1638) Do. (1836) Do. after keeping in the pit Cider apple pulp dried in the air.. Beet-root from the sugar mill Vetches in seed Fielil-heaiis Wliile peas (dry) White haricots Lentils New Indian Corn Buckwheat Barl ey ( 1 830) Barlev-meal Oats (1838) Do. (1836) Rye (1838) VVheat (1836, Alsace) Do. from highly manured soil Recent Bran Wheat husks or chaff Rice ( P iedmont) Gold of Pleasure seed (Madia)... Do. cake Linseed cake Colza do Madia do Hemp do Poppy do Nut do Beech-mast do Arachis (Pindars) do Dry acorn? Refuse of the wine-press, air-dried 11.0 14.0 18.8 14.0 16.6 10.1 76.0 26.0 8.5 5.3 9.4 18.7 12.6 21.0 11.0 8.5 19.0 ll.fi 9.2 11.0 76.0 88.9 70.9 86.4 .55.0 62.5 57.4 53.6 92.3 91.0 92.5 87.8 8S.6 87.6 79.2 75.5 65.9 79.4 76.8 6.4 70.0 14.6 7.9 8.6 5.0 9.0 18.0 12.5 13.2 13.0 20.8 12.4 11.5 10.5 16.6 37.1 7.6 13.4 8.0 11.2 13.4 10.5 6.5 5.0 6.8 6.0 6.2 6.6 1.34 1.50 2.40 2.44 1.66 1.70 0.36 0.53 0.43 1.42 0.30 0.50 0.36 030 1.95 0.96 0.54 1.18 1.16 2.30 4.50 2.94 2.70 3.25 2.29 2.'l6 1..56 3.70 1.83 1.70 1.70 1.43 2.40 1.(50 2.20 1..50 1.80 1.18 0.63 5.13 5.50 4.20 4.30 4.40 2.00 2.40 2.02 2.46 2.20 2.22 2.27 2^33 3.18 2.18 94 1.39 4.00 5.70 6.00 5.50 5.93 4.78 5.70 5.59 3..53 8.89 48.2 3.31 1.15 1.30 2.00 2.10 1.38 1.54 0.64 0.27 0.49 0.41 1.33 0.24 0.42 0.30 0.2, 1.79 0.78 0.48 1.01 1.14 .0 55 O..i0 0.85 0.37 1.45 0.86 0.92 0.72 0.28 0.17 0.13 0.21 0.18 0.:i() 0.33 0.42 0.36 0.37 0.30 0.59 0.38 4.37 5.11 3.84 4.58 4.00 1.64 2.10 1.76 2.14 1.74 1.92 2.00 2.09 2.65 1.36 0.95 1.20 3.67 5.06 5.20 4.92 5.51 4.21 5.36 5.24 3.31 8.33 0.80 1.71 s e n b S loo IflO 90 Too 100 90 430 200 360 150 200 500 150 200 200 1.50 193 180 150 165 200 250 200 150 160 200 125 300 600 73 67 83 556 500 300 250 .533 600 290 366 400 250 366 205 250 225 21G 200 150 400 30 54 30 54 50 30 .54 39 52 64 48 33 61 71 53 27 52 46 105 160 42 180 62 100 100 90 100 90 100 450 425 450 300 190 150 130 130 300 429 600 3001 250 526! 450 460 250 250 380 Boussingault. 280 do. 280 Boussingault. 90,90 Dombasle, [Crud, 500 Rieder. 400 Schwertz. 400 do. 90 PohL 59 Boussingault. Some specimens are twice as rich 214 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. The great value of pea-haulm, as shown in the above Table, is worthy ol the particular notice of the Southern flock-master. Also that of millet straw, another crop peculiarly congenial to the Southern States, provided it can be cured so that sheep will eat it. Corn-stalks are not, unfortunate- ly, included in the Table. According to Petri, 100 founds of corn " straw," (including stalks and leaves, I suppose,) contains but f as much nuti'iment as the same weight of " aromatic meadow hay," and not so much by ^ as an equal weight of oat or pea straw, which he makes equivalent to each other ! My opinion is that this by no means indicates the comparative value of well cured corn-stalks. No analysis of them now occurs to me, in any authority which I have on hand. Mr. Ellsworth, of the Patent Of- fice, stated in the Cultivator in 1842, that the juice of corn-stalks, on Beaurae's Saccharometer, is equal in saccharine matter with that of the cane in this country, five times greater than that of the Northern sugar- maple, (Acer saccharimim,) and three times that of beet! The daily ex- periments of our farmers demonstrate the absurdity of placing corn-stalks below the value of the cereal straws. Cured green and bright they are a highly valuable fodder, and are relished by all herbivorous animals. My friend, James M. Ellis, Esq. of Onondaga, N. Y., one of the best managing flock-masters of this State, has fed corn-stalks largely to his sheep for sev- eral years and with decided succes. Effect of Food in the Production of Wool. — The fact has been be- fore alluded to that well fed sheep produce more wool than poorly fed ones. The question now arises — if the effect on the condition (flesh) of the sheep is the same, will one kind of food produce more wool than another? No doctrine is more clearly recognized in Agiicultural Chemistry, than that animal tissues derive their chemical components from the same com- })onents existing in their food.* The analyses of Liebig, Johnston, Schei'er, Playfair, Boeckmann, Mulder, &c., show that the chemical composition of wool, hair, hoofs, nails, horns, feathers, lean meat, blood, cellular tissue, nerves, &c. are nearly identical. The organic part of wool, according to Johnston, f consists of carbon 50.65, hydrogen 7.03, nitrogen 17.71, oxy- gen and sulphur 24.61. The inorganic constituents are small. When burned, it leaves but 20 per cent of ash. The large quantity of nitro- gen (17.71) contained in wool, shows that its p7'oduction is increased by highly azotized food. This is fully verified by the experiments made on Saxon sheep, in Silesia, by Reaumur, whose Table I append. A striking correspondence will be found to exist between the amount of wool and the amount of nitrogen in the food. TABLE 18. Kinds of food. Increase of weight in live animal. Nitrogen per cent, in food. 1000 poands of raw potatoes, with salt 1000 .. '■ " without salt 1000 .. raw mangel-wurzel 1000 .. pease 1000 .. wheat 1000 .. rye, with salt 1000 .. rye, without salt 1000 .. oatsi 1000 .. barley 1000 .. buckwheat 1000 .. good hay 1000 .. hay, with straw, without other fodder 1000 .. whi.Mky, still-grains or wa.sh 46^ 44 38 134 155 m 83 146 136 120 58 31 35 81 8 n 13i 10^ 12 12 51 10 14i 35 U\ 33 8i 40 60 33 0.36 0.36 0.21 3.83 2.09 2.00 2.00 1.70 1.90 2.10 1.15 6 11 4 * For full information on this whole subject, see Liebig's Animal Chemistry, Part I and II. f See .Tohnston's Agricultural Chemistry — Lecture XVIII. Analyses of the homy tissues, by Scheror. wiB be found in the Appendix to Liebig's Animal Chemistry. i!i:!:i' ii'. sr, \N..uv in the south. 225 The singular diflerence stated in the Table, hetween the amount of wool produced by " good hay," and " hay with straw without other fodder," ] confess is scarcely credible to me. It may be a misprint in the Table from which I copy. The peculiar value of pease not only in increasing the wool, where they Ydivikjirst* but in the average comparative increase which they produce in all the tissues, is again worthy of notice. Effect op Food in producing Fat and Muscle. — The increase of fat and muscle, as of wool, depends upon the nature of the food. It would be foreign from my purpose to enter into an elaborate theoretical exam- ination of this subject. Liebig, in Parts I. and II. of his Animal Chemis- try, has covered the whole giound, and to him I take the liberty to refer you. Mr. Spooner, writing for England, where the production of flesh and fat is the primary object of Sheep Husbandry, has given a synopsis of Liebig's positions, analyses, &c., in his chapter (XXI.) on Feeding and Fattening — and the substance of this is again repeated by Mr. Morrell in his chapters on the same subjects, in The American Shepherd. To either of the latter I would refer you for svjjicient details for practical purposes, or forfo/l information, to Liebig. The Tables of Boussingault and Reaumur, already given, (Tables 17 and 18,) sufficiently indicate the value of the various grains, straw, roots, &;c., in fattening. It is not very common, in the North, for wool-growers to fatten their wethers, for mai'ket, by extra winter feeding. Some give them a little more generous keep the winter before they are to he turned oft", and then sell them when they have attained their maximum fatness the succeeding fall. When winter fattening is attempted, sheep require warm, dry shel- ters, and should receive, in addition to all the hay they will oat, meal twice a day in troughs — or meal once and chopped roots once. The equivalent of from half a pint to a pint of (yellgw) corn meal per head per diem is about as much as ordinary flocks of INIerino wethers will profitably con- sume, though in selected flocks consisting of large animals, this amount is frequently exceeded. Feeding Grain to Store-Sheep in Winter. — The expediency of feed- ing grain to store-sheep in winter depends much upon circumstances. If in a climate where they can obtain a jiroper supply of grass or other green esculents, it would, of course, be unnecessary. Neither is it a matter of necessitij where the ground is frozen or covered with snow for weeks or months, provided the sheep be supjilied plentifully with good dry fodder. Near markets where the coaise grains find a good and ready sale, it is not usual in the North, to feed grain. Remote from markets, it is generally f(>d by the holders of large flocks. Oats are commonly preferred, and they are fed at the i-ate of a gill a head per day. S(jme feed half the same amount of (yellow) corn. Fewer sheep — particularly lambs, year- lings, and crones — get thin and perish, where they receive a daily feed of gi-ain ; they consume less hay ; and their fleeces are increased in iveight. On the whole, therefore, it is considered good ecc lomy. Where no grain is fed, three daily feeds of hay are given. It is a common and very good practice to feed greenish cut oats in the hiindlc, at noon, and give but two feeds of hay — one at morning and one at night. A few feed greenish cut peas in the same way. In warm, thawing weather when sheep gel * With the exception of " hay and straw " — the given product of which, in wool, I have already stated mast undoubtedly be nusprinted. 216 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. to the ground, and refuse dry hay, a little grain assists materially ic keeping up their strength and condition. This may furnish a useful hint for many parts of the South. When the feed is shortest in winter, in the South, there are many localities where sheep would get enough grass to take off their appetite for dry hay, but not qvite enough to keep them in prime condition. A moderate daily feed of oats or pease placed in the depository racks, would keep them strong, in good plight for the lambing season, and increase their weight of wool. Few Northern farmers feed Indian com to store-sheep. It is consid- ered " too hot and stimulating," and sheep are thought to be more liable to become " cloyed " on it than on oats, pease, &c. I never have fed it to sheep sufficiently to speak advisedly on this point, A neighboring flock- master whose admirable arrangements for keeping sheep are only equaled by his usual success, lost most of a large flock of lambs a few winters mnce. They received all they would eat of the best hay, and, as the owner supposed, a half gill of corn a head per day. They were in fine order in the beginning, and for some time into the winter. During a thaw, when they got a little off from their feed, and looked "hollow," the shep- herd, without the knowledge of the owner, increased the feed of corn. This caused them to eat still less hay, and the shepherd not only continued but increased the allowance of the corn as their appetite for hay dimin- ished. In a short time they ate scarcely any hay, and soon after began to eat their corn very irregularly. Their stomachs were now so completely deranged, that they would not eat anytJung, in quantities sufficient for their subsistence, and they perished rapidly and miserably. The same consequences might doubtless have ensued from feeding other grains, in the same improper manner. But I am inclined to think that the evil would have been less rapid and remediless with some other grains, I do not consider yellow corn a very safe feed, at least for lambs and yearlings. From the obviously different character of the larger Southern varieties, I presume they would be less, and vpry probably not at all, objectionable for sheep feed, Haifa gill of yellow corn, or a gill of oats per head, is a sufficient daily allowance of grain. While there can be nothing more ab- surd than the German starving system to increase the fineness of the wool, excessive fatness is not to be aimed at, especially in breeding-ewes. Store sheep should be kept in good, fair, /^/^«?/?/^ condition. Lambs and yearlings may be as fat as they will become on proper feeding. It will not do to suffer sheep to get thin in the winter, with the idea that their condition can at any time be readily raised by better feed, as with the horse or ox. It is always difficult, and unless properly managed, expensive and hazardous, to attempt to raise the condition of a poor flock in the winter — especially if they have reached that point where they mani- fest iveakness. If the feeding of a liberal allowance of grain be suddenly commenced, fatal diairhea will frequently supei*vene. All extra feeding, theiefore, must be begun very gradually, and it does not seem, in any case, to produce proportionable results, I have seen it stated that sheep will eat cotton-seed and thrive on it. If this be true, this must, of course, be a far more remunerating applica- tion of that product, than as a mere manure to soils. Feeding Roots, Browse, &:c., in Winter, — Ruta-bagas, Iiish potatoes, &c,, make a good substitute for grain, as an extra feed for grown sheep- I prefer the ruta-baga to the potato in equivalents of nutriment, I do not consider either of them, or any other root, as good for lambs and yenrlings as an equivalent in grain. Sheep may he tavgld to eat nearly all the cul SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 217 tivated roots. This is done by withholding salt from them, and then feed- ing the chopped root a few times rubbed with just sufficient salt to induce them to eat the root to obtain it; but not enough to satisfy their appetite for salt before they have acquired a taste for the roots. It is customary with some of our flock-masters to cut down from time to time, in the winter, and draw into the sheep-yards, young trees of the hemlock (Abies canadensis). The foliage is greedily eaten by sheep, af- ter being confined for some time to dry feed. I have known sheep, un- doubtedly, I think, killed by overeating it. This browse is commonly used for some supposed medicinal virtues. It is pronounced " healthy for sheep." The popular supposition is that it is a tonic and stimulant. If this be true, whicli I will not pause to inquire, of what good use are tonics and stimulants to healthy animals 1 With sheep, as with horses, and even yv'iih. men, J} I'cveyitive medicines are productive of injury in a thousand cases, where they are of benefit in one. There could be no objection, cer- tainly, to sheep's eating the foliage of the hemlock, if it was constantly accessible to them. Their instincts, in that case, would teach them whether, and in what quantities, to devour it. But when entirely confined to dry feed for a protracted period, sheep will consume hurtful and even poisonous succulents — and of the most wholesome ones, hurtful quantities. As a mere laxative, an occasional feed of hemlock may be beneficial; but in this point of view, a day's run at grass in a thaw, or a feed of roots, would produce the same result. In a climate where grass is obtained most of the time, I should consider browse for medicinal jjurposes entirely unnecessary. Winter Feed op Breeding-Ewes. — Until two or three weeks pre- ceding lambing, it is only necessary that breeding-ewes, 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 seci'ertion of milk. In backward seasons in the North, where the grass does not start prior to the lambing time, careful flock-masters feed their ewes chopped roots, or roots mixed with oat or pea meal. This is, in my judgment, excellejit economy.* Regularity in Feeding. — If there is one rule which may be consider ed more imperative than any other in Sheep Husbandry, it is that the ut- most regularity be preserved in feeding. First, there should be regularity as to the times of feeding. However abundantly provided for, when a fljck are foddered sometimes at one hour and sometimes at another — sometimes three times a day and sometimes twice — some days grain and some days none — they cannot he made to thrive. They will do far better on inferior keep, if fed with strict regularity. In a climate where they re- quire hay three times a day, the best times for feeding are about sunrise in the morning, at noon, and an hour before dark at night. Unlike cattle and horses, sheep do not eat well in the dark, and therefore they should have time to consume their feed before night sets in. Noon is the common time for feeding grain or roots, and is the best time if but two fodderings of hay are given. If the sheep receive hay three times, it is not a matter of much consequence with which feeding the grain is given, only that the practice be uniform. It is also highly essential that there be regularity preserved in the amount fed. The consumption of hay will, it is true, depend much upon the * For the ettect of the various esculents on the quantity and quality of the iniJk, see Liebig's Animal Cbem. 2E 218 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. weather. The keener the cold, the more sheep will eat. In the South much would also depend upon the amount of grass obtained. In man\ places a light daily foddering would suffice — in others, a light foddering placed in the depository racks once in two days would answer the purpose. In the steady cold weather of the North, the shepherd readily learns to de- lermine about how much hay will be consumed before the next foddering dme. And this is the amount which should, as near as may be, be regu- larly fed. In feeding grain or roots there is no difficulty in preserving en- tire regularity , and it is vastly more important than in feeding hay. Of the latter a sheep will not overeat and surfeit itself. Of the former it will. And if not fed grain to the point of surfeiting, but still over-plenteously, it will expect a like amount at the next feeding, and failing to receive it, will pine for it and manifest uneasiness. The effect of such irregularity on the stomach and system of any animal is bad — and the sheep suffers moi'e from it than any other animal. I would much rather that my flock receive no grain at all, than that they receive it without regard to regular- ity in the amount. The shepherd should be required to measure out the grain to sheep in all instances — instead of guessing it out — and to measure it to each separate flock. Salt. — Sheep undoubtedly require salt in winter. Some salt their hay when it is stored in the barn or stack. This is objectionable, as you thus constitute yourself the judge, or controller in a matter, where the appetite of the sheep is a much safer guide. It may be left accessible to them in the salt-box (fig. "28) as in summer, or it is an excellent plan to give them an occasional feed of brined hay or straw. This last is done in warm thaw- ing weather, when their appetite is poor, and thus serves a double purpose. With a wisp of straw sprinkle a thin layer of straw with brine — then an- other layer of straw and another sprinkling, and so on. Let this lie until the next day, for the brine to be absorbed by the straw, and then feed it to all the grazing animals on the farm which need salting. "Wateii. — Unless sheep have access to succulent food or clean snow, water is indispensable. Constant access to a brook or spring is best, but in default of this, they should be watered, at least once a day, in some other way. THE BEST THINGS TO IMPORT ARE BIPEDS, Or two-legged animals, for they not ov\y comivme. largely of the products of the cotton-grower, the wool- grower, and the iron-master, (and always in proportion to their wages,) but by their labour, they produce and add largely to the elements of the best sort of commerce and free-trade — commerce and free-trade among ourselves. We therefore rejoice much more when we see accounts of the importation of mew and viomen^ than of cattle and sheep. There is no better sign of the prosperity of a country than when you see men flocking into it from all parts of the world; and if the labour of the country had been steadily protected, as it was some years since, we should by this time have imported annvially, more by a million, than we now do. Talk of military glory! — the glory of success in the work of •• blood and slaughter!" — there is no glory to be compared with that administration of the affairs of a country, which wins for it the regard and admiration of the world, and makes of it a great magnet, attracting the talents, the sapital, and the labour of men of all nations. One year of such bloodless and beneficent glory is worth an eternity of fame, won by arms and by conquest. Immigration, says a New York paper, for the last month has been quite large, yet we see that, as com- pared witli tlie same seven months of last year, instead of going on rapidly augmenting, as it weuld do under a common-sense (not party) system, it had actually fallen off. The Journal of Commerce gives it as 34,810 souls. Of the whole number 16,169 were from Ireland, 8449 from Germany, 4788 from Eng- land, and 1?)S6 from Scotland. The following table will show the immigration at New York for the years 1849 and 1850, up to the 1st of August : — Year 1848. Year 1850. January 3,258 . 13,154 February 8.8 1 9 . 3.206 March 9,630 . 5,569 April 19,934 . 14,627 Year 1S4S. Year 1850. May 37,406 . 42,84S June 28,985 . 11,763 July 31,634 . 34,810 Total ... . . 144,656 . 125,975 iDimigratioD leas Ui s year . . . .... 18,681 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 219 LETTER XIV. ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF SHEEP. ChafBCte/ of American ovine veterinary works — of the English. ..Anatomical details of the latter valuable — necessity of cutting clear from their systems of pathology and therapeutics — reasons Exciting causes of disee^c even in adjacent localities in England not the same — popular superstitions on the subject- ..Ne- cessarily greater differences as between remote countries possessing different climates, etc Ravages of rot in Europe — scarcely known in most parts of America. ..Exciting causes apparently the same in both... Houfai), though retained here by contagion, not primarily produced by the same causes as in England. .. Various European diseases not known here Dillerence in the pathology of the sa7«e diseases in this coun- tj-y and in England. . .The English ones accompanied with more intiammatory action — the American of an asllienic msinking character . .Pathological ditlerences n quire a corresj)onding diflerence in therapeutics ...English system of therapeutics objectionable for the above reason — on account of its expensivencss — and, for pojiular purposes, by the extent of its pharmacopiai. ..The proper ovine veterinary system to be adopted— manner of classifying diseases. ..Anatomy of the Sheep— how far to be studied — directions to be- ginners. ..The Omentum. ..The Rumen... The Reticulum. ..The Maniplus. ..The Abomasum. ..The func- tions of the different Stomachs. ..The Duodenum. ..The Jejunum. ..The Ileum. ..The CcBCum...The Colon. ..The Rectum The Mesentary. ..The process of digestion The Spleen. ..The Pancreas The Liver. ..The Kidneys... The Bladder... The Uterus and Vagina. Dear Sir : Most of the veterinary works which have appeared in this country in relation to the Sheep, Horse, and other domestic animals, have been made up simply of medical recipes ; or, if they have given systems of veterinary nosology and pathology, these systems have been mere tran- scripts of those of European, and particularly of English writers. I have examined all, 1 believe, of the most celebrated late En months old." It succeeds a " a severe winter and a cold, wet spring." — He says : " If there is only one parasite inhabiting the brain of a sturdied sheep, its situation is very uncertain. It is mostly found beneath the pia-mater, lying upon the brain, and in or upon tlie scissure between the two hemispheres. If it is within the brain, it is genet-ally in one jf the ventricles, but occasionally iii the substance of the brain, and, in a few instances, in that of the cerebellum SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 256 This is a singular disease ; but it is a sadly pi'evalent and fatal one in wet and moorish districts It is much moi-e fatal ia France than in Great Britain. It is supposed that nearly a million of sheep are destroyed in France every year by this pest of the oviiie race The means of cure are exceedingly limited. They are confined to the removal or des- truction of the vesicle. Medicine is altogether out of the question here." Many barbarous methods have been adopted to rupture the hydatid, which I will not disgust you by repeating. Mr. James Hogg thrust a wire up the nostrils of the sheep, and through the plate of the ethmoid bone into tlic hrain, and thus, as he assures us, punctured the hydatid and " cured many a sheep ! " * This practice, which I cannot characterize otherwise than as atrocious, is justly condemned by Mr. Youatt. The dotted lines d, e, and cl, d, in fig. 49, show how limited a portion of the brain could be reached with a wire or trochar by piercing the plate of the ethmoid bone — the only portion of the walls of the skull thin enough to be so pierced by a trochar introduced at the nostrils. Mr. Parkinson " pulled the ears very hard for some time," and then cut them oiF close to the head ! t Where the hydatid is not imbedded in the brain, its constant pressure, singularly enough, causes a portion of the cranium to be absorbed, and finally the part immediately over the hydatid becomes thin and soft enough to yield under the pressure of the finger. When such a spot is discovered, the English veterinarians usually dissect back the muscular integuments, remove a portion of the bone, carefully divide the investing membranes of the brain, and then, if possible, remove the hydatid whole — or, faihng to do this, remove its fluid contents. The membranes and integuments are then restored to their position, and an adhesive plaster placed over the whole. The French veterinarians usually simply punc- ture the cranium and the cist with a trochar, and laying the sheep on its back, permit the fluid to run out through the orifice thus made. A com- mon awl would answer every purpose for such a puncture. The puncture would be the preferable method for the unskilled practitioner. But wlien we take into consideration the liazard and cruelty attending the operation at best, and the conceded liability of a return of the malady — the growth of new hydatids — it becomes apparent that, in this country, it would not be worth while, unless in the case of uncommonly valuable sheep, to resort to any other remedy than depriving tlie miserable animal of life. Pelt Rot — Is classified as a disease by Mr. Livingston, and various other American writers. Mr. Livingston says : " This is often mistaken for the scab, but it is in fact a different and less dangerous disease ; in this the wool will fall off, and leave the sheep nearly naked ; but it is attended with no soreness, though a white crust will cover the skin from the wool which has dropped. It generally arises from hard keeping and much exposure to cold and wet ind, in fact, the animal often dies in severe weather from the cold it suffers by the loss of its coat. The remedy is full feeding, and a warm stall, and anointing the hard part of the skin with tar, oil, and butter." X I have seen frequent cases of the pelt rot, but never have done any- thing for it, scarcely considering it a disease. If the condition oi a poor sheep is raised as suddenly as practicable, by generous keep in the winter, the Avool is very apt to drop ofl", and if yet cold, the sheep will require warm shelter. * Hog" on Sheep, p. 59. t Parkinson on Sheep, vol. 1, p. 412. i Livingston on Sheep, Appendix, p. 179. 256 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. LOCAL DISEASES. " Grub in the Head." — If the " grubs " found in the frontal and max- illary sinuses of the sheep actually, in any case, produce disease, it must be, in rny iuclo-menf:, by the irritation and inilammation which they induce in the mucous membrane which lines those cavities. The popular theory that the grub causes death by boring through the bony walls which sur- round the brain, and attacking the substance of the brain itself, is, it seems to me utterly absurd. The only part of the skull where it could even be fancied that such a perforation would be practicable, is the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone (11 of fig. 49,) which is very thin and is pierced with numerous small holes for the passage of nerves. But an inspection of the same figure will show that the sinus where the parasite is generally found lodged, is not in immediate juxtaposition with the cribriform plate, and that a passage from the former to the brain, would lead directly through the frontal bone — the thickest one of the whole cranium. I never saw but one grub in the cells of the ethmoid bone near the cribriform plate, and that, I judged at the time, was thrown there accidentally by the violence attending the opening of the head.* But if the grub actually penetrates to the brain, the fact would readily be disclosed after death. The full- o-rown oTub would necessavily leave an orifice of considerable diameter throuo-h the skull. Who has seen any such orifice in the cribriform plate or elsewhere % Who has seen any orifice but the natural ones of the crib- riform plate, j^We^ with the nerves which pass through them 1 The farmer splits open the head of a sheep with an ax, cutting, mangling and scatter- ing its contents, by the repeated blows necessary to effect his purpose. — Under such circumstances grubs are sometimes found scattered through all the nasal cavities — over and among the brains — and on the grotmd. — The proof is just as strong, here, that prior to opening the head, some of the grubs were on the ground, as that they were in the brain ! The " grub " of popular parlance is the larva of the CEstrus ovis, or gad-fly of the sheep. The latter is represented of the nat- ural size in figures 60 and 61. It is composed of ^'l^' ^ f^-^- five rings. It is tiger-colored on the back and belly, s.prinkled with spots and patches of brown. The wings are striped. The comparative propor- tions of the head, corslet, wings, etc. are sufficient- ly seen in the cuts. He who desires a full, scien- tific description of these insects, or who would sheep gad-fly. fully investigate their habits and economy, will do well to consult the excellent monograph of them by Mr. Bracy Clark the celebrated veterinarian. The sheep gad-fly is led by instinct to deposit its eggs within the nos- trils of the sheep. Its attempts to do this, most common in July and Au- gust, are always indicated by the sheep, which collect in close clumps with their heads inward and their noses thrust close to the ground, and in- to it, if any loose dirt or sand is within their reach. If the fly succeeds in depositing its egg, it is immediately hatched by the warmth and moistui« of the part, and the young gi-ubs, or larvse, crawl up the nose, finding their devious way to the sinuses, where, by means of their tentaculae, they at- tach themselves to the mucous membrane lining those cavities. During the ascent of the larvee, the sheep stamps, tosses its head violently, and of- ten dashes away from its companions wildly over the field. The larvae re- * The head was cloven with an ax '. It ia proper to say, however, that various writers speak of havint fonnd the {trubs in the ethmoid cells, and indeed in all the nasal cavities. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SnUTH. 257 main in the sinuses feeding on the mucus secreted by the membrane and apparently creating no farther annoyance, until ready to assume their pu- pa form in the succeeding spring. Figures 62 and 63 give the shape and an upper and under view of the full-grow^n larva. Fig. 62. THE "grub" or larva OF THE SHEEP GAD-FLY. The body consists of eleven rings, colorless in the young grub, but the elevated portions growing darker with age, and becoming a dark brown when the full size is attained. There are round spots of a still darker color on each of these bands. At the edges of the rings are a few short hairs, and lower down some round darkish spots, as shown in fig. 62. — Small red spines, as shown in fig. 63, cover the space between the rings on the belly. The remainder of the body (with the exception of the poste- rior stigmata) is white. The tentaculae, as well as certain appendages on each side of the anus, the purposes of which have not been discovered, are seen in fig. 63. The larva having remained in the sinuses tlu'ough the fall and winter abandons them as the warm weather advances in the latter part of spring. It crawls down the nose, creating even greater initation and excitement than when it originally ascended, drops on the ground, and rapidly bur- rows into it. In a few hours its skin has contracted, become of a dai'k brown color, and it has assumed the form of a chrysalis, as seen in ficr. 64. Or rather, this figure exhibits the shell of the chrysalis, af- ter the escape of the fly ; and fig. 65 shows the upper ex- ^'^^' ^'>^^' tremity or head of the pupa, detached by the fly in its es- cape. The experiments of Valisnieri go to show that the CEs- trus ovis never eats — and this is the received opinion. — The male, after impregnating two or three females, dies, and the latter having deposited their ova in the nostrils of the sheep, also soon perish. o^. cH"Rys'ALis. The larva in the heads of sheep may, and jirobably do add to the irritation of those inflammatory diseases, such as catarrh, which attack the membraneous lining of the nasal cavities ; and they are, as we have seen, a powerful source of momentary irritation in the first instance, when ascending to and descending from their lodging-place in the head. But in the interval between these events — extending over a period of several months — not a movement of the sheep indicates the least annoy- ance at thejr presence, or reveals to the veterinarian whether they exist in the sinuses or not. It would be very difficult to believe that all the local irritation which these parasites could cause, would be sufficient to termi- nate life, and, so far as my observation has extended, post-mortem exam- ination discloses no lesions which would in anywise sanction such belief. The larvae, moreover, are found, at the proper season, in the heads of near- ly all sheep — the healthy as well as the diseased — and I never have been able to ascertain that the number of them is gi-eater, on the average, in the heads of those sheep which were supposed to have fallen victims to their attacks, than in the heads of perfectly healthy sheep slaughtered for the table. And to prove that the popular ideas on the su6iect ai-e but vague 3K ♦258 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. and crude — not the result of that long and close comparison of symptoms, results, and post-mortem appearances, which would give weight to the opinions of the most unerudite — we have but to notice a few of the cases popularly referred to the " grub in the head." A sheep in the highest condition and apparent health leaps into the air two or three times, and suddenly dies, and if a grub can be found in the cavities of the head, that is the undoubted destroyer. Another wastes away for months and dies lingeringly, a mere skeleton, and the same proof establishes the same fact. Whether there has been fever or no fever — whether there has been obsti- nate constipation, or equally obstinate dysentery — whether one viscus or another exhibit traces of abnormal action — whether the disease has been acute or chronic — in a word, whatever the form or character of the mal- ady — however diametrically different the diagnosis and the lesions, it is a clear case of " grub in the head," if two or three of those parasites are found there ! Mr. Bracy Clark and Mr. Youatt, so far from regarding the larva of the (Esf.rus ovis as the cause of a fatal disease, suggest that they may even promote the health of the sheep by diminishing the tendency to cerebral disease — especially determinations of blood — by establishing counter irri- tation ! Mr. Spooner does not speak of their producing fatal effects in any instances, nor am I aware that any late scientific veterinarians do. Treatment. — Though the presence of the grub constitutes no disease, some think it well to diminish their number by all convenient means. — One simple way of efl'ecting this is by turning up with a plow a furrow of earth in the sheep pasture. Into this the sheep will thioist their noses on the approach of the CEstrus, and thus many of them escape its attacks. — Some farmers smear the noses of their sheep with tar occasionally, during the proper season — the odor of which is believed to repel the fly. Others compel the sheep to smear their own noses every week or two, by feed- ing them their salt spi'inkled over tar. Blacklock says that the larva? may be dislodged even from the sinuses, by blowing tobacco smoke for some moments through the tail of a pipe into each nostril. I have never tried the experiment. The Scab. — The scab is a cutaneous disease, analogous to the mange in horses and the itch in men. It is caused and propagated by a minute insect, the acarus. M. Walz, a German veterinarian, who has thrown great light on the habits of these parasites, says : " If one or more female acari are placed on the wool of a sound sheep, they quickly travel to the root of it, and buiy themselves in the skin, the place at which they penetrated being scarcely visible, or only distinguished by a minute red point. On the tenth or twelfth day a little swelling may be detected with the finger, and the skin changes its color, and has a greenish blue tint. The pustule is now rapidly formed, and about the sixteenth day breaks, and the mothers again appear, with their little ones attached to their feet, and covered by a portion of the shell of the egg from which they have just escaped. These little ones im- mediately set to work, and peneti-ate the ninghboring skin, and bury themseh'^s beneath it, and find their proper nourishment, and grow and propagate, until the poor animal has myri- ads of them to prey on him, and it is not wonderful that he should speedily sink. Some of the male acari were placed on the sound skin of a sheep, and they too burrowed their way and disappeared for a while, and the jiustule in due time arose ; but the itching and the scab soon disappeared without the employment of any remedy. The figures on the next page are copied from M. Walz's work : The female acarus brings forth from eight to fifteen young at a litter. The scab is often produced spontaneously in England by mismanage- ment of various kinds, such as " bad keep, starvation, hasty driving, dogging, and exposure afterward t.o cold and wet ;" and it spreads rapidly SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 259 by contagion. It is very prevalent there, and annually causes an immense Ices in the v^^ool and flesh of the British flocks. In the United States it is comparatively little known, and so far as I am able to learn, never origin- ates spontaneously. It is a singular fact that short-wooled sheep, like the Fig. 66. Fig. 67. Fig. 68. THE ACARDS WHICH CAUSES SCAB. Fig. 67. — The acari of their natural size on a dark ground. Fig. 66. — The female of 366 times the natural size, larger than the male, of an oval form, and provided with eight feet, four before and four behind. a. — The sucker. h. h. b. b. — The four anterior feet, with their trumpet-like appendices. c. c, — The two interior hind feet d. d. — The two outward ffet, the extremities of which arc provided with some long hairs, and on the other parts of the legs are shorter hairs. To these hairs the young ones adhere, when they first escape from the pustule. e. — The tail, containing the anus and vulva, garnished with fome short heirs. Fig. 68. — The male on its back, and seen by the same magnifying power. o. — The sucker. 