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A TREATISE ON SHEEP:
THE BEST MEANS FOR
THEIR IMPROVEMENT, GENERAL MANAGEMENT, AND THE
TREATMENT OF THEIR DISEASES,
WITH
A CHAPTER ON WOOL, AND HISTORY OF THE WOOL TRADE;
AND THE
MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP IN AUSTRALIA.
BY AMBROSE BLACKLOCK.
[Illustration: Sheep have golden feet, and wherever the print of them
appears, the soil is turned into gold.--SWEDISH PROVERB.]
Twelfth Edition.
LONDON:
GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1853.
Printed by C. and J. Adlard, Bartholomew Close
TO
SIR C. G. STUART MENTEATH,
OF CLOSEBURN, HART.,
VICE-LIEUTENANT OF DUMFRIES-SHIRE, &c. &c. &c
WHOSE INTEGRITY AND URBANITY
HAVE ENDEARED HIM TO SOCIETY;
AND
WHOSE ZEAL FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOIL,
AND FOR THE PROSPERITY OF THE FARMER,
HAVE RAISED HIM, BY COMMON CONSENT,
TO THE FIRST RANK
AS AN AGRICULTURIST, AND AS A LANDLORD;
THIS TREATISE ON SHEEP
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY HIS VERY HUMBLE SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.
[Illustration: PLATE I]
[Illustration: PLATE II]
[Illustration: PLATE III]
[Illustration: PLATE IV]
[Illustration: PLATE V]
[Illustration: PLATE VI]
[Illustration: PLATE VII]
[Illustration: PLATE VIII]
PREFACE.
The truth of the Greek proverb, that "_a great book is a great evil_,"
is no where more apparent than in the construction of works on
agricultural concerns. Those who have attended to the subject well
know, that the profitable management of live-stock is by far the most
difficult branch of farming, as it is here that improvement is
peculiarly tardy; and from this we might infer that authors would
endeavour so to arrange and simplify their treatises as to enable
every one to obtain the bearings of the study at the smallest possible
expense and trouble. Such, however, is not the case. Many would appear
to have done their best so to dilute and mystify the little which is
known about the matter, that it is nearly impossible for any one, not
gifted with more than ordinary power of application, to arrive at any
thing like just conclusions. To avoid this error has been my object in
the following pages. Such points only as are of real importance have
been noticed; every thing having been rejected which could not admit
of a practical application. For this reason, also, I have omitted all
allusion to foreign _varieties_ of the sheep, an account of which is,
in some similar works, made to occupy so large a space. The general
laws by which animal bodies are governed, and the changes to which
they are rendered liable by their subserviency to man, are here--and
for the first time as regards the sheep--gone into at considerable
length. Too little value is in general attached to such inquiries;
though, when endeavouring to improve a domesticated race, we must be
perfectly aware, that without this species of knowledge we are like a
ship at sea without the guiding aids of the rudder and the compass,
and liable to be carried in the right or in the wrong direction only
as chance directs.
In conclusion, I need make no apology for any defects that may appear
in this little work, having done my best to make it useful to the
farmer.
CASTLE STREET, DUMFRIES,
_July, 1838_.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE iii
References to the Plates xi
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY OF THE SHEEP.
(1) Origin of the Sheep;--(2) The Argali of Siberia and Mouflon
of Sardinia;--(3) The Mouflon of America;--(4) The Mouflon of
Africa;--(5) British Breeds;--(6) The Lincolnshire;--(7) The
Teeswater;--(8) The Dishley or New Leicester;--(9) The Devonshire
Nots;--(10) The Dorsetshire Sheep;--(11) Herefordshire or Ryeland
Sheep;--(12) The South Down;--(13) The Cheviot Sheep;--(14) Mugg
Sheep;--(15) The Black-faced or Heath Sheep;--(16) The Merino;--
(17) Teeth of Sheep;--(18) Distinctions between the Sheep and Goat;
--(19) Horns of Sheep;--(20) Structure of the Stomach;--(21)
Digestion;--(22) Period of Conception;--(23) Names applied to
Sheep 1
CHAPTER II.
WOOL.
(24) Wool-bearing Animals;--(25) Structure of the Skin;--(26)
Sebaceous follicles;--(27) Connexion of the Hair with the
Skin--Yolk;--(28) Periodical decidence of Wool;--(29) Falling off
of Wool prevented by Clipping;--(30) Form of Woolly Fibre;--(31)
Structure and Properties of Hair and Wool;--(32) Particular soils
injurious to Wool;--(33) Felting;--(34) Different kinds of
Wool;--(35) Alterations caused by _Crossing_;--(36) Bratting
prejudicial to Wool 16
CHAPTER III.
