MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. PROJECT for EXTENDING the BREED OF FINE-WOOLED SPANISH SHEEP, now in the Poffeffion of his MAJESTY, into all Parts of GREATBRITAIN, where the GROWTH of FINE CLOTHING WOOL is found to be profitable, [Drawn up and circulated by the Right Hon. Sir JOSEPH BANKS, Bart. P. R. S. &c.] FTER experiments had gretti, the reputation of which, for years, A by the king's command, with Spanifh fheep of the true Merino breed, imported from various parts of Spain, all of which concurred in proving that the valuable wool of thofe animals did not degenerate in any degree in this climate, and that the cross of a Merino ram uniformly increafed the quantity and meliorated the quality of the wool of every kind of fhort-wooled fheep on which it was tried, and more particularly fo in the cafe of the South Down, Hereford, and Devonshire breeds, his majefty was pleased to command, that fome Merino fheep fhould be procured from a flock, the character of which, for a fine pile of wool, was well eftablished. "Application was accordingly made to lord Auckland, who had lately returned from an embaffy to Spain; and in confequence of his lordship's letters, the marchionefs del Campo di Alange was induced to prefent to his majefty five rams and thirty-five ewes, from her own flock, known by the name of Ne wool, is as high as any in Spain: for this prefent, his majefty was pleafed to fend to the marchioness, in return, eight fine English coach horses. "These sheep, which were imported in the year 1792, have formed the bafis of a flock now kept in the park of his royal high. nefs the duke of York at Oatlands, the breed of which has been preferved with the utmost care and attention. "The wool of this flock, as well as that of the sheep procured before from Spain, was acknowledged by the manufacturers who faw it to be to all appearance of the very first quality, yet none of them chofe to offer a price for it at all equal to what they themselves gave for good Spanish wool, left, as they faid, it fould not prove in manufacture fo valuable as its appearance promifed; it became neceffary, there. fore, that it fhould be manufactured at the king's expence, in order that abfolute proof might be given of its actual fitnefs for the fabric of Superfine fuperfine broad cloth; and this was done year after year in various manners, the cloth always proving excellent; yet the perfons to whom the wool was offered for fale ftill continued to undervalue it, being prepoffeffed with an opinion, that though it might not at first degenerate, it certainly fooner or later would alter its quality, much for the worse. In 1796 it was refolved to fell the wool at the price that fhould be offered for it, in order that the manufacturers themfelves might make trial of its quality, although a price equal to its real value fhould not be obtained; accordingly, the clip of that year was fold for 2s. a pound, and the clip of the year 1797 for 2s. 6d. "The value of the wool being now in fome degree known, the clip of 1798 was washed in the Spanish manner, and it fold as follows: The number of fleeces of ewes and wethers was 89; Amount of fcowered wool Which produced, Raffinos, 167lb. at 5s. per lb. Finos, 23, at 3s. 6d. Terceros, 13, at 2s. 6d. 295lb. 92 203 471. 8s. The clip of 1799 was managed in the fame manner, and produced as follows: The number of fleeces of ewes and wethers was 101; Amount of fcowered wool Which produced, Raffinos, 207 lb. at gs. 6d. per lb. at 25. The rams' wool of the two years forted together follows: Quantity of wool, wafhed on the fheep's backs Amount of fcowered wool Which produced, Raffinos, 181 lb at 4s. 6d. per lb. "It is neceffary to account for thefe extraordinary prices, by ftating that, in the year 1799, when both fails were effected, Spanish wool was dearer than it ever before was known to be; but it is alfo proper to add, that 55. 6d. was then the price of the belt Spanish piles, and that none was fold higher, except, as is faid, a very small quantity for 55.9d. The king has been pleafed at 25. 