6. b. b. b. — The fore-legs with their trumpet like appendices, as seen in the female. c. c. — The two hind-legs, with the same appendices and hairs. d. — The rudiments of the abdominal feet. e. — The tail. Merino, are much less subject to its attacks, and this is probably one reason for its little comparative prevalence in the United States. Mr. Youatt observes : " The old and uiihealthy sheep are first attacked, and long-wooled sheep in preference to the short ; a heahhy short-wooled sheep will long bid defiance to the contagion, or probably escape it altogether." It spreads from individual to individual and from flock to flock, not only by means of direct contact, but by the acari left on posts, stones, and other substances against which diseased sheep have rubbed themselves. Healthy sheep are therefore liable to contract the malady if turned on pastures pre- viously occupied by scabby sheep, though some considerable time may have elapsed since the departure of the latter. The sheep laboring under the scab is exceedingly restless. It rubs it- self with violence against trees, stones, fences, &:c. It scratches itself with its feet, and bites its sores and tears off its wool with its teeth. Aa the pustules are broken, their matter escapes, and forms scabs covering red, inflamed sores. The soi'es constantly extend, increasing the miseiy of the tortured animal. If unrelieved, he pines away and soon perishes. I have never had an opportunity to observe the post-mortem appear- ances. Mr. Youatt says : " The post-mortem appearances are very tincertain and inconclusive. There is generally chronic inflammation of the intestines, with the presence of a great number of worms. The liver is occasionally schirrous, and the spleen enlarged ; and there are frequently serous eflh 260 " SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Bions in the belly, and sometimes in the chest. Tliere has been evident sympathy betveea the digestive and the cutaneous systems." Treatment. — About twelve years since, I purchased 150 fiiie-wooled sheep just driven into the county from a considerable distance. I placed them on a farm then owned by me, in another town, and did not see them for about three weeks. One of my men then reported to me that the sheep were amiss — that they were shedding off their wool — sore spots were be- ginning to show on them — and that they rubbed themselves against the fence-corners, &c. Though I had never seen the scab, I took it for granted that this was the disease. No time was to be lost, as I had 700 other sheep on the farm — though fortunately, thus far, the new comers had been kept entirely separate from them. Barely looking into Mr. Livingston's work for a remedy, I provided myself with an ample supply of tobacco and set out. The sheep had been shorn, and their backs were covered with scabs and sores. They evidently had the scab. I had a large potash kettle sunk partly in the ground as an extempore vat, and an unweighed quantity of tobacco put to boiling in several other kettles. The only care was to have enough of the decoction, as it was rapidly wasted, and to have it strong enough. A little spirits of turpentine was occasionally thrown on the decoction, say to every third or fourth sheep dipped. It was neces- sary to use it sparingly, as, not mixing with the fluid and floating on the surface, too much of it otherwise came in contact with the sheep. Not at- tending to this at first, two or three of the sheep are thrown into great ag- ony, and appeared to be on the point of dying. I had each sheejs caught and its scabs scoured off, by two men who rubbed them with stiff shoe- brushes, dipped in a suds of tobacco-water and soft soap. The two men then dipped the sheep all over in the large kettle of tobacco-water, rub- bing and kneading the sore spots with their hands while immersed in the fluid. The decoction was so strong that many of the sheep appeared to be sickened either by immersion or by its fumes ; and one of the men who dipped, though a tobacco-chewer, vomited, and became so sick that his place had to be supplied by another. The effect on the sheep was almost magical ! The sores rapidly healed, the sheep gained in condition, the new wool immediately started, and I never had a more perfectly healthy flock on my farm. Though adminis- tered with little reference to economy, the remedy was a decisive one. — With a vat like fig. 27, (Letter XII,) this would not necessarily be a very expensive method, with sheep recently sheared. But the assaults of the scab usually come on in the spring before shearing time, and it would re- quire an immense quantity of the tobacco decoction to dip sheep with their fleeces on, however carefully it might be pressed out. The following is the remedy recommended by Chancellor Livingston : " First, I separate the sheep (for it is very infectious) ; I then cut off the wool as far as the Bkiu feels hard to the finger ; the scab is then washed with soap-suds, and rubbed hard with a shoe-brush, so as to cleanse and brt-ak the scab. I always keep for this nse a decoction of tobacco, to which I add one-third by measure of the lye of wood ashes, as much hog's-lard as will be dissolved by the lye, a small quantity of tar from the tar-bucket, which contains grease, and about one-eighth of tire whole by measure of spirits of turpentine. This liquor 18 rubbed anon the part hifected, and spread to a little distance round it, in three washings, with an interval of three days each. I have never failed in this way to effect a cure when the disorder was only partial. ... 1 cannot say whether it would cure a sheep infected 80 as to lose half its fleece."* The following remedies are much used in Great Britain : No. 1. — Dip the sheep in an infusion of arsenic, in the proportion of ♦ LiTingston'B Esaay. Appendix, p. 177. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE Sl^-UTH. 261 half a pound of arsenic to twelve gallons of water. The sheep should pre- viously be washed in soap and water. The infusion must not be per- mitted to enter the mouth or nostrils. No. 2. — Take common mercurial ointment, for bad cases, rub it own with three times its weight of lard — for ordinary cases, five times its weight of lard. Rub a little of this ointment into the head of the sheep. Part the wool so as to expose the skin in a line from the head to the tail, and then apply a little of the ointment with the finger the whole way. Make a sim- ilar furrow and application, on each side, four inches from the first, and so on over the whole body. The quantity of ointment (after being com- pounded with the lard) should not exceed two ounces, and considerably less will generally suffice. A lamb requires but one-third as much as a grown sheep. This will generally cure, but if the sheep should continue to rub itself, a lighter application of the same should be made in ten days. No. 3. — Take of lard or palm oil 2 lbs., oil of tar 1 lb., sulphur 1 lb. — Gradually mix the last two, then rub down the compound with the first. — Apply in the same way as No. 2. No 4. — Take of corrosive sublimate I lb., white hellebore, powdered, | lb., whale or other oil 6 gallons, rosin 2 lbs., tallow 2 lbs. " The first two to be mixed with a little of the oil, and the rest being melted together, the whole to be gradually mixed." This is p, powerful preparation and must not be applied too freely. Mr. Spooner gives the preference to No. 1, as least troublesome ; Mr. Youatt to No. 2 ; and the author of the Mountain Shepherd's Manual to No. 4. I should certainly prefer No. 3, if it is, as it is asserted to be, equally effectual, for the reason that it contains no poisonous or dangerous ingredients. An erysipelatous scab, or erysipelas, attended with considerable itch- ing, sometimes attacks the English flocks, but I have heard of no cases of it here. This would be classified as a febrile disease. It is treated with a cooling purgative, venesection, and oil or lard applied to the sores. Disease of the Biflex Canal. — From the introduction of foreign bod- ies into the biflex canal, or from other causes, it occasionally becomes the seat of inflammation. This is sometimes confounded with the hoof-ail, but the diseases are entirely distinct and different from each other. In- flammation of the biflex canal causes an enlargement and redness of the pastern, particularly about the external orifice of the canal. The toes are thrown wide apart by the tumor. I never have known it to attack more than one foot, and never have allowed it to go to the point of ulceration, which it is said to do if neglected. There is none of that soreness and disorganization between the back part of the toes — and none of that pecu- liar fetor which distinguishes the hoof-ail. I never have found it anything like so serious a disease as it is described tc be by the English veterina- rians. Treatment. — I have always scarified the coronet, making one or two deeper incisions in the principal swelling around the mouth of the canal — covered the foot with tar — and paid no more attention to it. HooF-AiL. — The first symptom of this troublesome malady, which is or- dinarily noticed, is a lameness of one or both of the fore feet. But on daily examining the feet of aflock which have the disease among them, it will be readily seen that the lesions manifest themselves for several days before they are followed with lameness. Scarcely any English writer whom I 262 SHEEP HUSEANDRY IN THE SOUTH. have read, describes with respectable accuracy the first appearances of the hoof-ail as it exhibits itself in tins country, and among the Jine-wnoled sheejj* Mr. Youatt says : " The foot will be found hot and tender, the horn softer than usual, and there will be en- largement about the coronet, and a slight separation of the hoof from it, with portions of the horn woni away, and ulcers fonned below, and a discharge of their fetid matter. The ul- cers if neglected, continue to increase ; they throw out fungous granulations, they separate the hoof more and more from the parts beneath, until at length it drops off.'' The above is not a description of the consecutive symptoms of the hoof- ail as I have seen them. The hoof, instead of being softened, is percepti- bly hardened, I think, by the presence of the disease. There is occasion- ally an enlargement about the coronet, but this is not common in the out- set; and so far from the horn first separating from the foot at that point, it is the last place where it usually adheres when the soles are eaten away by the ulcerous matter, and the mere outside shell remains. I never have known a hoof to drop off, entire, in the sense in which 1 understand the closing part of Mr. Youatt's remark. My first introduction to this disease was by its breaking out in its most malio-nant forrn in a flock of eight hundred sheep, with which I had placed, early in the preceding spring, a few valuable sheep received fi'om abroad which were infected with the hoof-ail, without my having the slightest sus- picion of the fact. The disease, when of long standing, and well kept un- der, shows itself but very little daring the winter and spring, unless the foot is directly examined. Every sheep in that eight hundred took the disease, sometimes first in one foot, then in another, then in a third, and when the fourth one was attacked, perhaps it was again bursting out in one of the cured, feet ! I considered the sheep valuable, had much of the esprit du corps of a young flock-master, and was determined to conquer the malady at any cost and at all hazards. I have little doubt that every sheep in the flock was " doctored " on the average ten times each, and it was very rarely that I permitted any other j'^rson than myself to cut away the horn and prepare the foot of a single sheej)for the application of the reme- dies / When I look back to that period — the sheep on some remote pas- tures — not a shed on them to shelter myself or assistants from the burning Auo-ust sun as we bent ten or twelve hours a day over our task — our only " operating room " a yard in the corner of two fields — blood and pus en- crusting hands and garments, and occasionally by an unlucky stroke of the knife showered over face and bosom — the crawling maggots — the intolera- ble fetor : — I hardly know whether to take credit to myself for or to laugh at the stanchness of my zeal. But, worst of all, with all my labor, 1 had " scotch'd the snake, not killed it ! " The disease appeared in my flock, though in a much mitigated form, the next summer. I thiftk I then cured it — but I was not allowed to es- cape thus. In the succeeding summer, accident again brought it among my sheep. In a word> I have first and last served a five years' appren- ticeship to combating the hoof-ail. Having seen it in every possible phase — having experimented with almost every recommended remedy not obvi- ously empirical — I shall be excused if I speak my own opinions with a de- * As 1 have before stated, when discussing " the most profitable breed for the South," the hoof of the Me- rino and that of the English Long-Wooled races, is essentially different. The latter usually retains its natu- ral shape and thickness, and although the side-crust sometimes turns under, it is but a comparatively thin slip of horn, which is subsequently worn or broken oft— or it is easily removed by the knife. The hoof of the Merino grows rapid\y, especially when the animal has the koof-ail. The horny soles will sometimes be- come nearly an inch thick, and the toes will elongate and turn up in front like horns, to the length of three and even four inches. The weight of the Meiino is much less than that of the Long- Wool. Take these facts into consideration, together with some of the other circumstances detailed in the introductory remarks :o Letter XIV, and perhaps it sufficiently accounts for some differences in the diagnosis of the disease te- .ween the two countries. SHEEP lUSBAKDRY IN I'HE SOUTH. 263 gree of confidence, even if they chance to conflict with those of professed and eminent veterinarians. As all are aware, the horny covering of the sheep's foot extends up, gradually thinning out, some way between the toes or divisions of the hoof, and above these horny walls the " cleft " is lined with skin. When the points of the toes are spread apart, this skin is shown in front, covered with short, soft hair. The back part of the toes, or the " heels," can be sep- arated only to a little distance, and the skin in the cleft above them is naked. In a healthy foot, the skin throughout the whole cleft is as firm, sound, dry and uneroded, as on any other part of the animal. The first symptom of hoof-ail is a slight erosion, accompanied with in- flammation and heat of the naked skin in the hack part of the cleft, imme- diately above the heels. The skin assumes a macerated appearance, and is kept moist by the presence of a sanious discharge from the ulcerated sur- face. As the inflammation extends, the friction of the parts causes pain and the sheep limps. At this stage the foot externally, in a great ma- jority of cases, exhibits not the least trace of disease, with the exception of a slight redness, and sometimes the appearance of a small sore at the upper edge of the cleft, when viewed from behind. The ulceration of the surface rapidly extends. The thin upper edges of the inner walls of the hoof are disorganized, and an ulceration is estab- lished between the hoof and the fleshy sole. A purulent fetid matter is exuded from the cavity. The extent of the separation daily increases, and the ulcers also form sinuses deep into the fleshy sole. The bottom of the hoof disappears, eaten away by the acrid matter, and the outer walls, en- tirely separated from the flesh, hang only by their attachments at the coro- net. The whole fleshy sole is now entirely disorganized, and the entire foot is a mass of black, putrid ulceration ; or, as it more commonly hap- pens, the fly has struck it, and a dense mass of writhing maggots cover the surface, and burrow in every cavity. The fore-feet are generally first at- tacked, and most usually but one of fhem. The animal at first manifests but little constitutional disturbance. It eats as usual. By the time that any considerable disorganization of the structures has taken place in the first foot — sometimes sooner — the other fore-foot is attacked. That be- coming as lame as the first, the miserable animal seeks its food on its knees, and if forced to rise, its strange, hobbling gait betrays the intense agony occasioned by bringing its feet in contact with the ground. There is a bare spot under the brisket of the size of the palm of a man's hand, which looks red and inflamed. There is a degree of general fevei- — and the appetite is dulh The animal rapidly loses condition. The appearance of the maggot soon closes the scene. Where the rotten foot is brought in contact with the side in lying down, the filthy ulcerous matter adheres to and saturates the short wool, (it being but a month and a half or two months af- ter shearing,) and maggots are either carried there by the foot, or they are soon generated there. A black crust is soon formed round the spot. It is the decomposition of the surrounding structures, and innumerable maggots are at work below, burrowing into the integuments and mus- cles and eating up the miserable animal alive. The black festering mass rapidly spreads, and the poor sufferer perishes, we cannot sujipose other- wise than in tortures the most excruciating. Sometimes but one fore-foot is attacked, and subsequently one or both hind ones. There is no uniformity in this particular, and it is a singular fact that when two or even three of the feet are dreadfully diseased, the fourth may be entirely sound. So also one foot may be cured, while ev- ery other one is laboring under the malady. 264 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. The highly offensive odor of the ulcerated feet is so peculiar that it is strictly pathognomouic of the disease — and would reveal its character to one familiar with it, in the darkest night. When the disease has been well kept under during the first season of its attack, but not entirely eradicated, it will almost or entirely disappear as cold weather approaches, and does not manifest itself until the warm weather of the succeeding summer. It then assumes a mitigated form — the sheep are not rapidly and simultaneously attacked — there seems to be less inflammatory action, constitutionally, and in the diseased parts — the course of the disease is less malignant and more tardy, and it more readi- ly yields to treatment. If well kept under the second summer, it is still milder the third. A sheep will occasionally be seen to limp, but its con- dition will scarcely be affected, and dangerous symptoms will rarely su- pervene. One or two applications made during the summer, in such a way, as I shall presently describe, that one thousand sheep can be sub- mitted to the treatment in half a day — with but a trifle of labor and ex- pense — will now suffice to keep the disease under. At this point a little vigor in the treatment will entirely extinguish the disease. With all its fearful array of symptoms, can the hocjf-ail be cured in its first attack on a flock 1 The worst case can be promptly cured, as I know by repeated experiments. Take a single sheep, put it by itself, and ad- minister the remedies daily after the English fashion, or as I shall presently prescribe, and there is not an ovine disease which more surely yields to treatment. But as already remarked, in a preceding Letter, in this country, where sheep are so cheap, and labor in the summer months so dear, it would out of the question for an extensive flock-master to at- tempt to keep each sheep by itself, or to make a daily application of rem- edies. There is not a flock-master within my knowledge who has ever pretended to apply his remedies oftener than once a week, or regularly as often as that, and not one in ten makes any separation between the dis- eased and healthy sheep of a flock into which the malady has been once in- introduced. The consequence necessarily is that though you may cure the sheep now diseased, it has infected or inoculated others — and these in turn scatter the contagion, before they are cured. There is not a particle of doubt — -nay, I know, by repeated observation, that a sheep once entirely cured may again contract the disease, and thus the malady performs a per- petual circle in the flock. Fortunately, however, the susceptibility to con- tract the disease diminishes, according to my observation, with every suc- ceeding attack; and fortunately also, as already stated, succeeding attacks, cceteris j)ari6us, become less and less virulent. What course shall then be pursued 1 Shall the flock-master sacrifice his sheep — shall he take the ordinary half-way course — or shall he expend more on the sheep than they are worth in attempting to cure them 1 Nei- ther. The course I would advise him to pursue, will appear as I detail the experiments I have made. Treatment. — The preparation of the foot, where any sejiarate individual ti'eatment is resolved upon — and this is always necessary, at least in bad cases — is a subject of no dispute. But the labor can be prodigiously economized by attention to a few not very commonly observed particulars. Sheep should be yarded for the operation immediately after a rain, if prac- ticable, as then the hoofs can be readily cut. In a dry time, and after a night which has left no dew on the grass, their hoofs are almost as tough as horn. They must be driven through no mud, or soft dung, on their way to the yard, which would double the labor of cleaning their feet. — The yard m ist be small, so they can be easily caught, and it must be kept SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 265 well littered down, so tliey shall not fill their feet with their own excre- ment. If the straw is wetted, their hoofs will not of course dry and harden as rapidly as in dry straw. Could the yard be built over a shallow, grav- elly-bottomed brook,* it would be an admirable ari-angement. The hoofs would be kept so soft that the greatest and most unpleasant part of the la- bor, as ordinarily performed, would be in a great measure saved, and they would be kept free from that dung which by any other arrangement will, jnore or less, get into their clefts. The principal operator or foreman seats himself in a chair — a couple of good knives, a whetstone, the powerful toe-nippers (fig. 21, Letter XII,) a bucket of water with a couple of linen rags in it, and such medicines as he chooses to employ, within his reach. The assistant catches a sheep and lays it partly on its back and rump, between the legs of the foreman, the head coming up about to his middle. The assistant then kneels on some straw or seats himself on a low stool at the hinder extremity of the sheep. If the hoofs are long, and especially if they are dry and tough, the assist- ant presents each foot to the foreman, who shortens the hoof with the toe- nippers. 'If there is any filth between the toes, each man takes his rag from the bucket of water, and draws it between the toes and rinses it, un- til the filth is removed. Each then seize their knives, and the process of paring away the hom commences. And on the effectual j/erfonnance of this, all else depends. A glance at the foot will show whether it is the seat of the diseased action. The least experience cannot fail in properly set- tling this question. An experienced finger, placed on the back of the pastern close above the heel, would at once detect the local inflammation (by its heat) in the dark. If the disease is in the first stage — i.e. there is merely an erosion and ul- ceration of the cuticle and flesh in the cleft above the walls of the hoof, no paring \?, necessary. But if ulceration has established itself between the hoof and the fleshy sole, the ulcerated parts, be they more or less exten- sive, MUST BE ENTIKELV DENUDED OF THEIR HORNY COVERING, COSt what it may of time and care. It is better not to wound the sole so as to cause it to bleed freely, as the running blood will wash off the subsequent applica- tion, but no fear of wounding the sole must prevent a full compliance with the rule above laid down. At the worst, the blood will stop flowing after a little while, during which time no application need be made to the foot. If the foot is in the third stage — a mass of rottenness and filled with maggots — in the first place pour a little spirits of turpentrlie (a bottle of it, with a auiJ' thti^ugn tne cork, ^llould be always ready,) on the maggots and most of tnem will immediately decamp, and the others can be re- moved with a probe or small stick. Then remove every jiarticle of loose horn, though it should take the entire hoof- — and it ivill generally take the whole hoof in such cases. The foot should be now cleansed with a solu- tion of chloride of lime, in the proportion of one pound of chloride to one gallon of water. If this is not at hand, plunging the foot repeatedly in water, just short of scalding hot, will answer every purpose. The great object is to clean the foot thoroughly. If there are any consideraljle fun- gous granulations, (" proud-flesh,") they should be excised with a pair of scissors, or the actual cautery (hot iron.) And now comes the important question what constitutes the best remedy ? The recommended prescriptions are innumerable. The following are some of the most popular ones.t 1. 4 oz. blue vitriol, 2 oz. of verdigi'is. * A portion of any little brook might be prepared \>y planking the bottom, and widening it if desirable t The first three are given in the American Shepherd, pp. 379-80. 266 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. to a junk- bottle of wine. 2. Spirits tui-pentine, tar and verdigris in equal parts. 3. 3 quarts of alcohol, 1 pint spirits of turpentine, i pint of strong vinegar, 1 lb. blue vitriol, 1 lb. copperas, 1^ lbs. verdigris, 1 lb. alum, 1 lb. of saltpetre, pounded fine: mix in a close bottle, shake every day, and let it stand six or eight days before using : also mix 2 pounds of honey and 2 quarts of tar, vv^hich must be applied after the previous compound. " Two applications will entirely remove the disease," says this recipe, which was once, I believe, hawked about the country as a patent cure — being sold at five dollars to each purchaser, he giving a promise of inviolable se- crecy ! 4. Apply diluted aquafortis (nitric acid) with a feather to the ul- cerated surface. 5. Apply diluted oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid) in the same way. 6. Same of muriatic acid. 7. Dip the foot in tar nearly at the boiling point, &c. After a thorough trial of the above and a multitude of other prescrip- tions,* I have come to the conclusion that in the first and second stages of the disease — befoi'e the ulcers have formed sinuses into the sole, and wholly or partly destroyed its structure — that no application, simple or compound, is preferable to a saturated solution of blue vitiiol, (sulphate of copper.) In my judgment, no beneficial addition can be made to it as a remedy. Of the manner of applying it I shall speak presently. In the third stage, when the foot is a festering mass of corruption, after it has been cleansed as already directed, it requires some strong caustic to remove the uidiealthy granulations — the dead muscular structures — and to restore healthy action. Lunar caustic I think preferable to any other application, but it is too expensive. Mr. Youatt gives a decided prefer- ence to chloride of antimony, and I think him correct. This is frequently not attainable in the country drug-stores, and muriatic acid may be re- sorted to, or even nitric or sulphuric acid. The diseased surface is touched with the caustic (applied with a swab formed by fastening a little tow on the end of a stick,) until the objects above pointed out are obtained. I have then usually treated the foot with the solution of blue vitriol, and sub- sequently coated it over with lar which has been boiled, and is properly cooled. The last protects the raw wound from dirt, flies, &c. Sheep in this stage of the disease should certainly be separated from the main flock, and looked to as often as once in three days. With this degree of atten- tion, their cure will be rapid, and it is astonishing with what celerity the obliterated structures of the foot will be restored. The ordinary method of using the solution of blue vitriol is to pour it from a bottle with a quill in the cork, into the foot, when the animal lies on its back between the operators, as already described. In this way a few cents' worth of vitriol will serve for a large number of sheep. But the method is imperfect, because, without remarkable care, there will al- most always be some slight ulcerations not uncovered by the knife — the passages to them will be devious, and perhaps nearly or quite closed — and the solution will not reach them. Thus the disease will only be tem- porarily suppressed, not cured. I had a flock of sheep a few years since which were in the second sea- son of the disease. They had been but little looked to during the sum- mer, and as cold weather was setting in, many of them were consid- erably lame — some of them quite so. The snow fell and they were brought into the yards, limping and hobbling about deplorably. This sight, so dis- graceful to me as a farmer, roused me into activity. I bought a quantity *Many of them resorted to "against the stomach of my sense," to givo .nyself and others indispiitablft ocular proof of their inutility — or that they were no better than cheaper, simpler, and more easily attain- able medicines SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 267 of blue vitriol — made the necessary arrangements — and once more took the chair as principal operator ! Never were the feet of a flock more thoroughly pared. Into a large vi^ashing tub, in which two sheep could stand conveniently, I poured a saturated solution of blue vitriol and water, as liot as could he endured hy the hand even for a moment. The liquid was about four inches deep on the bottom of the tub, and was kept at about that depth by frequent additions of hot solution. As soon as a sheep's feet were jjared, it was placed in the tub and held there by the neck, by an as- sistant. A second one was prepared and placed beside it. When the third one was ready, the first was taken out, and so on. Two sheep were thus constantly in the tub, and each remained in it about five minutes. — The cure was perfect I There was not a lame sheep in the flock durinf» the winter or the next summer ! The hot liquid penetrated to every cavity of the foot, and doubtless had a far more decisive effect even on the uncovered ulcers, than would have been produced by merely wettino^ them Perhaps the lateness of the season was also favorable, as in cold weather the ulcers of ordinary virulence discharge no matter to inoculate the healthy feet, and thus, at the time of applying the remedy, there are no cases where there has been inoculation not yet followed by those lesions which admit of cure. Whether so thorough a soaking would destroy the virus in the in- oculated foot, I cannot pretend to decide. I think that the vitriol required for the above one hundred sheep was about twelve pounds, and that it cost me fifteen cents per pound. 'Bie ac- count then would stand thus : 12 lbs. of vitriol at 15 cents $1,80 Labor of 3 men one day each 2,25 Total $4,05 or about four cents per sheep. I have not a doubt that three such appli- cations at intei^vals of a week, would effectually cure the disease, as every new case would be arrested and cured before it had time to inoculate others. I have no doubt that it would do this at any time of yeai', and even during the first and most malignant prevalence of the contagion, pro- viding THE PARING WAS SUFFICIENTLY THOROUGH. The second and third parings would be a mere trifle, and the liquid left at the first and second applications could again be used. Thus sheep could be curec] at about twelve cents per head. This is vastly cheaper in the long run than the ordinary temporizing method — where people count the cost of a few pounds of blue vitriol, but not their time, and who thus keep the disease lingering in their flocks for years. Indeed, if partial and temporizing treatment is all that is aimed at, — if the flockmaster is content to simply keep the disease under — I can point out methods quite as efficacious as the common one by paring and applying washes from a bottle — as ordina- rily ]>erformed — and not costing a tith^ as much. Between the corners of two sheep-pastures (1, 2, of fig. 69,) construct the dividing fence as represented in the cut. A narrow passage is thus left from one field to an- ^ — : other. This passage should be about 2 or 2^ feet wide and 12 feet lone:. The fence on each side 1 T i of the passage should be an upright board fence, so that the space can be entirely filled on the bot- tom with a flat trough, (the bottom formed of a plank) with side and end boards about five inches high. In this trough place say a bushel and a half or two bushels of un. '268 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. slacked lime,* slack it, and then fill the trough nearly full of water. — i Through this drive the flock several times from one field to the other — un- til the lame ones manifest much suffering. Repeat this once a week the first summer that the disease appears, putting in fresh lime each time. — This does not appear to cure the hoof-ail, but it keeps it under ; the sheep keep their condition, and shovv^ little lameness. The ^cond or third sum- mer of the disease, three or four such applications usually answer for the entire season. Some use dry slacked lime, as the same trough-full will then answer for several applications. The trough in this case must have a roof over it. I never have tried the last method. If the dry lime will get sufficiently between the toes — and it is said to — it will answer the purpose where it touches more effectually than even the liquid, but it would not be so likely to penetrate into cavities. Some who use the lime remedy, pare the feet once pretty thoroughly prior to the first application, but afterward neglect them. Others neglect paring entirely, i. e. beyond shortening the toes once a year, as is practiced with all fine-wooled flocks. Fig. 70 is an improvement on the ^.^ ^^ more common arrangement exhib- — ; ^ ; — ited in fig. 69. The dotted lines ! enclose good-sized yards in the cor- j ners of two adjoining pastures. — j Two drivers can yard the sheep in j one o^these, and drive the sheep I from one to the other any number of times, without chasing them about a large field. The labor can therefore be performed much more rapidly, and it requires less force. A couple of active fellows would yard and submit a flock of two or three hundred sheep to the process in less than an hour. When the sheep ai'e first yarded, if there are any very lame ones, draw them out and place them in one of the small pens [a, b.) Their feet can be examined, and if necessary a little extra pains taken with them, by paring, cauterizing, etc. Each sheep as ti'eated is put into the other small pen, where it can be re- tained until the flock is discharged, and then removed to a separate pas- ture from the others, if considered desirable. Where two yards are constructed, as in fig. 70, it is obvious that the ar- rangement can be made elsewhere as well as in the corner of two fields, though if the sheep are wild, it may require a few rods of wing fence (in the place of the dividing one between the fields, as seen in figures 69 and 70,) for the more convenient cornering of the sheep to yard them. Thus one such apparatus might be made to conveniently answer for a whole farm, though thousands of diseased sheep wei'e scattered in diflerent flocks over it, and may be placed at a spot where water, etc. are convenient. Where lime and water are used, the sheep must be di-iven through the trough slowly and quietly — as othen-wise the lime will be scattered over their wool, into their eyes, &c. If the lime is fresh burned and highly caustic, it would be likely to destroy their eyes. Indeed, pure fresh-burned lime sometimes will take the hair off from their pasterns and shanks. It is better, therefore, to use it when somewhat re-carbonized by exposure to the air. Wood ashes are said to produce the same effect with lime. It is claimed that sheep kept on lands where the timber has been recently burned, (" new clearings,") will recover from the hoof-ail. Query : If this be true * To be added to, fi-om time to time, if the number of sheep run through* is large enough to waste it mate" rially, before they are sufficiently tieated. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 269 might not llie lye of ashes, of the proper strength, make an adequate sub stitute fur lime and water 1 Some Northern farmers drive their sheep over dusty roads as a remedy for Itoof-ail ! Opposed as it would seem to be to sound theory — sadly as it is at variance with the practice of foreign veterinarians who employ "tow-pledgets," " gaiter boots," etc., to exclude all dirt from the diseased surface, it does actually seem in cases of ordinary virulence — especially where the disease is chronic — to dry up the tilcers and hcep the malady tinder! There is an important point to be regarded in exhibiting remedies for the hoof-ail, the mention of which I have reserved untii now, as it concerns all remedies eqvally. Many farmers select rainy weather to " doctor" the sheep. Their feet are then soft, and it is therefore on all accounts good economy, when the feet are to be pared, and each separately treated, pro- vided they can be kept in sheep-houses, or under shelters of any kind, until the rain is over and the grass again dry. If immediately let out in wet grass of any length, the vitriol or other application is measurably washed away. This is avoided by many, by dipping the feet in warm tar — an excellent plan under such circumstances. The tar is probably a good application at any time, but I do not consider it necessary, in ordinary cases, imless the sheep must be turned out into wet grass. A flock of sheep which have been cured of the hoof-ail, are considered more valuable than one which has never had it. They are far less liable to contract tlie disease from any casual exposure — and its ravages are fai less violent and general among them. I am strongly disposed to believe that hoof-ail is propagated in thia country only l)y inoculation — the contact of the matter of a diseased foot with the integuments lining the bifurcation of a healthy foot. That it is propagated in some of thSse ways classed under the ordinajy designation of contagion is certain. I could indisputably authenticate more than a hundred cases, where the sheep on a farm, indeed through a neighbor- hood, had been notoriously exempt from hoof-ail from the first settlement of the country — so that the inhabitants did .not even know what the disease was — until some diseased flock was introduced from abroad. It was so in the region where I live, and I well recollect when a flock of Saxons, driven from a neighboring county, first introduced it among our sheep. There has not been a diseased flock in the county which could not trace it back to that flock. And the contagion wae spread by them as readily on our dry hill-farms as on low and moist ones. That it may be propagated by inocvlation I hnow by direct experiment I have placed the matter of diseased feet on the skin lining the cleft of a healthy foot under- a variety of circumstances — sometimes when that skin was in its ordinary and natural state — sometimes after a very slight scari- fication — sometimes when macerated by moisture. The disease has been communicated under each of these circumstances, and in a majority of all the instances, amounting to sixteen or seventeen. That there is not even a supposed or pretended case, to my knowledge, on record where the disease has originated spontaneously, in the Northern States, I have already asserted.* I regard Professor Dick's statements of the manner in which the disease originates, which I have quoted,t as wholly inapplicable to our country with its present breeds of slieep, and I cannot sufficiently express my surprise that this eminent veterinarian should nave adopted — what I deem so unqualified an absurdity — the non- contagion theoiy. I have been disposed to trace the propagatioi ^f the disease exclusive- *In the beginniDg jf Letter XIV. \Vo. ^-^70 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE 50UTH. ly to inoculation, from liaving observed on my own farm and elsewhere, that healthy flocks have occupied with impunity fields adjoining those oc- cupied by diseased ones — an open board or rail fence only separating them. I have drawn the same inference also from the manner in which the disease attacks flocks. The whole, or any considerable number, though sometimes rapidly, are never shnultaneonslij attacked, as we should expect among animals so gregarious, if the disease could be communicated by simple contact, inhaling the breath or other eflBuvium. But not having pos- itive and demonstrative proof of the correctness of the proposition, I would advise no man to incur any risks, unnecessarily, founded on this assump- tion, without first satisfying Jiimself on the point. The matter of diseased feet is left on grass, straw, and other substances, and thus is brought in contact with the inner surfaces of healthy feet. — Sheep therefore contract the disease from being driven over the pastures, yarded on the straw, &c., where diseased sheep have been, perhaps even days before. The matter would probably continue to inoculate until dried up by the air and heat, or washed away by the rains. The stiff' upright stems of closely mown grass (as on meadows,) are almost as well calcu- lated to receive the matter of diseased feet, and deposit it in the clefts of healthy ones, as any means which could be devised artificially. I do not consider it entirelf/ safe to drive healthy sheep over roads, and especially into 7vasJiing-y arils or sJieep-houscs, where diseased sheep have been, until rain has fallen, or time has elapsed for the matter to dry up. On the moist bottom of a washing-yard, and particularly in houses or sheds, kept from sun and wind, and rain, this matter might be preserved for some time in a condition to inoculate. Fouls. — Sheep are much less subject to this disease than cattle, but are subject to it if kept in wet, filthy yards, or on moist, poachy ground. It is an irritation of the integument in the cleft of the foot, slightly resembles incipient hoof-ail, and produces lameness. But it produces no serious structural disorganization — disappeai's without treatment — is not con- tagious — and appears in the wet weather of spring and fall, instead of the dry, hot period of summer when the hoof-ail rages most, A little solution of blue vitriol, or a little spirits of turpentine, either followed by a coat- ing of warm tar, promptly cures it. Goitre or Bronchocele. — I never have seen this classed among the diseases of sheep, but the " swelled neck " in lambs is, like the goitre, an enlargement of the thyi'oid glands, and it is strikingly analogous to, if not identical with, that disease. It is congenital. The glands at birth are from the size of a pigeon's to that of a hen's e\s^^^ — though more elongated and flattened than an egg in their form. The lamb is exceedingly feeble, and often perishes almost without an effort to suck. Many even make no effort to rise, and die as soon as they are dropped. It is rare that one lives — though three or four years since, a lamb in my flock having one of the thyroid glands enlarged, grew up a large, healthy sheep. At a year old, when disposed of, the enlarged gland was of the size of a goose-egg. No inconsiderable number of lambs annually perish from this disease. — It does not appear to be an epizootic, though I think it more prevalent some seasons than others. It does not seem to depend upon the water, or any other natural circumstances of a region, (as goitre is usually supposed to,) as it may not prevail in the same flock or on the same farm once in ten years. I never have been able to trace it to any particular kind of food. That when it does appear, it is induced by some common local or SHEEP HUSBANDR. IN THE SOUTH. 