Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1835-07-06
From he Name Farmer.
QUERIES AND ANSWERS IN RELATION
TO SHEEP Ill SBA\DRA

The five queries which are quoted below, came
from an anonymous correspondent. They were
forwarded 10 gentleman pre-emincntlv distm-
guishcd as one of the best judges OF stock, and
withal IN extensive breeder, who has promptly
aud very obgingly furnished Us with the subloin-
ed answers;
L." or rhdt bretd or stock hada beginner Bet
ter compose his fock his objoo beng The gro,rjng
Of wooil" Pure Merlno, crossed with hpl
bred South Downs.
:. " Iihm are The prices at arhioh the .SaroaV,
South Docn, Cotsm0H Leieestcr, Bakc,rcH, or
Hcr'no Fires can be purchased respectireIy, after
sheUng ~ From yood flock, YOU canno, Sc
fetf ereS, or il would not long remain rood flock :
lambs or ycarlIng> may be selected pcrhaps-pricc
very various-icpcnding ON purity OF blood, and
individual excellence
3. what breed produces rooi of ths greatest
rdf"e /" Saxony per p0aHd-Mcrino per- Rcecc.
Ind ocAat breed vietds The heacita fccccs ~
The great Lincoln, or Romney Marsh sheep.
i. WHAT breed is most hardy and best adapt-
ed TO our climate ?" South Downs, certainty
D. " On what iands ho,c many sheep pcr acre
can be proftabiy kept" That depends ON the
breed OF sheep, and quality OF land, but much
lever than arc generally kept.
The Saxon sheep undoubtedly produce the IL
nest wool but their fleece is light, seldom exceed
storms They are feeble in constitution require
great care, poor nurses, and their lamb, are
raised with difficulty. The mutton from such sheep
must necessarily be OF a miserable descriptions
believe that in Connecticut, even the pure
Saxony sheep may be purchased al a comparative
~ low price, say from six dollars 10 four dollars "A
head, and perhaps lower still
The old fashioned pure Merino sheep, which
were imported by Col Humphrey, and those as
sociatcd with him, (hut which are now almost cN-
tlnct. were much better constitution sheen, and
more than made up by quantity for the difference
in quality of their hcece--tle close, thick tcxtur,
OF their wool resisted our cold wet storms-thcir
lambs were better nursed, and on the whole am
convinced they are much more profitable shcc,
than the SaXony. | must, however, remark, there
are several varieties oi the Spanish sheep; and
would carefully avoid tine cumm,"s family
fleece, which hove yer, mist not be confoundr, Z
with that, which though of dark color, contain
only the grasses necessary 10 render it impcnctra
bic TO the weather; the former being very objcc |
tonablc to the manufacturer, while the latter !
readily cleanScd and worked
ldcsrc TO be understood as speaking OF the pure|
breeds, and not Of grade sheep, which 80 unvcr-
sally abound in this state, for hev have no dstinc
i've or iNed character, but vary with their degree
OF consequently to the pure imported blood. In
divduals OF the pure unmixed blood to be found
The earlier Mcrino nocks of this state were OBJ
tanned, from the introduction of imported bucks
and those were purchased at great prices, which
with the native eve, formed the ancestry of our fine
wooded ilocks these had not attained nearly +,
the excellence Of the pure Meriao, in the staple o
ITS wool, tS compactnesS, uniformity or sotincss
when the SdXony cross was introduced and bccam,
almost universal in a surprisnel, short tmc-aot
this Is the true history OF almost all our fine grader
sheep IN tins state. 1t is not, therefore, to these
hocks that alludc when speak OF pure Merino
or Saxony sheep.
As to price, presume such Merino sheep are
more costly now than the Saxony; from the fact
that farmers are now aware Of their error in using
the Saxon cross, which has ruined the constitution
Of their iocks, decreased their clip of wool nearly
one halt, and reduced their produce, until with or
binary management, more than twenty five lamb,
to an hundred ewes are seldom raised. 4 Mcrino
buck of uaqaestionabie purity, whose ancestr,
were both imported, viii now sell for twenty-five
and thirty dollars; the same animal, eighteen
months since, might have been picked up at IS and
So
The LicesterShire, Blackwell, AMI Co,swold
: eep are SO crossed and mingled in this country
at the distinction is lost, except the practised
EYE, who can find individuals in the various focls
which partake, as it may happen, more of the cha
Iacteristics of the one parent or the other These
we long, coarse wooded sheep, possessing much
,cauty Of form, carly maturity, and are quick
ceders but they require rich lands for their pas
ire, and though their constitutions are good, yet
scir fleece is sufficiently open to admit the pene-
ating rains of our severe storms, and then il is |
~ heir heavy feeces arc seen separated along