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.
Sheep have golden feet, and wherever the print of them appears,
the soil is turned into gold.—Swedish Proverb.
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.
PLATE I
PLATE II
PLATE III
PLATE IV
PLATE V
PLATE VI
PLATE VII
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)
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 Cœnurus Cerebralis.
Fig. 2. a. Heads of the Cœnurus 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]
(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 1½ lb. to 2½ 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 2½ 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
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]
(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
(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 laminæ 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.
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. Lamb hog, Tup hog, Gridling, and, if castrated, a Wether hog. Gimmer hog, Ewe hog, Teg, Sheeder ewe, Thrave. From first to second Clip. Shearling, Shear hog, Heeder, Diamond or Dinmont ram, or tup, and, when castrated, a Shearing wether. Shearing ewe or gimmer, Double-toothed ewe or Teg, Yill gimmer. 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.
CHAPTER II.
WOOL.
(24.) Wool-Bearing Animals.—In most dictionaries wool is defined as the fleece of sheep, as if, in fact they were the only animals which yield it, than which nothing can be more erroneous; since we are assured by the ablest naturalists, that almost every animal, from the butterfly up to man, possesses more or less of this covering, and that some indeed rival the sheep in the quantity they bear.
Though wool is possessed in considerable quantity by carnivorous animals, especially bears, yet the herbivorous quadrupeds, never to mention the sheep, are principally noticed for its growth, and for affording a commodity which becomes an article of profit in the hands of some tribes. Heriot, in his travels through Canada, remarks, that "the savage women manufacture thread of the wool of the buffalo, and weave it into cloth. Most parts of the body are invested with a dusky wool, which is of a quality extremely fine—is much valued—and can with great facility be used in manufactures. The quantity usually contained on one skin is about eight pounds."
So far from the sheep being invariably a
(25.) Structure of the Skin.—The skin is composed of three coats, or layers; the outermost, the cuticle or scarf-skin, is a thin delicate membrane, devoid of feeling, and of a scaly texture, pierced by innumerable small holes, for the passage of the hairs, and perspiration, and covering the next, or mucous coat, so named from its pulpy appearance. In this resides the colouring matter, which imparts its peculiar tints to the hair, and which can only be satisfactorily demonstrated in the dark races. The existence of this coat has been by some denied; but it is probable that, though present in all, it can only be exhibited in such as have depth of tint, to admit of the display. It is here that sensation principally resides; the nerves, or rather their terminations, ramifying minutely in its substance, at which they have arrived by piercing the third tunic, or true skin, a dense firm elastic membrane, in which the roots of the hairs are imbedded, and from which, in fact, they take their origin.
(26.) Sebaceous Follicles.—The skin is studded over by small glands, or what, in anatomical language, would be called sebaceous follicles, which vary in number in different breeds, and different parts of the body, being most numerous on the breast and shoulders, and secreting a peculiar unctuous semi-solid matter, which, as we shall immediately see, possesses alkaline properties.
(27.) Connection of the hair with the skin—Yolk.—A hair implanted in the skin may be compared to a plant growing in a flower-pot which has been sunk in the earth, as the root of the hair does not rise directly from the true skin, but from a little cup extending from it to the cuticle, and receiving nourishment from surrounding vessels. After coming to the surface of these tunics it has, in the sheep, yet another, and, in some respects, remarkable covering to pierce, one which has occupied the attention of the most distinguished chemists, and given rise to a good deal of disputation on the subject of salving—we allude to the Yolk. It is supposed by many to be the inspissated secretion of the sebaceous follicles, and receives its name from its adhesiveness and colour. It is most plentiful on fine-woolled sheep, those of the south possessing more than those of the north of our island, while merinos possess most of all; so that there is apparently some connection between a fine fleece, and a good supply of this matter. According to the analysis of M. Vauquelin, it consists principally of a soapy matter, with a basis of potash; a small quantity of carbonate of potash; a minute quantity of acetate of potash; lime in an unknown state of combination; and an atom of muriate of potash. It owes its odour to a small quantity of animal oil, and is in every respect a true soap, which would permit the sheep to be completely washed in a stream, but for the existence in the fleece of an uncombined fatty matter, which remains attached to the wool, and renders it rather glutinous.