271 alimentary cause, 1 am induced to infer from the fact that its attacks are rarely isolated. When there are any instances of it in a flock, there are usually a number of them. I have lost, lambs by it two seasons — from six to ten per cent, of the whole number. Francis Rotch, Esq. of Louisville, Otsego county, lost a much heavier per centage than this (my impression would now be nearly j^y per cent.) of his choice South-Down lambs, a few years since. I am acquainted with various other instances where the loss has ranged from ten to twenty per centum. When congenital goitre has thus appeared among my lambs, the ewes liave been in tmusnalhj high condition. The same was true of Mr. Rotch's ewes, as he wrote me at the time. Whether this coexistence implies caus- ality, I do not pretend to decide. High condition in the ewe 7nay be one of the inducing causes. Treatment. — I know of no treatment which will reach the case. Indeed, the lamb is dying, almost, when born — and remedies are out of the ques- tion. Should one having the disease chance to live, it would scarcely be worth while to attempt reducing the enlargements of the glands. Perhaps keeping the bleeding ewes uniformly in fair, plump, but not high condi- tion, would be as effectual a preventive as any. • MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES. Poison from Eating Laurel. — T often hear of this from our drovers, who take sheep in the spring to the Philadelphia and New-Jersey mar- kets, through Northern Pennsylvania, on the Old Red Sandstone formation of which the beautiful Kalmid angustifulia is abundant. The following description of the effects on the sheep of eating this ])lant, and the proper remedial treatment, though, I confess, not very sati.tfactory to me, I ex- tract entire from the " American Shepherd,"* as I have no experience whatever in the premises, and no better account within my reach : " Sheep and calves will often, in the winter or spring of the year, eat greedily of the low Laurel (Kalmia nngiistifolia). The animal appears to be dull and stupid, swells a little, and is constantly gulping up a greenish fluid which it swallows down ; a part of it will trickle out of its mouth, and discolor its lips. The plant prohably brings on a feiTnenla- tioii in the stomach, and Nature endeavors to throw off the poison herb by retching or vomiting. Treatment. — In the early stages, if the greenish fluid be suflfered to escape from the stomach, the animal most generally recovers. To effect this, gag the sheep, which may be done in this manner : Take a stick of the size of your wrist and six inches long — ])liice it in the animal's mouth — tie a string to one end of it. pass it over the head and down to the other end, and there make it fast. The fluid will then run from the mouth as fiist as thrown up from the stomach. In addition to this, give roasted onions and sweetened milk freely." I have somewhere, I think, seen drenches of milk and castor-oil pre- scribed f)r sheep poisoned with laurel ^ and I should, without farther knowledge of the subject, consider it treatment promising oetter results than the preceding. Sore Face. — Sheep feeding on pastures infested with John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) not unfrequently exhibit an irritation of the skin about the nose and face, which causes the hair to drop off from the parts. The irritation sometimes extends over the whole body, though no such case has fallen under my observation. Mr, Morrel says : t "If eaten in too large quantities, it produces violent inflammation of the bowels, and is fi'equently fatal to lambs, and sometimes to adults. " Treatment. — Rub a little sulphur and lard on the in-itated surface. If there are symptoms of inflammation of the bowels, Mr.,Morrell piescribes * American Shepherd, p. 361. t lb. 374. 272 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. tar — " putting it into the mouth of the sheep with a flattened stick." Abundance of salt is considered, and probably truly, a preventive. I have a sheep pasture considerably infested V4rith this difficultly extermi- nated weed, and I do not recollect an instance of a sheep exhibiting the effects of eating it, in several years. It is certain that my sheep have plenty of salt, whether this is the preventive or not. Sore Mouth. — The lips of sheep sometimes become suddenly soie ii. the winter, and swell to the thickness of a man's hand. The malady occasionally attacks whole flocks, and becomes quite fatal. No cases of it having been brought under my observation, I am unable to state whethei', in accordance with the popular description, the lesions are con- fined to the lips. I should presume 7iot. It is usually attributed to noxious weeds cut with the hay. Treatment. — Mr. Morrell states that he has had the disease in his flock, and has cured it immediately by smearing the diseased lips with tar.* Loss OF Cud. — The "loss of the cud" ranks as an important disease in the nosology of the " Cattle Doctor," and frequently calls forth all the skill of that functionary to manufacture a neio cud, which is placed in the mouth of the animal as a substitute for the one whirh* was lost ! That person must be little versed in the physiology of ruminants who needs to be told that the accidental loss of one of the cuds, in the process of re- mastication, would be a matter of no sort of consequence. The sheep, as well as the cow, not unfrequently nearly or entirely ceases to ruminate, but this is the result, not the cause, of disease. It is diagnostic of all important diseases, and when observed, its warning should never go un- heeded. Hoove. — This is not common, to any dangerous degree, among sheep, but if turned upon clover when their stomachs are empty, it will some- times ensue. It is a distention of the paunch by gas extricated from the fermentation of its vegetable contents, and evolved more rapidly, or in larger quantities, than can be neutralized by the natural alkaline secretions of the stomach. When the distention is great, the blood is prevented from cii'culating in the vessels of the rumen, and is determined to the head. The diaphragm is mechanically obstructed from making its ordi- nary contractions, and respiration, therefore, becomes difficult and imper- fect. Death soon supervenes. In ordinary cases, gentle but prolonged driving will effect a cure. Where the animal appears swelled almost to bursting, and is disinclined to move, it is better to at once open the paunch. At the most protuberllnt point of the swelling, on the left side, a little below the hip bone, plunge a trochar or knife, sharp at the point and dull on the edge, into the stomach. The gas will rapidly escape, car- rying with it some of the liquid and solid contents of the stomach. If no measures are taken to prevent it, the peristaltic motion, as well as the collapse of the stomach, will soon cause the orifices through the abdomen and paunch not to coincide, and thus portions of the contents of the former will escape into the cavity of the latter. However perfect the cure of hoove, these substances in the belly will ultimately produce fatal irritation. To prevent this, a canula or little tube should be inserted through both orifices as soon as the puncture is made. Where the case is not imminent, alkalies have been sometimss successfully administered, which combina * American Shepherd, p. 375. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 273 with the carbonic acid gas, and thus at once reduce its volume. A flexi- ble probang — or, in default of it, a rattan or grape-vine — with a knob on the end, may be gently forced down the gullet, and thus the gas permitted *o escape. Obstruction op the Gullet, or " Choking." — After pouring a little oil in the throat, the obstructing substance can be frequently moved up or down by external manipulation. If not, it may usually be forced down with a flexible rod, the head of which is guarded by a knob or a little bag of flax-seed. The latter having been dipped in hot water for a minute or two, is partly converted into mucilage, which constantly exudes through the cloth, and protects the oesophagus from laceration. But little force must be used, and the whole operation conducted with the utmost care and gentleness, or the oesophagus will be so far lacerated as to produce death, although the obstruction is removed. Fractures. — Of these Mr. Blacklock concisely says : " If there be no wound of the soft parts, the bone being simply broken, the treatment is extremely easy. Apply a piece of wet leather, taking care to ease the limb when swelling supervenes. When the swelling is considerable, and fever present, you can do no better than open a vein of the head or neck, allowing a quantity of blood to escape, proportioned to the size and condition of the animal, and the urgency of the symptoms! Purgatives in such cases should never be neglected. Epsom salts, in ounce doses, given either as a gruel or a drench, will be found to answer the purpose well. If the broken bones are kept steady, the care will be complete in from three to four weeks, the process of reunion always proceeding faster in a young than in an old sheep. Should the soft parts be injured to aay extent, or the ends of the bone protruding, recovei-y is very uncertain, and it will become a question whether it would not be better at once to convert the animal into mutton. " TREATMENT. Method of Administering Medicine into the Stomach. — The stomach into which we Avish to administer medicines, is the fourth, or digesting stomach. The comparatively insensible walls of the rumen are but slightly acted upon, excepting by doses of very improper magnitude. For the reasons given when the course of the' food through the stomachs was described, medicine to reach the fourth stomach should be given in a state as near approaching fluidity as may be. And even then it may be given in such a manner as to defeat our object. ^Ir. Youatt says : " If the animal forcibly gulps fluids down, or if they are given hastily and bodily by the medical attendant, they will fall on the canal at the base of the gullet with considerable momentum, and force asunder the pillars and enter the nimeii ; if they are drank more slowly, or administered gently, they will trickle down the throat and glide over these pillars, and pass on through the raaniplus to the true stomach. " Method of Bleeding. — Bleeding from the ears or tail, as is commonly practised, rarely extracts a quantity of blood sufficient to do any good .where bleeding is indicated. To bleed from the eye-vein, the point of a knife is usually inserted near the lower extremity of the pouch below the eye, pressed down, and then a cut made inward toward the middle of the face. Daubenton recommends bleeding from the angular or cheek vein, " in the lower part of the cheek, at the spot where the root of the fourth tooth is placed, which is the thickest part of the cheek, and is marked on the external surface of the bone of the upper jaw by a tubercle, sufficiently prominent to be very sensible to the finger when the skin of the cheek is touched. This tubercle is a certain index to the angular vein which is placed below The shepherd takes the sheep between hia legs ; his left hand more advanced than his right, which he places under the head, and grasps 3M 274 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. tlie unde\- jaw near to the hinder extremity, in order to press the angular veni, which passes in that place, to make it swell ; he touches the right cheek at the spot nearly equitaistant from the eye and mouth, and there tiiids the tubercle which is to guide him, and also feels the ant^ular vein swelled below this tubercle ; he then makes the incision from below upward, half a finger's breadth below the middle of the tubercle." Ij When the vein is no longer pressed upon, the bleeding will ordinarily cease. If not, a pin may be passed through the lips of the orifice, and a lock of wool tied round them For thorough bleeding, the jugular vein is generally to be prefeired. The sheep should be firmly held by the head by an assistant, and the body confined between his knees, with its rump against a wall. Some of the wool is then cut away from the middle of the neck over the jugular vein, and a lio-ature, brought in contact with the neck by opening the wool, is tied around it below the shorn spot near the shoulder. The vein will soon rise. The orifice may be secured, after bleeding, as described in the pre- ceding method. As once before remarked, the good effects of bleeding depend almost as much on the rapidity with which the blood is abstracted, as on the amount taken. This is especially true in acute disorders. Blacklock tersely remarks : " Either bleed rajndly or bleed not at all." The orifice in the vein, therefore, should be of some length, and I need not inform the least experienced practitioner that it should be made lengthwise with the vein. A lancet is by far the best implement, and even a short-pointed penknife is preferable to the bungling fleam. Another important rule in venesection is that, where indicated at all, it should always be resorted to as nearly as possible to the commencement of the malady. The amount of blood drawn should never be determined by admeasure- ment, but by constitutional effect — the lowering of the pulse, and indica- tions of weakness. In urgent cases as, for example, apoplexy or cerebral inflammation, it would be proper to bleed until the sheep staggers or falls. . .' . The amount of blood in the sheep is less, in comparison, than that in the horse or ox. The blood of the horse constitutes about one-eighteenth part of his weight, that of the ox at least one-twentieth, while the sheep, in ordinary condition, is one-twenty-second. For this reason, we should be more cauti.ous in bleeding the latter, especially in frequently resorting to it. Otherwise, the vital powers will be rapidly and fatally prostrated. Many a sheep is destroyed by bleeding freely in disorders not requiring it, and in disorders which did require it at the commencement, but of which the inflammatory stage has passed. The Place of Feeling the Pulse. — The number of pulsations can be determined by feeling the heart beat on the left side. The femoral artery passes in an oblique direction across the inside of the thigh, and about the middle of the thigh its pulsations and the character of the pulse can be most readily noted. The pulsations per minute in a healthy adult sheep are set down by Gasparin at ^b, by Youatt at 70, and by Hurtrel d'Arboval at 75. My own observations accord most nearly with those of Gasparin. LIST OF MEDICINES EMPLOYED IN TREATING THE DISEASES 0^ SHEEP. Ale. — In cases of debility, unaccompanied with fever, a small amount of ale is sometimes found a good stimulant. It may be given to feeble SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 275 sheep which have become unable to stand from having been too lono- cast — especially if they have laid on the snow, or on damp cold ground. It is sometimes given in addition to other medicine, in the place of the ordi- nary stimulants. Aloes — Are occasionally used as a purgative in sheep medicine by farmers, but their use is justly condemned by all veterinarians. Alum — Used as an astringent, but is inferior to many others. Antimony (The chloride or hutyr of) — the best caustic to remove fun- gous granulations, dead muscular structures, etc., in the last and worst stage of hoof-ail — applied with a swab or feather. Arsenic — Employed in the proportion of half a pound to twelve gal- lons of water, to cure scab. An infusion of it is also used to kill ticks, &c. From its liability to adhere to vessels, or to come in contact with sub- stances which may be subsequently eaten, it is a dangerous remedy, and one which I would never have employed on my farm. Blue-Vitriol (Sulphate of Copper) — Used internally as a strong tonic, but inferior to others. Dissolved in hot water, and applied to morbid Bores, an astringent, alterative, and mild caustic, of the most admirable character. It is superior to all other applications in ordinaiy cases of hoof-ail. Camphor — Used with oil as an external stimulant on swellings, &c. Carraway-Seeds — Given favorably in doses of two or three drachms, as a stomachic with other medicines. Catechu — A valuable astringent, in doses of half a drachm. It is one of the ingredients of the celebrated " sheep's cordial," spoken of under the head of " diarrhea. " ChaAc, Prepared, l»y its alkaline properties, neutralizes the acidity of the stomach, and thus checks diarrhea. It is a very valuable remedy in doses from half an ounce to an ounce, exhibited as directed under the head of " diarrhea. " Corrosive Sublimate ( Bi-chloridc of Mercury) — The most convenient form in which mercury can be exhibited internally. The proto-chloride, or calomel, from its great gravity, could not, with any certainty, be made to reach the fourth stomach. It would seem that mercury should be a use- ful remedy in several of the diseases of sheep. I have administered it only in the cases specified under the head of " malignant ejiizootic catarrh," and then apparently with some benefit. It would be well if a series of careful experiments could be instituted of its value in the appro- priate ovine diseases. It is very little used by veterinariaus, in this coun- try or Europe. A solution of corrosive sublimate is used for the destruc- tion of ticks, &c., and sometimes as a wash in the scab, but its use for these purposes is liable to the same objections with that of arsenic. Digitalis (Foxglove) — A sedative employed in most of the fever medicines of the English veterinarians. Dose, one scruple. Epsom Salts (Sulphate of Magnesia) — In doses from half an ounce to one, and in some few cases two ounces, the best pui'gative which can, in almost every disease, be administered to sheep. Gentian — Decidedly the best vegetable tonic in use. Dose, fi-om one to two drachms. Gincjer — A stomachic and tonic, given with almost every aperient, in doses of from half a drachm to a drachm. It prevents griping. Iodine. — The hydriodate of potash in the proportion of one part to 276 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. seven or eight parts, by weight, of lard, constitutes an ointment which is a powerful stimulant to the absorbent vessels, and therefore is an excellent application to glandular swellings, or to indurated tumors. It is a good application to the swelled udder (q. v.) in garget. Lard — A mild and gentle purgative in doses of two ounces. The basis of most ointments, and applied exteiTially in almost every case as an emollient and lubricant in the place of oils. Lime, Carbonate o/^— Used as a caustic to run flocks of sheep through, m the "hoof-ail," quern vide. Lime, Chloride of- — An excellent antiseptic and disinfectant, and a good application to foul ulcers. Linseed-Oil — A good purgative in two ounce doses. Preferable to Epsom salts in cases of great intestinal irritation, but not otherwise. Mercury. — The common mercurial ointment, rubbed down with five parts of lard, for severe cases, and seven parts for ordinary cases, ot scab, is an effectual cure, Muriatic Acid (Spirit of Salt) — Next to chloride of antimony, the best caustic in the worst stage of hoof-ail. Nitrate of Poj-ash (Nitre or Saltpetre) — In doses one drachm, a cooling diuretic. Nitrate of Silver (Lunar Caustic) — Superior to all other caustics, but too expensive for general use. For poisonous wounds, and particularly for the bite of a mad dog, it has no substitute. Nitric Acid (Aquafortis) — Sometimes used as a substitute for chloiide of antimony, or muriatic acid, as a caustic in hoof-ail. Used by drovers, also, to harden the soles of feet which have become thin and tender by driving-. It is touched over the sole with a feather. Opium — An invaluable sedative, and anti-spasmodic, and is employed in nearly all prescriptions for diarrhea and dysentary, and also in colic drinks. It is an important part of the " sheeps cordial." It is commonly used in the form of a tincture, or laudanum. Dose, one drachm. Pepper, Black — Given in small quantities in milk, to new-born lambs, when chilled. Pimento (Allspice) — A substitute for ginger, in the same doses, but not so valuable. Rhubarb — Unites the properties of a cathartic and subsequent astrin- p-ent. In small doses it is a tonic and stomachic, invigorating the diges- tion. When the bowels are relaxed and torpid, and the stomach in a feeble state, it would seem the most appropriate purgative, when a purga- tive is indicated. Salt (Muriate of Soda) — An ounce constitutes a purgative ; in small quantities a tonic and stomachic. The necessity of keeping sheep freely supplied with salt has been referred to under Summer and Winter Man- agement. Sulphate of Iron (Copperas, or Green Vitriol) — Used in washes for the hoof-ail, but superseded by sulphate of copper. Internally, a tonic. Sulphur, Flower of — In doses of from one to two ounces, a good aperient. It is the basis of various ointments. Sulphuric Acid (Oil of Vitriol) — A powerful caustic, used as a sub- Btitute for the acids already alluded to, in the worst stage of hoof-ail. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 277 Spirit of Tar — Destroys maggots, and repels the attack of flies. Flies will not approach a part over which it has been smeared. Tar — Is a valuable application to the feet, nose, back of the horns, &c., under the various circumstances detailed in Summer Management, and in the treatment of grub in the head, hoof-ail, &c. Tobacco — An infusion of it destroys vermin, and also is a cure for scab, quern vide. Turpentine, Spirits of— Vvewenis the attack of flies, and drives away maggots. It is a useful application to old sores, wounds, &c. Verdigris (Acetate of Copper) — Used in hoof-ail ; but adds nothing, I think, to the good effects of the sulphate of copper. Zinc, Carbonate of — Mixed with lai'd, constitutes a valuable emollient and healing ointment. It is mixed in the proportion of one part of the carbonate, by weight, to eight of the lard. 278 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. LETTER XVII. SHEEPDOGS. WOOL DEPOTS, &c. The estimation in which dogs have been held by different nations, &c...The Sheep-Dog — Buffon'a description of him.. .The t^panisli Sheep-Dog — Origin — Introduction into the United States — Value — Arrogante — his history .. .The Hungarian Sheep-Dog — Mr. Paget's description of^probable origin — I he Mexican Sheep-Dog — Mr. Lyman's description of — Mr. Kendall's South American "'heep-Dogs — Dar- win's description of. ..The English Slieep-Dog — Mr. Gates's description of. ..Mr. Colman's. ..I he Scotch 'heep-llog — Mr. Hogg's account of.. Mr. Peters's. ..Necessity of accustoming Sheep to a dog-..^VooI Depots — >ir. Blanchard's account of their origin — Letter from Mr. Peters, describing their object, methoda of doin" business, and advantages — Utility of these depots — their especial utility to the South. . .A correc. tion — ftfr. RufHn . . . Note in relation to Australia — Statistics of its Wool Trade brought down to 1846. Dear Sir : — In all ages of the world, and among nearly all nations, savage and civilized,* the dog has been the friend and cheiished com- panion of man. The Egyptians placed him among their gods. The Greeks held him in the highest estimation. His figure mingles with that of warriors and demi-gods on their friezes ; and Argus, the dog of Ulysses, lives as immortal in the Odyssey, {vide Book JC VII., jj. 344^0 400) as his sagacious master, or the faithful Penelope. Alexander the Great founded a city in honor of a dog ! The Romans treated him with similar respect. His skin covered the statues of the sacred Lares; his figure, as the emblem of care and vigilance, stood at the feet of these" household gods — venerated and loved as the tutelary manes of departed ancestors. Horace in his Ode to Cassius Severus [Book V., Ode VI.,) compares him- self to the Molossian, or the tawny Spartan dog, which defends the flocks, and with ears erect, pursues the wild beast through the deep snows. Virgil, in the delightful Georgics, admonishes the Roman shepherds not to neglect the care of their dogs : " Nee tibi cura canura fuerit postrema : sed un^ Veloces Spartaj catulos, acremque Molossum, Pasce sero pingui : ntmquam, custodibus illis, Nocturnum stabulis furem, incursusque luporum, Aut impacatoa d tergo horrebis iberos." [Gem-g. Liber III., eommencing at Ime 404. Thus translated by Sotheby : Nor slight thy dogs ; on whey the mastiflFs feed, Molossian race, and hounds of Spartan breed ; Beneath their care, nor wolves, nor thieves by night, Nor wild Iberian shall thy fear excite. These " Spartan hounds, " I may remark, par parenthesis, are the ones spoken of by Shakspeare, in that glorious description of the music of a pack in full cry, and of the points of a hound, in Midsummer- Night' s Dream : HippolUa. — I was with Hercules, and Cadmus, once. When in a wood of Ciete they bayed the bear With hounds of Sparta : never did I hear Such gallant chiding ; for, besides the groves, The skies, the fountains, every region near Seemed all one mutual cry : I never heard So musical a discord, such sweet thunder. TTieseut. — My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, So flewed, so sanded ; and their heads are hung With ears that sweep away the morning dew ; Crook-kneed, and dew.lapped, like Thessalian buDs; Slow in pursuit, but matched in mouth like bells, Each under each. A cry more tunable Was never hallo'd to, nor cheered with horn, In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly. * The only exceptions which now occur to me are the Jews, the Hindoos, and the Mahommedan natiaiti kod tribes. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IX THE SOUTH. 279 Anian, Pliny, Qi)]iian, iEliaii, and a host of other writeis of the Empire, descant on the praises of the dog, or give anecdotes of his courao-ej strength, and fideHty. ° In the chivalric ages, he was the companion of knights and princes— -tte soul of the manly field-sports of those times. Even prelates followed him to the chase. The abhots of St. Hubert bred a celebrated race of hounds. St. Hubert himself, St. Eustace, and many others on the canonized calen- dar, were keen hunters. " Whereirpon , " says the author of the " Noble Art of Venerie," &c., published in 1611, " we may conceive that {bij the grace of God) all good huntsmen shall folloio them into Paradise ! " Truly, a consoling religious sequitur ! Scott, in his beautifully descriptive poetry, and still more poetical prose, has given us a whole pictui# gallery of dogs, from the Middle Ages down. The few which start up first in memory, (in my memory,) because, proba- bly, linked with the most interesting associations, are Fangs — a o-enuine Saxon — gaunt and unkempt, but stanch as his master, Gurth, the son of Beowulph ; the noble hound of Sir Kenneth ; the " two do^s of black Saint Hubert's breed," that with Fitz-James pursued their quarry into the wild pass of the Trosachs ; the faithful little terrier, which, "on the dark brow of the miahty HelUellyn, The much-loved rt-nmins of her maslcr defended, And chased ibe hill fox and the raven away ; " and last, not least, Hector Mclntyre's bitch Juno, which stole the butter, and broke the "lachramatory from Clochmaben," of the glorious old Antiquary. They stand out on the canvas like Landseer's pictures. We pause to hear them bark ! It has often occurred to me that Scott omitted a fine oppoi'tunity, indeed, made a hiatus vale deflendus, in not introducing one or more of the Alpine spaniels — or dogs of Mount St. Bernard — into his Anne of Geierstein, providing it could be done, (on which point I am uninstructed,) without a violent anachronism. When Arthur clung dizzy and stupefied to the trunk of the tree which hung over the beetling verge of the precipice — when the cry of the Swiss maiden announced approach- ing succor, should it not have had for its aceompaniment the having of one of those great dogs of the Alps — the deep and far-heard reverbera- tions of which so often calls help to the perishing traveler, for miles, through the howling storm 1 Should not the dog of Donnerhugel, on the night-watch of Graffs-lust, have been of the same breed — huge, shaggy, and daring as himself? The portrait of Barry, a Bernardino dog which saved the lives of forty persons, and finally ])erished in an avalanche in guid- ing some travelers to St. Pierre, is to l)e found in every print-shop. It represents him carrying a child on his shoulders — clinging by his shaggy hair, — which he found in the Glacier of Balsore, and rescued from approaching death. Scott is not the only modern poet who has admired and sung the prai&^s of the dog. And I do not recollect the instance of one, who has mentioned him, that is, the ^cell-bred dog, who has not praised him, except Byron in these moody lines: " Perchance my dog will whine in vain. Till fed by Btranger hands ; But long ere I come back again Would tear me where he stands. " In his epitaph on his Newfoundland dog, the noble poet retracted this ungenerous libel, and pays one of the warmest tributes to the fidelity of the dog, on record. Volumes of anecdotes of canine sagacity might be easily compiled, 280 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. Reasoning powers the dog undoubtedly possesses, quite on a ]);ir with ordinary humanity, if we may believe scoies of these writers. But it is probable that the grandsires of some' of them " drew gpod lojig-bows at Hastings," and they, like Hubert, may lay claim to a hereditary knowledge of the weapon. It is to be feared that dog-stories will soon be sunk to a par with Jis/i-stories ! The truth is, the dog knows enough, and there are authenticated cases enough of his wonderful sagacity, without having an air of discredit throvi^n over the whole f.'f them, by fanciful exaggera- tions. The comparative intelligence, and the comparative value to man, of the different species of the dog, would be very differently estimated by those who have been placed in situations to be particularly benefited by the peculiar instincts of this race or that. Nea#y every species has some traits, some uses, where it is unequaled by the others; and each in its place is valuable. I do not, however, mean these remarks, or any others which I have made in favor of the dog, to apply to the mongrel tribe of curs. That there have been valuable individuals from this disreputable stock, all must admit ; but the miserable, cowardly and thievish character of the mass of them has been proverbial in all time. Far too many of them are kept by our farmers in the place of noble and serviceable animals and multitudes of them, owned by idlers and vagabonds, infest the country and do ten times more mischief to our flocks than diseases and beasts of piey- The Sheep-Dog. — Buffon thus eloquently describes the sheep-dog,* and compares his sagacity and value to man, with other racest : " This animal, iaitliful to Man, will always preserve a portion of his empire and a degree of su[)eriority over other beings. He reigns al the head of his flock, and makes himself bettei understood than the voice of the shepherd. Safety, order, and discipline are the fruits ol his vi<^ilance and animal. They are a people submitted to his management, whom he con- ducts and protects, and against whom he never applies force but for the pieservation of good order. ... If we consider that this animal, notwithstandingbis ugliness, and his wild and melancholy look, is superior in instinct to all others ; that he has a decided character in which education has comparatively little share ; that he is the only animal born perfectly trained lor the service of others ; that, guided by natural powers alone, he applies himself to tlie care of our flocks, a duty which he executes with singular assiduity, vigilance, and fidel- ity ; that he conducts them with an admirable intelligence, which is a part and portion ot himself ; that his sagacity astonishes at the same time that it gives repose to his master, while it requires greet time and trouble to instruct other dogs for the purposes to which they are destined ; if we reflect on these facts, we shall be confirmed in the opinion that the shepherd's dog is the true dog of Nature, the stock and model of the whole species." I shall call attention to but a few of the most distinguished varieties of the sheep-dog. The Spanish Sheep-Dog. — Of the origin of this celebrated race, I do not recollect to have seen anything. I have observed them several times spoken of, latterly, in newspapers and agricultural publications, as the same variety with the Alpine Spaniel, or Bernardine dog. This, I think, must be an error, though there may be a general resemblance between the two species. Arrogante, on the next page, though a dog of pro- dio-ious power, decidedly lacks the massive proportions, both in body and limbs, of several Bernardine dogs, which 1 have seen, of unquestiona- * I stated near the close of LeUer V. that there are no shepherd dogs large and powerful enough to en- counter and kill wolves and vagrant doas. except the great Sheep, dog of Spain, and that he is so ferocious that he might frequently bringliis owner into diffictilty, and even endanger human life.— I was mistaken, erosses between this and other species seems to have mitigated the ferocity of the Spanish dog, and still left it within the power of two to overcome a wolf, as will appear from what follows. + Buffon'a Natural History, vol. v., pp. 306, 31S. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. !1 ble lineage. The temper anti disposition of the two species, too, seems to me to be essentially different. Mr. Trimmer, and various other foreign writers, speak in warm terms of the value of the Spanish sheep-dog, for guai-ding the migratory flocks of that country from the attacks of wolves — staying behind to protect fee- ble and lagging sheep, &c. In the Memoirs of the Pennsylvania Agricul- tural Society, there is a communication from the well-known John Hare Powell, Esq., of Philadelphia, from which the following are extracts : — " The first importations of Merino sheep were accompanied by some of the large and powerful dogs of Spain, possessing all the valuable charactenstics of the English shepherd's dog, with sagacity, fidelity and strength pecidiar to themselves Their ferocity, when aroused by any intruder, their attachment to their own flock, and devotion 1o their master, would, in the uncnltivated parts of America, make them an acquisition of infinite value, by affording a defence against wolves, which they readily kill, and vafjrant cur dogs, by which our Hocks are often destroyed. The force of their instinctive attachment to sheep, and their resolution in attacking every dog which passes near to their charge, have been forcibly evinced upon my liinn. ' Fig. 71. 1 7 - ^J^i'A "^^^^^Mk- AUROGANTE — A SPANISH SHEKP-DOG. xlrrogante, whose portrait is above given with admirable fidelity, was imported from Sjiain with a flock of Merinos, a number of years since, by a gentleman residing near Bristol, England. His subsequent owner, Francis Rotch, Esq., of this State, thus describes him in a letter to me, which, though not intended for publication, I will venture to make a fevv^ extracts from : '• I have, as you desired, made you a sketch of the Spanish sheep-dog Arrogante, and a villainous looking rascal he is. A worse countenance I hardly ever saw on a dog . His small blood-shot eyes, set close together, give him that sinister, wolfish look, which is most unattractive ; but his countenance is indicative of his character. Therp was nothing aflTec- tionate or joyous about him. He never forgave an injury or an insidt: offend him, and it was for life. I have often been struck with his resemblance to his nation. He was proud and reserved in die extreme, but not quarrelsome. Every little cur would fly out at him, as at some strange animal; and! have seen them fasten for a moment on his heavy, bushy tail, and yet he would stride on, never breaking his long, ' loping,' shambling trot. Once I saw him 3N 282 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. tuni, ami the retribution was awful ! It was upon a large, powerful mastiff" we kept as a night-guard iu the Bank. He then put fbith his strength, which proved tremendous ! His coat hung about him in thick, loose, matted Iblds, dirty and uncared-for, — so that I presume a dog never got hold of anything about him deeper than his thick, tough skin, which was twice too large to fit liim anywhere, and especially around the neck and shoulders. The only other evidence of his uncommon strength which I had observed, was the perfect ease with which he threw himself over a high wall or paling, which often drew my attention, because he seemed to me wanting in that particular j)hysical development which we are accustomed to consider as necessary to muscular power. He was flat-chested, and flat- sided, with a somewhat long back and narrow loin. (My drawing foreshortens his length.) His neck, forearm and thigh certainly indicated strength. If the Si)anish wolf and the dog ever coliabit, he most assuredly had hi him such a cross; the very eflluvia of the animal be- trayed it. In ail in which he differed frf)n] the beautiful Spanish shepherd-dog, he ^^•as wolfish both iu form and habits.