346lb. to give away to different perfons, who undertook to try experiments, by croffing other breeds of fheep with the Spanish, more than one hundred rams and fome ewes: in order, however, to makę the benefit of this valuable improvement, in the ftaple commodity of Great Britain, acceffible to all perfons who may choose to take the advantage of it, his majefty is this year pleased to per mit mit fome rams and ewes to be fold, and alfo to command that reasonable prices fhall be put upon them, according to the comparative value of each individual; in obedience to which it has been fuggefted, that five guineas may be confidered as the medium price of a ram, and two guineas that of a ewe; a fum which it is believed the purchaser will in all cafes be able to receive back with large profit, by the improvement his flock will derive from the valuable addition it will obtain. "Though the mutton of the Spanish fheep was always excellent, their carcafes were extremely different in fhape, from that mould which the fashion of the prefent day teaches us to prefer; great improvement has however been already made in this article, by a careful and attentive felection of fuch rams and ewes as appeared most likely to produce a comely progeny and no doubt can be entertained, that in due time, with judicious management, carcafes covered with fuperfine Spanish wool may be brought into any fhape, whatever it may be, to which the intereft of the butcher, or the caprice of the breeder, may choose to affix a particular value. "Sir Jofeph Banks, who has the honour of being intrufted nex the following notice, in order to how the opinion held of a fimilar undertaking, in a neighbouring country, where individuals, however they have mistaken their political intereft, are rather remarkable for purfuing and thoroughly weighing their own perfonal advantage, in all their private undertakings, and for fagacity in feizing all opportunities of improving, by public eftablishment, the refources of their nation.. French Advertisement. "On the 24th of May laft, an advertisement appeared in the Moniteur, giving notice of a fale of two hundred and twenty ewes and rams of the finest woolled Spanich breed, part of the flock kept on the national farm of Rambouillet; alfo two thoufand pounds of fuperfine wool, being the prefent year's clip of this national flock, and one thoufand three hundred pounds of wool, the produce of the mixed breeds of theep kept at the menagerie at Versailles. "This advertisement, which is official, is accompanied by a notice from Lucien Buonaparte, minifter of the interior, as follows; "The Spanish breed of fheep that produce the finest wool, introduced into France thirty years ago, has not manifefted the with the management of this bufi-fmalleit fymptom of degene ration: famples of the wool of this valuable flock, which was brought from Spain in the year 1786, are ftil preferved and bear nefs, will answer all letters on the fubject of it, addreffed to him in Soho-fquare. The rams will be delivered at Windfor, the ewes at Weybridge in Surry, near Oat-teftimony that it has not in the lands. "As thofe who have the care of his majesty's Spanish flock may naturally be fuppofed partial to the project of introducing fuperfine wool into these kingdoms, it has been thought proper to an1800. aft declined from its original excellence, although the district • where these sheep have been kept is not of the best quality for theep farming; the draughts from this flock, that have been annually fold by auction, have always M • exceeded 'exceeded in value the expec-wool, by the introduction of rams ⚫tation of the purchasers in every country to which they have been carried, that is not too damp for • sheep. * "The weight of their fleeces is from fix to twelve pounds each, and those of the rams are fome'times heavier. and ewes of the true Spanish race, among the flocks of France, whether the fheep are purchased at Rambouillet, or elsewhere; in this bufinefs, however, it is of the greatest importance to fecure the Spanish breed unmixed, and the utmost precaution on that 'head fhould be used, as the avarice of proprietors may tempt them to fubftitute the croffed breeds inftead of the pure one, to the great difappointment of purchafer. 