BRITISH WOOL TRADE.
(37) Origin of the Wool Trade;--(38) Invention of Weaving;--(39)
Early progress of the Wool Trade;--(40) Introduction of Weaving into
Britain;--(41) Importance of the British Woollen Manufacture;--(42)
Weavers brought by Edward III. from Flanders;--(43) Regulations
regarding _Staples_;--(44) Rapid advance of the Wool Trade in
the 14th century;--(45) Subsidies raised by Edward III.;--(46)
Progress of the Wool Trade during the reigns of Henry VII., Henry
VIII., and Edward VI.;--(47) Encouragement given by Elizabeth
to the Trade;--(48) Woollen Cloth monopolized by the Merchant
Adventurers;--(49) Consumption of Wool in England increased;--
(50) Severity of the Prohibitory Enactments relating to Wool
reprobated;--(51) Emigration of English families to Holland, and
Prosperity of the Dutch Manufactures;--(52) Fluctuating state of
the Trade between 1635 and 1698;--(53) King William discourages
the Irish manufactures;--(54) Statistics of the British Wool
Trade in 1699;--(55) British Woollen Manufacturers rivalled by
the Swedes;--(56) Regulations relating to Wool from 1740 to 1742;
--(57) Impulse given to the Trade by the improvements in Machinery;
--(57) Commencement of the 19th century; Duty imposed on imported
Wool;--(59) Restrictions on Foreign Wool removed; increase in
Manufacturing prosperity;--(60) Countries from which we derive our
Wool;--(61) Statistics of the Wool Trade from 1800 to 1830;--(62)
Do. in 1832 28
CHAPTER IV.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE BREEDS.
(63) Introductory remarks;--(64) Early Improvers of the Sheep;--(65)
Modern Breeders and Improvements;--(66) Varieties among Animals, how
induced;--(67) Varieties induced by temperature;--(68) Adaptation of
the Sheep to climate;--(69) Changes produced by climate;--(70)
Temperature preferred by Sheep;--(71) Extent of the alterations
produced by climate;--(72) Increase in the number of the Horns;--(73)
Causes of the various forms of the Horn;--(74) The proper temperature
required for Sheep;--(75) Geographical limits of the Sheep;--(76)
Particular forms induced by geographical limit;--(77) Influence of
vegetation on form and disposition;--(78) Breeds required for
Britain--(79) Varied nature of the food of Sheep;--(80) Influence of
food on the quality of Mutton;--(81) Differences in the quality of
Mutton;--(82) Abuses in Feeding;--(83) Tendency to acquire Fat;--(84)
Frequent change of Pasture necessary;--(85) Varieties induced by
apparently trivial causes;--(86) Varieties from mode of Breeding;
--(87) Breeding _in_ and _in_;--(88) Opponents of _in_ and _in_
Breeding;--(89) Breeding from different families of the same
race;--(90) Crossing;--(91) Things to be attended to in Crossing;
--(92) Choice of Parents;--(93) Influence of Sex;--(94) Method of
obtaining a greater number of one Sex, at the option of the
Proprietor 67
CHAPTER V.
MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP.
(95) Introductory remarks;--(96) Putting Tups to Ewes;--(97) Early
Lambs;--(98) Lambing-time;--(99) Washing;--(100) Shearing;--(101)
Weaning;--(102) Smearing;--(103) Fatting 128
CHAPTER VI.
ACCIDENTS AND OPERATIONS.
(104) Introductory observations;--(105) Wounds;--(106) Stoppage
of Bleeding;--(107) Removal of Extraneous Matter from Wounds;--
(108) Closure of Wounds;--(109) Bandaging;--(110) After-treatment
of Clean Cuts;--(111) After-treatment of Punctures;--(112) Bruises
and Sprains;--(113) Wounds of Joints;--(114) Poisoned Wounds;--
(115) Fractures;--(116) Cutting Lambs;--(117) Blood-letting;--
(118) Removal of Hydatids from the Head 148
CHAPTER VII.
DISEASES OF SHEEP.