Many have tried to account for the uses of the Yolk, but nothing like satisfactory conclusions have been come to: some considering it goes to form the filament, and is consolidated into a transparent mass while the pile is growing; while others argue, that it is a peculiar secretion which exudes through the skin, and by mixing with the pile renders it soft and pliable, affecting it in the way that oil does a piece of leather. In the latter opinion I coincide. For my part, I view it as a secretion, depending very much on good food and steadiness of temperature, and, therefore, indicative of a fine fleece only so far as the health of the animal is concerned. In the human being the state of the skin may often guide us, though blind-fold, to the quality of the hair, so that the latter may be pronounced either dry and coarse, or glossy, soft, and silky, as the skin may prove either harsh and ungrateful, or pleasant, and, if I may be allowed the expression, alkaline to the touch. Every thing having a tendency to affect the health may always be considered as calculated to diminish this secretion, and, consequently, to deteriorate the quality of the wool.
The relative positions of the layers of the skin, the mode in which the hairs rise from them, and the form and situation of the sebaceous follicles, will be better understood by referring to the following cross section Fig 5. Pl. V., in which the line marked
- a Represents the cuticle,
- b The mucous layer,
- c The true skin,
- d Sebaceous follicles,
- e Hairs rising from the true skin and inflections of the upper layers and piercing,
- f The thin film of the yolk.
(28.) Periodical decidence of Wool.—It is affirmed that the only real difference between hair and wool is in the latter falling off periodically; but the same change takes place in animals totally covered with hair; in fact, almost every animal is subject to moulting, or a periodical decidence of its protecting covering. The fleece of the sheep has been proved in many instances not to be liable to annual changes of this description;—Lord Western having, among others, shown that the wool of the merino may be retained at least three years without the slightest disposition to separate.
The annual employment of shearing, to anticipate this falling off of the wool, is now common in most parts of the world; yet some, as the Icelanders and Kamtschadales, still retain the primeval custom of rowing, or pulling off the fleece in a mass, about the end of May, at which time it is nearly loosened. This loosening of the attachments of the fibre is supposed to be owing to a diminution, during winter, of the nutritive process at the root of the hair, so that the fibre is liable to give way at the tender part when the fleece becomes heavy during Spring. This attempt at an explanation meets, however, with the insurmountable objection, that long-woolled are less liable than short-woolled sheep to this occurrence, a circumstance which ought to be the reverse, if weight had any thing to do in the case.
(29.) Falling off of Wool prevented by Clipping.—Clipping has a curious influence over the duration of the covering of animals, as is well exemplified by the correct popular idea, that the only way to prevent the hair of children dropping off (as it sometimes has a tendency to do) is to cut it short: we may suppose the benefit in this case to result from the removal of a portion of each hair, which, if allowed to remain, would lead to a sacrifice of the whole, by robbing the root of a quantity of nutritious matter, which, owing to a diminution of reproductive power, it could ill afford. In this way only can we account for the power which shearing evinces, in putting a stop to the attempt sometimes made by nature to change the coverings of some sheep. In the valley which separates the most eastern chain of the Cordilleras from the central, the wool grows upon the lambs in the same manner as in temperate climates, provided they are sheared so soon as it has arrived at a certain thickness; in which case the wool grows again, preserving the same order. But, if the period for denuding the animal be allowed to pass, the wool detaches itself in flakes, leaving behind a short, glossy, and compact hair, exactly resembling that of the common goat in the same climate.
(30.) Form of woolly fibre.—The fibre of wool is circular, differing in diameter in the various breeds, and different parts of the same fleece. The following à propos observations are from the article on the Sheep, in the Library of Useful Knowledge: "The filaments of white wool, when cleansed
The more transparent the filament the better is the fleece, and its value is impaired by the transparency being different in the same fleece, or, as often happens, in the same filament; while that which possesses fineness with a close ground, pureness, elasticity, colour, tenacity, and not much pitch-mark, is the most esteemed, and preferred by the manufacturer. Wethers have considerably more wool than ewes. In every fleece there are several qualities, even so many as nine different sorts, which are all separated from each other in England by men called woolstaplers, who are appointed for the purpose, and sworn to do justice between the grower, and the merchant or manufacturer. In this manner the latter obtains, without trouble or risk, the very kind which he knows will suit his purpose; for though the sorter, surrounded by a number of baskets, divides the wool according to its properties without the slightest hesitation, and with a rapidity truly surprising, yet such is the amount of the dexterity acquired by practice, that a mistake seldom occurs, and his judgment can as rarely be disputed.
(31.) Structure and properties of Hair and Wool.—Each hair is composed of a number of filaments, or smaller hairs, ranged side by side, and this we can perceive without the slightest trouble, from the tendency it sometimes has to unravel at the apex; and again, by drawing a hair through the fingers from point to root, when we feel a roughness occasioned by projecting filaments, which only proceed a certain distance up the trunk, the longest being most internal.
Pl. V. Fig. 5, e, exhibits those points in a hair considerably magnified.
These projections, or serrations, which vary in number in different specimens of wool, are what it depends on for its felting properties. They are sharper and more numerous in felting wools than in others, and the better the felting properties of the wool, the more numerous the curls; because what induces curling on the animal's back leads to felting in the hands of the manufacturer. In felting, these projections catch one upon another, and occasion the hair to move in one direction, which is invariably root foremost, as we perceive on giving it a twirling motion between the finger and thumb; and it is only by the union of curve and serration, that felting can be accomplished certainly and perfectly.
Woolly fibre consists of a semitransparent stem, or stalk, supposed to be hollow, as represented at Fig. 4, Pl. V. and is partly distinguished from hair by the latter being opaque. Next to soundness, there are few qualities deserving of so much attention as softness, of which the ancient writers make frequent mention, and for the prevalence of which in our present wools fashion has done not a little. It is a quality that tends, in a material degree, to the cheap and easy working of the cloth, and, as such, is said to render wool 25 per cent. more valuable to the manufacturer than a harsh and brittle pile. It apparently depends on the fineness of the fibre, which should not, however, go the length of weakness. Fineness is in turn mainly connected with the yolk, the secretion of which ought, on that account, to be promoted by attention to the general management of the animal, as it is well known to undergo a change of properties by starvation, exposure, or any neglect whatever.
(32.) Particular soils injurious to Wool.—Soil, also, has much influence on the pliability of wool. Chalky lands, which are so notorious for injuring the fleece, are supposed to act in the manner of a corrosive, but the correct explanation is, not that the chalky particles attack the fibre in a direct way, but that they render it brittle, by absorbing the oily moisture with which it is naturally imbued. Moreover, the plants growing in such situations cannot but be injurious to sheep, owing to their impregnation, though a slight one, with calcareous matter; for grooms know well how soon a horse's coat becomes disordered by the frequent use of hard or well water, and prefer, therefore, the river for their steeds.[4]
(33.) Felting.—The felting of wool may be defined as a property depending on the curls and serrations of the fibre, by which it is allowed to move only with the root foremost, and by which it is enabled to catch and retain a hold on fibres that are near it, so as to form a web or cloth. Felting is best brought into operation by alternate pressure and relaxation, which may be produced in a variety of ways: the ancient method, and one still pursued by the Tartars, was to tramp on a mass or layer of moist unwrought wool, so as to form a coarse cloth or carpet; while the modern, and more perfect plan is, either, as in hat making, to apply pressure with the hands, or, as in the finishing of cloth, to pass the fabric repeatedly through rollers. The way in which a close fabric is formed, by the juxta-position of a few scattered hairs, gave rise for long, as well it might, to serious disputations among philosophers; and the favourite theories of each, unbased as they were on observation, might till now have agitated the scientific portion of our manufacturers, had not the microscope brought to light much of what is true and valuable in our researches.
