they weigh, fatted, 100 to 120 lbs., and the mutton is pronounced excellent. It is deemed more profitable to cross them with long wooled sheep than with short wooled, and especially a crossing with Romney Marsh sheep appears commendable, of which I have excellent samples of wools.

it is admitted that such crosses require more luxuriant pasture and more attention than pure Merinos. I will yet state that the English Merinos descend from animals purchased from Count Negretti.

The English Merino wool is almost unknown in market. It is sold about 3 to 5 cents per lb. dearer than Southdown wool.

Loss by washing, 41.73 per cent., clean wool, 58.27 per cent. ; lengthwether 4, ewe 3 inches; fineness-wether, 10.1 Too lines-min. 6.0, max 15.0; ewe, 8.175 lines-min. 7.0, max. 11.0.

506

Immediately after shearing, all wool in England is packed into bundles, each containing one fleece. The fleeces are divided into two chief divi sions

1.-HOGS AND TEGS.

Hogs are the one year old lambs' wools, of combing wool sheep, such as Lincolnshire or Leicester hogs.

Tegs are the one year old lambs' wools, of short wooled sheep, as down or Merino tegs.

2.-WETHERS AND EWES.

By wethers proper, fleeces shorn the second time were formerly designated; now this term is used also to express the general character of fleeces of this kind: in other words, to designate a sound, good, strong fleece, whether it be shorn the second time or at a later shearing. Ewes is used in combing wools for the shorter, more tender and inferior fleeces, which generally come from old and sickly sheep, but in all short-stapled wools, for all shorter wools, whether wethers or ewes.

Noils are offal in combing wool, consisting of the finer and shorter hairs, suitable for card and worsted or zephyr yarns.

Taps are combing wools out of which the noils have been combed: combing wool ready for spinning.

Laid.-All wools of mountain sheep are called "laid,” (Highland, Cheviot, Herdwick, Welsh,) which were smeared with tar and butter, to protect them from the weather. To this salve some ochre is added, from which the wool retains a reddish hue after washing.

Pelt or skin wool is tanner's wool, also called pulled wool. In manufacturing, the Englishmen distinguish

WOOLENS AND WORSTED GOODS.

To the former belong all stuffs made of short wools, which are subjected to the pulling process, and are woven of carded yarn; to the latter all combing yarn stuffs, and white woolen goods of worsted yarn.

The English woolen factories make mostly worsted goods, for which the excellent combing wools produced on the island are suitable.

Since down wools and other stapled wools are especially adapted to manufacturing blankets and flannels, which are in great demand, because the Englishman sleeps under blankets, and wears much flannel; the English cloth manufactories are dependent upon imported Merino wools.

In the following table the relative proportion of the individual English races and their crosses, of which I had samples for examination, is shown, and a similar collation is made from Thaer's "English Agriculture," on account of its historical interest: