fat, it may then be expected that in keeping such ennobled country sheep, more profit may be derived, than by a fine sheep fold. Whoever makes the production of a highly fine wool the object of his sheep breeding, will finally obtain a flock, each of which bears scarcely more than one pound of wool; but on the contrary whoever merely directs himself to secure a rich weight of wool, will by richer nutriment obtain sheep which will produce four pounds and over of wool. In an economical respect, it is, in most cases, advisable, to avoid both extremes. But above all, in order to obtain a sufficiently profitable sheep fold, whether it be by the production of a highly fine wool, or by the quantity of wool, one must be careful, and one must indeed know what he would have, and not waver and change the wool, in his aims and experiments; he must know, what he would have, and that by proper means. A highly fine ewe must not be paired with a coarse-woolled buck. The transition from one variety to another, when it becomes necessary, must be made only gradually. If there is a fine breeding ewe, of too thin wool, flabby, and hence a thickening of the fleece is desired for the next offspring, then must she not be paired with a ram (buck) which is remarkable for great quantity of wool, and is dissimilar in the coarseness of his wool and other qualities; but we must first look out a buck for her which has a fleece thicker, fuller of wool, and which also, in regard to fineness and structure of the wool, agrees tolerably with hers. In opposite cases, we manage according to the same principles; consequently every one should carefully avoid rapid transition at every coupling.

It is likewise to be noticed, at the same time, that the powerful, thick, and rich-woolled bucks more strongly transmit their peculiarities than the thin and fine-woolled; so that it is easier to increase the weight of wool, of a highly refined flock, than to bring it to a yet greater degree of fineness. For these reasons must the last peculiarity, in a flock of this kind, be highly regarded; and if any one feels himself inclined to aim at greater richness of wool, it is particularly necessary to proceed with great care, in the selection of bucks. But we must also, especially in a very large estate, or in the joint sheep folds of proprietors, aim at the production of a wool of an uniform character and the growth and formation of a staple free from faults; since, in most of our sheep folds, we now find at the same ture, long and short, coarse and fine wool, thick, slight curled and uncurled fleeces. In order to attain gradually to an entirely uniform kind of wool in a sheep fold, according to the opinion of judicious sheep breeders, we should make use of bucks of an uniform character, that is of equally long or equally short wool, &c., according as any one guiding himself by local circum stances wishes to produce a longer or shorter wool; and not, as happens at the present day, choose bucks of different kind of fleeces for coupling in one and the same flock of ewes. We should also manage the refining of the wool or the production of greater richness, according to the rules and principles already noticed. The bucks must be chosen from the sheep folds of exactly the same kind of growth and formation of staple, and the wool must, at the same time, be of equal fineness in the hair in all parts of the body; that is, exactly even; for only with such can we reckon on continuing the blood and securing a good stock in future. The choice of the buck must be made in the months of March and April, or at least before the shearing by one who is a judge in such matters, with circumspection and prudence; but not as is frequently done shortly before the time of crossing-by the shepherd who then, even if he understands it, can make no proper choice

The neglect which has been practised hitherto in this matter has caused great loss and injury to the breeding of sheep-just as the unsuitable choice and small care of the bulls has done in the ennobling of black cattle; and generally as the use of poor breeding animals in the usual raising of domestic animals has also done among them. It is greatly to be desired that the agriculturists, through whose carelessness it has increased, should seek to avoid it for the future.

A sheep fold which produces a wool even and free from faults, the animals of which are well kept during the entire year, whose fleeces have been brought to market well washed, will always command a higher price; that is to say, it will repay the labor and trouble spent upon it, and yield a higher interest on the capital invested than will one where these conditions have not been fulfilled. In order to be able to afford to the sheep a suitable care during the time of pasture, by summer foddering, in the months of June and July, &c., we must make use of all our capacity for the artificial culture of fodder; and remember that while in the time of pasture, one sheep will not find sufficient fodder on a Weimar acre of naked fallow pasture, yet on the same extent of pasture sown with yellow or Spanish clover, eight or twelve sheep may be kept; and with green mowed clover, on the same area, accordingly as the soil is more or less favorable to the culture of clover, 20 sheep may be foddered, for five in the stalls; but at the same time, through the increased production of dung, we can also produce more grain and other vegetables and fruits, than if, as is now usual, large areas lie idle for pasture; and besides, the herd of cattle in general is not lessened, but rather increased. Not more than thirty years will pass without generally furnishing room for conviction, that it is better for the health of the animal, for the wool, and generally for the whole farming interest, if the sheep be foddered, for the greater part of the time of pasture, in the stalls, or in the open spaces of the yard, surrounded with herds, under the open sky, and only sometimes be led out to range on the natural pastures devoted to this purpose.