* But, though no parlor beauty, Arrogante was unnuestiou- ably a dog of immense value to the mouutaiu-shepherd. Several times, he had met the large wolf of the Appenines, and widiout aid slain his antagonist. The shepherds who bred him said it was an aff"air of no doubtful issue, when he encountered a wolf single-handed. His history, after reaching England, you know." Some portions of that history I cannot resist the temptation of narrating, as illustrative of the character of this interesting breed, and commemora- tive of the virtues of the stern, but honest and dauntless Arrogante. If his courage was tinctured with ferocity, and sometimes instigated by a revenge, going a little beyond the canon which permits bad debts to be paid in kind, he did everything openlii ! He made no sneakish, cur-like attacks, on the heels of his foe. By him, as by Robin Hood and his merry men — commemorated by Drayton — " who struck below the kn^ c [wasj not counted then a man ;" and his spring was always at the throat of his quarry. But he made not that deadly spring until he gave " warning fair and true," and never with- out provocation.t Soon after Arrogante's arrival in England, a ewe under his charge chanced to get cast in a ditch, during the temporary absence of the Span- ish sheplierd who had accompanied the flock and dog at their importation. An English shepherd, in a spirit of vaunting, insisted on relieving the fal- len sheep, in preference to having the absent shepherd called, though warned by his companions to desist. The stern stranger dog met him at the gate and also warned him with sullen growls, growing more menacing as he approached the sheep. The shepherd was a powerful and bold man, and felt that it was too late now to retract with credit. On reaching the sheep, he bent carefully forward, with his eyes on the dog, which instantly made a spring at his throat. A quick forward movement of his arm saved his throat, but the arm was so dreadfully lacerated that immediate am- putation became necessary. To save the dog, which had but done his duty, as he had hc.cn taught it, from the popular excitement, he was ship- ped in a vessel which sailed that very afternoon, from Bristol for America. He was sent to Francis Rotch, Esq., then a resident of New-Bedford. For a long time Arrogante would not pay the least attention to his new master ; the voice of the latter would scarcely arrest him for a moment. After attempting in vain, for several weeks, to obtain some recognition of mastership from him, Mr. Rotch chained him securely to a tree, punished him severely, and then, with not a 'tew misgivings, released him. But he submitted, for he well knew that the punishment came from his master, and afterward gave a cold, haughty obedience to all required of him. * I never have Buppnscd, from the several conversations which I have had with Mr. Rotch on the sub- ject, that Arrogfinte was ;iiiythin2 less than a thorough-bred Spanish shepherd-dog. Mr. Rotch here means that he was an ill-favored individual of the family — and he thinks that this v>ay be owing to a bar-sinister on his escutcheon, left there by some wolfish gallant His temper was even less ferocious than Mr. Powell describes that oi his Spanish dogs. ♦ Was there anything wolf-like in all of this ? I SHEEP HUSBANDRY IX THE SOUTH. '283 Stupid and apparently sleeping much of the day, nothing, however, escaped his observation, or was subsequently erased from his memory. li led round a building, or enclosure, or even an open space, at night-fall, in a manner to evince particular design, during the entire night like a senti- nel he traversed ^ome part of the guarded ring, permitting neither man nor beast to pass in or out from it. Arrogante was a " temperance man," of thestraightest sect — an out-and- out teetotaler — and if tolerant of deviations from his creed, he could bear none, from the sobriety of his 2}ractice. Never would he confess acquain- tance with a drunken man — though the hand of that man fed him. The bailiff, who usually fed Arrogante, used occasionally to come home late in the evening a little "/6'«,"and never could he in this conditioji get his foot on the premises ! The old man has plead guilty to more than one night's lodgings on the ground, in consequence of Arrogante's temperance scru- ples. On one occasion a couple of sailors, to take advantage of the tide, came unexpectedly, and without giving any notice, on the farm, at 3 A. M., to take avvay some potatoes they had purchased. Arrogante thought it was not so " nominated in the bond ;" he forced them to clamber into an em^Dty cart, and there he kept them until morning. They tried the expe- riment of putting a leg over the side once or twice, but were admonished in too unequivocal a manner to keep quiet, to need any farther hints. They lost the tide, and were in gieat tribulation, but, like honest fellows, confessed the fault was their own. I might, did limits allow, recount many more anecdotes displaying the iron determination and fixed precision with which this noble dog obeyed his instructions in guar(3Tng sheep or other property committed to his charge. He was a decided " strict constructionist," swerving not from the letter of his commission, and woe to him who attempted to countervail the tenor of that commission ! Drunkenness was destined to prove as fatal as it was detestable, to Aito- gante. A gentleman occupied a cottage orne by the sea-side, the lane to which ran along the farm, and near the stable which Arrogante made his head-quarters, when not on particular duty. The gentleman war. reg- ularly introduced to him, and warned against ever provoking him. Re- turning him home late one Saturday evening on horseback, from ?i conviv- ial meeting, as he galloped through the lane, he met the dog, and v/an- tonly struck him or struck at him with a hunting-whip. He was a large man, and rode a tall, powerful horse, and being under speed, he escaped before the astonished dog recovered from his surprise. But the insulted blood of Castile rushed in boiling currents through the veins of the mad- dened Arrogante. He felt, like his counti-yman De Lerma, in Epes Sar- gent's tragedy of Velasco — " Struck like a meninl ! buffeted ! degraded ! Spare not my life, if mercy thou would ehow, Thou givest me back only what thou hast made A burden, a disgrace, a misery !" But AiTogante felt both the power and will to avenge himself, and he resolved on a bloody retribution. The next morning the gentleman was on his way to church, mounted as before. The dog heard and knew the tread of his horse, rose from his lair in the stable, walked to the road-side, and stood grimly awaiting his in- sulter. When the latter had approached within a few yards, Arrogante, like a missile projected from a catapult, met him in the air, in a deadly spring at his throat. The sudden jump and swerve of the frightened and 284 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. very active horse, saved the rider's throat and his life — but so narrovv^ly had he escaped, that he felt the gnashing teeth of the frenzied brute scrape down his dress, where they came in contact with and closed upon his watch, tearing it away with the adjacent clothing. The horseman fled for his life, while the baffled dog vented his rage on, the gold watch which he had captured, by chewing it into atoms ! The cause of this ter rible onset not being disclosed at the time, Mr. R., though convinced from the character of the dog that he had not been the aggressor, felt constrain- ed to give orders to have him shot. The Hungarian Sheep-Dog. — The following description of the Hunga- rian Sheep-Dog, occurs in Paget's " Hungary and Transylvania :"* " It would be unjust to quit the subject of the Puszta Shepherd without making due and honorable mention of his constant companion and friend, the juhdsz-hutya — llie Hungarian shepherd dog. The shepherd dog is commonly white, sometimes inclined to a reddish brown, and about the size of our Newtbundland dog. His sharp nose, short erect eai's, shaggy coat, and bushy tail give him much the appearance of a wolf; indeed, so great is the resemblance, that I have known a Hungarian gentleman mistake a wolf for one of his own dogs. Except to their masters, they are so savage that it is unsafe ibr a stranger to enter the court-yard of a Hungarian cottage, without arms. I speak from experience ; for as I was walk- ing through the yard of a post-house, where some of these dogs were lying about, ajiparently asleep, one of them crept after me, and inflicted a severe wound on my leg, of which I still bear the maiks. Before I could turn round, the dog was already far otf ; for, like the wolf, they bite by snapping, but never hang to the object like the bull-dog or mastiff. Their saga- city in driving and guarding the sheep and cattle, and their courage in protecting them from wolves and robbers, are highly praised ; and the shepherd is so well aware of the value of a good one, that it is difficult to induce him to part with it." I have little doubt that the Hungarian dogs above described are the descendants of the Spanish ones, introduced into Hungary with the Meri- no sheep, though possibly they maybe somewhat crossed by interbreeding with the dogs of the country. The Mexican Sheep-Dog. — The following acccount of these noble dogs appears as a communication from Mr. J. H. Lyman, in the third volume of the American Agriculturist :t •' Although Mr. Kendall and some other writers have described this wonderfid animal as a cross of the Newfoundland dog, such, I think, cannot be the fact; on the contrary, I have no doubt he is a genuine descendant of the Alpine mastiff, or more properly, Spanish shep- herd dog introduced by them at the time of the Conquest. He is only to be found in the sheep-raising districts of New Me.\ico. The other Mexican dogs, which number more than a thousand to one of these noble animals, are the results of a cross of everything under the sun having any affinity to the canine race, and even of a still nobler class of animals if Mexi- can stories are to be credited. It is believed in Mexico, that the countless mongrels of that country owe their origin to the assistance of the various kinds of wolves, mountain cats, lynxes, and to almost if not every class of four-footed carnivorous animals. Be this as it may, those who have not seen them can believe as much as they like ; but eye-witnesses can assert, that there never was a country blessed with a greater and more abundant variety of misera- rable, snarling, cowardly packs, than the mongrel dogs of Mexico. That country of a surety would be the plague-spot of this beautiful world, were it not for the redeeming character of the truly noble shepherd dog, endowed as it is with almost human intellect. I have often thought, when observing the sagacity of this animal, that if very many of the human race possessed one half of the power of inductive reasoning which seems to be the gift of this animal, that it would be far better for themselves and for their fellow-creatures. The peculiar education of these dogs is one of the most important and interesting steps pursued by the shepherd. His method is to select from a multitude of pups a few of the healthiest and finest-looking, and to put them to a sucking ewe, first depriving her of her own lamb. By force, as well as from a natural desire she has to be relieved of the con- tents of her udder, she soon learns to look upon the little interlopers with all the aflfectiou she would manifest for her own natural offspring. For the first few days the pups are kept ■n the hut, the ewe suckling them morning and evening only ; but gi'adually, as she be- * Hungary and Transylvania, by John Paget, Esq., vol. ii., p. 12, et supra. t Page 241. SHEEP HUSBANDRY m THE SOUTH. 28^ comes acnnstonied to their si^'ht, she is allowed to run in a small enclosure with them uutil she becomes so perfectlv ilimiliar with tlieir appearance as to take the entire charge ol them. After this they are folded widi the whole tlock for a fortnight or so, they then run about during the day with the flock, which after a while becomes so accustomed to them, as to be able to disdnguisli them from other dogs — even from those of the same litter which have not been nursed among them. The shepherds usually allow the slut to keep one ot u httcr for her own particular benefit ; the balance are generally destroyed. After the pups are weaned, they never leave the particulai" drove among which they have been reared. Not even the voice of their master can entice them beyond sight of the ftock; neither hunjrer or thirst can do it. I have been credibly informed of an uistance where a single dog having charge of a small flock of sheep, was allowed to wander with them about the mountains, while the shepherd returned to his village for a few days, having perfect confidence in the ability of his dog to look after the flock during his absence, but with a Rtrangc want of foresight as to the provision of the dog for his food. Upon his return to the flock, he f(jund it several miles from where left, but on the road leading to the village, and the ])0or faithful animal in the agonies of death, dying of starvation , even in the midst oj plenty ; yet the flock had not been harmed by him. A reciprocal affection exists between ihem which may put to blush many of the human family. The poor dog recognized them only as brothers and dearly loved friends ; he was ready at all times to lay down hid life tiir them ; to attack not only wolves and mountain cats, with the confidence of vic- tor)', but even the bear, when there could be no hope. Of late years, when the shepherds of New Mexico have suffered so much from Indian, marauders, instances have frequently occurred where the dog has not hesitated to attack his human foes, and although transfix- ed with arrow.s, his indomitable courage and faithfulness have been such as to compel his assailants to pin him to the earth with spears, and hold him there until dispatched with stones. In the above instance the starving dog could have lielped himself to one of his little bro- ther lambs, or could have deserted the eheep, and very soon have reached the settlements where there was fiiod for him. But fiiitiifu! even unto death, he would neither leave nor molest them, but followed the jnoniptings of his instinct to lead into the settlement; their unconsciousness of his wants and slow motions in traveling were too much for his exhaust- ing strength. These shepherds are very nomadic in character. They are coustandy moving about, their camp equipage consisting merely of a kettle and a bag of meal ; tlieir lodges are made in a few minutes, of branches, &c., thrown against cross-sticks. They verj' seldom go out in the day-time with their Hocks, intmsting thiin entirely with their dogs, which faithfully return them at night, never pemiitting any stragglers behind or lost. Sometimes different flocks are brought into the same neighborhood owing to scarcity of grass, when the wonder- ful instincts of the shepherds' dogs are most beautifully displayed; and to my astonishment, who hiive been an eye-witness of such .-cenes, if two flocks approach within a few yards of each other, their respective proprietors will place themselves in the space between them, and as is very naturally the case, if any adventurous sheep should endeavor to cross over to visit her neighbors, her dog protector kindly but firmly leads her back, and it sometimes happens, if many m;ike a rush and succeed in joining the other flock, the dogs under whose charge they are, go over and bring them all out, but, strange to say, under such circumstances they are never opposed by the other dogs. They approach the strange sheep only to prevent their own from leaving the flock, though they offer no assistance in expelling the other sheep. But they never permit sheep not under canine protection, nor dogs not in charge of sheep, to approach them. Even the same dogs which are so freely pennitted to enter their flocks in search of their own, are driven away with ignominy if they presume to approach them without that laudable object in view. Many anecdotes could be related of the wonderful instinct of these dogs. I very much doubt if there are shejiherd dogs in any other part of the world except Spain, equal to those of New-Mexico in value. The famed Scotch and English dogs sink into insignificance by the side of them. Their superiority may be owing to the peculiar mode of reaihig them, but they are certainly very noble animals, natuially of large size, and highly deserving to be introduced into the United States. A pair of them will easily kill a wolf, and flocks under their care need not fear any common enemy to be found in our countrv. .1. H. Lyman." Mr. Kendall* speaks of meeting, on the Grand Prairie, — a flock numbering seventeen thousand, which immense herd was guarded by a very few men, assisted by a large number of noble dogs, which appeared gifted with the faculty of keeping them together. There was no running about, no barking or biting in tlieir system of tactics; or the contrary, they were continually walking up and down, like faithful senti nels, on the outer side of the flock, and should any sheep chance to stray from its fellows, the dog on duty at that particular post, would walk gently up, take him carefully by the ear * Vol I., p. 268. 286 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. and lead liim liack to the flock. Not the .fast fear did the sheep manifest at llie approach of these dogs, and there was no occasion for it. These noble animals seem, accovtling to these and various other corre- sponding accounts I have seen of them, to leave nothing to desire in the way of a sheep-dog, either for guarding or managing flocks. They would be in- valuable in our Southern States, to protect the flocks from the cur-doga which so often attack them, and from the occasional wolves. I hope efforts will be made to introduce them into our country, and then they should be bred in the utmost purity. South American Sheep-Dog. — Similar to the preceding in character and habits, are the sheep-dogs to be found in various parts of South Amer- ica. They, too, are undoubtedly an offshoot from the Spanish stem. The following interesting account of them is from Darwin's Journal : " While staying at this estancia (in Banda Oriental), I was amused with what I saw and heard of the shepherd dogs of the country. When riding, it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep guarded by one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from any house or man. I often wondered how so firm a friendship had been established. The method of education consists in separating the puppy, when veiy young, from the bitch, and in accustoming it to its future companions. A ewe is held three or four times a day for the Httle thing to suck, and a nest of wool is made for it in the sheep-pen. — At no time is it allowed to associate with other dogs, or with the children of the family. The puppy, moreover, is generally castrated ; so that when grown up, it can scarcely have any feelings in common with the rest of its kind. From this education it has no wish to leave the flock, and just as another dog will defend its master, man, so will these the sheep. It is amusing to observe, when approaching a flock, how the dog immediately advances barking — and the sheep all close in his rear as if round the oldest ram. These dogs are also easily taught to brines home the flock at a certain time in tlie evening. Their most troublesome fault when yount' is their desn-e of playing witli the sheep, for in their play, they sometimes gallop their poor subjects most unmercifully. The shepherd dog comes to the house every day for some meat, and immediately it is given to him he skulks away as if ashamed of himself. On these occasions the house dogs are very tyrannical, and the least of them will attack and pursue the stranger. The minute, however, the latter has reached the flock, he turns round and begins to bark, aud then all the house dogs take very quickly to their heels. lu a similar manner a whole pack of hungry wild dogs will scarcely ever (and I was told by some, never;, venture to attack a flock guarded even by one of these faithful shepherds. The vvhole account appears tome a curious instance of the pliability of the afl'ections of the do" race ; and yet, whether wild, or however educated, with a mutual feeling of respect and fear for those tliat are fulfilling their instinct of association. For we can understand on no principle the wild dogs being driven away by the single one with its flock, except that they consider, from some confused notion, that the one thus associated gains power, as if in com- pany with its own kind. F. Cuvier has observed that all animals which enter into domes- tication consider Man as a member of their society, and thus they fulfil their instinct of asso- ciation. In the above case the shepherd dogs rank the sheep as their brethren ; and the wild do"-s, though knowing that the individual sheep are not dogs, but are good to eat, yet partly c^onsent to this view, when seeing them in a flock, with a shepherd dog at their head." Other large races of Sheep-Dogs. — There are one or two fine species in France, as those of Brie, and Auvergne. In a letter from G. W. Lafayette, to -John S. Skinner, Esq., the latter are pronounced equal to the Spanish dogs.* Large powerful races, everywhere possessing the same general characteristfcs, are to be found in almost every country excepting our own, where the fine-wooled breeds of sheep have been ex- ;,ensively introduced. With a commerce extending to all the maritime nations of the world, singular it is that so little pains have been taken to introduce them. The English Sheep-Dog. — The following are portraits of a Drovei's dog • Pee Farmers" Library, Vol. i., p. 465. SHEEP HUSBANDRY TN THE SOITtH. 287 and a Scotch Colley slut, imported by B. Gates, of Gap Grove, Lee Co Illinois. Thev are taken from The Farmers' Library.* DROVKU's JJOG, A.VD COI.I.EY SI.UT. The Drover's dog, or English sheep-dog, or Butcher's dog — for by ail of these names is he known — is considerably smaller than the species or families heretofore described, but he is a larger and more powerful dog than the Colley. Mr. Gales, in tlie communication accompanying the portraits, remarks : " Much Vms -.ilieady been written on the intelligence of the Scotch Colley. My opinion i.s that the English '• Butcher's dog " is no way lacking on that point. Any reader who has visited Sniitlilield market in London, on Monday or Friday, will, no donht, have Ibrmed the same opinidii. There you have an o])])()rtnnity of seeing a nnml)er nf these useful animals at their work. It would, in fiict, be almost inipossil)le to conduct tliis market widioul their aid. There a vast ntimber lA' dilTereiit animals are brought for sale from all ))arts of the couutry, to sup[)ly this great metropolis, and are collected in the smallest possii)le space. The difficulty of keeping them from mingling with others falls principally on the dog. If one slips away, or a particular one is wished to be caught, it is pointed out to him, and is re- turned back, or held till the owner takes it — ihe dog always holding them by the side of the head, so as not to bruise the body. By a word or motion of ihi; hand, they will run over the backs of the sheep, to stop tliem ov turn them in a different direction. I have often admired, with astonishment, their ijuick and intelligent actions. They appear to icad the thoughts of their master by his countenance, for their eye is continually on his, or the flock. Nothing else can attract his attention when he has work to perform, and at times I have thought he acted with more judgment than the owner. . . . The breed of '• Bo.xer." (whose portrait is above given,) is sometimes called the Drover's or Tailless breed." Mr. Colman, in one of his Reports, says: " For a week or more before the tryst, the roads leading to Falkink will be found crowded with successive droves of cattle and sheep, proceeding to this central point ; and it is ex- liemely curious on the field to sec with what skill and care the different parties and herds are kept together by themselves. In this matter the shepherds are generally assisted by *Vol. i o. 575. 288 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. their dogs, which appear endowed with a sagacity almost human, and almost to know every individual belonging to their charge. They are sure, with an inflexible pertinacity, to hrn j back a deserter to the flock." Mr. T. C. Peters, (now of Buffalo, N. Y.,) on his return from Europe, a few years since, brOTglit over a Drover and a Colley. His testimony to their extraordinary value will be found in the American Agriculturist,' vol. iii., page 76. Fig. 73 THK ClH.T.KY. The Scotch Sheep-Dogor Coli.ey.— The light, active, sagacious Colley admits of no superior — scarcely of an equal — where it is his business merely to manage his flock, and not to defend them fi'om beasts larger than himself Mr. Hogg says that "a single shepherd and his dog will accomplish more in gathering a flock of sheep from a Highland farm than twenty shepherds could do without dogs. Neither hunger, fatigue, nor the worst treatment will drive him from his master's side, and he will follow him through every hardship without murmur or repining." The same well-known writer, in a letter in Blackwood's Magazine, gives a most glowing description 6f the qualities of his Colley, " Sirrah." One night a flock of lambs, under his care, frightened at something, made what we call in America a regular sfcmipede, scattering over the hills in several different bodies, " Sirrah," exclaimed Hogg in despair, *' they're a' awa ! " The dog dashed off through the darkness. After spending with his assistants, the whole night in a fruitless search after the fugitives, Mr. Hogg commenced his return to his master's house. Coming to a deep ravine, they found Sirrah in charge, as they at first supposed, of one of the scattered divisions, but what was their joyful surprise to find that not a lamb of the whole flock was missing! Of the stanch devotedness of the Colley, under any and all circuni SHEEP HUSUANDUY IN THE SOUTH. 289 stances, Mr. Peters gives, in the American Agriculturist, the following characteristic illustration, copied from a Scotch paper: " The master of the bitch purchased at a fair some eighty sheep, and having occasion to tay a day longer, sent them forward and directed his faithfid CoUey to drive them home, a distance of about 17 miles. The poor bitch, when a few miles on the road, dropped two whelps; but faithful to her charge, she drove the sheep on a mile or two farther — then allowing them to stop, she returned for her pups, which she carried some two miles in advance of the sheep, and thus she continued to do, alternately carrying her own young ones, and taking charge of the flock, till she reached home. The manner of her acting on this (>ccasion was gathered by the shepherd from various persons who had observed her on the IDud. " The Colleys are not now uncommon in the Northern States, and I have often seen proofs of their singular sagacity in collecting, driving, and guarding sheep, and in catching out one from the flock when directed by their masters. I have often seen one drive a flock of fifty or sixty sheep through a crowed street, encountering teams, pedestrians, and other dogs at every step — without the slightest assistance. At:cj;,sTOMiNG THE Sheep to the Dog. — It is a mistake to suppose that a trained sheep-dog will manage any strange flock, liowever wild and unac- customed to such company. The sheep must be gradually made acquainted with, and accustomed to the dog. They must know — and they will readily learn it — that he is their fjiend, their guardian and protector, instead of that hereditary enemy which their instinct teaches them to fly fi"om. A want of knowledge of this fact has frequently led to disappoint- ment and disgust, to a giving up of the valuable dog which it has cost pains and money to procure. Mr. Skinner relates a ludicrous incident of Mr. Jefferson, arising from his not being apprized of this fact. A thoroughly broken sheep-dog had been sent him from abroad, and the great Sage of Monticello, after having held forth ore rotuvSn to some visitors, on the value of these dogs, and their immense convenience — nay, their indispens- ability in managing flocks, led forth his gue.sts to give a practical exempli- fication of the qualities of his dog. At the word, the latter made for the sheep. The terrified animals fled in all directions, some of them dashing themselves over precipices and breaking their necks. The dog either shared the same fate, or, mortified at his failure, felt his pride too deeply wounded to return. Mr. Jefferson never recovered him ! WOOL DEPOTS. Commission merchants who confine their operations exclusively to the sale of Wool, have opened lar^e stores or " Depots," at three or four points in the Northern States. Of the origin of this system., Mr. H. Blauchard, of Kinderhook, N. Y., thus spoke at the Agricultural meeting at the Assembly Chamber, Albany, Feb. a, 1848 : " From facts that were ascertained by Hon. .1. P. Beekman. (then President of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society,) at the Stale Fair held in Ponghkeepsie, in 1844. he became con- vinced that the growers of Dutchess county, by reason of the superior facilities afforded them for the sale of their fine wools, were procuring from six to eight cents per pound more than many wool-growers in other sections of the State who produced the same quality of wool. The large quantity of fine wool grown in that county, offered great inducements for manufacturers ana j)urchasers of fine wool to make that a place of resort to obtain their sup- plies, and thus a fair competition was awakened, which resulted in a just appreciation of the relative value of theii wools, and rennnierating prices to the fine wool grower. Soon after Dr. B.'s return, the evils consequent upon the system of selling wools in our county, as well as elsewhere, became a matter of discussion between him and other wool-growers in our 'rcinity and myself, the result of which was a request from them that I would open what we now term a " Wool Depot." The principles involved in the depot system are not new, it being conducted upon those of a commission business ; but it is only the details and appli 2 290 SHEEP HUSBANDRY TN THE SOUTH. cation of these principles to wool when received direct from the grower, that had never be- fore in this country been applied iu the same discriminating maimer, and with as little «xpeuse as by this system." The objects and advantages of the system, and the method of conduct- ing these estabhshments are clearly set forth in the following letter from my friend Mr. Peters, to whom, as a keeper of one of these Depots, and a gentleman of conceded ability — as well as skill, energy and success in this and in his other business operations — I thought it appropriate to apply for this information. n. S. Randall, Esq. Buffalo. N. Y., Dec. 16, 1847. My Dear Sir : Your kind favor of the 12th inst., making inquiries relative to the Wool Depot system, is before me. It will give me pleasiu-e to answer your queries, not that by so doing I can add anything to the exceeding great value of your Letters to the whole country, and especially to the South and West — yet from my own experience as a wool-grower, and in the management of a Wool Depot which I established at this place last spring, I may give some information that will be useful to your readers, and may they be millions. In so doing, I will give you 1st, An account of the object; 2d, The method of doing business ; and 3d, The advantages of the Wool Depot system. The Object. — Upon no sheep is the wool exactly alike over the whole body ; nor is the wool exactly alike upon any single flock. In most flocks there is a great diversity — greater than there should be for the farmer's profit. There is, then, a variety of grades of wool in every flock, and in every section of the country where wool is grown. Manufacturers first grade the wool ; that is, sort the fleeces, making fi-om five to eight or nine different grades. Bach fleece is then opened, and stapled, or sorted into the various grades of the factory. Some manufactories use only the finest, others only the coarsest, and others again use only one kind of the intermediate sorts, so that fiom a single flock, I sold this year wool to five different manufacturers, no one wanting or working the kind that the other wanted. The object of the Wool Depot is to sort and arrange the wool, that the manufacturer can readily obtain the paiticular kind adapted to his machinei-y, and to obtain for each sort its fair market value. Method of doing Business. — The system originated with Mr. H. Blanchard, at Kinder- hook, some three years ago. Last year, we sent our wool to Mr. Blanchard, and dui'lng the winter I visited his establishment, and was so well satisfied with the operation of it, and of the vital importance of the system to the wool-growers everywhere, that I at once made arrangements to open one at tliis point. I accordingly commenced operations in the spring, and have been successful beyond my most sanguine expectations. I have a competent and experienced sorter, and when wool is sent in, it is at once sorted in the fleece, each sort weighed, and entered in a book under the name of the person send- ing it. I have adopted Mr. Blanchard's method of sorting, as experience has shown that to be the best, under all circumstances. I make, then, five sorts, taking full-blooded Merino for No. 1, and grading down to coarse common wool, which is No. 5. Saxony I grade into Extra, Prime 1, and Prime 2. Then there is a kind of wool which is admirable for combing, and another kind that is wanted for De Laines ; — these form five more sorts, making thus ten sorts. But as there is such a difference in the condition of wool when brought into the Depot, I usually make two sorts of each number. Thus I have No. 2, and No, 2 a. No. 2 is usually good, but No. 2 a is of the same grade, but is in better condition, every way a choice article, but still not fine enough to go into a higher grade. The wool is actually worth two or three cents per lb. more than the other number to which it belongs, and but for making this distinction, would not bring its full value. When the wool is properly sorted, it is piled up in a manner that will enable the purchaser to see it at a good advantage ;— in- sured, and held until the market requires it. I make all my sales here, and for cash When the sales are closed, an account is made out and sent to those who have sent me their MTOol; usually, an account is rendered as fast as any part of a man's wool is sold. I have often been asked, how I could tell whether any man's wool was sold, unless the whole of a sort was sold at a time. It is very easy. Suppose A. has 100 lbs. of No. 1, and I have sold 20,000 lbs. out of 40,000 lbs. — that being the whole amount in the Depot. I have sold on& Half of etjch man's No. 1, and I turn to A.'s account and give him credit for 50 lbs. sold, and BO go through and credit each man with his proportion of that number sold. The charges are, for receiving, sorting, and selHng, one cent per lb., and the insurance — which is usually about 30 cts. on $100, for three months. Cartage from the dock is usually thiee cents per bale. The sacks are returned or sold at the option of the owner. They are SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 291 naually worth about fifty cents, more or less, according to their condition. Each man's wool is carefiilly examined ; if put up in bad order, it is so noted, and a deduction made by the sorter, to make it as it should be. So that it is no object for a man to send to the Depot wool in a bad condition. The ADVA^fTAGES. — The foregoing facts would seem to be so plain that it cannot be necessary to refer to the advantages. No man, however, is more at the mercy of the specu- 'ator, than the wool-grower. The very fact that he has so many kinds of wool in his clip, prevents him from ascertaining the market value of the whole, for being in comparatively umall quantities, he has not enough, if ever so well sorted, to make it an object for the differ- ent manufactiners to visit him. He is therefore compelled to sell his whole clip at the price of his present quality, and at prices from five to fifteen cents per lb. under the real market value of his wool. Allow me to illustrate by an example. A farmer has his wheat, corn, oats, and barley, all mixed, and carries it to market in this condition. Will anvbody give him the value of each kind of grain? On the contrary, they would not be wilhng to pay even the value of the cheapest kind. And yet each kind by itself has a market value. Precisely in the same situation is the wool-grower, except that he has no means of knowing the value of the various sorts of wool, except from the speculator. The advantage of the Depot system, then, is, that there his wool is properly sorted. The ■wheat is separated from the corn, the corn from the oats, and the oats from the barley, and each is made to bring its fair market value. By having an extensive coiTesjJondence among the manufacturers throughout the country, I am kept constantly advised of the market ; and knowing the price of cloth in the cities, I am enabled to know to a certainty what the price of the various grades of wool should l)e. When the manufacturer can get the kind of wool he wants, and in large quantities, he is willing to pay, and does pay a better price than when he has to buy that which he does not want, to get the right sort. It also equalizes the market, and brings the producer and the manufacturer together, without being compelled to pay agents or speculators, and prevents that fluctuation of the market which is always produced by speculation. But there is another very great advantage growing out of the system. It enables ihe wool- growers in the various sections of the country to compare w-ool, and to know who has reaUy the best and most profitable kinds of sheep. It has been strikingly manifest with me this season. For I have been eiialjled to point out to people in different States West, where they could find the most profitable sheep, by the wool which had been sent me. And in one instance men had been over five hmiilred miles after sheep, and paid high prices, when there were sheep in their own town worth double the money. There is no difficulty in sending wool here fi-om any part of the country bordering upon the Ohio, or its tributaries. The expense of transportation will range from one to one and a half cents per lb. — depending much upon the bargain made with the clipper. I have re- ceived wool this year from all the Western States, in some instances as far West as the Mis- sissippi River, and the average cost for freight has been about one cent per lb. It was urged by many last spring that this city was not a good p< int, inasmuch as it was not sufficiently central in its location. For nothing is more certain, than that a wool Depot, to be successftil, must be so located as to command a large amount of wool. The larger amount you can concentrate at a point, the more rapid and sure will be your sales. To this city tlie products of the West naturally tend, and to this point the producer can calculate with great certainty when, and at what expense it will arrive. But after its trans-shipment here, expenses accumulate, without any corresponding benefit. And it is peculiarly so, in regard to wool, coming as it often does in bad order, sacks torn, broken, and wet. But I have made my letter already longer than I intended, and in speaking of my own Depot have perhaps gone more into detail than is necessary. This mufth I must be permitted to say to every wool-grower, that the Wool Depot system, properly conducted and patronized, is indispensable to ultimate and profitable success. I remain, my dear sir. Very sincerely yours, T. C. Peters. Messrs. Perkins and Brown have a Depot at Springfield, Mass. ; and I believe tbe establishment of two or three others is in contemplation, by companies or individuals. Conducted with skill and fidelity, there can be but little doubt that these establishments are alike beneficial to the wool-grower and manufacturer. That Mr. Blanchard's and Mr. Peters's have thus far been so conducted, there is not the least doubt. Of the other I know nothing, though report speaks well of it. The design was not regarded with much favor, in the out set, by many of our most extensive wool-growers. They preferred to " do 292 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. their own business, " and not "pay the wages of an intermediate agent." But the advantages derived from selling the wool in sorted lots, have been found to far more than overbalance the one cent per pound paid to the " agent" or Depot keeper, and the system is rapidly gaining favor. Many of our most experienced wool growers in this State — men the most com- petent to favorably dispose of their wool — have sent their wool to Messrs. Blanchard and Peters, and I have yet to see or hear of the first person who has been disappointed in the result. If wool Depots are beneficial in the North, where the agents of different manufacturers, and " speculators," visit every man's barn to bid on his wool — and among a class of growers, too, who, from long experience, are familiar with the qualities and comparative values of the staple — how much more beneficial would they be to regions in which the growers are so scattered that they are rarely visited by traveling agents — or if so, not in numbers sufficient to produce that competition which would C07?j/;e^ them to offer the fair market value of the article : and where, perhaps, in many cases, the growers themselves have not sufficient experience to determine the exact grade of their own clips, even supposing them correctly notified from time to time from abroad, of the market value of the several grades. The Depot system, in my judgment, removes the great and only serious obsta- cle to successful wool-growing in the South. It is not necessary that Depots be established in the Southern States, tc have those States reap the full benefit of the system. For the present, and for some time to come, at least, the North will furnish the best home mar- ket for fine wools. The wool therefore must, until some changes take place, come to the North before it is sold ; and the transportation must be equally subtracted from the avails, whether the sale is effected at home or at a Northern wool Depot. Indeed, it would be better to store it in a De- pot at Kinderhook or Buffalo, than at Charleston or Nashville. And this is for the reason that the two former are much nearer to, and can be more speedily visited by the principal woolen manufacturers of the Uni- ted States, than the latter. The New- York or New-England manufac- turer would be little likely to send an agent to Charleston or Nashville, if he could supply his wants equally cheaply (with the addition of cost of transportation), from Buffalo, Kinderhook, or Springfield. And if supplied any more cheaply at the former places (price of transportation excepted), be it remembered, it would be so much unnecessarily taken out of the pocket of the grower. Should the South at any future day find it more for her interest to ship her wools to Europe, the above considerations will cease to be valid. She would then want Depots as much as now, for far more gain, proportiona- bly, is made by sorting tvool for the foreign, than the American markets. But in that event, the Depots would assume a different character, and they would be most appropriately located at the port whence the wools were shipped. A CORRECTION.— MR. RUFFIN. In the beginning of Letter VI., 1 made the following remark in relation to Hon. Edmund R.uffin — " lie seems to think lime, of itself, adequate tc the full and permanent amelioration of the tertiary soils." — This remark was made on a somewhat too hasty inspection of some of Mr. Ruffin's po- sitions in the Agricultural Survey of South Carolina. Since writing it, I nave had the pleasure of reading for the first time Mr. R.'s highly valua« Lie work on Calcareous Manures, and find that I was in error in the state- ment above made. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 293 NOTE IN RELATION TO AUSTRALU. Since the preceding Letters were completed, the exceedingly interesting irticle from the (English) Farmers' Magazine, which is published below, has met my eye. It will be seen from it that the conclusions arrived at by me (see page 123,) in relation to the vast increase in the trans-Atlantic demand for wool and woolens, are in a rapid course of verification. I wiote from statistics extending down to 1S40. In that year the English import of wool was forty-six millions of pounds. In 1845, according to the subjoined authority, it was seventy-six millions of pounds. And this rapid increase took place, notwithstanding the vast extension in the woolen manufactures in other nations, particularly in Germany, France, Spain and Belgium. The extract given from Waterton's " Cyclopaedia of Com- merce," asserting the improbability of a much greater extension of the English woolen manufactures, "unless new markets shall be opened," may be true. But new markets ai'e yet to spring up in Central and Northern Asia, and even in Northern Europe, which will, in the aggregate, require an increase of woolen manufactures which the boldest calculator now scarcely dreams of. For the reasons for this opinion, see page 123. — Whether England is to supply a greater or less portion of this increasing demand remains to be seen. If she continues as well prepared as she now is to compete with other manufacturing nations, doubtless she will contribute her full share to that supply. It will also be seen, from the annexed paper, that what I predicted (see page 121) in relation to the prospective competition (from the year 1840) in wool-growing, between the densely populated countries of Western Europe and those in newer settled regions, where land is cheap and popu- lation comparatively sparse, has already come to pass. Spain, and even Germany, wliich in 1840 supplied England with nearly twenty-two million pounds of wool — neaiTy half of the whole import of the latter — have now been driven almost entirely out of the English market ! But, says the Sydney Herald, Germany, Spain, etc., have renewed the contest in another form : they have extended their manufacturing operations, and now manu- facture their own wool. Admit this : but if German wools cannot com- pete with others in the English market, which are brought from fifty times the distance, they cannot compete with them even in the German market, unless the latter are kept out by duties. The German manufacturer, then, in working up home wools, pays more for his raw mateiial than the Eng- lish manufacturer, and he cannot, therefore, compete with him in foreign markets, nor even in the home one, without a protective Tariff which would raise the price of the English to that of the German article. — Tj^riffs ni'iterially enhancing the cost of the necessaries of life will not long be tolerated by the consuming millions, in regions where civilization has penetrated. It seems that Australia and Van Diemen's Land are the successful com- petitors which have driven Germany and Spain from the English wool market. The views set forth by me in Letter IX. in relation to the ad- vantages of the former for wov l-growing compaied with those of Hungary, Southern Russia, North and South America, remain the same; indeed, a careful review of my positions has served to farther convince me of their correctness. The eliaractcr of the pojmlation, and the better commercial regulations of Australia, have given her a present advantage over new ri- vals in the Old World; and America has not yet entered the field of com- petition. When the Anglo-Saxon of North America enters the lists with the Anglo-Saxon of Australia, natural advantages will not, as now, be 294 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. overbalanced by superior energy and enterprise. The Anglo-Australian will, to say the "least of it, meet his full equal in these particulars. And, on the other hand, there is not a rational doubt that the natural and other present advantages of all hinds are on the side of the Anglo-American. The p )rtion of North America included in the proper wool-growing zone is immensely greater than in Australia ; our climate, all things considered — considering the occasional terrible drouths of Australia — is the best; our lands are cheaper, and will certainly average as good, including our whole Atlantic coast, and including only our territory between the Apalachians and the Rocky Mountains, our land will avei-age by far the best ; labor is not dearer among us ; we are not a quarter as distant from the English markets ; the wool from all parts of our immense interior, instead of be- inp- dragged long and expensive journeys in "bullock drays," is already whirled along by steam, or boated on canals or rivers to the seaboard, at a comparatively trifling expense. It would be difficult to name a particu- lar, excepting in the two-cent duty, in which large portions of the United States have not the advantage over Australia for supplying the English wool market, and in other European markets we have perhaps every ad- vantage over that Colony. The Australian Wool Trade*^ — [By Wm. Westgarth, Esq.] — The importance at present assumed by the Australian wool trade iu the lists of British Commerce, demands some degree of attention in the history of an Australian settlement. I shall, therefore, de- vote the "present chapter to a short accoimt of this branch of Commerce, in its capacity both of an export from the Australian Colonies and an import into the British market. In the year 1836, the quantity of wool exported from Sydney amounted to 3,700,000 lbs. weight. The proportion for the Port Philip disti-ict, included in this amount, could not, at so early a period of her existence, have exceeded 60,000 lbs. weight. Five years afterward the annual produce had attained to 1,578,000 lbs. ; and the lapse of a similar period, bring- ing us down to the year 1846, exhibits the astonishing quantity of 7,400,000 Ibs.t During this interval of ten years the quantity of wool exported from Sydney, exclusive of any from Austi-alia Felix, had hicreased from three and a half millions to nearly twelve millions of pounds weight. The hnportation of wool into the British market appears, indeed — like the rise of the Aus- tralian Colonies — to be but a business of yesterday, and one, among numerous other in- stances, of the wonderhil extension of Modern Commerce. In 1820, the quantity imported was under ten milHons of pounds weight ; in 184.5, it had risen to seventy -six millions. The proportion from the Australian Colonies in the former year was the one-hundredth part; it now forms nearly one-half of the whole importation^ ; and at the steady and rapid ratio of the present increase of Australian wool, the lapse of a few years will exhibit a quantity far greater than the united total of the wool at present imported into Britain from every quar- ter of the world. The following Table exhibits the respective averages, in round numbers, for each period of five years from 1826 to 1845 ; the numbers representing millions of pounds weight : Average of vears. Foreign Wool Colonial Wool. Total 1826-:iO 25 2 27 1831-35 34 4 38 1836-40 44 10 54 1841-45 36 22 58 1846 34 30 64 This Table illustrates the exti-aordinary progress of the colonial production, three-fourthj> of which are derived from Australia and Van Diemen's Land. The periodical pubhc sales of colonial wool, which now occupy so important a position among the commercial occurrences of the British Capital, date their origin only so lately aa the year 1817. The prices at that time, and for some subsequent period, were only from 2d. to 3d. per lb. ; and it was not until twelve or fourteen years afterward that any important advance took place in the value of this commodity. The fine quality of the AusU-aliau wool * From a new work in the press, on Port Philip. \ The wools occasionally sent from Port Philip by way of Sydney, and appearing in the Customs' retumo as Sydney exports, are here allowed for. The season or year is taken as ending on the lOth October, as the usual date of 31st December falls in the midsi of the wool shipments, and ca"nnot fairly represent the quantities and ratio of progress of each year. \ In 1846, the relative quantities imported into Britain were, in round numbers, thirty-four millions Oi pounds of foreign wool and thirty millions of colonial. For the preseat year the colonial may be safelj assumed at somewhat more thaa half the importation- SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 295 began soon after to atti-act notice, and in 1835 and 1836 to excite the attention even of foreign manufacturers. From very small beginnings the extent of the periodical auction sales gradually increased. An unprecedented number of 750 bales was announced ibr one series of sales in 1825 ; and for some years afteru'ard 400 bales were considered to form a very ex- tensive sale. But in July, 1835, 8,746 bales were brought forward, realizing for the better qualities the considerable rates of from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 8d. per pound ; and at the sales of the same month in 1844, there were exposed no less than 31,358 bales.* The celebrated wools of Australia are derived from two piincipal breeds of sheep, the Merino and the Saxon. The former is the finest in quality, but it may be doubted if an adequate price has been hitherto derived to compensate for the lighter weight of the fleece. In the Sydney district, attention was chiefly bestowed on the Merino ; in Van Diemen's Land, on the Saxon ; and the Port Philip district received a share of both, as the colonists from either locahty transported their flocks to her pastures. This mixture of breeds was still farther increased by Jccasional crosses with the Leicester and South-Down. In fact, from the numbers of inexperienced persons who entered on the occupation of .*heep farming iu this new settlement, and, v^^thout any fixed principles, carried on a mere random system of breeding, the greater portion of the wool consists of every shade of quality that natural accidents could produce. The abundant pastinage of Port Philip appears also to affect the pure Merino wool of the Sydney district, which in the former locality acquires a more open appearance, loses somewhat of its fineness, and increases about a quarler or half a pound in the weight of the fleece. The average weight of the good qualities of Port Philip fleeces, after washing, is from 2^ to 2| lbs. ; of the Sydney fleeces about 2;J lbs. There has been for several years a desire to introduce a greater uniformity of quality in the fleeces of each particuliU" grower, and on the whole an inclination to adhere to the production of the finer qualities of wool. [ Here follow details of the Australian method of washing and other preparations for shearing, which are omitted, as they conform in every important particular to the directions laid down in these Letters for those processes.] The wool is now ready to be packed and dispatched to the port of shipment. Each fleece is cleared of the locks and clip[)ings or other unseemly portions, and is usually tied with a piece of string, and tightly squeezed into bags containing about one hundred each, or from two hundred and fifty to three iiundred pounds weight. The ponderous bullock dray is now yoked to its team of eight or a dozen oxen, and charged with an ample load of the golden fleece, is dispatched from the station on its annual and protracted mission to the })ort of shipment. The wool on its arrival in town is now generally classed and re-packed at an establishment for that purpose, tmless this process has already been competently performed at the station. — The classification distinguishes only the entire fleece ; it is not attempted to proceed to a minuter distinction of qualities by breaking the fleeces. When intended for sale, the wool, on its arrival in town, is conveniently exhibited in the various bins of the sorting establish ment, and its quality and condition are fairly ascertained. At the establishment of the Messrs. Bakewell, in Melboiu-ne, the wool is assorted first into the two leading divisions of clothing and combing, and each of these descriptions is nin out into five qualities, the fiiih or lowest being the coarse Leicester breeds. Extra fine lots are classed by themselves; svper-^easy, or kempy, or other defective fleeces, are also classed apart. The charge for sorting is jd. per pound. The usual charge for hand-washing is Id. per pound on the weight returned, and for scouring Id. to lj|d. per pound. The system of re-packing is also of use in exposing any wet or dam[) that the wool may have acquired on the way from the interior, in which condition it is in danger of heating and even of originating fire in the hold of a vessel during a lengthened voyage. The shipping season for the Australian staple commences toward the end of October ; but only a few solitary drays have succeeded in reaching town during that month. Considera- ble quantities have anived by the end of November; and during the two succeeding months there is a continuous succession of vehicles pouring with their voluminous loads into the variona ports of the district.! These arrivals begin to fall oft' in Februaiy ; but during that and the two succeeding months considerable quantities continue to be ship])ed, including the later shorD fleeces of the young lambs. The shipment of other exports, which are comparatively of un- important amount, terminates with that of the wool. A solitary vessel may finger tillJuly or August, when the transactions of the season are finally closed. The following from a late number of the Sydney Herald may be well appended to the above : * This included a small quantity of foreign wool. The proportion from Australia and Van Diemen's Land on this occasion was 26,134 bales. The early sales were held at Garraway's, and continued ther» from lfc!l7 to 1843. when the locality was transferred to the Hall of Commerce, where they still continue The first bale at the fiisl sale, from the novelty of the eircumstsnce, realized lOs. 6d. per pound. [Mark L ine Exj ress, 7th, ] Jth, and 21st Oct. 1844. t There S'e five sh'.ppiDg ports in Austtc'iia Fe'ix ; nf.ir.eb , ^ elbourie, or its p )rt of W illiamstowi, Ge«. long PorCdnd, Belfast, fad j'ort Albert jr Alhdrton, .n tiipps's Land. The quantity for the present year (1847) may be estimated at sbout 28,000 bales, of which five-sixths are shipped at Williamstown and Geelobj;. 296 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. '• Our two time-honored competitors in the production of fine wool, Spain and Germany, have been I'airly beaten out of the field. TJie chmate and pasturage of these colonies, and of the congenial settlement at the Cape of Good Hope, backed by the energies of their Anglo-Saxon race of flock-masters, have more than compensated for our greater distance from British mar kets. We have been enabled to supply a good article — in vast and ever-increasing quanti. ties — and at prices which, notwithstanding the cost of carriage, have, through our facilities of production, left us a remunerating profit, but which our ancient rivals have found to be JD' sufficient to replace prime cost. " But although Spain and Germany have ceased to vie with us as sellers of the raw mat© rial in England, they have done so only to renew the contest in another form. They have enlarged dieir manufacturing operations. Since they can no longer sell their fleece at a profit, they have resolved on working it tip in their own looms. To that extent, therefore, they will cease to import wi-ought woolen fabrics; and in so far as their imports were from Great Britain, there will be a corresponding decrease in the British consumption of our wools. The woolen cloths imported into those two countries from Great Britain, in the year 1841, amounted, in declared value, to £1,026,481 sterling: and if we add the quantities imported in the same year into Holland and Belgium, the amount would have been about a million and a half. We must therefore be cautious, as prudent men, not to allow our spirits to be too much exhilarated by the apparent victory we have gained over ' our hereditary enemies,' seeing that, though seemingly vanquished, they have but shifted their position and varied their tactics. " Ajudicious writer says, in 1844 : ' Of late years cottons have, fiom their cheapness, in a great degree superseded the lower qualities of cloths — a circumstance which, joined to the increasing rivalry of France, Gennany and Belgium, renders it improbable, unless new mar- kets shall be opened in China or elsewhere, that much extension will in future be given to our manufacture of woolen cloths.'* " While, however, the Spanish and the German wool-growers have thus ceased (or are expected very shordy to cease) to compete with us as exporters to England, another com petitor has sprung up in a new and quite unexpected quarter. In addition to corn, bread stuflTs, rice, tobacco, cotton, sugar, and an endless catalogue of ' notions,' hi which Brother Jonathan has hitherto prided himself as a mighty producer, he has now taken it into hia head that he cau breed sheep and export wool on a large scale. And it would seem that in England his whim has by no means been thought whimsical. For, say certain Liverpool brokers to him, under date of 3d September, 1846 : ' The arrivals of wool fiom the United States last year, for the first time to any extent, made qtdte a sensation in this country, as it was generally considered that you required to import these qualities, and there was no knowledge that your gi-owth of wool was of such importance. We have seen it estimated at gixty-five million pounds ;\ and from your vast (and to us almost incredible) means of production, we believe it will cause a kind of revolution in the tcool frade.^ " Jonathan's own opinion of the matter is thus expressed through the medium of the New- Orleans Commercial Times : ' Wool can be grown as cheaply, and to as great advantage, in the cotton-growing Stales as in any part of the world. There is nothing in the climate to prevent it. If it may be found desirable to grow that of the finest grades, it can be done without fear of the animals becoming covered with hair in a few years.' He has evidently some misgivings, however, as to the policy of his attempting the finest grades, lor he imme- diately subjoins, ' However, we are inclined to think that wool of a coarser quality will be found most profitable, mutton being also an object with us.' " If the United States already produce four times the quantity of wool that we do, and if there is a reasonable chance of their producing it of a quality equal to ours, and at no greater cost, then have we indeed much to f(?ar from their formidable rivalry. The vast extent of their territory, the almost illimUable resources of their soil and climate, the indomitable spirit of their citizens, combined with their proximity to the British market, will render their com petition, if successful at all, successful in no ordinary degree. " ' Wool,' says another Liverpool correspondent, addressing an American, ' requires in its production great attention in crossing the breed, otherwise the quality degenerates veiy quickly.' The maintenance of its fineness depends also very much on the nature of the pai turage on which the sheep graze. And we may remark that your own samples are of a par ticularly good kind.' " Here is a word of encouragement for the Americans, with a word of caution for the Aus tralians. Of the two requisites for the production and preservation of a superior staple, one, suitable pasturage, is bountifully supplied to the Australian grower by Nature, while the other depends upon his own industry and skill. In this, it is to be feared, he has scarcely been just to himself. He has possibly presumed too much upon the natural advantages of the fine sheep-sustaining country in which his capital is staked. It will be well if tliis note of warning from the land of Stars and Stri[)e8 shall rouse him to a more vigilant attention. [Simmonds's Colonial Magazine. * Waterton'a Cyclopaedia of Commerce, p. 672. t The quantity of wool exported from New South Wales, including the district of Port Fhilip,ia the yew JB43, was 17,564,734 lbs. APPENDIX. ON SHKEP HUSBANDRY IN SOUTH CAROLINA. Report on the Value (f Sheep Husband', y. Bead to the Agricultural Society, Pendleton, South Carolina. In obedience to your resolution, requiring your committee to " report on Sheep Husbandry in the South," they beg leave to say that the resolution would seem to require a more extended examination than could be embraced in a report of an ordinary length. They will therefore confine themselves to that part of the subject which, in their estimation, will best show the applicability and value of sheep hus- bandry to our neighborhood and section. Although but little attention is given by any of us, to raising sheep, and by none to preparing wool for a foreign market, yet it will be admitted, that our native stock arc healthy, growing to a fair size and produce a fair fleece, from two to five pounds, even under the great neglect with which they are treated. There is, however, one question necessary to examine, and that is, whether the quality and quantity of the fleece deteriorate in our climate. The question has been very fully examined by Mr. H. S. Randall, a very intel- ligent and experienced wool grower in Cortland, New York. From his excellent letters, published in the Farmers' Library, (the perusal of which I take pleasure in recommending to the members of this society,) I draw the following statement : " It is known that from Spain (north latitude 3G to 44 degrees) all the fine wooled flocks have sprung. And that in Saxony (north latitude 50 to 51 degrees 80 minutes) the Spanish Merino wool has been improved in fineness of fibre but lessened in quantity. In New York (north latitude 42 to 44 degrees) the fineness of the Spanish Merino is preserved and quantity increased. In Vermont (north latitude 43 to 45 degrees) the fineness and quantity of the Saxony wool are preserved." South of us, in Madison county, Mississippi, (north latitude 32 degrees, 41 minutes,) the wool of the Saxony sheep has been found to maintain its original fineness, and increased in quantity. Recent experiments in Aus- traha (south latitude 33 degrees 55 minutes) show that fine wooled sheep (the Merino) preserve the quantity and improve in quahty of fleece. The exportc of wool from there in 1810 was only ----- 1G7 lbs " « " in 1833 » . - . . 3,510,869 " « « " in 1843 « - . . . 16,22 B,400 " In 1834, London price for best Spanish Merino, was - - - - C7 cts " Australian Merino, 100" « English wool, 48 " 2P 297 298 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN SOUTH CAEOLINA. In England, (north latitude 50 to 56 degrees,) from some cause not yet settled, fine wool cannot be grown. i Near the Cape of Good Hope, (south latitude 34 minutes,) Merino Sheep do well, maintaining both quality and quantity of fleece with Spain. The latitude of Pendleton is 34 degrees 40 minutes, but counting a de- gree for every 200 feet altitude, would throw us some twelve degrees farther north, and between the latitudes of Spain and Saxony. So far then as latitude is concerned, experiments have been made both north and south of us, which show, that here, Spanish Merino wool neither degenerates in quality nor quantity of fleece. It is also known that rich succulent green food generally adds length to fibre, but does not always make fine wool coarser, at least between latitude 28 and 50 degrees north, nor does it make coarse wool finer. Humidity and dryness of atmosphere seem to have, as well as climate, some influence on the fibre. But as yet, the laws which govern the fleece have not been satisfactorily ascertained. It is sufficient for the present inquiry that experi- ments verify the operation, that in this latitude Merino wool will not become coarser, nor the coarse long wool become finer, if each stock be kept pure. And as the climate is well adapted to both, the choice of stocks may very well be left to the fancy of those who try either. We come now to test the value of sheep husbandry to this section of country. There are many methods by which this can be done. I shall, however, take the simple one of comparing the profits of this with the other pursuits of the country. It is acknowledged in the Northern States that growing wool is a good business there, and I will first give a table from Mr. Randall's letter, show- ing the profits of growing wool in New York : A. buys 100 ewes at $2, $200 00 " 33^ acres of land at $20, 666 66 Cutting and curing 11 acres of the above for hay, - - - - 13 65 Pay foi shearing, .......... 4 GO For sa t, tar, and summer care, ...----- 4 00 For labor of winter feeding, ........ 5 GO Loss by death 2 per cent, above pulled wool from those that die, - 4 00 $837 31 RECEIPTS. 300 lbs. wool at 394, $118 71 80 lambs at $1, 80 00 Summer manure equal to winter care, ... - 5 00 $203 71 This is equal to 24 per cent, on the amount invested, and makes the cost of the wool to the farmer 27 cents per pound. A calculation founded on the same data for Pendleton makes the result more favorable : A. buys 100 ewes at $1, $100 GO Pays for shearing, -......--. 4 00 For salt, tar, 2 00 Loss 2 per cent, above skins and wool of those that die, - - - 2 00 I make no charge for summer pasture, because it costs nothing, nor should rye or barley pastures for winter be charged; the crop is reaped after- wards. But charge it at 20 cents per head, - - - - - 20 GO One hand's attention an hour in the morning to turn to pasture, and an hour in the evening to pen; this is one-sixth part of his time. Say his whole tinie is worth $72 : one-.=ixth is 12 GO Total outlay and expense for feeding one year, - - $140 00 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 299 RECKIPTS. 2 lbs. wool per head is 200 lbs., at 20 cents, - - - $40 00 80 lambs at $1 when one year old, 80 00 $120 00 This is 85 per cent. In this instance the wool costs the farmer nothing. Eteduct $90, the value of the original stock of ewes at the commencement of the next year, from $140, the total outlay, and you have $50, which the value of the lambs more than equal. Compare it with farming or planting : A. buys a negro for $700 00 Furnishes him with fifteen acres of land at $5, 75 00 Half the expenses of a horse and plough, ------ 50 00 For his board and clothing, 20 00 $845 GO RECEIPTa. His labor, 160 barrels corn at 40 cents, .... $G4 00 5 bags cotton at $30 a bag, 150 00 $214 OC This is equal to 25 per cent., certainly as much as any man in this neighborhood makes. I have purposely made this large estimate that no one can say it is under the truth. B. buys 500 ewes and 20 bucks, common stock, at$l, . . , $520 00 Employs a shepherd, 175 00 Pays 20 cents for winter feed per head, 104 00 Pays for tar and salt, 20 00 B. has $76 less than A. in the outlay, $819 00 RECEIPTS. 3 lbs. wool per head is 1560 lbs. at 20 cents, - $312 00 80 lambs to the 100 ewes is 400 lambs at $1, - ' - 400 00 712 00 Deduct for loss over skins and wool of those tliat die, 2 per cent, 18 40 $693 60 The outlay of A. ($890) brings him $210, equal to 25 per cent. The outlay of B. ($819) brings him $093 GO, equal to 85 per cent. This calculation will do for the neighborhood of Pendleton or lower down, where sheep have to be fed during the winter. But for all that part of Pickens and Greenville district, extending south for twenty-six or thirty miles from the foot of the mountains, the profits would be larger. For in that belt of country, I am informed by many residents — General Garvin among them — that the range affords sufficient food for sheep the entire year. Even when snow is on the ground, they paw the snow away and get sus- tenance from the winter grass. For that section I would alter the calculation thus : B. buys 500 ewes and 20 bucks, $520 00 Pays for a shepherd, 175 00 Pays for salt and tar, 20 00 $715 00 BECEIPTS. 1560 lbs. wool at 20 cents, $312 00 90 lambs to the 100 ewes is 450 at $1, - - - 450 00 762 00 Deduct for loss 2 per cent, over skins and wool of those that diy, Vj 00 Making $28 more than 100 per cent. ^''^^ ^ 300 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN SOUTH CAROLINA. But try it on a scale that every one can compare with his own expe* rience. B. buys 3 ewes and 1 buck for - - - - - - - $4 OC He shears 12 lbs. of wool at 20 cents, - - - - - 2 40 2 lambs at $1, " - - - 2 00 Over 100 per cent. ^ ^^ These are suppositions. Take what has actually occurred in Pickens district. Mr. Stribling, as I am informed by himself, bought one ewe for $1 : In 184 G she had 3 lambs, - $3 00 Sheared 2 lbs. wool at 20 cents, ...... 40 In 1847, same ewe had 2 lambs, .... Sheared again 2 lbs. wool at 20 cents. Each one of the last year's lambs had a Iamb apiece, And sheared from the 3, 6 lbs. wool at 20 cents, 2 00 40 3 00 1 20 $3 40 6 60 This is an increase of eight in two years from one ewe, and Mr. Stribling says at this time the whole are alive. I admit this is an extraordinary case, and it is only mentioned to show there are cases of actual increase far above any of those calculations made above. If, then, the climate be not only adapted to fine wool, but also to the coarse — if the range, which is abundant and sufficient to feed a flock the entire year; and if the above calculations are founded on data anywhere near correct, what more can be desired to show the applicability and value of sheep husbandry to this section. From three very respectable woo] growers, one from each of the states of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, I was told the way to make a calcu- lation on the profits of sheap husbandry in a reasonably safe way, was to put down every year one-ninth less of lambs than you have ewes, and then deduct one-tenth from the whole for deaths in that year. Thus, say you have - - - - - - - - - 100 ewes. From 100 deduct one-ninth, and you have --...- 89 lambs. 189 Then deduct one-tenth for deaths, - - - - - - -18 And you have - - - - - - - - - - -171 To Start with the next year. On this basis I have taken one hundred ewes and run the calculation on for eight years. The result was : Wool sheared in eight years, - - - - - .. . 17,190 lbs. The gentlemen above alluded to, say that half the wool wul pay all ex- penses, even when the winters require five months' feed : Deduct, then, one-half, 8,595, at 20 cents, $1719 00 The increase amounted to 2067 sheep, at $1, . - - . 2067 00 Total, .... $3786 00 This result, if attained, would exceed fifty per cent, compounded. They say, too, it is a safe estimate to say that the lambs of each year will pay the expenses of the whole flock for that year in Pennsylvania. They more than SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 301 - do it here. Allow eighty lambs to one hundred ewes, and you have from five hundred ewes, four hundred lambs ; deduct one-tenth for deaths, and You have 360 at §1, $3G0 00 Charge 20 cents per head for 900 sheep, makes - . - 180 00 Charge for shepherd, 150 00 — 330 00 Lambs over-pay expenses by-------- $30 00 All these calculations are made on the supposition that sheep get a par* of that regular attention which all farmers give to their other domestic ani mals. And to make sheep husbandry successful, it is not only necessary that this attention should be given, but every one who attempts it shoulu know something of their diseases and the cures, and also the summer and winter management. This can be acquired only by their own, or the ex- perience of others. Easy access can be had to the experience of northern wool growers, who are proverbial for being close observers. They say the disease called the " scours" is the principal one to which sheep are liable, produced by excess of rich green food, and cured easily by a change to dry, but if allowed to continue, is fatal. From the introduction into the United States, in 1S08, of Merino sheep from Spain, owners of this stock have considered it of the first importance to preserve the quality and quantity of their fleece, and if possible, to im prove both. They ascertained that lambs from young and healthy sires improved, while those from old ewes fell back both in quality and quantity of fleece. Among them it is now a settled practice not to breed from ewes over seven or eight, nor from bucks over six years old. It is very important to resort to the evidence of age the teeth afford. Their books have been par ticular in describing these evidences, which I will copy : "During the first year, lambs have eight small teeth in front, in the upper jaw, called nippers ; at a year old, the centre two shed, and two larger teeth take their place. At two years old, the next two are lost, and supplied by two larger ones. Thus losing and being supplied by two larger ones annually, till five — then they have a full set. At eight or nine they begin to lose their nippers — two every year — and by thirteen or fourteen years old, they have lost their entire set." It is evident that during the time ewes are losing their teeth, they become less and less able to supply themselves with food, consequently afford less and less milk for their young. Thus the degeneracy is accounted for. In Vermont, where wool is as much their staple as cotton in South Carolina, so important do they consider it not to breed from ewes after they begin to lose teeth, that although mutton is not used by the inhabitants for the table, they sell their old stock to be fed to hogs. In most of the other northern states, their ewes at that age are kept from the bucks, and fattened for market. From their known skill in managing well what they undertake, we rnay safely take their usage as a guide, when it is applicable to our situation. With them grass is the entire food of their flocks — green meadows for summer pasture and hay for winter. Their win- ters require five months' constant feeding, during which they estimate each sheep to consume fifty cents worth of hay. All stock is then kept enplosed, and the attention to turning sheep to pasture in summer, and feeding sheep in winter, requires but little labor in addition to their other stock. Flocks require close attention but at three times in the year — the tupping, the lambing, and shearing seasons. Ewes go with lamb one hundred and twenty-five days, or five months, and they so manage as to have the lambs 302 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN" SOUTH CAROLINA. brought in April and May ; (here February is esteemed by many a better month.) To do this, the bucks must be kept impounded, except at the time desired. From the great superiority of early lambs, this part of sheep husbandry is esteemed very important. During lambing season, close attention is required to guard both ewe and lamb from storms and cold winds — to see that the ewe acknowledges her lamb, and to keep up the marking and altering as the lambs get between five and ten days old. Ten days previous to shearing time they prepare for it by washing the wool on the sheep's back, that the natural oil of the wool, which is destroyed by the washing, may have time to be renewed, without which the wool feels and works harsh. The washing is done at spouts or pools, prepared for the purpose, and the other flocks are kept on clean pastures till sheared. As the proper preparation of an article for market is justly considered of the next importance to a good article, I will describe this process minutely, as practised for the northern market. The shearing is done on a clean floor, and each fleece is kept unbroken. When sheared, it is rolled outside in, until it is reduced to a lump about ten inches each way, and then tied with strings in two places. For packing the wool, a bag is used nearly as large as our cotton bags, which, after sewing to a hoop at top, they hang through a hole in an upper floor, a little less in diameter than the hoop ; here the fleeces are packed down by the foot, the weight of an ordinary sized man being a sufficient pressure. Thus finished, the wool is ready for a northern or European market. Manufacturers will not give full price for wool unless the fleeces are unbroken ; because, before manufacturing, they consider it necessary to have each fleece divided into five qualities, which they cannot do if the wool of different fleeces is emptied together. Diffiirent modes of summer management are followed in different coun- tries. The one followed in Australia, as described by Mr. Randall, is not only less troublesome, but would be better suited to our mountain region. There they roam over the plains, under charge of a shepherd, in flocks of three hundred to one thousand. Every night, some two or more of these flocks are penned together, during the entire year. Breeding promiscuously from the bucks that run with the flocks, allowing three or four to the hun- dred ewes. At the Cape of Good Hope, he says the same practice pre- vails ; and from both of these places the wool exported is equal, and in some instances superior in quality to the Merino. The statements here given, Mr. President, we have carefully considered, and believe to be true — and we submit them under the belief that if the im- portance of sheep husbandry was duly considered, especially by the districts lying north and contiguous to the mountains, much additional comfort and wealth might be added to that already delightful region. All which is respectfully submitted. R. F. SIMPSON. Note. — Since this report was read, I have been informed by Mr. Thomas M. Sloan, that his wool does not cost him more than five cents a pound — and by Mr. Morris, at Pickens C. H., that for care, shearing, &c., of a small flock of eight eAves, worth eight dollars, kept on Ocone mountain, iie paid one-half of the spring clipping, equal to three-quarters of a pound per head, and that from them he had, after paying all expenses, $3 60, and eight lambs worth eight dollars — $11 60. And by Mr. Shepherd, a tenant on ANCRUM ON WOOL MATTRESSES. 303 Mr. J. O. Lewis's Tamosa estate, that in 1846 he took with him from Green- ville a few sheep, Among which were 4 ewes, worth - - - - - - - $4 00 They had 4 lambs, worth .......40O Thinks lie sheared 3 lbs. per head, but say 2, which is 8 lbs. at 20 cts. 1 60 — 5 60 In 1848, from 8 sheared 14 lbs. wool at 20 cents, - - - 2 80 And had 8 lambs, worth - - - - - - - 7 00 — 9 80 $15 40 Salt and shearing was the only expense. He had only offered to feed them once in the two years, and then they refused to taste corn shelled to them. H. ANCRUM ON WOOL MATTRESSES. Ashley, Pike county, Mo. A sound man in one night of seven hours' sleep, generally perspires fifty ounces avoirdupois or four pounds troy weight ; we cannot wonder at that, since there are above three hundred thousand millions of pores in the body of a middle-sized man, and that in the last hours of sleep one perspires most ; hence the impropriety and the weakness of lying too long in a soft bed, and the necessity of lying on a comparatively hard elastic bed, such as a wool mattress. In France, wool mattresses are generally adopted, conse- quently you never meet with a bad bed there. I have travelled all over France, and never met with a bad bed, and a very recent intelligent Ameri- can traveller of great observation, mentions, on his removal from England to France, that he found the French beds delicious, because the beds are wool mattresses. Mode of Making a TFool Mattress. — The first thing to constitute a good healthy bed is, that it must be absolutely flat, therefore all bedsteads should have wooden laths instead of sacking, which always gives and forms a hol- low ; the wool is carded by hand, and all knots and extraneous matter taken out ; the great point is to make it thick enough. The best bed I slept in, in my life, had sixty pounds of wool in it, but the bed was a very large extra size; half that quantity will make a small bed, but if you wish to lie luxuriously, yet hard, do not stint the wool, that makes all this difference ; it lasts for ever — the covering is washed once a year ; the wool is carded, and a few pounds of wool added, and the bed is sweet and new. However luxuriously he may be, let any gentleman have a good wool mattress made, and let him ride forty or fifty miles and thoroughly fatigue himself, he wiU then know the value of such a bed. My object is also to increase the home consumption of our wool. There are twenty odd millions in the United States ; say five to each family, four millions ; say three beds to each family, taking the whole population, twelve millions ; say thirty pounds of wool to each bed, three hundred and sixty millions of pounds of wool ; say thirty-four millions of sheep in the United States, say eighty million pounds of wool ; this will consume more than four years' clip of our wool. This ought to be promulgated to increase the consumption of our wool, and such wool as cannot be sold abroad. Independent of the benefit to all in theii health, who adopt wool mattresses on account of their cleanliness and dura- bility, in the end, they are cheaper than any other bedding. Every thing that increases the home consumption of our wool is of na- tional importance, as is every thing that will promote the general health of 304 ANCRUM ON WOOL MATTRESSES. our people. In this changeable and rigorous dimate in winter, if all wen to wear flannel, particularly narrow-chested and delicate females, it would be of the greatest benefit to their health, and save them many a fit of sick- ness. When we consider how cheap the English sell their AVelsh flan- nel, it ought to stimulate our manufacturers ; I must, however, observe, that I never purchased any flannel in the United States equal to the real Welsh flannel, or that did not shrink, or that wore near so long as the English flannel. The English flannel has a nap on both sides, which renders it warm and soft, and it washes soft to the last. The United States flannel that I have used washes harsh, and the wear is not near so agreeable as real Welsh flannel, but surely all these jlifficulties can be overcome by our people, and they can make as good flannel as the best Welsh flannel. It is well known that woollen clothes, such as flannels, worn next the skin, promote insensible perspiration. May not this arise principally from the strong attraction which subsists between avooI and the watery vapor which is continually issuing from the human body ? That it does not depend entirely on the warm.th of that covering is clear, because one degree of warmth produced by wearing more clothing of a diflerent kind does not produce the same eflx^ct. The perspiration of the human body being absorbed by a covering of flannel, it is immediately distributed through the whole thickness of that substance, and by this means exposed by a very large surface to be carried off" by the atmosphere, and the loss of the watery vapor which the flannel sustains on the one side by evaporation, being immediately restored from the other in consequence of the strong attraction between the flannel and this vapor, the pores of the skin are disencumbered, and they are continually surrounded with a dry and salubrious atmosphere. It is astonishing that the custom of wearing flannel next the skin should not have prevailed more universally; it is certain it would prevent a num.ber of diseases, and there certainly is no greater luxury than the comfortable sensation which arises from wearing it, after one is accustomed to it. It is a mistaken notion that it is too warm clothing for summer ; it may be worn in the hottest climates, at all seasons of the year, without the least inconvenience arising from wearing it.