(119) Introductory remarks;--(120) Cautions in Prescribing;--(121)
Classification of Diseases;--(122) Blown or Blast;--(123) Treatment
of Blown;--(124) Braxy or Sickness;--(125) Symptoms of Braxy;--(126)
Appearances on Dissection;--(127) Causes of Braxy;--(128) Treatment
of Braxy;--(129) Prevention of Braxy;--(130) Pining. Symptoms and
Causes;--(131) Treatment and Prevention of Pining;--(132) Staggers;
--(133) Diarrhoea;--(134) Treatment of Diarrhoea;--(135) Dysentery
or Cling. Symptoms;--(136) Causes of Dysentery;--(137) Treatment
of Dysentery;--(138) Prevention of Dysentery;--(139) Scab or Itch.
Symptoms and Causes;--(140) Treatment of Itch;--(141) Prevention
of Itch;--(142) Erysipelas or Wild-fire;--(143) Red-water;--(144)
Leg-evil. Symptoms and Causes;--(145) Treatment of Leg-evil;--(146)
Prevention of Leg-evil;--(147) The Fly and Maggot;--(148) Treatment
of Fly-blown Sheep, and Prevention of attacks from the Fly;--(149)
The Sheep-Fag or Ked, and the Tick;--(150) The OEstrus bovis;--(151)
Sore Teats;--(152) Foot-rot;--(153) Causes of Foot-rot;--(154)
Treatment and Prevention of Foot-rot;--(155) Insects in the Air
Passages;--(156) Removal of Insects from the Nostril;--(157) Coryza;
--(158) Treatment of Coryza;--(159) Rot. Introductory remarks;--
(160) Symptoms of Rot;--(161) Appearances on Dissection;--(162)
The Liver-fluke;--(163) The Hydatid;--(164) Causes of Rot;--(165)
Treatment of Rot;--(166) Prevention of Rot;--(167) Jaundice;--(168)
Dropsy;--(169) Sturdy;--(170) Treatment and Prevention of Sturdy;
--(171) Trembling;--(172) Treatment of Trembling;--(173) Inflamed
Eyes;--(174) Soft cancer of the Eye 161
REFERENCES TO THE PLATES
PLATE I.
_Fig._ 1. The Mouflon of Sardinia.
_Fig._ 2. and 3. _p._ The first stomach or paunch; _b._ the second
stomach, bonnet, king's-hood, or honey-comb; _o._ the third stomach,
or omasum; _a._ the fourth stomach, or abomasum; _g._ the gullet;
_py._ the pylorus.
_Fig._ 4. Section of a sheep's toe; _g._ _g._ the gland secreting the
hoof; _c._ _c._ the crust; _s._ the sole.
_Fig._ 5. View of the interdigital gland; _g._ the gland; _d._ the
duct leading from it.
_Fig._ 6. The fluke-worm; _a._ the mouth; _b._ the reproductive
apparatus; _c._ _c._ vessels for the distribution of the blood.
PLATE II.
_Fig._ 1. Dorsetshire Ram.
_Fig._ 2. South Down Ram.
The figures in this plate are borrowed from the beautiful cuts in the
work on _Sheep_, published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge.
PLATE III.
_Fig._ 1. New Leicester Ram.
_Fig._ 2. Cheviot Ram. The portrait of a very superior animal, in the
possession of my friend Mr Laurie of Terregles town.
Premiums were awarded to Mr Laurie for both of these sheep at the last
meeting of the Highland Society in Dumfries.
_Fig._ 3. View of the veins of the face and neck; _f.v._ facial vein;
_j.v._ jugular vein.
PLATE IV.
_Fig._ 1. Black-faced Ram.
_Fig._ 2. Merino Ram.
PLATE V.
_Figs._ 1. 2. 3. from the _Quarterly Journal of Agriculture_, represent
the most approved mode of washing and shearing sheep.
_Fig._ 4. Tubular structure of hair and wool.
_Fig._ 5. Relative positions of the layers of the skin, mode in which
the hairs rise from, and situation of, the sebaceous follicles; _a._
the cuticle; _b._ the mucous layer; _c._ the true skin; _d._ sebaceous
follicles; _e._ hairs rising from the true skin; _f._ the yolk.
PLATE VI.
_Fig._ 1. Section of the lung of a sheep which has been over-driven.
_Fig._ 2. Section of the lung of a sheep which has been affected with
Rot.
PLATE VII.
_Fig._ 1. The _Cysticercus tenuicollis_.
_Fig._ 1. _a._ Head of the same magnified.
_Fig._ 2. The _Coenurus Cerebralis_.
_Fig._ 2. _a._ Heads of the _Coenurus_ magnified.
_Fig._ 3. The _pentastoma_. Hitherto supposed to exist only in the dog
and wolf, but discovered recently in the frontal sinus of the sheep by
my friend Mr Rhind of Edinburgh, by whom the drawing for this figure
was kindly furnished.
PLATE VIII.
_Fig._ 1. Hydatid in the brain of a sheep (from a drawing by my friend
Dr Kirk of Deal); _a._ the right lobe of the cerebellum or lesser
brain distended with fluid, inclosed in a membraneous bag, as shown at
_b._, where an incision has been made to expose it; and at _c._ where
it is shining through the _pia mater_, one of the coverings of the
brain.
_Fig._ 2. Showing the extent to which hydatids sometimes distend the
ventricles of the brain; _a._ the dilated ventricle of the left side;
_b._ _b._ convolutions passing from back to front; _c._ _d._ depth of
the furrows.
THE SHEEP.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY OF THE SHEEP.
(1.) _Origin of the Sheep._--As the origin of our domesticated animals
has afforded scope for much curious speculation, so none have
attracted a greater degree of attention in this respect than the
sheep. Into these arguments, however, it would be absurd to enter; I
shall therefore content myself with such opinions as are deemed the
best.
Placed in the Class Mammalia, and Order Ruminantia, the innumerable
varieties at present existing may, according to Cuvier, whose tact in
arranging animals is universally acknowledged, all be referred to four
species--the Argali of Siberia, the Mouflon of Sardinia, the Mouflon
of America, and the Mouflon of Africa--though to be rigidly accurate
in natural distinctions he would refer them all to three, thereby
excluding the third.
(2.) _The Argali of Siberia_ (_Ovis Ammon_) inhabits the mountains of
Asia, where it attains the size of a fallow deer. The male has very
large horns, with three rounded angles at the base, flattened in
front, and striated transversely. The horns of the female are
compressed, and hook-shaped. The hair is short in summer, and of a
fawn-coloured grey; in winter it is thick, rigid, and of a reddish
grey, with some white about the muzzle, throat, and under the belly.
The Mouflon of Sardinia (_Ovis Musimon_, Fig. 1. Pl. I.) differs from
it only in its inferior size, and in the smallness of the horns of the
female.
(3.) _The Mouflon of America_ (_Ovis Montana_) closely resembles the
Argali, and is supposed by some to be identical with it, and to have
crossed from Asia to America at Behring's Straits by means of ice.
(4.) _The Mouflon of Africa_ (_Ovis Tragelaphus_) is distinguished by
its soft and reddish hair, by its short tail, and by a long mane
hanging under the neck, and another at each ancle; it inhabits the
rocky districts of Barbary, and has been observed in Egypt.
(5.) _British Breeds._--The breeds of our island, as they at present
stand, may be divided into two kinds--long-woolled and short-woolled;
the former embracing the Lincolnshire, the Teeswater, the Dishley, or
New Leicester, and the Devonshire Nots; while the latter will include
those of Dorset, Herefordshire, and Sussex, with the Cheviot, Mugg,
and Black-faced variety.[1]
[1] Encyclopedia Britannica, 7th Edition, Article Agriculture.
(6). _The Lincolnshire_ has no horns; the face is white; the carcass
long and thin; the legs thick, white, and rough; bones large; pelts
thick; and the wool from 8 to 10 inches in length. The ewes weigh from
14 lbs. to 20 lbs. per quarter; and three-year old wethers 20 lbs. to
30 lbs. The fleece weighs from 8 lbs. to 14 lbs., and covers a
coarse-grained slow-feeding carcass; so slow, indeed, at feeding, that
it cannot be fattened at an early age, except upon rich land; but the
breed is encouraged, from the great weight of wool that is shorn from
them every year. It and its sub-varieties are extremely common in the
English counties.
(7.) _The Teeswater_ sheep were originally bred from the same stock as
the former, but have become different, from the size having received
greater attention than the wool, which is inferior both in length and
weight. They stand upon higher and finer boned legs, which support a
firmer and heavier carcass, much wider upon the back and sides, and
afford a fatter and finer-grained mutton--the two-year-old wethers
weighing from 25 lbs. to 30 lbs. per quarter. Marshall, in his work on
Yorkshire, remarks, that they are not so compact, nor so complete in
their form, as the Leicestershire sheep; nevertheless, the excellency
of their flesh and fatting quality is not doubted, and their wool
still remains superior. For the banks of the Tees, or any other rich
fat land, they are singularly excellent.