6 "Sheep of the ordinary coarse woolled breeds, when croffed by a Spanish ram, produce fleeces double in weight, and far more valuable, than thofe of their dams: and if this crofs is carefully conti-the nued, by fupplying rams of the pure Spanish blood, the wool of the third or the fourth generation is fcarce diftinguishable from the original Spanish wool. "Thefe mixed breeds are more eafily maintained, and can be fattened at as fmall an expence, as the ordinary breeds of the coun· try. "No fpeculation whatever offers advantages fo certain, and fo con'fiderable to those who embark in it, as that of the improvement of "The amelioration of wool at Rambouillet has made fo great a progrefs, that in a circle from twenty-four to thirty-fix miles in diameter, the manufacturers purchafe thirty-five thousand pounds of wool, improved by two, three, 'or four croffes. Thofe who wish 'to accelerate the amelioration of their flocks by introducing into them ewes of this improved fort, may find abundance to be purchafed in that neighbourhood at 'reasonable rates.' FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS relative to the CAUSES and CURE of BLIGHT ON FRUIT-TREES, by THOMAS SKIP DYOT BUCKNALL, Efq.] [From the Eighteenth Volume of TRANSACTIONS of the SOCIETY for the ENCOURAGEMENT of ARTS, MANUFACTURES, and COMMERCE, inftituted at LONDON.] THIS being intimately con nected with my favourite object, the improvement of fruittrees, I fhall fubmit to your obfervations a further collection of facts, which I think will tend confide rably to leffen, if not in part eradicate, this growing evil. "Blight originates from many caufes; feveral of which I have pointed out before, each requiring a different defcription and mode of "This must mean fleeces unwashed, or in the yoke, as it is technically termed.” treatment, treatment, according as it arifes from the air, foil, water, heat, extraneous vegetation, accidents, or infects. I fhall therefore treat of blight under thefe different heads. “A free circulation of air is esfentially important to fecure the health of the tree; indeed there can be no good vegetation without it. "Abforption and emiffion of air are well known to take place throughout the vegetable fyftem for its fupport; and where circulation is impeded by a multitude of branches, or by trees ftanding too clofe together, blight is the inevitable confequence. This, therefore, may be prevented, by clearing away the clustering branches long before they may have fo far encumbered the trees as to give them a difpofition to blight, as I have remarked in the first paper on pruning. "Confider whether a branch will be in the way three years hence; if it will, the fooner it is taken off the better.'-Eleventh volume, p. 18. "Mr. William Lake has obferved to me that fruit-trees fhould be left with one afpiring top, which tends, where pruning is neglected, to keep the branches more equally afunder. Remember, no leading branch is ever to be shortened, except to improve the figure of the tree, in which cafe it is to be cut clofe to the feparation. "When the branches or trees are fo close together as to prevent a free and active circulation of air and fun, the encumbered parts foon decline in growth, and the due flow of the fap is obftructed, the wood grows torpid, rots, dies, and falls off. When this happens, the grafs beneath ceafes to grow; a cold, damp, offenfive fmell arifes; few bloffoms are formed on those parts of the tree, and those never duly impregnated; confequently, the branches become unproductive, and are justly faid to blight. "Now, to place this evil in its true light, I wish I might be allowed to ufe the word pulfation; for, in a healthy tree, when the fap flows, there is a regular irritation or motion, which impels it forward: the organization of this function, being very delicate, is easily deftroyed: and there is no other way of removing the evil than by cutting off the torpid branches, and clearing away whatever may obftruct the fun and air; and, in general, if the habit of the tree be healthy, thefe parts will recover. Remove the caufe, and the effect ceafes.'-This I noted in the 14th volume of the Transactions, and in the Orchardift. "The foil is another moft material object of attention in the management of fruit-trees, on which I fhall only obferve, that if the foil is replete with mineral particles, they may occafion blight by obftructing thofe veffels in the roots which convey nourishment to the plant. In fuch foils you may frequently, on minute examination, obferve a yellow or orange-coloured calx of iron separated from the earth, and precipitated on the roots, which prevents the abforption of proper food. Soils containing metals which diffolve in water should be avoided; but if a plantation has been actually made in fuch foils, the best method of preventing the blight arifing from this caufe is to cut away the tap-roots which have ftruck into the under-foil, and en courage the increase of those which run horizontally. But the most important and beneficial precaution 1 |