VI.--Marking Sheep

The German merino wool grower have various modes of marking the heep. The signs or marks are either put on by means of color, burnt in, Lattooed, cut in, or marks hung round the neck.

Sheep which are destined for the butcher, are marked with paint on the back or side.

The rams are marked upon the horns with hot irons, upon which the numbers or signs are engraved.

A very common method is tattooing. It is done on the inside of the ear by means of signs or figures formed of steel points, and forced into the skin in the following manner: First, a kind of thick paint is made of vermillion, indigo, or gunpowder and whiskey; when the paint is prepared, the sheep to be marked is bound and placed upon a table and held by one person, while another puts the paint upon the inside of the ear, and presses the signs or numbers into the skin, without causing it to bleed; when the instrument has been withdrawn, the paint is rubbed into the marks. about three weeks the marks become hardened and are indelible.

All sheep of the Count Caroly's flocks are marked in that way, cor

responding with the register and pedigrees. The signs and numbers were very distinct even in old sheep, which had been marked for several years. The instrument used there is constructed as follows: Upon the lower jaw of a pair of nippers, as seen in Fig. 27, there are grooves a, b, c, d, into which the numbers or marks are; these marks or numbers are formed

of steel points, as seen in Figs. 28 and 29. Fig. 31 shows two ears, in one of which is tattooed 3465; in the other the number seven, indicating the year 1847.

Lambs are marked with small pieces of lead or wood, upon which the number has been stamped, and which are suspended around their necks until they have arrived at an age when the operation of tattooing or cutting the ear is done without injuring them.

VII.-Instruments for ascertaining the fineness of wool.

At the agricultural school of Von Thäer, I saw two very simple instruments for measuring the fineness of wool; one was to ascertain the number of curves in a wool hair within an inch.

This instrument consists of a round flat piece of brass or other metal, the circumference is divided into 5 or 6 inches, and each inch forming fine printed teeth; when the number of curves of a hair is to be determin ed, the hair is placed over it, in such a manner that the number of curves of the hair correspond to the number of teeth on one of the sides of the plates.

Fig. 33, represents such a brass

To ascertain the fineness of a given wool hair, there is used a piece of ebony or other highly polished black wood, in the shape of four-sided pyramid; upon this is placed a fine wool hair from a known celebrated flock which serves as a standard; the given wool hair is placed near by and secured with beeswax; when prepared in this way, the pyramid is removed from the observer until the fine wool hair has vanished from his sight, the distance is marked, then the pyramid is moved again until the other hair has vanished; the distance between the first mark and the place where the last observed one has vanished, is likewise marked, and this interval between both marks, serves to compare the fineness of other hairs by. Fig. 34 represents such an instrument.

Well constructed wool shears, are of great importance to a careful wool grower, not only in regard to a greater rapidity with which the shearer takes off the fleece, but especially to prevent cutting the sheep; which is injurious

Fig. 24 is a front view. Fig. 25 side view.
Figs. 25 a, 25 b, and 25 c, are sections of part c and d.
Fig. 26 is a perspective view of the shears.

The shears a and b are shorter than the common wool shears, and facilitate the shearer in cutting clean from the fold without injury to the sheep. When a straight line is drawn through the spring e, and side piece a and b, as seen in Fig. 25, the shears deflect from that line at an angle of about 10 degrees. This kind of shears are sold at Berlin, Prussia, Jaegerstrasse, No. 50, from $2 80 to $3 50 per dozen.

The sheep yard in Germany and Hungary, &c., contains the stables for the various flocks, barns for the fodder, sheds for the litter and implements, and the dwelling for the sheep master and his assistants. Generally the sheep stables are connected with the farm buildings, but in many instances these sheep yards form separate establishments placed at proper distances from the main farm, and near the pasture ground.

The situation for the stables is chosen with regard to health; distant from

to the animal on account of the wounds which are kept inflamed and irritated by the flies and other insects during the best season, and besides there grows, generally, upon these injured parts a coarse kind of wool or hair, which depreciates the value of the fleece; and that of the animal as a breeder. While I was at Breslau, at the before mentioned meeting of German agriculturists, there were exhibited a new kind of shears, which are now considered the best constructed and are getting to be generally used there. I made an accurate drawing, full size, of such a pair of shears, from which a skilful mechanic can easily manufacture them.