Moisture appears to be of service during the felting of wool, as it induces it to curl, enabling the fibres to expand, and catch one on another, after they have been bent and compressed, by the force applied to them, and is of itself sufficient to felt a fabric, as we frequently perceive in the instance of stockings, which have been allowed to remain too long in water, when they become short from undergoing contraction, and resemble after such treatment an imperfect cloth. It is for this reason that the hatter, after tumbling over, in all directions, the fur of which the hat is to be made, wets it before applying pressure; and, that the woollen manufacturer, after freeing the web from grease, soaps it before its subjection to the action of the rollers.
Without felting, cloth would resemble a net, and would unravel on being cut, from the fibres crossing only in two directions; but the strokes of the mill put an end to this, by laying the fibres in every possible direction, and so twining them one with another, as to render them a coherent mass.
(34.) Different kinds of Wool.—The wool of this country is divided into two great classes—long and short: the former varies in length from three to eight inches, and before being made into stuffs and worsted goods, requires to be deprived of its felting tendencies, by passing it through heated iron combs, which remove the feathery parts, or serrations, and make it resemble silk or cotton.
The shorter combing wools are in general used for hose, and are softer than the long combing wools. Short wool is employed in the cloth manufacture, and is, on that account, frequently called clothing wool. It should approach in colour as much as possible to white, as a clear white ground is required for all cloths that are to be dyed bright colours,
(35.) Alterations induced by Crossing.—The breed exercises considerable influence on the wool, some sheep, as the merinos, being distinguished for the softness and beauty of the fleece; while others, as some of our small northern varieties, are famed for the very opposite characteristics.
According to the opinion on the continent, any race of ewes, however coarse and long in the fleece, will, on the fourth cross of the merino ram, give progeny with short wool equal to the Spanish. The truth of this proposition is however doubted, in a communication to the Board of Agriculture, by Dr Parry of Bath; but it is certain, he adds, that one cross more will in most cases effect the desired purpose. "If we suppose," he says, "the result of the admixture of the blood of the merino ram to be always in an exact arithmetical proportion, and state the native blood in the ewe as 64, then the first cross would give 32/64 of the merino, the second 48/64, the third 56/64, the fourth 60/64, the fifth 62/64, and so on. In other words, the first cross would leave 32 parts in 64, or half of the English quality; the second 16 parts, or one-fourth; the third 8 parts, or one-eighth; the fourth four parts, or one-sixteenth; the fifth 2 parts or one-thirty-second; the sixth 1 part, or one-sixty-fourth; and so on. Now, if the filament of the Wiltshire, or any other coarse wool, be in diameter double that of the Ryeland, it is obvious that, according to the above statement, it would require exactly one cross more to bring the hybrid wool of the former to the same fineness as that of the latter. This, I believe, very exactly corresponds with the fact. The difference between one-eighth and one-sixteenth is very considerable, and must certainly be easily perceived, both by a good microscope, and in the cloth which is manufactured from such wool. In the latter method, it certainly has been perceived; but I have had hitherto no opportunity of trying the difference by the former. The fifth cross, as I have before observed, brings the merino-Wilts wool to the same standard as the merino-Ryeland."
(36.) Bratting injurious to Wool.—Wool rendered fine by clothing sheep, is never equal to that which owes its perfection to natural causes. The Saxon wool, which is principally produced by artificial means, has been compared, from its inelastic sickly appearance, to grass that has been secluded from the sun. The custom of bratting is therefore not to be recommended, and indeed is now nearly laid aside. Housing sheep with the same intentions is also bad, inasmuch as it must affect their health, and destroy the curl of the fibre. Shelter is however absolutely necessary from extremes both of heat and cold, as temperature has much influence on the covering of animals, and in none more than the sheep.