(8.) _The Dishley_, or _New Leicester_, is distinguished from other
long-woolled breeds, by clean heads, straight broad flat backs, round
bodies, small bones, thin pelts, and a disposition to fatten at an
early age. But more of this hereafter. The weight of three-year-old
ewes is from 18 lbs. to 26 lbs. per quarter; and of two-year old
wethers from 20 lbs. to 30 lbs. The wool averages from 6 lbs. to 8
lbs., and is thought by some to be inferior in quality to that of
Cheviot sheep; but, from being fully fed at all seasons, they yield
great quantities of it. Fig. 1. Pl. III.
(9.) _The Devonshire Nots_ form the fourth hornless variety of
long-woolled sheep. Forty or fifty years ago, they ranked as
middle-woolled sheep; but they now figure among the long-wools, under
the name of Bamptons--their fleece having been lengthened, and
rendered finer, by crossing with the Leicesters. There is yet,
however, much room for improvement in these crosses. They have white
faces and legs, the latter being short, and the bones large, while the
necks are thick, the backs high, and the sides good. They approach in
weight to the Leicester, but the wool is heavier and coarser. In
Devonshire are found a white-faced and horned variety, which are known
as the Exmoor kind, from the place of their nativity. Though delicate
in bone, they are not good, having a narrow flat-sided carcass; while
the weight of the quarters and fleece is a third short of the former
variety.
(10.) _The Dorsetshire sheep_ are horned and white-faced, with a long
thin carcass, and high small white legs. Three-year-old wethers weigh
from 16 lbs. to 20 lbs. a quarter; but the wool, being fine and short,
weighs only from 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. a fleece. It is, however, amply
compensated for by the mutton, which is of superior quality. The
peculiar and most valuable property of this breed is the forwardness
of the ewes, which take the ram at any period of the year, often
lambing, so early as September or October. They are, on this account,
extremely useful for supplying large towns with house-lamb at
Christmas. Fig. 1, Pl. II.
(11.) _Herefordshire_ or _Ryeland sheep_ have white legs and faces,
and no horns. The wool grows close to the eyes. They are a small
breed, suited to every market, weighing from 12 lbs. to 16 lbs.
a-quarter. The carcass is tolerably well-formed, and the wool fine and
short, each fleece weighing from 1-1/2 lb. to 2-1/2 lbs., rarely,
however, exceeding 2 lbs. They were called _Ryeland_ sheep, from a
district in the southern part of Herefordshire being thought capable
of growing nothing but rye. Though their figure is good, the back is
not so level, nor the ribs so well rounded, as in the improved breeds.
They fatten easily, however, and arrive soon at maturity, though
reckoned inferior in these respects to the Cheviot variety.
(12.) _The South Down_, like the Ryeland, are, from the delicacy of
their constitution, unadapted for bleak situations, but sufficiently
hardy and active for a low country; their average weight is from 15
lbs. to 18 lbs. a-quarter; that of the fleece, which is very short and
fine, being from 2-1/2 lbs. to 3 lbs. They are without horns, have
grey faces and legs, a neck low set and small, and a breast neither
wide nor deep; their mutton is fine in the grain, and of an excellent
flavour, having been brought to great perfection by Mr Ellman of
Glynd, and other intelligent breeders. They are mostly found in
Sussex, on dry chalky downs producing short fine herbage, and arrive
early at maturity; in which respect they are equal to the Cheviot,
though inferior to them in quantity of tallow. Formerly they would not
take on fat till four years old; now they are always at market when
about two years of age, and many are killed before that period. Fig.
2. Pl. II.
(13.) _The Cheviot Sheep_ have a bare head, with a long jaw, and white
face, but no horns. Sometimes they have a shade of grey upon the nose,
approaching to dark at the tip; at others, a tinge of lemon colour on
the face, but these markings scarcely affect their value. The legs are
clean, long, and small-boned, and covered with wool to the hough; but
there is a sad want of depth at the breast, and of breadth both there
and on the chine. A fat carcass weighs from 12 lbs. to 18 lbs. per
quarter, and a medium fleece about 3 lbs. The purest specimens of this
breed are to be found on the Scotch side of the Cheviot hills, and on
the high and stony mountain-farms which lie between that range and the
source of the Teviot. These sheep are a capital mountain stock,
provided the pasture resembles the Cheviot hills, in containing a good
proportion of rich herbage. Fig. 2. Pl. III.
(14.) _Mugg Sheep._--"In this variety," says Dr Fleming, in his
History of British Animals, "the face and legs are white, or rarely
spotted with yellow, and the forehead covered with long wool. This is
the native breed in Scotland, to the north of the Forth and Clyde.
