MICHIGAN LIVE STOCK IN 1899 403 



to Emperor Napoleon's personal interest in, and love for, his noble race 

 of animals, which he loved to visit, watching their improvement, care 

 and development. 



OTHER MICHIGAN FLOCKS OF FRENCH MERINO SHEEP. 



In 1868 Captain Henery Grinnell, of Michigan, purchased a flock of Mr. 

 Cooley in Oakland county. Mr. Cooley's flock proceeded from a purchase 

 from Amasa Stanton, of New York, who brought his flock to Michigan 

 in 1800, stating that he purchased them as Rambouillet sheep from the 

 importation of Hon. J. D. Patterson. 



Mr. Grinnell has used imported rams from Canada and Europe. In 

 1870 he purchased two rams from the experimental farm at Guelph. He 

 has used only pure Van Homeyer rams since 1890. 



In the past fourteen years have sprung up from the Grinnell flock the 

 flocks of L. D. Townsend, C. L. Haliaday, Bingham, Davis Bros., Pea- 

 body, Higby, Keyser, Sly, Moad, Marsh, Ruess, Davis, Coleman, Scilly, 

 Fletcher Bros., Chubb Bros., Phelps, and a score of others. Thousands 

 of sheep in all, and nearly all these men are using pure Van Homeyer 

 rams in their flocks, and have done so from the beginning with Grinnell 

 ewes. 



It is probable that had a record been started earlier for this valuable 

 breed of sheep, many other flocks of Michigan would have been of un- 

 doubted purity, but as all breeders have for ten years used rams only of 

 unquestionable value and pni-ity, the breed has attained great popular- 

 ity, and come into deserved favor wherever found, as they are as large as 

 the English breed for carriage only, and have the best wools in existence, 

 while their longevity is double that of any other breed. 



RAMBOUILLET U. S. A., ORCHARD LAKE, MICHIGAN, 



was founded by importations from the flock of Baron F. Von Homeyer 

 of Prussia. The flock of Van Homeyer originated from Rambouillet, 

 France, in 1850. He had several thousand of these sheep of the finest 

 specimens in all Europe in 1885, and astonished the world by the magni- 

 tude of the animals he exhibited at the world's fair at that time in Europe, 

 also in the U. S. A. Columbian Exposition in 1893. The finest importation 

 from his flock to Michigan was made by Wyckoff in 1889. In 1891 the 

 proprietor of Rambouillet visited the flocks of Europe, taking a thorough 

 inspection of all the principal flocks of France and Germany, making a 

 large importation from the flock of Van Homeyer and some from Roger in 

 France. In 1893 an importation was made from the flock of the great 

 director, Victor Gilbert Gilvert. in France. In 1894 an importation was 

 made from the A^an Homeyer flock of rams only. No importation has 

 since been made since to Michigan, owing to government restrictions 

 abroad in the U. S. A. 



The flock now numbers as high as 900 on the register, sheep being 

 shipped every month of the year to all parts of the Union, and to some 

 foreign countries. 



In 1898 Mr. R. M. Wood, of Saline. Mich., purchased a small flock of 

 pure Van Homeyer sheep from the Markham importation of New York. 

 In 1899 he purchased a large number more from the same source, and now 

 has one of the choicest flocks in the TJ. S. A. 