CHAPTER III.
BRITISH WOOL TRADE.
(37.) Origin of the Wool Trade.—Wool, since Eden closed its gates on our progenitors has been a current coin, an important material, on which has been employed the skill and industry of almost every tribe, and been the means of raising many a petty people to the hard-won dignity of a nation. Man, at first placed in a comfortable temperature, needed little as a defence against the weather; while fashion, then unthought of, or only as a sport, failed to interest the simple-minded races in the cut or texture of the coverings they wore. That the first dresses of mankind were formed from vegetable materials, we have the highest authority for believing; and even at present, the garb of the natives of some of our lately discovered islands, consists of a simple girdle formed from rough-cut reeds. But as the dawn of knowledge smiled upon the savage, and animal sacrifice tutored him in the uncouth rudiments of a coarse anatomy, the superior comfort, even of the untanned hide would be remarked, and the clumsy mantle of the Caffre hordes welcomed as a change. Time would not long elapse till roving dispositions, and the encounter of unstable climates, would show the wanderer the necessity of a fabric better adjusted by shape and pliancy, to the nature of his wants; while the clinging of lock to lock of woolly fibre would plainly tell the superfluous nature of the supporting skin, and point the way to make an ill-closed cloth.
(38.) Invention of Weaving.—Weaving is not absolutely necessary for the manufacture of cloth, since wool will felt, though far from evenly, without the preliminary process of being laid in threads, so that cloth may have been almost coeval with mankind without our being required to assign much mechanical ingenuity to its inventors. But we have tolerably clear evidence in the inspired writings, that weaving was known in the earliest ages, and that it was trusted principally to the women:—Thus Delilah wove Samson's hair when he slept in her lap; and a short time after, it is written, that the mother of Samuel "made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year." At a later period, Solomon thus describes a good wife:—"She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."[5] That garments were in those early ages made of several pieces, joined by needle work, is evident on a perusal of Genesis, xxxvii. 3; Judges, v. 30; and 2 Samuel, xiii. 13; and this plan is allowed to be even more ancient than the weaving of flax. Job, who flourished, or is supposed to have flourished, before the Israelites left Egypt, shows clearly by his words that flannel clothing was then in vogue: "Let me be condemned if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;" and that the cloth was woven, and not produced by beating, is evident from his saying, when complaining of his sad estate, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle."
(39.) The early progress of the Wool Trade is veiled in much obscurity, and only to be discovered by seeking for it in a mass of fable, which in many instances enabled the old writers to string together the dry details of history, in a manner suited to the taste and habit of their time. The following may be taken as a specimen. Phryxus, the son of Athamas king of Thebes, fleeing with his sister, Hellé, from their stepmother, and riding upon (carrying with him) a ram which had a golden (valuable) fleece, sought to cross the Dardanelles, when Hellé was drowned, and the sea was ever after called the Hellespont: but Phryxus arrived safely at Colchis, between the Black and Caspian seas, and having sacrificed the ram to Mars, hung the fleece in a temple dedicated to that god. By this the ancients no doubt meant to intimate, either that Bœotia, the birth-place of so many talented Greeks, furnished the people of Colchis with sheep, or that they sent them sums of money in exchange for the wool of Caucasus. That the latter is the more probable, is apparent from Ovid's account of the Argonautic expedition, in which he shows the hardships which Jason encountered in his successful endeavours (B.C. 1225) to bring the golden fleece from Colchis back to Greece—implying the value of the article, and leading us to believe, that the Colchians had, by the aid of severe penalties, long monopolized the growth of wool. Moreover, Mount Caucasus and its neighbourhood form the favoured nursery whence the improved fleece-bearing animals have gradually spread over the world; and as such would be looked upon, at the time I speak of, by adjacent tribes with jealousy and hatred; for where is