They are of small size, and seldom weigh above 8 or 10 lbs. per
quarter. Some tribes have horns; others are destitute of them, and
they vary in the length of the tail. They may be considered as the
stock of the numerous modern and valuable varieties, which are bred in
the best cultivated districts. The Shetland sheep belongs to this
kind. The fur consists of firm wool next the skin, with long coarse
hairs, indications of an inhabitant of an arctic climate."
(15.) _The Black-faced or Heath Sheep_ are known by their large spiral
horns, wild-looking eyes, black legs and faces, with short firm
carcasses, covered by long coarse wool, which weighs from 3 lbs. to 4
lbs. As the form of this sheep has lately been much improved, by
inducing a short and round carcass, they have acquired the name of
_short_ sheep, in contradistinction to the Cheviots, which are termed
long sheep. When three years old, they fatten well, affording
excellent highly-flavoured mutton, and weighing from 10 lbs. to 16
lbs. a-quarter. They are the most valuable upland sheep in Britain,
abounding in all the western counties of England and Scotland, and are
now becoming great favourites in the London market. Fig. 1. Pl. IV.
(16.) _The Merino._--Though many foreign breeds have from time to time
appeared in this country, yet almost all of them have been viewed
merely as objects of curiosity, and, as such, have speedily been
disregarded. Far different, however, was the reception of the Merinos.
Brought into England under the most favourable auspices, and placed at
once under the fostering protection of royalty, their native merits
could not but be speedily appreciated and diffused throughout the
kingdom. They have received the name of _Merino_ from a peculiar buff
or reddish hue of the countenance, and are supposed to have come
originally from Africa; at least Marcus Columella, having seen a
strange variety from that country exhibited at Rome, during some
public games or shows, took them to his farm, and, having crossed them
with the breeds of Tarentum, sent the offspring to Spain. There they
throve remarkably, attracting the attention of other nations, to whom
they were from time to time exported, and at present may be found in
almost every part of the world.
Merinos were brought to England for the first time in 1788, but
attracted little attention, owing to the want of rams. Lord Somerville
went to Portugal in 1801, for the purpose of selecting such animals as
appeared valuable, from uniting a good carcass with a superior fleece,
and he succeeded, notwithstanding the disturbed state of the country,
in obtaining specimens, which called forth the praises of the
shepherds, through whose travelling flocks they passed. Public
attention was attracted to them on the commencement of his Majesty's
sales in 1804; and their distribution over the country was
accomplished in 1811, by the formation of the principal landed
proprietors and eminent breeders into a Merino Society.
The Merinos had much prejudice to encounter on being first brought
before the public in 1804; but they soon rose in favour and value, and
steadily progressed till the Merino Society was established, when,
strange though it may appear, all these advantages were at once
destroyed. This paradox may, perhaps, be explained, by supposing that
the institution of local committees, which immediately followed,
allowed the enemies of the change, in distant parts of the kingdom,
ample opportunity of striking at the scheme, now that it was
entrusted, in many instances, to persons ill qualified for the task
either of making converts, or retaining the advantages already gained.
The horns of the Merino are of large size, twisted spirally and
extended laterally, approaching closely in these characters to the
sheep of Mount Parnassus, a specimen of which is delineated in the
work by E. T. Bennett, on the Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological
Society. The face has a characteristic velvety appearance, but the
cheeks and forehead are disfigured by coarse hair. The legs are long
and small in the bone; the breast and back are narrow, the sides flat,
and too much of the weight is expended on the coarser parts. There is
a peculiar looseness of skin beneath the throat, which is admired in
Spain as denoting a tendency to weight and fineness of wool, though
regarded in this country as a sign of a bad skin and want of aptitude
to fatten. The average weight of the fleece in Spain is, 8 lbs. from
the ram, and 5 lbs. from the ewe. The abundance of the yolk enables
the wool to detain all the filth which comes in contact with it, so
much so, that by washing the weight is diminished about three-fifths.
The fibre of the wool is finer than that of any other sheep, and the
carcass, when fat, averages from 12 lbs. to 16 lbs. a-quarter. They
are quiet and tractable, and possessed of many good qualities, but
they are liable to abortion, are bad nurses, and require a large
supply of food, for which, owing to an unprofitable form, they yield
no return. Fig. 2. Pl. IV.
The Merinos were at one time in great request in various countries,
from a supposition that they would speedily supplant other breeds; but
this has never been the case, as the animal soon degenerates when out
of Spain, and is only valuable so far as giving rise to varieties,
which are equal, if not superior to itself. Large profits were at
first expected from their wool, but these were reduced to a trifle
when the loss of weight, and fineness in the carcass were taken into
account. Mr Hose of Melton Mowbray, put a certain number of Leicester
ewes to a ram of the same breed, and an equal number to a merino ram.