* It is the warm-bath of a perspiration confined by a linen shirt, wet Avith sweat, which renders the summer heats of southern climates so insupportable; but flannel promotes perspiration and favors its evaporation, and evaporation, as it is well known, produces positive cold. I can vouch for the truth of every word of this. I wear the same kind of flannel all summer as I do in winter with sleeves ; when I take extra exercise and perspire freely, my body and flesh is always cool and comfortable, and in part I owe it to wear- ing flannel that I have never had either fever or ague in this western coun- try, Avhich is full of it. All this may appear trivial, and sanitary rules are disregarded, but it is all of the utmost importance and to all. Say fifteen millions of our people wear flannel next their skin, and three flannel waist- coats to each, that is forty-five millions of waistcoats, at two yards each, (not enough with sleeves as they ought to be made,) ninety millions of yards of flannels in waistcoats only. Old people, delicate women and children, and above all, consumptive people, ought all to wear flannel drawers as well us a flannel waistcoat ; if this was adopted, the great sickness that prevails in the United States would be much diminished. Men drink spirituous liquors to increase the animal heat, and feel that glow that is called com- fortable. Let them wear flannel next their skin instead, and keep the body warm and the head cooL * The firemen in steamboats could not exist if they wore linen instead of flannel shirts. The pleasant •st of all mattresses is one made of a mixture of wool and hair. [Eds. Pz-onoH, Loom, ani> Anvu.] SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN" TEXAS. 305 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. BY H. S. RANDALL, LL.D., Author of" Life of Thomas Jefferson;'' Editor of Randall's " Youatt on the Horse," etc., etc. Editors of Texas Almanac: In pursuance of your request, I proceed to give you some of the results of my experience and investigations in re- gard to wool-growing, and my views of the adaptation of this husbandry to the climate, soil, and other existing conditions of Texas. Clijiate. — The best climate for the cheap production of wool, other things being equal, obviously is that which furnishes the most abundant and suitable pasturage during the greatest portion of the year. This, speaking generally, is to be found in the Northern hemisphere, between latitudes 30° and 40° on the eastern margin of each continent, and be- tween about 38° and 48° on the western. The south half of this wool- growing zone, Avhere the other conditions besides climate are favorable, excels the northern. North of the wool-growing zone, the growth of vegetation is suspend- ed, and the nutritiveness of grasses destroyed by cold, during considera- ble portions of the year ; and then sheep require more expensive dry feed, suitable winter shelter, etc. South ot" the wool-growing zone, veg- etation, where it floui'ishes, is too rank and tropical for the smaller rumin- ating animals, and the heat too intense for those carrying so dense a pelage as the tino-woo'led sheep. Local exceptions exist to the above classification, owing to a variety of causes; most prominent of which are altitude, the shelter of mountains from northern and southern winds, the contiguity of large bodies of water, etc. I have said, " other things being equal," the question will be immedi- ately asked whether wool of the same variety of sheep grown in latitude 30° is as fine as that grown in latitude 40° or 45° I doubt whether it is. Sheep transported from a climate of long winters to one of perennial, or nearly perennial, pasturage, increase visibly in size, and their descendants permanently become a larger variety. The constant supply of succulent food produces more copious and unitbrm animal secretions than an inter- rupted supj^ly, or than an alternating supply of green and diy food. In theory, we should expect the same causes to affect the fleece as well as the carcass. They do visibly increase the length of the staple. Tlie in- crease of its diameter (admitting that it does increase) during over twenty years of breeding — about as far as my personal observations have extend- on that point — is not, I think, perceptible to the naked eye. But be it greater or smaller, it is more than compensated for by the increased soft- ness and evenness of wools grown in warm and more uniform climates, "and on more uniformly succulent nutriment. I must be content to state this as a well-established practical foct. I have not room to array author- ities on every point. Soil. — It would present a very tangible, and by no means a bad test of the proper soils for wool-growing, to say that they are those which produce, or which can be made to produce, the most continuous supply of tine sweet grasses. A marshy soil, a soil containing so great an excess of clay as to poach into mud, and remain long wet after rains, a low, rankly, rich river bottom alluvion, and especially such an alluvion, if annu- ally replenished by slimy deposits of decaying vegetable matter, all inju- 306 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. riously affect the health of sheep. None of these soils produce the grasses I have mentioned. The best lands for sheep are those which are dry and " sound ;" which admit of the rapid percolation or drainage of water ; and an admixture of sand or gravel in them, is a favorable, though by no means an indispensable condition. Enormous flocks of sheep flourish, in perfect health, on the plains of Illinois, wliich are " sticky " after every shower. But water does not stand on them as on a stiff clay, nor does it constantly saturate them as it does boggy lands. It is sometimes claimed — particularly by that class of tyros who are ready to jump at conclusions on a very limited experience — that sheep on their farms, or in theii- localities, defy all the preceding conditions. They flourish, if we may believe these gentlemen, in stagnant fens, in " hog- wallows," and on river bottoms, where the malaria is almost visible, as it steams up from the decomposing mass. It is true that fifty sheep, like a small family of human beings, will occasionally, and for a limited period, appear unaffected by such unpropitious circumstances. But, by and by comes the destroyer — the pestilence that walketh by noon-day — and the increase of years is suddenly swept away. Cholera, yellow fever, or bil- ious fever depopulates the human settlement — rot, or some other epidemic, passes, like a tornado, over the sheep-ranch. The causes of disease do not bear fruit every year, but the laws of nature are never abrogated. Sheep tolerate almost all chemical varieties of soil. With the proper conditions in other respects, they are seemingly equally healthy on the sterile, pulverized granite of New England, and the rich, calcareous wheat lands of Ohio, or the Valley of Virginia — on the tertiary sands of our Atlantic border, and among the rocky cliffs of the Alleghanies. N"o ani- mal is so necessaiy to man, and therefore none has been adapted to the circumstances of so large a portion of the earth's surface. Er.EVATioisr. — Elevation is, I rather think, a pleasing condition to an animal, which, like the goat, the ibex, etc., zoologists consider the natural denizen of mountain regions ; and mountains and hills often present the other condition which are specially adapted to sheep — firm dry soils, short sweet grasses, pure air, and clear water. But elevation is of no conse- quence per se ; and if the same favorable conditions are found on plains, they are as healthy localities for sheep as mountains. Grasses. — Sheep will thrive on almost all varieties of grass, when they are first springing up tender and succulent from the earth. No grass is suitable for them, when its stems have become dry and woody. Tough, aquatic grasses are always unfavorable. We are to give the preference, then, to those varieties which do not send up coarse seed stems — those which are constantly supplying a fine verdure from the root. No variety is preferable to the small, spontaneous, white clover of the north, or the finest spontaneous musquite grasses of Texas. Red clover, Timothy, June, or Blue grass ;* indeed, all the grasses cultivated in the north, will do very well if kept fed down, and this might be the case witli many of the coarser varieties in Texas. Some small flock-masters have fiincied that sheep would thrive on the dry stems of tall, coarse grasses — because they thrive among them. But a few sheep will find tender, nutritious plants, which are screened from casual observation among these taller ones. When the former are gone, sheep will promptly and visibly fall off in condition. The fact that the natural grass is too coarse for sheep, by no means * I am nol sure that the pure grass of New York and the Blue grass of Kentucky arc the same, never having specially investigated the subject ; but the late Mr. Clay wrote mc that they were the same. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. 307 proves that proper " artificial " varieties would not flourish on the same soil, particularly if the first flush of its virgin fertility was a little reduced by cropping. Water. — Water is not indispensable for sheep, when at pasture. The juices of the grass and the dew and rains supply their wants. Thousands and thousands of good sheep-pastures in the north are wholly without other sources of supply. But, of choice, I would prefer water in sheep- pastures — clear springs, or rapidly running brooks. Sheep will visit these as regularly as cows or horses. Adaptation of Texas. — As I remarked in my answers to your inter- rogatories on this same subject, last fall, (published by you in the Galves- ton JVeios,) I have never set my foot in your State. But, after the expe- rience of many years in sheep-breeding, and after a close and diligent investigation, extending to all available sources of information — many of these the minute and careful statements of your own most intelligent and candid citizens — I do not entertain a particle of doubt, first, that you have vast regions in Texas admirably adapted to sheep husbandry; and secondly, that wool can now be raised more cheaply in those regions than in any other portion of the globe, where sufiiciently good government prevails to make life tolerable and secure, and such property as sheep safe from frequent and extensive depredations. In no such portion of the earth, are lands, furnishing perennial pasturage, (or the use of such lands,) 80 cheap. Iti none are the general circumstances more favorable, the ac- cidental and occasional disadvantages fewer. In nearly every particular, Texas i)ossesses decided advantages over our other Southern States, and enormous ones over the Northern and Eastern States. As between it and the latter, a brief statement disposes of all contro- versy. The sheep-lands of the Northern and Eastern States cost, on an average, thirty dollars an acre ; and sheep are frequently kept on those worth from forty to sixty dollars an acre. On these high-priced lands, sheep miist be fed on dry feed — hay and grain — about five months of each year. Expensive shelters must be erectetl, or the sheep-farmer will lose the cost of them in the loss of life and condition in his flocks. In Texas, prime and desirable pasture-lands can be bought at two dol- lars an acre — frequently for considerably less. He who owns a home- stead of a few acres, can pasture thousands of acres of mioccupied land. The pasturage of much of Texas is perennial. Large and small flock- masters have proved this to be a practical fact. Mr. Kendall has wintered a large and constantly increasing number of sheep, for three years, with- out, he writes me, giving " an ounce " of dry feed, or providing any arti- ficial shelter, though he agrees with me that a little of both would be desirable for emergencies. He has encountered Avet winters and dry winters with equal success. His sheep are perfectly healthy. His testi- mony is fully confirmed by that of some twenty other candid and intelli- gent gentlemen, scattered over various parts of the State, who have fiivored me with minute accounts of their experience in sheep-raising. Theory would anticipate these facts when the natural conditions of Texas are known ; but it is always satisfactory to have the suggestions of theory established and made certain by actual experiment. Your country cannot always enjoy this entire priority in the conditions for cheap avooI production. The success of this husbandry of itself will aid in reducing its protits. Your sheep-lands skirt noble and navigable rivers. Unlike our rough sheep-ranges of the North, they are topograph- ically adapted to the construction of those railroads which the business 308 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. of your State will soon demand. An enterprising population is pouring in upon you from the other States of the Union, and from Europe, The hoy is now born who will see, not only the good soils in all the counties at present organized in Texas, but in its regions where now roves the Avild Camanche, worth twenty or thirty dollars an acre. Then the sunny but unarable slopes of the AUeghanies, in Virginia, the Carolinas, etc., may successfully compete with you in wool-growing, owing to their greater cheapness. Profits of wool-gbowixg. — Northern flock-masters usually estimate the consumption of eight American Merino sheep equivalent to that of a cow. All prime American Mei-ino flocks should average as high as about five pounds of washed wool per head, or seven and a-half pounds of un- washed wool. Choice breeding flocks should do better still. To show you that I speak from actual knowledge instead of conjecture, let me say that I have two flocks of pure Spanish (American Merino) yearling ewes, which averaged, this year, five pounds and six ounces of well-washed wool per head — equivalent to eight pounds and one ounce unwashed ; and the yearling never produces as much wool as the adult sheep. A choice small flock of my grown ewes averaged six pounds and a fraction of washed wool per head, equivalent to nine pounds unwashed. In none of these flocks were there any rams or wethers to increase the yield of wool. None of them received any pampering, or were sheared at an unusual time. I have cross-breeds between the French and Spanish which averaged still higher ; but they are larger, and will consume more. For many years my entire number of full-blood sheep of all ages, exceed- ed five pounds of washed wool per head. The price of American Merino wool (washed) has been as follows, on the first day of August, in the years indicated : — 1851 . . . . . . 42 to 44 cents. 1853 40 to 43 " 1853 49 to 53 " 1854 38 to 40 " 1855 37 to 38 " 1856 44 to 46 " 1857 45 to 48 " 1858 37 to 41 " 1859 44 to 46 " Assuming five pounds to be the weight of fleece, and eight ewe sheep to be the equivalent of a cow in consumption, it follows that the feed of a cow would have returned this year eighteen dollars in wool, and as many lambs as eight ewes would raise, which would be at least seven. What these seven lambs would additionally be worth to the Texas grower, I leave you to estimate. Even among common sheep, the lamb is always considered to be woi'th as much as its dam's fleece. If rams and wethers raise no lambs, they produce greatly more wool than ewes. Now say what are the profits of a cow in Texas, and deduct the difierence in the trouble of looking after her and the eight sheep, and you have a compar- ative view of the profits between the animals, which will prove instruc- . tive ! Do you obtain five dollars per head of net annual profits on cows, on the average ? And yet you raise cattle on a scale which conveys the idea that you find it as profitable as any other of your branches of hus- bandry on the pasture-lands of Texas. In my former letters to you I SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. 309 placed the entire cost of keeping sheep, inch;ding interest on land, at fifty cents a head per annum. In this estimate, I included the cost of shelters, of a month's winter feed, and some other contingencies, all of which I am assured by intelligent Texians are unnecessary. I also proceed- ed on tlie supposition that no lands were to be pastured but those which had been bought and paid for by the flock-master. If these items be struck out, the cost of keeping large flocks ought not to exceed one half of my former estimate. I confess, however, that this sounds almost too f ivora- ble to be true. Mr. Jefierson deeply lamented the dismemberment of that Texas from the United States which he had bought with Louisiana — considering it the very garden of our Southern country. But the "Sage of Monticello " hardly expected to find El Dorado in your sheep- pastures, or Aladdin's lamp on the bank of the Colorado ! I repeat it, the story must be too good to be all true. The first cost of embarking in breeding full-blood sheep is considerable. But the sale of surplus ones at extra prices to newer breeders will soon ofiset this ; and, at all events, it is so soon repaid by the enormous profits of the husbandry, that it is not to be kept in view as an annual part of the account. Interest ceases to run after the principal is paid ! Another important fact in favor of sheep is always to be taken into view. If the steer or colt dies before it is sold or used — if the cow dies before she has produced young — the loss is nearly a total one. At best, the colt keeps you waiting on him, say three years, and the steer and heifer at least two, before, they commence making returns. The sheep is a prompter paymaster. He pays you annually. And he never dies in your debt. If he dies before he is six months old, he has cost you noth- ing that is appreciable. If lie dies afterwards, before his first shearing, his wool will more than pay for what he has consumed ; and this is true of him at whatever age his death occurs, taking the agfjreu'ate of his life together. Best Breed of Sheep. — When wool is the main object, and mutton is only an incidental one — as always must be the case in a large and thinly inhabited country like Texas, not yet containing populous cities — there is but one breed of sheep worth consideration, so far as comparative intrinsic value is concerned. I can declare on a pretty extensive experi- ence — but it really needs no experience to arrive at that conclusion — that no other breed makes a remote approach to the value of the Merino for the production of wool ; and its mutton is good and palatable. Half and three-quarter breed Merino mutton is especially so, and five Americans out of six would prefer it, on the table, to the tallowy meat of the large long-woolled English mutton varieties. Well-bred Merinos yield about as much wool per head as the largest English long-woolled breeds — yield farmore tli;in English middle-wooUed breed.s — yield about twice as much value of wool for the amount of feed consumed as any English breed — and are hardier, and herd (that is, thrive when kept together in large numbers) better than any of the more valuable English varieties. Their length of life is much greater. A Merino is not, to use a common expression, " older at eight" than a Bake- well or Southdown sheep is at five. And, what may not be quite as well understood by those who have not experimented with both races, (as I h;ive,) the Merino is decidedly hardier than the high-bred English sheep. It is less addicted to colds or snuffles, bears extremes of weather better, is capable of travelling farther for its food, and will endure a scarcity of food with far greater impunity. The English sheep has the advantage of 310 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. arriving earlier at maturity — a matter of much importance in a mutton breed, but of comparatively little in a wool-growing one. Of the unimproved English and Scotch varieties, it is unnecessary to speak. Several of them are much superior to the improved varieties of those countries in hardiness and herding properties ; but they all produce coarse, and, compared with the Merino, light fleeces. None of them are, in my opinion, really essentially superior for wool-growing to what is termed the " native stock" in New- York and New-England. Spanish Merinos. — I shall not here consume space with the past his- tory of any breed. The ancient Spanish slieep, as imported into this country by Humphi-eys, Jarvis, and other breeders, whose character gave full warrant of supposed purity of blood, produced of washed wool less than four pounds in the ewes, and seven in the rams. The flocks of Spain, taken as a whole, are declared by that most intelligent observer and investigator. Chancellor Livingston, to have averaged of washed wool, only two pounds and a lialf in the ewe, and four and a quarter in the ram. (See Livingston's Essay on Sheep, p. 39.) They resembled the present American Merino in form, but were smaller. Saxon Merinos. — The Saxon was the first great ofishoot fi-om the parent Merino stem. Partly from the principle of selection first adopted, and partly from the system of management, and the special objects pur- sued in breeding, tliis variety materially dwindled from the size, consti- tution, and weight of fleece of the Spanish sheep, but improved in the quality of the wool. The first considerable importation into the United States took place in 1824, and the mania for these feeble little things raged to such an extent, for the three succeeding years, that the most miserable mongrels and grade sheep were introduced and sold under their name. (See the authoritative and undenied statements of the dis- tinguished German importer and shepherd, Henry D. Grove, on this sub- ject, made to me as the chairman of a Committee appointed by the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, in 1837, to report on " The condition and Comparative Value of the several Breeds of Sheep in the United States." Society's Transactions, 1841, p. 313.) The American Saxon of the present day is a much larger and stronger sheep than its imported ancestor, \vith, I think, about the same quality and a greater quantity of wool. Some pure flocks now produce an average of nearly three and a half pounds of washed wool, and others dashed with a strain of fine American Merino blood, not materially changing the quality of the fleece, average very near four pounds. It continues, however, to require considerably more care than the American Merino, and does not rear so large a per centage of lambs. SiLESiAN Merinos. — These appear to be something between the Saxon and American Merino — heavier fleece than the former, finer fleece than the latter — and between the two in size. Some specimens I have seen had fine plump forms, and their wool the oil and external black gum of the gummiest fmiily of Merinos. They might, I should say, prove a desirable variety under certain circumstances, and I think a cross with them Avould improve the Saxon type of sheep. They are the only Merino family which I have not bred. French Merinos. — The selection and management of the Spanish Merinos in France, first carried into that country a little more than seventy years ago, produced precisely the contrary effects in several im- portant particulars from those produced by the German system. The carcass was made larger, the fleece heavier and coarser. But a portion SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. 311 of those introduced from France into the United States, within a few years, have not been characteristic specimens of the variety in either of these particulars. They have been exaggerated specimens or caricatures of the breed. They were those exceptional animals to be found in all flocks, larger and heavier-fleeced than the great body of those flocks, j apprehend also that some of them were exceptional in certain other particulars, as for example, in that enormous " throatiness" which renders them such a marvel to the multitude. • There is no doubt, however, that as a variety, the French Merinos are larger and heavier-fleeced than any other Merino family. But in respect to fleece, the best of them do not excel the best American Merino as much as in weight of carcass ; in other words, they do not produce as much wool in proportion to size, and, accordingly, to consumption. There are two causes for this. The first is, their wool has, for reasons which I can not explain, been bred proportionably short. As some very remarkable misconceptions appear to prevail on this particular point, let me state a positive and tangible fact for which I am Avilling to be held responsible. I recently (to test the accuracy of previous impressions and experiences) carefully measured, lying imstretched on a table, fifteen specimens of French Merino wool, taken indiscriminately (with the aid of the owner) from the sheared fleeces of one yeafs groicth of a pure blood flock, descended from prime sheep of Mr. Taintor's importation, and considered by French breeders prime sheep of the variety. The fifteen specimens averaged a little less than two inches in length. I have owned French sheep from the best imported flocks, have seen hundreds, if not thousand.s, of others, and they have been almost uniformly rather short-woolled sheep — shorter Avoolled than the longest stapled American Merino flocks. The second reason for the comparative lightness of French fleeces, is their dryness — their freedom from oil and gum. Though there are ex- ceptiojis, there is a constant tendency in this direction among them, and . miless care be taken in breeding to prevent it, the wool becomes almost as dry as cotton, and then the fleece has no proportionate weight for its bulk. The ditt'erence in appearance and handling between such and good American wool is very analogous to that between American and choice Italian sewing-silk. The first, in both cases, even when the actual fine- ness (diameter) is the same, is comparatively light, unelastic, unglossy, and " cheap looking." I have sometimes f mcied that the pile or fibre of the American Merino wool is actually denser and heavier of its size than the French, independently of all extraneous substances. This, however, may be but a fancy. French wool washes much cleaner than the oily and gummy American Merino wools ; and I think more slowly recovers its maximum of oiliness,* after being washed on the back. The overgrown animals of a variety, are rarely of good form. Hence not a few of the imported French sheep, ai:d their immediate descen- dants, when .denuded of their fleeces, were most unsightly, scraggy, " lathy ' animals, excessively bony, crooked in the back, bad in the cross, (that is, hollow behind the shoulders,) and so thin in the chest, that both forelegs seemed, in horseman's phrase, to " come out at the same hole." The last defect is perhaps rather characteristic of the variety ; but I have seen not only individuals, but flocks of French sheep, of moderate size, as well formed in every other particular, and perhaps even in that, as any other family of Merinos, 312 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. Another difficulty followed the selection of these huge sheep. Over- grown parents do not always produce overgrown offspring; but the marvel must be kept up, and to do this, a concealed, or at least an un- avowed course of pampering was resorted to in some cases. The lambs were dropped two months before the usual time of having lambs dropped in the North — the ewes were stuffed with unusual and succulent food during the winter, regardless of cost ; they were kept in close, warm stablws at yeaning time ; the lamb was often given the aid of a " sucking- bottle," or a foster-dam, in addition to its natural parent ; it was taught as soon as possible to eat roots and grain ; it was kept housed from every storm, and even from the dews of the night, during the entire year. This added greatly to the beauty and weight of the wool — to its weight, fwhen sheared unwashed,) because none of its natural oil was washed out by rains. When at length it was exhibited, without any explanations of the preceding facts, at some State fair, in autumn, it presented about twice the size of carcass, and twice the length of wool, that it would have done if dropped at the common time, and treated in the common way. If not sold at a year old, it was not sheared, and the entire fleece was left growing to increase the marvellous product at two years old ; or if it was feared that this fraud would be too apparent, (beyond the gulli bility of the particular market in view,) the yearling was "stubble- sheared," that is, shared a half-inch or inch from the skin, leaving three or four months' growth of wool thereon, to go into the next fleece. I do not say, that the breeder is not authorized to conduct his business to suit himself^ — men clearly have the right to pamper, and to manufacture "marvels." But he who does so, is bound to give warning, "fair and true," to the buyer, whether questioned or unquestioned. Helas ! what was so soon the matter with those gigantic French rams, which first scattered like wild-fire over the North? There came a chilly rain-storm, and they sneezed and coughed. Soon they began to mope, and fall off from their feed. They grew thin, and then weak. Their heads drooped ; yellow waxy matter collected about their dim, half-closed eyes; a sticky dischai'ge clung about their nostrils; at length the faint but rapid heaving of the flanks began to indicate a low fever. Then an- other heavy cold shower, and the farmer's boys presently ran into the house, crying : " Father, father, the great ram is dead !" The fai'mer had not known that he had set a hothouse plant out of doors f Thns " departed this life," a majority — ay, a majority — of the first inundation of great French rams — many of them without getting a lamb. When they lived, it often proved a greater disaster to their owners. They spoiled the carcass and constitution of his flock, lowered the quality of his wool, and not unfrequently actually diminished its quantity. These circumstances created a violent reaction against French sheep, and I should say, between eighty and ninety per cent, of our best North- ern and Eastern wool-growers now thoroughly detest them. I believe they have jumped off the bridge "on the other side!" Circumstances ledtme into an extensive course of fresh investigations on this subject last winter. I found French, like other sheep-raisers, divided in about the usual proportion, between quacks and legitimate breeders. I found French Merino flocks, and especially very high-bred grade French flocks, based on an American Merino foundation on the maternal side, which exhibited fine forms, sufficiently rugged constitutions, a good quality and large quantity of wool. If the wool lacked a little of the gloss and style of the choice American Merinos, it nevertheless was a desirable article, SHEEP HUSBANDKY IIn^ TEXAS. 313 and especially so for the raanufixctiirer, on account of its cleanness. Per- haps, after ray preceding remarks, justice requires me to add that I found breeders raising the very largest French sheep with undeniably legitimate objects. They considered that great size desirable, and were therefore (erroneously and unavailingly, in my opinion) attempting to perpetuate it without perpetuating its usual accompanying defects. The careful and certainly disinterested examination of many flocks, which had been judiciously bred for a number of years, and down to the present epoch, somewhat modified, I confess, my own previous views. I believe indeed, I found luirdier and every way better sheep than the French stock first brought into our country. I made up my mind, that the prejudice against them was violent and excessive, and that by and by another reaction will set in their favor, and that they will be extensively used for an object which I shall treat under another head. The American Merino. — About the same amount of fraud and de- ception attended the introduction of the Spanish Merino into the United States, (after Livingston, Humphreys, Jarvis, and a few other elevated men had done their part,) that heralded the advent of the Saxon and French varieties. Like tlie French, the former sunk into contempt, before it received the general approbation of the country. And it en- countered a far more dangeious foe than contempt, in an almost universal admixture with the puny Saxons. But a remnant Avas fortunately kept pure, and many flock-masters, after a Saxon cross, bred back to their pre- vious MeHno standard. The American Merino of the present day is a considerably heavier and stronger animal than his Spanish progenitor. He has been kept in smaller flocks than in Spain, better fed, (or more uniformly fed,) and subjected to a more careful and intelligent system of breeding. As long ago as 1841, the celebrated early importer and subsequent breeder, Hon. William Jarvis, of Vermont, wrote me that " twenty-five years' experi- ence satisfied liim that the wool of the Spanish Merino had rather im- proved " in this country ; that his own wool was better than the samples received from Spain, when he purchased his imported flock. (The whole of this admirable letter will be found in the N. Y. Agricultural Society's Transactions, 1811, pages 320-328.) The same kind of improvement has continued down to the present time, in many flocks. The difl'erent Spanish varieties were, as a general thing, soon inter- mingled with each other in this country, as they had been in France, so that the names of Paular, Negretti, Gaudeloupe, etc., now have no mean- ing, unless in a very few instances, when ajjplied to American sheep. But in point of fact, the same varieties, or somewhat analogous ones, have been reproduced in our country by the systems of breeding pursued by particular persons. Some men, for example, have carefully shunned " oil " and " gum," and made fineness of wool the primary consideration. These have substantially re])roduced the Spanish Escurial, a sheep closely resembling the Saxon, except in its larger size. Others have made weiglit of fleece the primary consideration, at some sacrifice of fineness ; and to this end they have bred as much oil into, and external gum upon the fleece, as practicable. The extreme of these sheep become coated over a few months alter shearing, with a natural covering of gum of the color of tar, extending about an eighth of an inch into the wool, which in warm weather sticks to the hand, and in cold becomes a hard ligid crust. The interior of the fleece looks as if oil had been poured into it, as it exists there not merely as a coating of each filament of wool, but 814 SHEEP HUSBANDllY IN TEXAS. rather wears the appearance of a mass of oil, with filaments of wool growing out through it. Some breeders take a middle course, cultivating the oil, but avoiding the gum. Some cultivate a medium share of both ; and so on. The well-bred American Merino is probably now the densest and heaviest-fleeced sheep of its size in the world, without the help of any extraneous circumstances ; but when you read of the enormous fleeces you sometimes do, (whether they belong to H. S. R. or A. B. C.,) it is time that you, and all other intelligent men, understand that this enor- mous extra weight is made up of oil and gum. In the first place, wool of this character can not, at best, be toell washed on the back of the sheep. In the second, many breeders do not desire to so wash it ; they choose to leave these heavy animal excretions in the wool, and they let their flocks run long enough between washing and shearing, to restore all that has been washed away. In fact, washing with them, is little better than a name, a pretence, to prevent the buyer from deducting the usual one-third from the gross weight, as on unwashed wool. Then, further to mislead the purchaser, they do up each fleece in two parts — claiming that if that personage sees fit to judge the wool solely by weight of fleece, instead of quality and condition, (as he often does,) it is but a fair retalia- tion, a warrantable " spoiling of the Philistines," to take a course which will compel him to judge the article by legitimate tests, or to sufier the con- sequences. (That is to say, they assume that if the buyer is a blockhead, or screw, it is right to cheat him, if it can be done by silence.)' These excessively oily and gummy sheej) are rather "the rage" at present in the North. There are two reasons for it. The wool-buyer has obstinately refused to make any propoi'tionate diflference in the price paid for their wool and that paid for cleaner wools. He will usually pay within three or four cents per pound, as much for the first as for the last, when the "greasy" wool weighs two pounds most to the fleece, Avhen it costs no more to raise it, and when it will lose twenty-five per cent, more in cleansing. The manufacturers could have corrected this evil, if they had chosen to do so ; and a class of sham-hating men have continued to breed clean wools, expecting them ultimately to do justice in the matter. But indiflerence, or the temptation to force these breeders to sell (or sacrifice) their beautiful clips at two or three pennies above the price of " greasy " wool, has generally triumphed over all more manly considerations, though in regions where clean wools are extensively grown, and where the breed- ers can and will stand by each other, they have fared better. The other reason for the popularity of excessively oily and gummy sheep, exists in the fact that they generally sell better to those beginners who are willing to pay breeders' prices. The first thing in a variety or breed, which attracts the eye of a novice, is its salient peculiarities — whether they involve valuable characteristics or the contrary ; and they are very apt to beconie his standards of purity of blood and individual excellence, until experience has taught him better. The Merino, com- pared with others, is an oily and gummy sheep, and " argal," the more oil and gum he possesses, the " more Merino " is he to the novice. The same remarks apply to " throatiness " — large corrugations or folds of pen- dulous skin about the neck or throat, and similar folds on other parts of the body. Breeders defer more or less to the tastes of buyers, and thus more " grease and wrinkles " are produced than would otherwise be. A pet- tier personage — your nomadic ram peddler — carries his complaisance still SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. 