132 THE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



American or French Merino, the Saxon has been found unprofita- 

 ble for the production of wool in the present condition of the 

 woolen manufacture, yet there may occur cases in which it can be 

 made useful at some future time, when the demand for very fine 

 wool may return under the influence of the changes of fashion. 



THE SILESIAN MERINO. The Silesian Merinos have become 

 already a successfully acclimated breed in the United States. This 

 breed became established through importations from Saxony as 

 well as from Spain. The flock out of which the only importa- 

 tion into America was made, became naturalized in Silesia by an 

 importation of Infantado and Negretti Merinos, in 1811, by 

 Ferdinand Fischer, of Wirchenblatt. Mr. Fischer personally se- 

 lected 100 Infantado ewes and 4 Negretti rams, and these sheep 

 have been interbred without admixture from that date to the 

 present. So careful has been the breeding, that since its com- 

 mencement over 60 years ago, the pedigree of every sheep of the 

 flock has been recorded. This purity of blood is one of the most 

 valuable characteristics of the flock in question, in which, having 

 acquired an offshoot from it, we are especially interested. Perfect 

 purity of blood gives force, or, to use the breeders' phraseology, 

 prepotency to the breed used in crossing on other races, and in- 

 sures uniformity of improvement. If this general opinion of 

 breeders is founded on fact, as must be admitted, then the value 

 of the flock to be referred to, can hardly be questioned, and it 

 might truly be designated as pure Spanish, instead of, by reason 

 of its accidental location, Silesian. As it is, however, generally 

 known as Silesian, and is as well entitled to that name as are the 

 French Merinos to theirs, it is convenient to continue its use. The 

 American Silesian Merinos were imported from the flock of Mr. 

 Fischer, by the late Mr. Win. Chamberlin, of Dutchess Co., N. Y., 

 from 1851 to 1856. In all, 212 ewes and 34 rams were imported. 

 The ewes shear from 8 to 11 pounds of unwashed wool, the rams 

 from 12 to 16 pounds. The wool is from two inches and a half to 

 three inches long, dark on the outside, without gum, but with 

 plenty of oil of a white and free, but not sticky, character. The 

 ewes weigh, alive, from 110 to 130 Ibs., and rams from 145 to 155 

 Ibs. They are hardy, good breeders, and the ewes are good nurses. 

 After some years' experience with them, Mr. Chamberlin has 

 stated that they do not deteriorate, but that the wool grows finer, 

 without losing in the weight of the fleece. They mature slowly, 

 and do not reach their full size until four years old ; after eight or 

 nine years they become lighter in weight. The mature sheep are 

 as large as the ordinary American Merino. The Silesian is simply 