The result was, that the Leicester fleece weighed 7 lbs., and the one
from the cross with the merino, 8 lbs.; and that the former brought in
the market 1s. per lb., and the latter 1s. 6d., being a gain of 5s. on
the fleece. The carcass of the former, however, weighed 27 lbs. per
quarter, and the latter only 25 lbs., being a loss of 5 lbs. on
mutton. Much advantage may, however, be expected from our crosses with
the Saxon merino, which is in every respect well suited to our notions
of a fine animal, as it yields a good wool, and is little inferior in
carcass to some of our best breeds.
(17.) _Teeth of Sheep._--In common with the rest of the ruminating
animals, sheep have eight incisors in the lower jaw, unopposed by any
in the upper, a callous pad, which is substituted, being attached to
the distal end of the intermaxillarv bones. Between the incisors and
molars, or grinding teeth, there is a vacant space of about an inch
and a half. There are twenty-four molars, six on each side of each
jaw; their crowns are marked with two double crescents, the convexity
of which is turned inwards in the upper, and outwards in the lower
jaw. The lamb, when newly dropped, is devoid of incisor teeth, though
the two central ones are occasionally above the gum even at this early
period. When one month old, the first set of incisive teeth are
complete. The two fore-teeth of the under jaw drop out at the end of
the first year; six months after the two next to these are lost; and
at the end of five years the teeth are all renewed. When the permanent
teeth are fully grown, it is almost impossible to ascertain the age of
the animal, as the soil, the texture of the provender, and the
original form of the teeth, have all a greater or less influence over
their durability.
(18.) _Distinctions between the Sheep and Goat._--Though a comparison
of the most common domesticated breeds of sheep and goats, tends to
confirm the broad distinctions drawn between them, yet these
differences almost entirely disappear, when we attempt to define the
characteristics of those races, which still exist in a wild state in
various parts of both Continents, where it is so far impossible to
determine the precise division to which they belong, that Cuvier holds
them unworthy of a generic separation. Sheep and goats, in fact, agree
in so many points as regards structure, form, stature, and habit, that
were it not that sheep, according to that naturalist, have "their
horns directed backwards, returning more or less forwards in a spiral
manner, with a generally convex line of profile, and no beard," while
the goats have "their horns directed upwards and backwards, their
chins generally decorated with a long beard, and their line of profile
almost always concave," there would hardly exist a difference worth
the noting. Some writers place great reliance on the differences
indicated by the different coverings of the animals, ascribing wool to
the sheep, and hair to the goat, forgetting that most of the wild
sheep, and some of the domesticated races, are covered with hair,
while some goats, as those of Thibet and Angora, are remarkable for
the fineness of their wool. Even supposing these distinctions to hold
good, we have still to combat the fact, that _sheep and goats produce
mongrels capable of reproduction_, a consideration sufficient of
itself to prove, that the sheep and goat can never be made to form the
types of separate genera.[2]
[2] For further information on this subject, see that
excellent paper on the Natural History of the Sheep and Goat,
by James Wilson, Esq. in No. IX. of the Quarterly Journal of
Agriculture.
(19.) _Horns of Sheep._--As the Chevrotains or Musks are distinguished,
with the Camels, from other animals of this order by the absence of
horns, so are sheep, oxen, goats, and antelopes, distinguished from
the rest of the horned genera of the order, by the persistence of
their frontal prolongations. The horn is an elastic sheath of
_agglutinated hairs_, which appears within the first twelve months,
though sometimes present at birth, and increases by layers, one being
added every year, so that the age of a ram may be known by the number
of rings. The ewes have commonly no horns, but only a protuberance in
place of them. The horn is supported by, and serves to cover, a highly
vascular prolongation of the frontal bone, and it is at its root,
where large vessels, and nervous filaments are entering, that blows
occasion so great agony to the animal, apart from the damage which the
other bones sustain by the infliction of violence on so powerful a
level.