315 further. He manufactures traits or peculiarities to please purchasers ! He buys up half or three-quarter bred Merinos, which chance to have abundance of " wrinkles," (the mongrel get of a very "wrinkly" ram often show this peculiarity quite as strongly as his full-blood descend- ants,) and if the natural gum is wanting, he j)uts it on by daubing them over, immediately after shearing, with a pigment of linseed oil and burnt amber — a composition known in the North as the " Cornwall finish," fi'om the fact that it Avas first used (as a winter protection to sheep I pre- sume) in Cornwall, Vermont. It soon makes a nearly black external coating, so similar to the natural gum as to be entirely undistinguishable from it, except to a very practised eye. I should say, however, that it was usually a little more evenly put on, and a shade handsomer, than the natural article ! A second good oiling, with clear oil, towards fall, helps along. Armed with these painted mongrels, a demure face, and a cer- tificate of pedigree, purporting to be signed by a "Deacon," and a " Judge of Probate," your ram-peddler sallies forth, Macedonian-like, conquering and to conquer — greenhorns ! The Best Bkeed for Texas. — In the views I shall express under this head, I desire neither to advance nor to injure the interests of any indi- vidual — certainly to Avound no man's feelings. But if I speak at all, of couise I am called upon to express those candid convictions, for which I am willing to be held responsible. I am free to say, on the stait, that I believe there is altogether too much one-sidedness in the views entertained by individuals, and the pub- lic, in regard to this and other analogous questions. The current sets in some particular direction, and then all influenced by conviction, or the desire to take advantage of other people's convictions, jump into it irre- spective of circumstances. I have no doubt that every variety of the true wool-growing sheep, the Meiino, has an appropriate and profitable place. As long as costly woollen fabrics ai'e demanded by the wealthy and luxurious, the delicate Saxon sheep is a want in agriculture. The Silesian supplies the next want, and so on down. If the production is accurately proportioned to the consumption, the laws of trade declare that all these breeds must be profitable, (and something like equally profitable,) under the best circum- stances, for their respective cultivation. I desire to make another statement. In spite of all the pretences and quackeries of rival breeders, I have no doubt that the best animals of each of these varieties, produce about the same value (not amount) of avooI for the amount of food consumed. Some, however, require more human labor and supervision than others, some demand milder climate than others, and so on. The time may very probably come when each of the Merino families will be profitably grown almost side by side, in Texas. Your climate is as niild as the feeblest-constitutioned ones can elsewhere find. The extra labor demanded for the supervision of such, ought to be as cheap with you as in other portions of the United States. You have abundant suste- nance for the strongest fine-wool breeds. And Avho can say that when you haA'e railroads covered with cattle and sheep-cars, that you can not supply the mutton eaten in our Atlantic cities, more cheaply than it can be grown nearer to them, and that it may not thus be made profitable to you to grow coarse as Avell as fine avooIs ? At present, fine avooIs pay best in the United States ; and among these medium qualities find the most extensive demand and the most remuner- 316 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. ating prices. Tliis class of wool is borne both by the American and Frencli Merino. As a pioneer and experimental sheep, you want the hardiest variety — one capable of resisting a change of climate and circumstances, general or local difficulties in the way of acclimation, and the effects of inexperienced management. As a distinct variety, there can be no reasonable doubt, I think, that the pure American Merino is better able to "rough it" in a new country than the pure French Merino, though I apprehend the latter will ultimately do well enough in your mild climate. No person ac- quainted with both breeds will hesitate to believe, that in a summer drouth, or during a severe winter scarcity, the former will suffer less than the latter — as much less as black cattle would suffer, under like cir- cumstances, than the larger Shorthorns. The impression is also univer- sal, and certainly every appearance and analogy would seem to favor it, that the American Merino will herd best in very large numbers. But it is not necessary that you limit yourselves exclusively to one variety. He who wants to grow very large wethers for plantation use, or for sale, or he who wishes to grow a larger fine-woolled sheep as a matter of taste, and is prepared to take care of them, will find his wishes met by the French sheep; or if wethers weighing from 150 lbs. to 200 lbs., and ewes weighing from 120 lbs. to 140 lbs, are lai'ge enough for him, he can get them by a cross between the French and American varieties. These last, if well bred, compose a beautiful and hardy sub-variety. I bought a flock of them, last winter, mostly French, which were dropped in May, 1858. They were kept in the common way, without pampering. They were thoroughly washed and sheared at the common time, about the close of June, 1859. Their avooI was destitute of gum, about as white at the outer as inner end, and seemingly almost as free from oil as cot- ton. They averaged six ])oahds and four ounces of wool per head. I be- lieve that a cross between such ewes and a very heavy and " greasy " fleeced American Merino ram, would carry the average a pound higher in the produce. I am so confident of this, that I am availing myself of the results of such a cross on a comprehensive scale. The ewes are un- commonly fine-woolled of their kind. The ram used weighs but 150 lbs. in full fleece, and his washed fleece (as well as it could be washed) weighed 14 lbs. Of course he was excessively oily and gummy, and it was for that very reason he was selected for the experiment. His lambs, two months after birth, began to be colored very perceptibly by the oil inherited from their sire. It is legitimate in breeding, to counteract one defect with another. I have noticed for twenty-five years that the oiliest and gummiest Merino rams cross best with the diy coarse-woolled varieties. I have recently noticed that the cross between the French ram and such varieties rarely results very satisfactorily. There is another reason for this. Where the size of the male is greatly disi^roportioned to that of the female, the un- born lamb has not room to expand in the womb, and it is born crooked and unshapely — generally thin-chested and flat-ribbed. Hence I entirely prefer the cross between the French ewe and American Merino ram to the one made conversely. Aril I asked at this point, if it is legitimate to breed extraneous sub- stances, like oil and gum, and sell them for wool ? Certainly not. On the other hand, is it legitimate for the wool buyer and manufacturer to make no fair distinction between clean and dirty wool ? He who sells "greasy" wools in broad daylight, without splitting his fleeces or resort- SHEF.P HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS, 317 ing to any otlier trick, at leasts commits no fraud ! On the whole, I would push towards neither extreme. In your climate, I think you will have to obtain pretty dark-colored and oily rams to keep up the proper medium in that particular in your full-blood American Merino flocks, and still oilier and darker ones, to produce that medium in a cross with coarse sheep. The wool of the French crosses I have described was a shade coarser and a shade lest " stylish" than fair American Merino wool. But the difierence in cleanness was in its favor, and the difference in flneness was so little against it, that every lot I mentioned sold, or could have been sold separately, in July, for forty-four or forty-five cents a pound. An intelligent breeder of these, and of French full-bloods, candidily admitted to me last winter, that he considered the former worth quite as much as the latter for wool-growing. Under common care, and exposed to any disadvantages, I think they would prove most profitable. And such a cross would promptly give additional weight of fleece, and especially size, to American Merino flocks deficient in either particular. But the cross must always be well made not to result in failure. Selection of Sheep — The points of a good Merino's carcass are, good but not extraordinary size for the variety, the barrel well rounded, the chest deep, the cross full, the back level forward of the hips, the loin and buttocks comparatively wide, the flank and twist Avell let down, the neck round and set on level Avith the shoulders, the head fine but broad between the ears, the eye lively and mild, the legs straight and moderate- ly long, the whole figure wearing a marked appearance of compactness and solidity. , The degree of throatiness is rather a matter of taste. It is a great im- pediment to smooth and rapid shearing ; but as a badge of blood, and as an indication of that loose, large skin which is a characteristic mark and valuable property of the highbred Merino, (and which is often found without throatiness,) it is liked to a reasonable extent by most breeders. The skin should be of a fresh pink color — not dead white, and especially not tawny. The wool of the Merino should be compact at all hazards, and of as great length as can be found united with compactness. It should open with some appreciable resistance to the hand, not drop apart at the touch, like the fur of furbearing animals. The pile, in addition to its fineness, should be finely and regularly crimped from one extremity to the other. This is an important indication of quality, and in the case of the American Merhio, of blood. The pure French sheep does not so perfectly or so uniformly exhibit it. The interior of the wool (after it has gained length subsequently to shearing) should be brilliantly glossy, and when properly opened by the hand, every spire of its crimped filaments should seem to be moving, as if instinct with life. This last appearance (of which I can give no definite idea on paper) is the highest possible indication of good breeding. A dry, lustreless appearance, especially a dead appearance, is very objectionable. If, in addition to this, the wool is destitute of crimp, it is wholly inferior. Except near the outer end, wool should be white, or of a faint golden tinge. If saftVon-colored near the skin, it is " yellow- ed," (by some abnormal secretion,) and injured for sale. Slightly brown- ish or nankeen-colored wools, unless so stained by earths, indicate defec- tive breeding. French wools are oftener of this color than those of any other family of the Merino. The gum which is permitted to exist, should be on the outer extremity 318 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. of the fleece, not scattered through it in small yellow particles resem- bling bee-bread, or in occasional white waxy concretions. The former defect is commonest in the American, the latter in the French Merino. Neither of them appertain to the Saxon. The oil of the fleece should appear like a delicate white perfectly transparent varnish, or some thinner fluid, barely coating over every fibre to give it lustre. As already said, it is objectionable to have it till up the interstices of the wool, as if it had been poured in, and doubly so if its color is yellowish. If quite yel- low and viscid, it is called " yolk." The woul of the Merino should closely cover every wool-bearing part. It should be thick and long on the belly as well as on the back, and the bare spots for the movements of the legs, etc., should occupy only the surface absolutely necessary for tljat purpose. It should look, when its pelage is out at full length, like a bundle of wool on legs. But wool Delow the knees and hocks, and on the point of the nose, is like throati- ness, one of those " fancy points" which is highly valued by some, and objected to by others. The wool on these parts is inferior, and trifling in weight. It does not, as novices often imagine, specially indicate a heavy fleece. That on the legs gets foul with mud or dug, when it comes in contact with it, and that on the nose often so impedes the sight, that unless it is sheared away two or three times a year, the animal can see neither forward nor backward, nor scarcely sideways, without awkwardly twisting about its head. I confess I rather like the peculiarity ; but there can be no doubt it would be undesirable in sheep which must travel and " look out for themselves" on extensive plains, and particularly so, if there was any chance of their being attacked by dogs or beasts of prey. Pkice of Merinos. — I shall recur to this subject, because the inciden- tal discussion which has taken place on it, in your paper, renders me desirous to submit some definite and tangible statements. I therefore say, definitely and tangibly, that pure-blood American Merino flocks of good quality, including the usual admixture of all ages and sexes, up to four years old, can be bought for eight c'ollars a head, where one hundred are taken ; for ten dollars a head, where fifty taken ; for twelve dollars a head, where twenty-five are taken ; for twenty-five dollars a head, where a half-dozen are taken. The pure-bred French sheep are comparatively few, and though unpopular with the mass of wool-growers, are highly prized by their breeders on account of their salableness in new regions. I can give no approach to a uniform jM'ice on them. Good high-bred French, grades, (a cross with the American Merino) resembling full-blood French can be bought at from fifteen to twenty-five per cent, advance on the price of American Merinos. Mongrel American Merinos — not unfrequently denominated " full- bloods," by sheep-growers who have no record of pedigree, oftentimes no distinct conception of what constitutes a pedigree — can be purchased in nearly all the Northern and Middle States, at from two to four dollars a head, according to the prevailing market prices of sheep at the time. Most of them are a cross between the Saxon and " Native" sheep, with a later infusion of Merino blood. Where the Saxon admixture Avas strong, these sheep are often as fine as pure-blood Merinos. But their fleeces are lighter ; their constitutions much less vigorous ; and like all mongrels made up between distinct races, they are lacking in uniformity. Cost of Importation. — There are three ways of getting sheep from the Northern States to Texas — by the Ocean and Mississppi River routes, and by the land route. Where time is no object, and the number of SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN TEXAS. 319 sheep to be taken large, the latter is by far the cheapest. Freights from New- York City to Galveston, in ship-houses, (water found,) will average about three dollars per head at proper seasons of the year. When enough are sent to fill a ship-house, the usual cost is two dollars a head. Tho cost of arranging ship-house, keep, and attendance on the passage is then to be added. It should not exceed two dollars per head. Under proper arrangements, the passage is as safe as that of the human passen- ger of the vessel. Crossing with coarse Shkep. — It may be laid down as a settled rule, that the Merino can be improved, as wool-producing sheep by a cross Mith no otlier breed whatever. All legitimate crossing, for that object, is confined to the several varieties of its own breed. Secondly, there is no other breed the quality and quantity of whose wool is not im- proved by a Merino cross. It is a matter of economy first to stock an extensive wool estancia with coarse, cheap breeds of sheep. Any thing, from English long-wools down to the puny, miserable Mexican sheep, can be used ; and with well-selected rams, (medium-sized, compact, oily, gammy, and heavy-fleeced American Merinos,) the rapidity of the im- provement will appear alijtost miraculous to inexperienced persons. In selecting the coarse sheep, the carcass is of vastly more importance than the fleece, and hence the Mexicans are the least valuable. But even they are preferable to nothing. None but the full-blood Merino ram should be used under any circum- stances. A different course would, at best, lead to a retardation of the desired improvement, of more amount than many times the cost of the necessary full-blood rams ; and the degree and kind of improvement would become wholly a matter of uncertainty. Every breeder whose means admit of it, will do well also to start with a more limited flock of full-blood ewes. They constitute the foundatioo of a future pure flock, and are the nursery to draw rams from, without the expense of resorting to new purchases every two or three years. To meet this latter object, the ewes and rams originally imported should be of diffei-ent strains of blood, and so marked as to be readily distinguish- able from each other. All extensive breeders should keep two or three separate strains of blood, for the convenience of purchasers. Miscellaneous Suggestions. — Every new breeder should start with an established system of marks which will at once point out to him the blood of the particular animal. The brands may be cut out of wood, or constructed of iron, and they are dipped in some pigment and applied to the sheep (to prevent mistakes) as soon as it is sheared. On one side stamp the owner's initials, on the other a cross, a circle, a triangle, or the like, ( or a combination of these marks,) to indicate the precise family. Every sheep of inferior carcass of fleece, should receive a mark at shearing, which indicates that it is to be killed or sold. On the subject of winter shelter and keep, I shall here offer nothing. In this particular, experience is the only guide. But I repeat my former adjuration, to keep dow7i the dogs — that curse of sheep-raising in Virginia, the Carolinas, etc., which is more fatal than all otherg, and which it is next to impossible to get rid of, where it has once got a firm footing. Yours truly and sincerely, H!enby S. Randall. Cortland Village^ New- York, Aug. 12, 1859. 320 SHEEP RAISING IN TEXAS. SHEEP RAISING IN TEXAS. BY GEORGE W. KENDALL, ESQ. On commencing a third article on " Sheep Raising in Texas," giving my experience for another year, or since September, 1858, I find that I have but a repetition of tlie same old story to ofier the many readers of your valuable almanac ; my good fortune has continued without an inter- ruption, and my losses amount to next to nothing. My flocks have all been extremely healthy, and in the best possible condition, while the few losses I have sustained, (not one per cent, probably,) have mostly resulted from casualty or accident of some kind ; no disease has visited ray folds. You may recollect, that I last year said that I could not hope for a con- tinuance of such good luck or fortune as had followed me through the years '.56-7 and a part of '58 ; it has continued up to this 1st of August, 1859, and my sheep are now in finer order than I have ever before seen them. In the fall and early winter of 1858, or during the months of October, November, and December, I felt not a little uneasy about the effect of the acorus, of which we had a most abundant crop in the mountains. I had read in one book that they were hurtful to sheep ; I had been told, by those who pretended to know, that their eft'ect would certainly be injurious. To keep my flocks away from them was entirely out of the question ; within a hundred yards of the pens where they were nightly kept, and in almost every direction, they must enter an oak range when turned out in the morning, every tree loaded heavily with acorns. The slieep devoured them with avidity, would run from tree to tree in the morning searching for such as had dropped fresh during the night, and this continued until the heaviest mast we have had in many years was exhausted. What with the grass they cropped meanwhile, (and it was noticed that each day the sheep would graze for hours,) they would come home to their pens at night well filled. And all this time the flocks were bright, healthy, and never in better condition, thus proving past all doubt, that acorns, instead of being injurious to sheep, are a positive benefit, and hereafter the heavier the mast may be at my place, the better I shall like it. In April last, at shearing time, I smeared the noses of my sheep, and especially the lambs, bountifully with tar, and so far they have not been troubled at all with grub in the head. Last year, it may be remembered, I lost a few lambs from this cause ; the tar certainly can do no harm, costs but a trifle, and I believe is beneficial during the spring and early summer months. About the 15th of August, 1858, I weaned my lambs, over eleven hun- dred in number, all on the same morning : as nearly all were dropped in the month of April preceding, they were then about four months old. The Merino buck lambs I turned into my regular wether flock, where I keep all my bucks save during the short tupping season in the Ml ; the ewe and wether lambs I have kept in a flock by themselves up to this time, and all have grown and thriven remarkably well — far better than when the old ewes with their lambs ran together, and from one end of the year to the other. Every one who knows anything about sheep must be well aware that SHEEP RAISING IN TEXAS. 321 long after a ewe has nearly dried up — when she gives but a drop of milk — the lamb will hang on and worry her, forty times a day, for that drop. It does the latter no good — it pulls down and pesters the old ewes — in short, injures both. For a day or two after they are separated, of course there will be a terrible outcry and clamor, lambs bleating for their mothers, and mothers calling for their lambs. But tliis is soon over ; both soon set to work in earnest cropping their food, they have the entire day to fill themselves, and my experience has proved that both commence f ittening within a week after the weaning is over. The old ewes have a chance to recruit and strengthen themselves before frost sets in, are in finer condition for the bucks in November, and pass tlirough the winter in far better order. I know that where a person has but a single flock of sheep, and that flock small, it creates an additional expense to separate and wean the Iambs. But I hold that anything that is worth doing at all is worth doing well, and the additional expense will be more than repaid by the increased size, strength, condition, and constitution of the flock. My last year's ewe-lambs, (those dropped in the spring of 1858,) I shall put to buck on the 1st of the coming November, or when they are some nineteen months old. They will then be two years of age when they have lambs ; and I am confident this plan is much better tlian the one so often practised in Texas, of allowing yearling ewes to mm with bucks and have lambs before they have attained their growth, and before they are well able to sustain their oflspring. I do not increase my stock so fast by following this system ; but I materially im})rove it, both in size and constitution, and that is what I am constantly striving after. We can all afford to be patient in Texas. I shall have some two thousand ewes to put to buck this fall. Of these, about one hundred and thirty are full-blooil Merinoes, which I shall turn into a pasture with two of the best bucks I can find, on 20th of October. On the 2.")th of the same mouth I shall put half of my grade ewes to buck, and on the 1st of November the balance. For six weeks only will the bucks be allowed to run with the ewes ; I never wish to see a Iamb come in one of my flocks later than the 15th of May, I have proved to my own satisfaction, that a Iamb dropped on 1st of April, when the grass is young and fresh and the days comparatively cool, will be larger and better formed the day it is tliree months old, than will a lamb dropped on the 1st of July, when the grass is apt to be coarse and dry, and the days scorching hot, when it is six months old ; and the former will turn out the best sheep in every I'espect. Many persons, anxious to increase the num- ber of their flocks, may be loath to believe all this, but let them try both or all systems. The custom of allowing bucks to run with the ewes the year round, and having lambs come twice a year, or during every month in the year, I cannot but believe ruinous. It would worry me more to see a buck among my ewes in July, August, or September, or in Febru- ary, March, or April, than a Avolf : the latter might kill half a dozen, and there end ; the former would cost me more real loss in the long run. I am induced to give this statement in relation to my system because I am continually receiving letters from persons just starting in the sheep business, making inquiries on the subject. I do not say that I am right ; I ask no one to follow my general plan of management. I shall change it the moment I hear of any one who has had better success than has befallen me, but not until then. In the Texas almanac for 1859, I see that Thos. Decrow, Esq., after an 322 SHEEP RAISING IN TEXAS. interesting account of his own great success in sheep-raising on Mata- gorda Bay, sees fit to disagree with me in my estimate of the necessity of breeding from no other than pure Merino bucks. Now, Mr. Decrow may be right, and I altogether in the wrong ; yet his argument does not convince me that a grade buck, which is perhaps just as apt to breed back as ahead, is as useful in a flock of Mexican ewes as a square-built, compact, stout, vigorous, well-woolled, thorough-bred Merino, an animal perfect in all those parts where the Mexican is naturally defective. I this year sheared many grade sheep, three and four removes from common Mexican ewes, which yielded 8, 8^, and some of them 9 pounds of wool, and wool so fine that it would require a sharp sampler to distinguish it from pure Merino, while the animals were perfect in form, lusty, and of most vigorous constitution. I could not have got along so fast with grade bucks, and I think Mr. Decrow was wrong when he says that he had made up his mind to " sell or exchange his thirteen pure Merino bucks, even at half-price, and furnish his nevv'ly purchased Mexican ewes ((500 in number) with rams of his own raising, from his own flock in preference." The flock master who breeds altogether from j^ure Merino bucks, knows always where he is, and where he will come out at the expiration of a certain time ; but if he uses no other than grade rams, he is ever living in uncertainty, and will never reach any particular end. My great object is to breed up until every sheep I may own, may be safely marked a thorough, full-blood Merino ; and in the course of a few years, should I live, I shall achieve this result. But not in a century could I attain an end I neem so desirable, were I to breed continually from grade rams. I do not wash my sheep at all, and for what I deem good reasons. About the middle of April, or at the time when one half my ewes have young lambs at their sides, and the balance are about to drop, would be the only time I could wash in this region. At this period I would not race or worry my evv'es at all on any account ; they should be pestered as little as possible, and any advantage to the fleece from washing cannot make up for the injury to the animal. I might wash my bucks and wethers without injury, and my yearling lamb flock, made up of ewes and wethers, and I may possibly try the experiment ; but my old ewes never. Could my lambs come the latter part of February, as Mr. Decrow deems best, I might then wash all ; but in this high mountain region yeaning time cannot prudently come before the latter part of March or April, the the very period when we must commence washing and shearing. We are apt to have bad weather in February in this section, and even up to the 15th or 20th of March. Now, as my lambs come at the outset at the rate of over one hundred a day, a single cold, rainy or sleety norther would carry oflT one half of those dropped during its continuance ; and hence I say that in this parallel of latitude, and north of it, our yeaning time cannot commence before the latter part of March, without running great risk of loss. I will not trespass forth er upon your valuable space at this time; another year, should you wish it, I will give you a fourth article upon my experience in sheep raising in Texas. Respectfully, your friend, Geo. Wilkins Kendall. New Bbaunpels, August 1, 1859. INDEX. A. Abdomen, the. Page 228. contents of the, 228—233. Abomasum, cut of the, 228. structure and functions of the, 229. \carus of scab, cut of the, 259. description aJid habits of the, 258 — 259. how produced, 258. A.cetate of copper. See Verdigris. Afghanistan, advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry, 118. r /-. J tr Africa, {exclusive of Cape of Good Hope,) sheep of, 151. exports of wool to England from, 110. exports of wool to U. S. in 1846, 124. qualuy of wool exported from, 90. Age, determined by the teeth, 237, 238. names indicative of the, 237. length of, in different breeds, 156, 157. Agrostis (stricta) ♦Lilgaris. S>e.c Herds-grass. Air-cells, description of the, 235. Alabama, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. value of woollen goods manufactured m, 17. price of land in, 60. adaptation of mountain lands of, to sheep husbandry, 47. Ale, the use of, in sheep medicine, 274. Allegheny mountains. See Apalachian moun- tains. Allspice, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Aloes, use of, in sheep medicine, 275. Alum, use of, in sheep medicine, 275. Anatomy of the sheep, 237, 238. how far necessary to be studied, 227. proper subjects for the study of, 227. directions for studying, 227, 228. Animals which destroy sheep in the South, 64. in Australia, 65. at the Cape of Good Hope, 65. how guarded against, 65. Antimony, the use of, in sheep medicine, 275. Aorta, the, 234. A-palachian mountains of U. S., where situated, 30. area occupied by, 30. geology and soils of, 30, 31, 43,44, 46,49. altitude of, 43. grasses which flourish on, 43, 44, 47, 59, 62. adaptation of, to pasturage, 44, 46, 47, 59, 62. jlimate on, 44 — 51, 59. price of lands on, 44, 46 — 48, 59. Apoplexy, confounded with grub in the head, 258. cause and treatment of, 251 — 253. Arachis. See Pindars. Arctium lappa, mjurious to woot, 131. Argentine Republic. See Buenos Ayres. Arsenic, the use of, in sheep practice, 275. Arteries, the, 234. Artichokes, value of, as a fodder, 213. straw of, fed to sheep in Germany, 211. Ashes, as a fertilizer in the South, 67. leached, 67. analysis of, 67. Asia. See names of countries of. exports of wool from to U. S. in 1846 124. Asiatic sheep. See Broad-tailed sheep. Asia Minor, adaptation of, to sheep hus- bandry, 118. Auricles of the heart, the, 234. Australia, introduction of sheep into, 25. introduction of Merinos into. 25. effect of climate of, on quality of wool, 25—29. . wools of, compared with Spanish, 26. wools of, compared with Saxon, 26. exports of wool from, 25. exports of wool brought d9wii to! 846, 294. how sheep are managed in, 26. sheep husbandry of, compared with Saxon, 26. general adaptation of, to sheep hus- bandry, 25, 119—121. soils and products of, 119. price of land and labor in, 119—121. climate of, 120. remarkable drouths of, 120. wild beasts in, destructive to sheep, 121. vast distance of, from European markets, 121. prospect of the increase of wool in, 121. note giving statistics of wool trade of, brought aown to 1846, 294. Austria, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 114, 116. See Germany and Hungary. soils of, 114. climate of, 115. management of sheep in, 139. exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846, 124. Aquafortis, use of, in sheep practice, 276 B. Baden, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 114. Bakewell, Mr., the former of the New Lei- cester breed, 142. the conduct of, as a feeder, censured, 143, 249. . , Barley, value of, in producing live weigW, wool and tallow, 214. per cent, of nitrogen in, 214. value of straw of, as a fodder, 213. straw of, fed to sheep in Germany, «l. 24 INDEX. Barns for sheep, cut of. Page 205. ground-plan of, with sheds and vaids, 209. Barrack for hay, description and cut of, 209. Bavaria, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 114, 115. Beans, value of, as a fodder, 213. straw of, fed to sheep in Germany, .o^. Beet field, value of, as a fodder, 213. white Silesian, value of, as a fodder, 213. Belgium, exports of wool from, 110. exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846, 124. late increase of manufactures in, 294. B«loochistan, advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry, 118. Bermuda grass in the South, 38. its enormous product, 38. its adaptation to meadow or pasture, 38. its adaptation to barren sands, 38. Bichloride of mercury, use of, in sheep me- dicine, 275. Biflex canal, description of, 238. disease of 261. Bile, account of the, 231. Biliary duct, description of the, 231. Bladder, the, 233. Blain, unusual in U. S., 222. Blankets for slaves, description of, 87, 90. cost of manufacturing, 87, 90 — 92. Bleeding, place for, 273, 274. rules for, 274. the quantity of blood to be abstracted in, 274. Blood, the circulation of the, 235. the importance of purity of, in breeding, 168, 171, 172. Blue grass, as the food oi' sheep, 212. in the North, 33. in the South, 37. on the Southern mountains, 44, 47, 48. Blue Ridge of mountains, location of, 30. Also, see Apalachiaiis . geology of, 30. soils and products of, 31, 44 — 47, 59. advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 44—47, 59. Bone dust, as a manure in the South, 67. Bot. See Gruh in the Head. Box for feeding grain to sheep, cut of, 203. for dipping lambs, cut of, 192. Brain, description of the, 236. Brazil, a portion of, in wool zone, 105. exports of wool from, 110. exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846, 124. Breeding, principles of, 168 — 172. importance of selection in, 168, 190. in and in, effects of 169. in and in, how avoided, 170, 172. crossing, when admissible in, 170. crossing, how conducted, 172. crossing, method of starting flocks in the South by, 170. crossing, importance of selecting good rams for, 172. register, how kept, 180. British America, exports of wool from, 110. to U. S. in 1846, 124. British West Indies, exports of wool from, 110. to U. S. in 1846, 124. Broad-tailed sheep introduced into the U. S.. 151. wool and mutton of the, 151. BroncJiial tubes, the, 235. Bronchitis, description and treatment of, 240. Bronch'ocele. See Goitre. Browse, feeding of, in winter, 217. Buckwheat, value of, in producing live weight, wool and tallow, 214. per cent, of nitrogen in, 214. ttite of straw of, as a fodder, 213. straw of fed to sheep in Germany, 211. Buenos Ayres, advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry, 105, 106. advantages of for sheep husbandry, com- pared with U. S., 106. exports of wool from, 105. exports of wool from, to U. S., in 1846, 124. pampas of, 105. inhabitants of, 105. Burdock, injurious to wool, 131. c. Cabbage, value of, as a fodder, 213. Cabul, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 118. Cachectic diseases, 254, 255. Camphor, use of in sheep medicine, 275. Cape of Good Hope, 65, 119. Merinos introduced in, 26. Merinos, their increase in, 26. exports of wool from, 110. exports of to U. S. in 1846, 124. wool of, compared with Australia, 26. advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 65, 119. climate of 26, 119. climate of effect of on quality of wool, 26. face of the country in, 119. remarkable drouths in, 119. prevalence of wild beasts in, 119. Capillaries, functions of the, 234. Caraway seeds, the use of, in sheep medi- cine, 275. Cardiac opening, the, 231. Carrots, value of, as a fodder, 213. Castration of rams, 180. Cataract, the, 239. Catarrh, common, description and treatment of, 240. malignant epizootic, description of, 240 — 247. malignant epizootic, ravages of in U. S., 240. malignant epizootic, treatment of, 245, 246. Catechu, use of, in sheep medicine, 275. Cattle doctor, the most dangerous of mala- dies, 226. Caul. See Omeiitum. Census of U. S., inaccurate in its wool re- turns, 18. Cerebellum, the, 236. Chalk, the use of, in sheep medicine, 275. Chelmsford plains, for slave cloths, 86, 90. quality and cost of manufacturing, 90 — 93. Cheviot sheep, introduction of into U. S , 149. description of, 149, 150, 154. low quality of their wool, 151. Chili, portion of in the wool zone, 105. exports of wool from, 110. exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846 124. INDEX. 325 China advantages of, for sheep husbandry, Page 118. Choking, treatment of, 273. Chyle, account of the, 231. Climate, not controlled by lat'tude, 104. of various countries compared, 104. range of, in which fine sheep are bred, 17, 18. range of, in which wool can be most eco- nomically grown, 103, 104. of U. S., favorable to sheep, 18, 103, 104. effect of, on health of sheep, 18, 103. effect of, on the amount of wool, 22. effect of, on the quaHty of wool, 23, 27—29. Clogging sheep, how done, 193. Clover, red, as the food of sheep, 212. value of, cut in different states, as a fod- der, 213. acclimation of in Virginia, 36. acclimation of, on the mountains of Vir- ginia, 44, 47. acclimation of, south of Virginia, 44,47. not indispensable, 44, 47. substitute for, as a fodder, and manuring crop, 39, 41. white, as the food of sheep, 212. flourishes on the southern mountains, 45, 47. Coecum, cut of the, 232. Colic, symptoms and treatment of, 253. Cold storms, dangerous effects of, after shear- ing, 191. Colombia, exports of wool from, 110. Colon, cut of the, 232. Cobza, value of, as a fodder, 213. Copperas, sul|)hate of, use of, in sheep medi- cine, 275. Corn, Indian, as food for sheep, 216. value of, as a fodder, 213. blades of, as sheep fodder, 41, 212, 214. stalks of as a sheep fodder, 41, 212,214. Corrosive sublimate, use of, in sheep medi- cine, 275. Cotswold shecj), origin of 149. introduction of. into the U. S., 149. description of, 149. crosses of, with other breeds, 149. cut of 148. Cotton, statistics of the crop of, 79. cost of growing, 79, 85. cost of growiniT, compared with that of growing wool, 85. should alternate with other crops, 78 — 83- alternating of, with wool growing pro- posed, 81. rotations for such alternation proposed, 83, 84. more should be grown on less land, 80, 85. seed of, as a food for sheep, 216. Crab grass, account of the, 37. Creeping panic grass. See Bermuda grass. Crimea, advantages of for wool growing, 117. Merinos introduced in, 117. Crook, uses of the, described, 196. cut of the. 196. Crossing breeds and varieties, object of, 170. effects of, 170—172. advantages of under some circums'.aices, 162, 164, 170. Cud, loss of the, not a disease, 272. Cumberland grass. See Bermuda grass. Cumberland mountains described, 43. Also, see Apulachiaiis. the adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, 48. Curled kale, as food for sheep, 62. flourishes on southern mountains, 62 Cynodon dactylon. See Bermuda grass. Cynoglossum officinale, injurious to wool, 174. See Hound' s-tongue. Cystisis, unusual in V. S., 238. D. Dactylis glomerata. See Orchard grass. Dangerous rams, how managed, 193. Denmark, exports of wool from. 110. Depots for wool. See Wool Depots Diaphragm, structure and functions of, 234. DiarrhcEa, description and treatment of, 250 Digestion, the process of 229 — 231. Digitalis, use of, in sheep mcdici^ne, 275. Digitaria sanguinalis, account of the. 37. Diseases, the classification of adopted, 226. same causes do not produce the same, in different countries, 220. popular superstitions concerning causes of 220, 221. many of those of England not found in U. S., 221— 223, 238. difference in the type of, in England and U. S., 224. treatment of, in England and U. S. dif- ferent, 224. English treatment of, too expensive 224, 225. English treatment requires too much skill for popular use, 225. English treatment, its pharmacopceia too extensive, 225. treatment of by "cattle doctors" dan- gerous, 226. better do too little for, than too much 226. Dissection indispensable to learn nature ana treatment of diseases, 227. amount of instruction necessary to per • form, 227. directions for, 227, 228. proper subjects for, 227. Division of flocks proper in summer, 193. necessary in winter, 199. Docking sheep, necessity ibr, 181. how performed, 181. Dogs, sheep. See Sheep dogs. destruction of sheep in the South by. 64 legal enactments in rehition to killing sheep by, in New York, 64. methods of protecting sheep from, 65. Down sheep. See Southdowns. Dropsy, acute, unusual in U. S., 222. Drouths, the severe, which prevail in Aus- tralia and the Cape of Good Hope, 119, 120. Ductus choledochus, functions of the, 231. Duodenum, cut of the, 232. Dura mater, the. 236. Dutch West Indies, exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846, 124. Duties on wool in different nations. See Tariffs. Dysenterv, difference between, and diarrhoea, 251. nature and treatment of. 261. 326 INDEX. E. Ear, numbering sheep by notching. Page 179. Von Thaer's system of, 178, 179. cuts illustrating, 179. when done, 180. notcher, described, 180. hole* in, to record age, 179. holes in, how made, &.C., 179. East Indies, increasing exports of wool from, 110, 111. in what countries of the, wool is grown, 118. Ellman, Mr. the great improver of the South- downs, 144. Emasculation of rams, how performed, 181. England, duties of, on imported wool, 106. table of imports of wool of, and from whence imported, every fifth year for thirty years, 110. imports of wool of, compared with other nations, 108. imports of, brought down to 1846, 294. vast increase of imports of wool of, in sixty-nine years, 123. subsequent increase in imports of, 294. exports of woollens from, 108. exports of wool from, 109. exports of wool from, to U. S., 110. exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846, 124. number of sheep in, 109. produce of wool in, 109. production of wool in, does not meet the home consumption, 109. general advantages of, for wool growing, sheep necessary to sustain tillage of, 71. sheep dogs of, 286. Enteritis, little known in U. S., 238. Epiglottis, description of the, 236. Epilepsy, little known in U. S., 253. Epsom salts, the use of, in sheep medicine, 275. Erysipelatous scab, 261. Ethmoid bone, cut of the, 236. Ewes, proper age of, to begin breeding, 137. proper number to be put to one ram, 197. different methods of putting to ram, 198. feed and management of, during preg- nancy, 217. pregnant, should be watered separately, 199. Eye, inflammation of the, how treated, 239. F. Fall feeding, a good preparation for winter, 195. Febrile diseases, account of the, 238 — 251. Feeding sheep in yards with other stock im- proper, 210. Felting property in wool accounted for, 137. Fences, poor ones teach sheep to jump, 194. Fever, inflammatory, little known in U. S., 238. malignant, little known in U. S., 238. typhus, little known in U. S., 238. Flaxseed. See Linseed. Fleece, evenness of, important, 167. how prepared for folding, 187. how folded, 187, 188. Fleece, cuts of table and trough for folding the, 187, 188. proper twine for tying, 188. cut of, properly done up, 188. Florida, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods manufactured in, 17. Fluke worm, cuts of the, 248. account of the, 247, 248. Fly, its attacks and their effects, l73, 192. how avoided, 173, 192. Fodders, table of nutritious equivalents of, 213. increase in weight, wool and tallow, from using different kinds of, 214,-215! table of winter variations m, for sheep, 211. table of, for ewes, a month prior t» lambing, 212. for winter feed of breeding ewes, 217. amount consumed influenced by tempe- rature, 217, 218. cereal grains for store sheep, 215, 216. ruta bagas for store sheep, 215, 216. Indian corn to be fed with care, 216. regujarity in giving, very important, 217. Folding, how done in England, 72. objects of, in England, 72. inexpedient in U. S., 73. Folding of fleeces. See Fleece. Food. See Grasses and Fodders. Foot rot. See Hoof-ail. Fouls, cause and treatment of, 270. Foxglove. See Digitalis. Fractures, treatment of, 273. France, area of, HI. population of. 111. number of sheep in. 111. exports of wool from, 110. exports of, to U. S. in 1846, 124. exports of woollens from, 108. late increase in manufactures of, 111,296. imports of wool of, 108. duties of, on imported wool, 106. advantages of, for sheep husbandry. 111. soil and products of. 111. French Merinos, account of, 133. 'cut of wool of, 135. quality of wool of, compared with Spa- nish and American families, 135, 136. weight of fleeces of, 133. French sheep dogs, 285. Frontal bone, cut of section of, 236. Frontal sinuses, cut of, 236. locality of the bot or grub in the head, 256. G. Gad-fly of the sheep. See CEstrus ovis. Gall bladder, account of the, 233. Garget, description and treatment oi, 251. Gastritis, little known in U. S., 238. Generative organs, the, 233. Gentian, the use of, in sheep medicine, 275 Georgia, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wpol grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. INDEX. 