The Rutland County herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1852-1855, 1853-01-29

ahlr ~ q eftrd q slsrrp--e 0etN"ti'-eN'
adafsed bosh " The proslae'Scn q '''isi'h
and - ruel.
The eaafsncia~ss Of the hoooo, hs
rrpu,h IL vool over the erairc Th'fAoe Of
. lho body. ami god degree Of tncness'
vc-r saasricni evidence uha, They were
{ ucll suited 60 ucpl- crossing Purposes and
ih,.y ais pasao-.ad ,isn SIZE aud qEicincss
81 habit desirable IN a nraston sheep. We
made purchase mostly fron Nj Cugn'ts
hela.
Aaer having sumnns'cd End partly win
tered number d those French Mcrinns
my good opinion of theta has nd diminish
"A. bu, rather increased Il was the cpin-
IN - many that they would no, uirive well
"a the keeping which We ordinarily gi'r
our old breeds bu, was able to satisfy
them that such conclusion was not cor
rect. ~ NC pcrc Obliged 10 feed mostly
on grain during the voyage, gave them a
quantity daddy until shcsrng time after
I which the eighty cwes did n Il cat busliel
81 grain uaii past the middle Of Sepicm-
Der. In consequence OF the drought, the
feed became short, and they were fed daily
with oats 10 supply the deficiency. The
sheep uirove remarkably well, even better
than some of our old breeds woald have
done with like keeping.
They are now dec. 2jl dropping their
lambs, which are usually strong and healthy.
Finrcn eve lambs, brought over al the
saalc time, were turned or 10 pasture, and
exposed 10 all the storms during the season.
They came in looking remarkably well. |
feel confident that We have no harder race
Of finc-woolcd sheep in the country. The
following j. the result OF their shesring -
Average live weight Of ewes, l0] pounds !;
average weight Of fleece unwashed, ~
pounds : ounces--making the proportion Of
wool to live weight as - TO : 2-lo. The
lambs five months old, although they suffer
ed much from the voyage, gave an average
Of 2 pounds 5 ounces.
We now concluded 20 visit Spain, nj.
though we had derived from various sources
information which led to the conclusion that
we should no, find such sheep as we were
in pursui, Of. Our minister at Madrid rem
dcred us valuable assistance in obtaining
information in regard TO the location where
the best sheep could be found. Aiter OK
aiming the most noted flocks in Estrcma-
dura and other parts, we were fully satisfied
that they were inferior TO most Of the i'm
proved hocks in our country. The sheep
in Spain have evidently been degenerating
for the last forty years. We next directed
our Journey through the German States
Fortunately, our excellent consul at Slut
gard, c. O. Flcischmann, was intimately
acquainted with the sheep husbandry Of
the country, and was enabled to render us
valuable assistance.
After travelling through the most noted
wool-growing districts, and examining the
sheep Of those folds which had attained
the highest reputation, we were forced to
the conclusion that they were not adapted
to the wants ofthe wool-growcrs in the Uni
ted States at least not to those in the more
northcn States. They were mostly of the
Saxon variety their neeces light with an
Organization which denoted slender con.
stitution. We say many things worthy OF
imitation in the management Of their hocks,
and can freely award to them the praise OF
having perfected to a high degree, the
science Of sheep husbandry. They have
attained, in their breeding, just the animal
sought Tor; as above stated, the ligh,ness
of its fleece, and the delicacy offs constitu-
ton, render it Objectionable TO the gcncr-
atty Of wool-growers in this country.
We found in some hocks more Of the
characteristics of the mcrino but, as yet,
had been unable to find any that combined
all the desirable qualities of the breed. We
continued our travels through Silesia, where
We fortunately found n flock that presented
the desirable points Of the highly improved
merino. They were selected in Spain, in
! lcit, and had been bred with much care
since that time by truly scientific breed
or, who had greatly improved upon the
original stock. These shcsp POSSESSED that
samoncss and uniformity Of appearance,
which denote purity Of blood. They re-
tanned remarkable degree Of evcnness OF
staple over the entire body, and were finer
and more compact, especially on the belly,
than any sheep we have seen. The sur
face presented dark appearance, and on
opening disclosed a beautifully oily
wool. They were Of fair size, well form
ed, and seemed to possess good constitu-
tons. As an evidence Of their longevity,
we noticed in the fold, enclosed in glass
case, the stuffed skin of venerable look
ing eve, which had yielded valuable
fleece for2l years, and presented, with ar
tiiicial eyes, quite life-likc appearance
Amer close confinement on long voyage.
10 ews from this flock produced li5 pounds
2 ounces Of unwashed wool Of 10 months
growth, which would be equal 10 Us lbs.
for ~ months, and would make the yearly
average fraction over pounds. The
average live weight was7l pounds; but
when fully grown, will be from 90 10 90
pounds. The produce Of wool 10 live
weight would be as TO z 9-l0. II may
MT be improper TO state that the wool was
IN perfectly natural state, NO oil or color
ing matter having been applied. They
certainly presses naturally such qualities
a. arc sufficient 10 satisfy the most dcyout
almifcr Of them.
The proportion Of lambs reared varies
greatly In different ycans. Last year thare
was large fatality among those dropped
nnat fi. ass.z 49,, s......l