(20.) _Structure of the Stomach._--The term ruminating, indicates the
power possessed by this animal, in common with many others, of
masticating its food a second time, by returning it to the mouth after
a short maceration. This they are enabled to do, from the structure of
the stomachs, or, more correctly speaking, stomach; as anatomists have
now concluded, from all animals being constructed on one common
principle, that ruminating animals are not possessed of four stomachs,
as formerly supposed, but only of one, which they view as being
divided into four compartments. In drawing precise conclusions, we are
bound only to admit the existence of two compartments, the other two
belonging properly to the gullet; and being equivalent to the cheek
pouches of monkeys, or the crop and membranous stomach of birds, may
be viewed as an apparatus designed to serve a nearly similar purpose
(that of moistening and macerating the food); while the real stomach
will cease to excite wonder, or puzzle the ignorant, on being
contrasted with that of other animals, in many of which a division
exists, and from which even the human stomach, though generally a
single sac, is not always exempt,--Dr Knox, of Edinburgh, being in
possession of one that resembles a pair of small globes joined by a
narrow tube, and which, when taken from the body of a person who was
advanced in life, bore every mark of soundness in texture, and must,
therefore, have been congenital.
(21.) _Digestion._[3]--The food descends by the gullet after being
partially crushed, into what is called the first stomach, or paunch,
in Latin, _rumen_, or _ingluvies_, in which cavity are found those
morbid concretions so much, and so superstitiously, prized in the
Eastern world, under the name of Bezoar stones; from this it passes
into the second, termed bonnet, king's hood, or honey-comb, in Latin
_reticulum_, which is much smaller than the other, and receives its
name from the inner coat being arranged into cells; here it is
moistened, made into pellets, and, while the animal is at rest,
impelled by the antiperistaltic motion of the tube to the mouth, and
after undergoing a complete mastication, is returned through the
gullet to the third stomach, or smallest compartment, which goes under
the name of _omasum_, or many-plies, from its resembling a rolled up
hedgehog, and sometimes from the longitudinal _laminae_ of its mucous
membrane that of leaflet. The food remains but a short time in the
omasum, proceeding into the fourth division, or obomasum, which in its
structure, especially in that of the mucous, or inner membrane, is
nearly allied to the same organ in the human being, and is, by the
French, from its power of coagulating milk, called _caillette_. The
last compartment is the largest of the four, so long as the animal
continues to live on milk; but the paunch speedily surpasses it in
magnitude when grass becomes the sole provision. The milk always
passes at once into the fourth stomach, there being no reason why it
should be returned.
[3] See Figs. 2 and 3, Plate I. with their references.
The intestinal canal is long, commencing at the pylorus or lower
opening of the stomach, and averaging from ninety to one hundred feet.
There are but few enlargements in the great intestines. The fat, like
that of all ruminating animals, becomes, on cooling, hard and brittle.
(22.) _Period of Conception._--In this climate, ewes fed on good
pastures admit the ram in August; but September or October is the time
when such would occur if left to nature. They go with young five
months, and in warm climates bring forth thrice a-year; but in
Britain, France, and most of Europe, they do so only once. They give
milk for seven or eight months; live ten or twelve years; and if well
managed, are capable of bringing forth during life, though generally
useless for that process after the seventh or eighth year. The ram
lives from twelve to fourteen years, though instances are recorded of
their enduring till twenty, and becomes unfit for propagating at
eight.
(23.) _Names applied to Sheep._--The age of sheep is never dated from
the time that they are dropped, as that would be attended with many
inconveniences, but from the time that they are first subjected to the
shears, by which means the first year includes a period of at least
fifteen or sixteen months.
The following is a condensed arrangement of the names by which sheep
are designated at different periods of their existence, in various
parts of England and Scotland:--
_From Birth till Weaning._
MALE. FEMALE.
Tup, Ram lamb, Heeder, Pur. | Ewe or Gimmer lamb, Chilver.
_From Weaning till first Clip._
Hog, Hogget, Hoggerel, Teg. | Gimmer hog, Ewe hog, Teg,
Lamb hog, Tup hog, Gridling, | Sheeder ewe, Thrave.
and, if castrated, a Wether |
hog. |
_From first to second Clip._
Shearling, Shear hog, Heeder, | Shearing ewe or gimmer,
Diamond or Dinmont ram, or | Double-toothed ewe or
tup, and, when castrated, a | Teg, Yill gimmer.
Shearing wether. |
_From second till third Clip._
Two shear ram, young wedder. | Two shear ewe, Counter.
_From third till fourth Clip._
Three shear ram, old wedder. | Three shear ewe, Fronter.
And so on, the name always taking its date from the time of shearing.
Broken-mouthed ewes are called _crones_ in Suffolk and Norfolk;
_kroks_, or _crocks_, in Scotland; and _drapes_ in Lincolnshire. In
Scotland, ewes which are neither with lamb, nor giving milk, are said
to be _eild_, or _yield_.