327 Georgia, woollen goods manufactured in. Page 17. advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 42, 59, 60. price of land in, 60. adaptation of mountain lands of, to sheep husbandry, 47. Germany, area of, 114. population of, 114. face of the country in, 114. soils of, 114. climate of, 115. land tenures in, 115. system of sheep husbandry in, 115, 139. method of managing sheep in, 139. circumstances under which the wool of, is grown in, 115, 116. export of wool from, 110, 114. export of woollens from, 108. late increase in woollen manufactures of, 296. general advantages of, for wool growing, 114—116. general advantages of, compared with U. S., 116. general advantages of, Mr. Grove's opinion, 116. Gestation, period of, 197. Gibraltar, exports of wool from, 110. exports of, to U. S. in 1846, 124. Ginger, the use of, in sheep medicine, 275. Glands, the parotid, 236. the thyroid, 236. the thyroid, diseases of, 270. the salivary, 236. Glottis, account of the, 236. Goggles. See Hydatid in the hrain. Goitre, account of the, 270, 271. Grain, policy "of feeding to store sheep in winter, 215. best kinds of, for winter feed, 216. equivalents of, in nutriment, 213. effec(s of different kinds of, in producing wool, tallow and muscle, 214. Grain box for sheep, cut and description of, 203. Grasses, natural ones of the South, 36 — 39, 44, 45, 47—49, 58, 59. varieties of which should be tried in the South, 33, 35—38. best acclimated ones of the South, 33, 36—38. manner of forming swards of, in the South, 73—75. Great Bucharia, wool trade of, 118. Greece, exports of wool from, 110, 114. (In Table on page 110 it is called Morea.) advantages of, for sheep husbandry. See Remarks on Turkey, 104, 114. Grub in the head, description of the, 256, 257. the larva of the (Estrus ovis, 257. cuts and description of the CEstrus, 256. time CEstrus deposits its eggs, 256. locality and habits of the larva, 256, 257. cuts and description of the larva, 257. cut and description of the chrysalis, 257. do the larva produce disease in the sheep ? 257, 258. opinions of eminent veterinarians in rela- tion to, 258. method of preventing and expeUing the larva, 258. Guano, as a manure in the South, 67. Guatemala, exports of wool from, 110. Guernsey and Man, exports of wool from 110. Gullet, obstructions of, how treated, 273. Gypsum as a fertilizer in the South, 67. H. Handling sheep, directions for, 174. Hay, different value of difTerent qualities of, as fodder, 213. com.parative value of in producing live weight, wool, and tallow, 214. nitrogen in, 214. Hay holders for winter foddering described, 211. Hanse Towns, exports of wool from, to U. S in 1846, 124. Head, for proper form of see the descrip^ tions of the several breeds, and prin ciples of breeding, cut of the bones ot'the, 236. Heart, structure and functions of the, 234, 235. Hedysarum onibrichis. Se^ Sainfoin. Hepatization of the lung?, description of, 239. Herds grass, character of, 33, 37. flourishes in South Carolina, 36, 59. flourishes on the mountains of North Carolina, 44. the soils adapted to, 37. Hindostan, wools exported from, 108. Holland, exports of wool from, 110. exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846, 124. exports of woollens from, 108. Honeycomb, or second stomach. See Eet'i- culum. Hooding dangerous rams, how done, 193. Hoof, periodical shortening of the, necessary, 183. best time and method for cutting the, 183. cut of toe-nippers for shortening the, 183. Hoof-ail, erroneous statements of English writers concerning, 262. author's experience with the, 262. consecutive symptoms of, 263. treatment of 264 — 269. preparation of the foot for treatment in the different stages of, 265. common remedies for. 265, 266. common method of treating, ineffectual, 264. effectual method of treating, 266, 267. effectual method of treating, expense of, 267. :heap method of keeping under, 267, 268. cheap method of keeping under, cuts of arrangements for, 267, 268. evident contagiousness of 269, 270. propagated by inoculation, 269, 270. is it propagated otherwise than by ino- culation? 270. does not originate spontaneously in U. S., 222, 223, 269. originates spontaneously i\\ England 223. Hoof-rot. See Hoof-ad. Hoove, cause and treatment of, 272, 273. 328 INDEX. Horns, objectionable. Page 166. method of shortening, 192. cause and treatment of maggots under the, 192. Hoppling sheep, how performed, 193. Hospital for feeble sheep, in winter, 199. Hound's-tongue, the burr of, injurious to wool, 174. Hungary, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 115—117. advantages of, compared with those of other countries, 117. climate of, 115, 116. soils of, 116. land tenures in, 116. want of market facilities in, 116, 117. Prince Esterhazy's flock in, 116. sheep dogs of, 284. Hydatid in the brain, 254, 255. causes of, 254. prevalence in England of, 254. not very common in U. S., 254. barbarous popular method of treating, 255. proper treatment of, 255. I. Ileum, cut of the, 232. Illinois, advantages on prairies of, for wool growing, 96 — 103. Saxon sheep introduced into south of, 27. rot prevails in south of, 222. In-and-in breeding, efiecls of, 169. Independent Tartary, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 118. Indiana, advantages of, for wool growing, 96—103. Inflammation of the bladder. See Cystitis. of the brain. See Phretiitis. of the eye. See Oplhalmia. of the intestines. See Enteritis. of the larynx. See Laryngitis. of the lungs. See Pneumonia. of the liver. See Rot. of the stomach. See Gastritis. of the udder. See Garget. of the membrane lining the thorax. See Pleuritis. of the mucous membrane lining the bronchial tubes. See Bronchitis. of the mucous coat of the smaller intes- tines. See Diarrhoea. of the mucous coat of the larger intes- tines. See Dysentery. of the mucous membrane lining the nasal passages. See Catarrh. of the cellular tissue of the tongue. See Blain. Intermaxillary bone, cut of the, 236. Intestines, cut of the, 232. Iodine, use of, in sheep medicine, 275, 276. Iowa, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 96—103. Italy, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 113. exports of wool from, 110. exports of woollens from, 108. area of, 113. population of, 113. soil and climate of, 113. oasturage of, 113. J. Jejunum, cut of the, 232. John's-wort, bad effects of, on sheep, 271. bad effects of, how treated, 271, 272. Jugular vein, the best place for bleeding, 274. June grass. See Blue grass. K. Kalmia angustiflora, poisonous to sheer),271 antidotes for, 271. Kentucky, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods manufactured in, 17. fine wooled sheep bred in, 27. advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 27, 47, 48. adaptation of mountain lands of, for sheep husbandry, 47, 48. Kidneys, structure and functions of the, 233. L. Lacteals, the, 231. Lambs, how fed in winter, 215, 216. should be wintered separately, 19'.J. Lambing, proper time for, 175. shelters necessary for, 175. assistance when to be rendered ewe in, 175. care of the newly dropped lamb, 176. changing dams, how done, 177. irritation of the bag, how managed, 177. the convenience of pens in, 177. pinning of young lambs after, 177. Lard, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Larynx described, 235. Laryngitis, little known in U. S., 238. Laurel, low, poisonous to sheep, 271. Leg, treatment of, when i'ractured, 273. Leicester sheep, origin of the, 142. cut of the, 142. cut of the microscopic appearance of wool of, 136. general description of, 143, 154. characters of as breeders. 143. degree of hardiness of, 143. points aimed at by breeders of, 144. introduction of, into U. S., 144. Lentils, value of, as a fodder, 218. straw of, value of, as a fodder, 213. straw of, fed to sheep in Germany, 211 Lice, method of destroying, 192. Lime, chloride of, use of, in sheep medicim 276. carbonate of, use of, in sheep practice, 276. as a fertilizer in the South, 67 — 70. as a fertilizer, when valuable, 68. as a fertilizer, Johnson's opinions con- cerning, 68. as a fertilizer. Von Thaer's opinion con- cerning, 68. as a fertilizer, Petzholdt's opinion cOR cerning, 69. INDEX. 320 Lime, as a fertilizer, Chaptal's opinion con- cerning. Page 69. Linseed, use of, to guard the end of a pro- bang. See Choking. caked, value of, as a fodder, 213. oil, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Little Bucharia, exports of wool from, 118. Liver, structure and functions of the, 232 233. diseases of the. See Eot. Lolium perenne. See Rye grass. Lombardy, advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry, 113. Long wool, the goods in which it is em- ployed, 143, 151. the sheep which produce it, 143, 149, 151. market for, in U. S., 154. Loss of cud, not a disease, 272. Louisiana, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods manufactured in, 17. price of land in, 60. Lucern, unsuccessful in the North, 33. succeeds on the southern mountains, 47. value of, as a fodder, 213. fed to sheep in Germany, 211. Lunar caustic, use of, in sheep practice, 276. Lungs, structure and functions of the. 235. nepatization of the, described, 239. diseases of the, 239. 240. Lupins, white, as a green manuring crop in the South, 74. Lupinus albus. See Lupins. Lymph, the, 231. Lymphatics, the, 231. M. Madia, value of, as a fodder, 213. Maggots on sheep, cause and treatment of, 192. Malta, exports of wool from, 1 10. Man, Isle of. See Guernsey and Man. Mangel wurzel, value of, in producing live weight, wool, and tallow, 214. percent, of nitrogen in, 214. Maniplus, structure and functions of the, 229. cut of the, 228. .Manufactures of wool. QeeWoollen Manu- factures. Manufactories. See Woollen Factories. Manufacturers of wool, American, their suc- cess identified with that of the wool growers, 161. have not properly discriminated in the prices of different qualities of wool. 160. combinations of, to lower prices of wool, 161. Manures, table of comparative values of, 40. the available ones in the South, 67 — 76. green, use and economy of, 70, 72, 74,75. the cheapest, for the South, 73 — 75. where applied in a proper rotation of crops, 84. Manyfolds. See Maniplus. Marking sheep, the brand for, 191. suitable pigment for, 191. how uid wnen done, 191 . Marking sheep, on the ears, how done, 179. Marl, as a feriilizer. South, 67 — 70. as a fertilizer, when valuable, 68, 70. as a fertilizer, e.vpensiveness of, 70. Meadow fox-tail grass, ilourishes on tbe southern mountains, 47. I\Tedicago sativa. See Lucern. Medicines, list of, for sheep, 274 — 277. directions for administering into the sto- mach, 273. Mercury, preparations of, in sheep medicine, 275, 276. Merinos, introduction into the U, S., 132. their gradual spread in the U. S., 132. causes of their subsequent decrease in U. S., 1.58, 159. their rapid restoration to public favor in U. S.. 160. 161. Spanish families of, 132. Spanish, amount and quality of wool yielded by, 133, 135. Spanish, cut of wool of, 135, 137. French family of, described, 133. French, amount and quality of wool yielded by, 133, 135. French, cut of wool of, 135. American families of, described, 133, 134. American, amount and quality of wool yielded by, .^)5, 134—137. American, cuts of wool of, 135, 136. American, cut of ram of, 131. American, cut of ewe of, 134, American, hardness of, 137. American, profits of a premium flock of, 55. American, prices of wool of, 55. range of climate endured by. 137. countries successfully introduced in, 17, IS. consumption of food by, compared with other breeds, 137. as breeders and nurses, compared with other breeds, 137. proportion of wool to amount of food consume.'l. c mpared with the English breeds, 15i). as mutton shf-ep, compared witJi English breeds, l')S. for production of fine wool, compared with Saxons, 163, 164. crosses with .*^a.\ons, 134, 138, 141, 164. crosses with native sheep, 164. crosses wiih .'-iouthdovvns. 170, 171. crosses with licicesters, 171. the best vari<^.y of sheep for the South, 163, 16.5—168. proper size of. 165. proper form of, 166. proper weight of fleece of, 165. proper length and density of wool of, 167. proper evenness of wool of, 167. proper sFyle of wool of, 168. proper amount of gum on wool of, 167. proper quality of skin of, 166. points to be avoided in, 168. Mesentery, cut of the, 232. Mesenteric glands, the, 231. Mexico, adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, 105. exports of wool from, 110. exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846» 124. :i30 INDEX. Mexico, sheep dogs of. Page 284 — 286. Microscopic \iews of wool, 135 — 137, 145. Middle wools. See Southdown wool. Midriff. See Diaphragm. Millet, productiveness of, South, 37, 38. straw of, fed to sheep in Germany, 211, 212. value of, as a fodder, 213. Milt. See Spleen. Miscellaneous diseases, 271—273. Mississippi, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods manufactured in, 17. fine wooled sheep bred in, 27. latitude, &,c., of, compared with Aus- tralian, 27. Missouri Territory, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 96—103. Modena, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 113. Mogadore wool, 90. Morea, exports of wool from, 110. See Greece. Morocco. See Africa. Mountains of the South. See Mountain zone, under head of Southern States. Mud, as a fertilizer. See Swamp mud. Muriate of soda. See Salt. Muriatic acid, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Mutton, economical food for slaves, 56, 57. its effects on the system compared with other meats, 56. tlie quality of, in different breeds of sheep, 153, 154, 158. Also, see the different breeds, sheep, the English. See Soiithdowns, L,eicester!t, and Cotswolds. sheep, where they constitute the most profitable variety, 153, 154. sheep, comparison between varieties of, 153, 154. sheep, unadapted to most parts of the South, 154, 155. sheep, less profitable in the South than Merinos, 158. N. Naples, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 113. Nasal bones, cut of the, 236. Native sheep (so called) of the U. S., origin of, 130. general characteristics of, 131. crosses with other breeds, 131, 164. policy of grading up with the Merino in the South, 164, 170. selection of, to cross with Merlros, 170. do not cross successfully, with Saxons, 164. Nerves, the, 236. Nervous diseases, the, 251. New England, advantages of, for wool growing, 95. New Jersey, advantages of, for wool grow- ing, 95. New Leicester sheep. See Leicester. New Oxfordshire sheep. See Cotswolds. New South Wales. See Australia. Vew York, population of, 17. New York, sheep introduced in by the Dutch colonists, 130. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods manufactured in, 17. grass lands of, how managed, 32. price of grazing lands in, 53. price of sheep in, 53. cost of producing wool per pound in, 61.- profits of wool growing in, 53 — 55. Nitrate of silver. See L^mar caustic. Nitrate of potash, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Nitre. See Nitrate of potash. Nitric acid, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. North Carolina, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. amount of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods maniffactured in, 17. price of land in, 44, 60. adaptation of mountain lands of, to sheep husbandry, 44 — 46. Norway, exports of wool from, 110. climate and flora of, 104, 105. Numbering sheep, advantages of, 178. See Etgistering. Von Thaer's system of, 179. cuts illustrating, 179. o. Oats, value of, in producing live weight, wool, and tallow, 214. per cent, of nitrogen in, 214. value of straw of, as a fodder, 213. straw of, fed to sheep in Germany, 211. Odessa, exports of wool from, 117. ffisophagus, course of the, 234 — 236. entrance of, into stomach, 228, 229. obstructions of the, how treated, 273. CEsophagean canal, structure and functions of the, 229. CEstrus ovis, description of, 256. natural history of, 256, 257. cuts of, 256. Ohio, advantages of, for wool growing, 95. Omentum, description of the, 228. One crop system of the South, 81. exhaustion of land consequent on the, 81, 82. exhaustion of land consequent on the, De Candolle's, Macaire's, Mirbel's, Braconnet's and Gyde's theories and experiments on, 81. Opium, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Opthalmia, treatment of the, 239. Orchard grass, unsuccessful in New York, 33. flourishes on the southern mountains, 62. Orkney, wool of, 90. Otter sheep of the U. S., 129. Ovaries, the, 233. Palsy, nature and treatment of, 253. Pancreas, structure and functions of the, 232 Panicum milliaceum. See Millet. INDEX. 331 Panicurn sanguinale. See Crab grass. Papal States, advantages of. for sheep hus- bandry. Page 113. Parietal bone, cut of a section of, 236. Parma, ad' antages of, for sheep husbandry, 113. Parotid glands, the, 236. Parturiti-in. See Lambing. Pastures, the natural ones of the South, 33, 34, 3(>, 44—48, 59, 60. how formed on sterile lands, 73 — 75. Patagonia, portioi of, in wool zone, 105. Paunch. See Rumen. Peas of the South, 39. substitute for clover in the South, 39,41. value of, as a fodder, 39, 41, 213, 214. value of, in the production of live weight, wool, and tallow, 214. per cent, of nitrogen in, 214. value of, as a green manuring crop, 74, 75. what time plowed under for green ma- nure, 75. haulm of, valuable as a fodder, 39, 213, 214. haulm of, valuable as a manure, 40. chemical analysis of, 39. Pedigree, only, value of, 171. Pelt-rot, description and treatment of, 255. Pens for the lambing season, how con- structed, 177. Pennsylvania, adaptation of, to sheep hus- bandry, 95. Pepper, black, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Pericardium, the, 234. Persia, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 104, 118. Peru, exports of wool from, 110. exports of wool to U. S. in 1846, 124. Pharyn.x, the, 235, 236. Phleum pratense. See Timothy. Phrenitis, rare in U. S., 253. Pia mater, the, 236. Pimento, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Pindars, value of, as a fodder, 213. Pinning, fatal to lambs, how managed, 177. Pleura, the, 234. Pleuritis, little known in U. S., 238. Pleurisy. See Pleuritis. Pneumonia, nature and treatment of, 239, 240. Poa pratensis. See Blue grass. Poisonous plants to sheep, 271. Portugal, exports of wool from, 110. Potatoes, Irish, as a winter feed for sheep, 41,213. value of, in the production of live weight, wool, and tallow, 214. per cent, of nitrogen in, 214. sweet, winter feed of sheep, 41. Poudrette, as a manure, South, 67. Prairies of the Western States described, 95—107. advantages on the, for wool growing, 95—107. natural grasses of the, 96 — 99. natural grasses, succulent during but a short season, 96, 97. natural grasses, rapidly exterminated, 96. natural grasses, will not alone support sheep, 96. natural grasses, make poor hay for steep, 98. 2R Prairies of the Western States will not pro- duce winter pasturage, 98. time of winter foddering necessary on, 97. cost of sheep husbandry on, compared with Eastern States, 99. cost of fuel, fences and buildings on, 99, 100. difficulties in the way of the shepherd system on, 100, 101. scarcity of water on, 101. climate of, variable and excessive, 102. 103. climate of, compared with Eastern States, 102. climate of, compared with Southern States, 102, 103. climate of, unfavorable to fine wooled sheep, 103. Pregnant ewes, how managed. See Etves. Prussia, ibr general description of, see Ger- many, 114 — 116. exports of wool from, 110. exports of woollens from, 103. advantages of, ibr sheep husbandry, 116. climate of, 104, 115. management of sheep in, 139. Pulse, place for feeling the, 274. natural rapidity of, 274. Purging. See Diarrhoea Pylorus, the, 228, 231. R. Rabies, uncommon in U. S., 253. Racks, for feeding sheep, 200—203. box, cut and description of, 200. hole, cut and description of, 200. sparred, cut and description of, 201. hopper, cut and description of, 202. Rams, method of castrating, 180, 181. dangerous ones, how managed, 193. importance of careful selection in, 172. oljjcctions to several running in the same flock of ewes, 197. necessity of selecting ewes in reference to quality of, 197. proper age of, to put to ewes, 197. different methods of putting to ewes, 198. how fed when running with ewes, 199. time allowed to run with ewes, 199. number of ewes those of different ages will serve, 197. not allowed to run with ewes in sum- mer, 193. Rambouillet Merino. See French family of , under head of Merinos. Rape, as food for sheep, 62. flourishes on southern mountains, 62. Rectum, the, 232. Red-top. See Herds grass. Red water. See Dropsy, acute. Registering sheep, Mr. Grove's and author's method, 180. importance of, 178. Respiratory passages, the, 235. Respiration, how produced, 234. Resting lands, meaning of the term in agri culture, 82. theory of, 82. inexpediency of, 82. Reticulum, description of the, 228. 332 INDEX. Reticulum, functions of the. Page 230. Rice, value of, as a fodder, 213. Roots, for winter feed of sheep, 213, 214, 216. Root troughs, cut of, 203. Rol, not known in most parts of U. S., 222. other diseases mistaken ibr, 222. bas appeared in Tennessee and Illinois, 222. rrevalence jf, in Europe, 221, 222. causes assigned for the, 223, 248, 249. symptoms of the, 247. post-mortem appearances of, 247. cuts of the fluke-worm of, 248. suddenness with which it is engendered. 249. English custom of selling rotted sheep to the butcher, 249. treatment of the, 249, 250. Rotation in crops, necessity of, 81, 82. necessity of, in the South, 78 — 83. a system of, recommended for the South, 83—85. Rumen, structure of the, 228. cut of the, 228. functions of the, 229. unnatural distension of the. See Hoove. Rumination, the process of, 230. Russia, climate of, 104, 117, 118. soil and products of, 117. face of the country in, 117. the south of, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 117. the south of, compared with Hungary, 117. the south of, compared with prairies of the U. S., 117. Merinos introduced in, in 1802, 117. Merinos, rapid increase of in, 117. exports of wool from, 110, 117. exports of wool to U. S. in 1826, 124. Ruta bagas, as sheep feed, 213, 216. Rye, for winter pasturage in the South, 40, 58. value of grain of, in producing live weight, wool, and tallow. 214. per cent, of nitrogen in, 214. dry straw of, value of, in different states, as a fodder, 213. fed to sheep in Germany, 211. Rye grass, unsuccessful in New York, 33. flourishes on southern mountains, 47,62. s. Sacking wool, how performed, 189. proper sacks for, 189. Salt, necessary for sheep in summer, 194. necessary for sheep in winter, 218. effect, in conjunction with fodders, in in- creasing live weight, wool, and tallow, 214. as a medicine, 276. box, for salting sheep, cut of, 194. Saltpetre, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Sainfoin, 33. fed to sheep in Germany, 211. Sardinia, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 113. Saxon sheep, origin of, 138. cut of ram, 138. varieties of, 139. microscopic appearance of wool of, 136. Saxon sheep, German management of, 116 139. introduction of, into U. S., 140, 141. deterioration of blood of, in U. S., 141. quantity and quality of wool of, in U. S., 141. wool of, in U. S., compared with parent stock, 141, 142. general description of, 141. defects of, as breeders and nurses 139, 141. defects of, in hardiness, 139, 141. how far adapted to climate in northern states, 162. superseded the Merinos for a time in U. S., 159. rapid decrease of, in the U. S., 160. dislike to, among northern farmers, 162. compared with Merinos for growing fine wool, 163. improved by a cross with Merinos, 136, 137, 141. crosses of, with native sheep, 141, 164. Saxony, soils of 114. climate of 104, 115. face of the country in, 114. management of sheep in, 116. Scab, description of, 258. cuts of the acarus producing it, 259. habits of the acarus, 258. circumstances under which the acarus makes its attacks, 258. short-wooled sheep comparati-veiy ex- empt from, 259. contagiousness of 259. prevalence of, in England, 259. treatment of 260, 261. Scotland, (included, in most respects, in de- scription of England.) exports of wool from, to U. S. in 1846, 124. . mountains of, only kept in pasture by sheep, 71. Scours. See Diarrhcea. Sedge grass, eaten by sheep, 49. Selection, annual necessity of, in flocks, 190. rules for, 190. form of a register to expedite, 190. Shade, necessity of, in sheep pasture, 195. Shearing, proper time of, 184. time between, and washing, 184. cut of arrangements for, 1S4. rules and regulations for, 185, 186. of lambs, objected to, 186. of sheep, semi-annually, objected to, 186. bheds for sheep, cuts of, 205, 208 the cheapest, 208. Shelter for slieep in winter. See Sheds, Stills, &c. Sheep, bred in all climates, 17. number of in the southern states and in New York, 17. indispensable for support of poor lands, 71. indispensable to support tillage in Eng- land, 71, 72. system of sustaining tillage lands by, in England, 71, 72. poor lands improved by, in north-ern states, 72. system of improving poor lands by, in the South, 73—76. better manurers than other stock, 71, 72. INDEX. 333 Sheep, improve the character of the vegeta- tion. Page 57. extirpators of briers and shrubs, 57. small risk by death, in breeding. 57. impropriety of feeding, in yards with other stock, in winter, 210. comparison of breeds of, 153, 154, 163, 164. comparison in respect to weight of fleece, 154, 156, 157. comparison in quality of wool, 154. comparison in consumption of food, 154, 156. comparison in proportion of wool to food consumed, 156. comparison in hardiness, 156, 157. comparison in longevity, 156, 157. comparison in mutton, 153, 154, 158. comparison in bearing hard stocking, 154, 155, 156. comparison in profitableness in the South, 156, 157. how they should be caught and other- wise handled, 174. washing of See Washing sheep. shearing of. See Shearirig. (for other particulars of the management of, see the different heads.) cordial, how compounded, 250. dogs, of the ancients, 278, 279. dogs, of Spain, 280—284. dogs, of Spain, cut of, 281. dogs, of France, 286. dogs, of Hungary, 284. dogs, of England, 287. dogs, of England, cut of, 287. dogs, of Scotland, 288. dogs, of Scotland, cut of, 288. dogs, of Mexico, 284—286. dogs, of South America, 285. dogs, sheep must be familiarized with, 288. Silesia, climate of, 104, 115. face of the country, 114. character of the soil, 114. Slave cloths, de.scription, 85, 86, 89, 90. expense of imported, 85, 86, 89. actual first cost of, 90, 91. great profits of manufacturers of, 90, 91. should be manufactured in the southern states, 87. offers of northern manufacturers to fur- nish below present prices, 90, 91. cost of manufacturing as good or better plains in the north, 86. cost of manufacturing " at the halves," 87. cost of manufacturing by hand on plan- tations, 89. Smith's Island sheep, 129. Smyrna wools, quality of, 90. Snuffles. See Catarrh. South America, portion of, in the wool zone, 105. climate of, 104, 105. exports of wool from, 105. sheep husbandry in, 105. advantages of, for wool growing, 105, 106. advantages of, compared with U. S., 105, 106. pampas of, compared with prairies of U. S., 105. sheep dogs of, 285. South America, for other parlicula;s of, see Buenos Ayres, &LC. Southdown sheep, origin of, 144. cut of ram, 145. cut of ewe, 146. cut of wool viewed through microscope, 145. general description of, 144, 115, 148, 154 value of, as a mutton sheep, 146, 147. weight and quality of fleeces of, 146. wool of, deficient in felting properties, 145, 146. introduction into U. S., 147. South Carolina, population of, 1 /. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods manufactured in, 17. price of land in, 59, 60. neglect ot grass culture in, 31. hay imported into, 31. adaptation of soils of, to grass cukure, 31, 32, 34, 59, 80. adaptation of climate of, to grass culture, 36. system of cropping in, 32, 79. system of cropping compared with New York, 32, 33. system of cropping, change in, recom- mended by legislature, 79, 80. system of cropping, utility of sheep husbandry in effecting such change in, 85. cost of keeping sheep in, 59, 60. winter pasturage for sheep in, 58 — 60. adaptation of mountains of, to sheep pasture, 47, 59. present method of managing sheep in, 59, 60. wolves in, 64. Southern States, what states included under this designation, 30. area of, 30, 94. natural features and geology of, 30, 31. quality of soils of, 30, 35, 42, 69. profits of sheep husbandry in, 58 — 62. profits of, compared with other hus- bandry in, 76, 77. advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 77. advantages of, compared with other states and countries. See Wool grow- ing. advantages of, for migratory sheep hus- bandry, 62. advantages of, for migratory sheep hus- bandry, compared with Spain, 62 — 64. expense of keeping sheep in, 59, 60. expense per pound, of growing wool in, 61. expense per pound, of growing wool in, compared with New York, 61. prejudice in, against sheep husbandry, and causes of, 72, 81. sheep exposed to dogs and wolves in, 64. compared with other countries in above particular, 65. prices of land in, 44, 46, 47, 60. amelioration of sterile and worn-out soils of, by sheep husbandry, 52, 70—72. amelioration of stfiile and worn-out soils of, by sheep husbandry, more cheaply than by the available manures. 67. 334 INDEX. Southern States, amelioration of sterile and worn-out soils of, by sheep husbandry, more cheaply than by marl. Page 68—70. amelioration of sterile and worn-out soils by sheep husbandry, considered cheap- est in England, 71, 72. amelioration of sterile and worn-out soils by sheep husbandry, considered cheap- est in the Northern States, 73. amelioration of sterile and worn-out soils by sheep husbandry, why preferable to cattle husbandry, 71, 72. amelioration of sterile and worn-out soils by sheep husbandry, other means available in conjunction with, 74, 75. method of forming pastures on sterile soils of, 73, 74. effect of present one-crop husbandry in, 78—81. sheep husbandry, basis of convertible husbandry in, 52, 78. convertible husbandry in, the strong ne- cessity for, 82. convertible husbandry in, recommended by a committee of the legislature of South Carolina, 79, 80. convertible husbandry in, recommended in Judge Seabrook's Report, 80. rotation of crops for, proposed, 83 — 85. should rear their own products for con- sumption, 76. should manufacture their own coarse woollens, 85 — 89. cost of manufacturing and importing these in. compared, ^^'6— 87, 89—93. cost of manufacturing slave cloths in, by hand, 88. divided into three zones, 30. the territorial limits of these zones, 30, 31. Itde- water zone of, 30. natural features and geology of, 30. quality of the soil of, 30, 35, 69. compared with portions of New York, 34. compared with Flanders, 35. how ameliorated, 35, 68. adaptation of, to the grasses, 31 — 38. adaptation of, to clover, 32, 36. adaptation of, to other fodders, 38 — 41. causes of failure in acclimating grasses in, 31, 32. proper grasses to introduce in, 37 — 40. natural grasses of, 36, 37. natural pastures of, 33, 34. number of sheep per acre which could find subsistence in, 58, 94. winter pasturage of, 31, 40, 58, 59. prices of land in, 60, 61. present system of cropping in, 32. climate of, adapted to growing fine wool, 23—29. failly zone of, 30. face of the country and geology of, 42. quality of the soil, 42. method of enriching soils of, 72. adaptation of, to grasses and grains, 27, 42, 59. method of forming pastures in, 74. adaptation to sheep husbandry, 43, 59. price of lands in, 59, 61. climate of, 42, 59. ouality of, west of the mountains, 51. Southern States, mountain zone of, 30. altitude of the Blue Ridge, Alleghany, and Cumberland chains, 43, 63. altitude of, compared with the moun tains of Spain, 63. shape of the mountains of, 43. geology of, 43. character of the soil of, 44, 46, 49. large portions of, arable, 43. table lands on, 43. grasses of, 43, 44, 47, 59, 62. white and red clover, lucern, and rye grass flourish on, 47. timothy and orchard grass flourish on, 44, 62. adaptation of, to pasturage, 44 — 47, 59, 62. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry ,44 — 51. 59. adaptation of, to Hon. T. L. Clingman's statements concerning, 44, 45. adaptation of, to Mr. H. M. Earle's state- ments concerning, 46. adaptation of, to Col. E. Colston's state- ments concerning, 47. adaptation of, to Hon. W. L. Goggins's statements concerning, 47. adaptation of, to Hon. A. Stevenson's statements concerning, 47. - adaptation of, to Hon. A. Beatty's state- ments concerning, 47. adaptation of, to Mr. C. F. Kramer's statements concerning, 48. adaptation of, to Hon. R. F. Simpson's statements concerning, 59. adaptation of, to Mr. N. Murdoch's statements concerning, 62. winter pasturage on, 47 — 49, 59. adaptation of, to turnips and other fod- ders, 62. climate of, 44 — 51, 59. climate of, shown by vegetation of, 50, 51. climate of, compared with that of New York, 49, 50. price of lands in, 44, 46, 47, 48, 59. wolves in, 64. Spain, sheep husbandry of, 62, 63. great decrease in wool growing in. 111. migratory sheep husbandry of, and its disadvantages, 113. advantages of, for migratory sheep hus- bandry, compared with those of south- ern states, 62, 63. evil effects of the Mesta in, 113. height, climate, and vegetation of m.oun- tainsof, 62, 112. general advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry, 62, 63, 112. soil and products of, 112. number of sheep in, 112. decreased exports of wool from, 110,111. exports of wool to U. S. in 1886 and 1846, 111, 124. other exports from, 112. sheep dogs of, 280—284. Spear grass. See Blue grass. Spergula arvensis. See Spurry. Sphenoid bone, cut of, 236. Spirit of salt. See Muriatic acid. of tar, use of, in sheep practice, 277. Spleen, structure and functions of the, 231. 232. Spurry, as a green manuring crop. South, 74. INDEX 335 Staggers. See Hydatid in the hrain. Stell, description of the. Page 206, 207. cut of outside one, 2-05. cut of ancient ones, 206. cut of inside circular ones, 207. cut of circular one, with racks, &c., 207. Sternum, the, 228. St. Helena, exports of wool from, 110. Stomachs of the sheep, description of, 228 — 231. cuts of the, 228. structure and functions of each of the, 228, 229. course of the food through the, 229, 230. conflicting theories concerning, 230. Storing wool, 189. Also see Wool depots. Storms, bad effects of cold one's after shear- ing, 191. Sturdy. See Hydatid in the brain. Sulphate of copper, use of, in sheep prac- tice, 275. Sulphate of magnesia, use of, in sheep prac- tice, 275. Sulphur, use of, in sheep medicine, 276. Sun-sca!d, cause and treatment of, 191. Swamp tnud, its value as a fertilizer, 70. Sweden, exports of wool from, 110. Sweet-bread. See Pancreas. Syria, climate of, 104. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, 117, 118. Table 1. Of population, number of sheep, pounds of wool, woollen factories, and value of manufacttired goods in south- ern stales and in Now York, 17. 2. Of average weight of fleeces in southern states and New York, 18, 20, 21. 3. Of average weight of fleeces in four counties of each of the above states, 20. 4. Of comparative value of manures, 40. 5. Of the flowering of plants, &c., in New York, 49. 6. Of ihcrmometrical observations in New York, 50. 7. Of the average prices of wool in New York, 53. 8. Of importations of wool into Eng- land every fifth year, from 1810 to 1840, 110. 9. Of importations of wool into U. S. annually, from 1837 to 1846, 124. 10. Of importations of wool into U. S. in 1846, with countries from which imported, 124. 11. Of woollens annually imported into U. S., during twenty-five years, 125. 12. Of increase of population in U. S., from 1790 to 1840, 127. 13. Of increase of population and amount of wool required in U. S., at different periods, for one hundred and fifteen years, 128. 14. Of the progressive reductions in du- ties on wool and woollen, under the " Compromise Tariff" of 1833, 159. Tagging, necessity of 173. how performed, 173, 174. cut explanatory of, 173. Tar, propriety of feeding of, to sheep, 194, uses of, in sheep practice, 277. Tariff's on wool, of France, 106. of England, 106. of U. S., on wools and woollens, enacted in the years 1824, 1828, 1832, 1833, 1841, 1842, and 1846, 158, 159. effect of those of U. S. on the price^of wool, 159, 160. effect of those of U. S. on importations of wool, 159, 160. effect of those of U. S. on importations of woollens, 160. effect of those of U. S. on domestic pro- duction of wool, 159. effect of those of U. S. on 'he quality of domestic wool, 159, 160. frauds practised in invoicing coarse wools imported into U. S., under that of 1842, 107. effect of that of 1846 on manufactures of U. S., 106, 125, 126, 161. effect of fluctuations in, on manufac- tures, 126. Tasmania. See Australia. Taurida. See Crimea. Taylor, Col. John, of Virginia, his erroneous views in relation to sheep husbandry, 72, 81. Teeth, number and description of, 237. indicative of the age, 237. cuts of, at difi'erent ages, 237. difference in the retention of, by different breeds, 238. causes of premature loss of, 238. should be removed in some cases, 238. Temperature, influence of, on quality of wool. See Climate. Tennessee, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. pounds of wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen manufactured in, 17. fine wooled sheep introduced in, 27. fine wooled sheep, wool of, not deterio- rated in, 27. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, 27, 48. adaptation of mountains of, to sheep husbandry, 48. price of lands in, 47, 48. Tetanus, unusual in U. S., 253. Thibet, advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 118. wool exported from, 118. Thoracic duct, the, 231. Thoracic viscera, the, 234. Thorax, the, 234. Thyroid glands, the, 236. diseases of the, 270, 271. Ticks, mode of destroying, and keeping out of flock, 192. Tobacco, use of, in sheep practice, 277. Timothy, the favorite meadow grass, North, 33. as the food of sheep, 212. success on southern lowlands question- able. 37. succeeds on southern mountains, 44, 62 Toe-nippers, description and use of, 183. cut of, 183. Tory weed. See Hotmd' S'tonffue. Trees, clumps of, for winter slieltcr, 207. 33( INDEX. Trifolium rcpens. See Clover, white. Trifbliiim pratense. See Clover, red. Troughs, ior teeding roots or grain. Page 203. for feeding roots or grain, cuts of, 203. for folding wool, 187. for folding wool, cut of, 187. Tunica araciinoides, the, 236. Tunisian sheep, introduced into U. S., 151 character of, 151, 152. Turbinated bones, cut of the, 236. Turnips, succeed on the southern mountains, 62. how fed off by sheep in England, 72. value of, as a fodder, 213, 216. Swedish. See Ruia haga. Turnsick. See Hydatid in the brain. Turpentine, spirits of, use of, in sheep prac- tice, 277. Turkey, soils and cliinate of. 118. soils and climate of, in Europe, 114. face of the country in, 114. population of, 114. institutions of, unfavorable to sheep hus- bandry, 114. exports of wool from, 109, 110. exports of carpets, 108. Tuscany, advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry, 113. Typhus fever, not common in U. S., 238. u. Ukraine, Merinos introduced in, 117. advantages of, for sheep husbandry, 117. L'nited States, nuinber of sheep and pounds of wool in, in 1839, 123. breeds of sheep in, 129. exports of wool to England for thirty years from, 110. exports of wool in 1845, 1846, 122. annual imports of wool of, from 1837 to 1846, 124. annual imports, from what countries, in 1846, 124. annual imports of woollens, from 1821 to 1845, 125. annual consumption of woollens in, 126, 127. annual consumption of woollens in, per head of population, 127. proportion of woollens consumed in, do- mestic, 126. proportion of woollens consumed in, im- ported, 126. proportion of domestic made in manufac- tories, 126. proportion of domestic made in families, 126. increase of population in, 127. amount of wool which will be requisite for population of, at different periods, for one hundred and fifteen years, 128. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry. See Southern States, JSew England, Prai- ries, and the states by name. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, com- pared with Germany, 116. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, Mr. Grove's opinion concerning, 116. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, com- pared with other countries. See Wool growing. United States, woollen manufactories of. Se^ Woollen factories. tariffs of on wool. See Tariffs. (for all other particulars concerning, sea names of the things in relation te which information is sought.) Uraguay, in the wool zone, 105. Ureters, the, 233. Urethra, the, 233. Urinary organs, description of the, 233. Uterus, description of the, 233. V. Vagina, description of the, 233. Van Diemen's Land. See Australia. Veins, description of the, 234. Vena cava, the, 234. Ventricles, the, 234. Verdigris, use of, in sheep practice, 277. Vetches, dried into hay, value of, as a fodder, 213. Veterinary works, character of American, 219. character of English, 219. how far English ones are applicable in U. S., 220. Virginia, population of, 17. number of sheep in, 17. wool grown in, 17. average weight of fleeces in, 18, 21. woollen factories in, 17. woollen goods manufactured in, 17. adaptation of, to sheep husbandry, 42, 47, 60. adaptation of mountains of, to sheep husbandry, 47. adaptation of north-western, to sh'cep husbandry, 60. winter herbage on mountains of, 62. winter pasturage in other parts of, 60. cost of keeping sheep in, 60, 61. price of lands in, 60. Vitriol, blue, value of, in sheep practice. 275. green, use of, in sheep practice, 276. oil of, as a caustic in sheep pratMce, 276. w. Washing sheep, cut of apparatus for, 181. vats and yards for, 181. directions for, 182. time to elapse after, before shearing, 184. Water necessary for drink of sheep, 195,218. Weaning lambs, proper time for, 195. how managed, 195. Welsh plains, for slave cloths. See Slav€ cloths. Wheat, value of, in producing live weight, wool, and tallow, 214. per cent, of nitrogen in, 214. straw of, value of, in different states, m a fodder, 213. fed to sheep in Germany, 211. chaff of, value of, as a fodder, 213. bran of, value of, as a fodder, 213. Wind-pipe, the, 235. Winter feed. See Fodders. Wire grass. See Bermuda grass. Wirtemberg, advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry, 114. INDEX. 337 Wisconsin, advantages of, for sheep hus- bandry. Page 95—103. Wolves, in the Southern States, 64. how guarded against, 65. See