240 MKRINOS. 



Concerning this importation we quote from Vol. I. of the Atwood 

 register : 



" Col. Humphreys made a contract with a gentleman to deliver one hundred Spanish 

 Merino sheep at Lisbon Ninety of these arrived at Derby, Conn., in the spring of 1802. 

 In reference to this importation Col. Humphreys says, in his miscellaneous papers : 

 ' Convinced as I was that this race of sheep, of which I believe not one had been brought 

 to the United States until the importation by myself, might be introduced with great 

 benefit to our country, I contracted with a person of most respectable character to deliver 

 me at Lisbon one hundred, composed of twenty-five rams and seventy-five ewes, from 

 one to two years old. They were conducted across the country of Portugal by three 

 Spanish shepherds with proper passports, and escorted by a small guard of Portuguese 

 soldiers. On the loth of April they were embarked from the Tagus on board the ship 

 Perseverance, of 250 tons, Caleb Coggeshall, Master. In about fifty days twenty-one 

 rams and seventy ewes were landed at Derby, Conn., they having been shipped at New 

 York on board a sloop destined to that river. The nine that died were principally killed 

 in consequence of bruises received by the violent rolling of the vessel on the banks of 

 Newfoundland! ' " 



The second importation of importance and the one which, by rea- 

 son of its magnitude, has done most to stamp the character of American 

 Merinos was made in 1809-10, by William Jarvis, of Vermont, then 

 United States Consul at Lisbon. 



Stewart (" Shepherds' Manual"), referring to the Jarvis importation, 

 says: 



"This consisted of 3,850 sheep of the flocks of Paulars, Negrettis, Aquierres and 

 Montarcos of Spain. These flocks, consisting of 50,000 head, had been, for political 

 reasons, confiscated and sold by the Spanish Government, with other property of the 

 four grandees who had owned them. Of the imported sheep, 1,500 came to New York, 

 1,000 to Boston, and the remainder to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Alexandria, Norfolk, 

 Richmond, Portland, Wiccasset and Portsmouth. Another shipment of 2,500 head 

 followed in 1810, and were distributed between New York and Boston. These sheep 

 were of the prime flocks of Spain, and Spain's loss was our gain." 



From the importations made by these two gentlemen Col. Hum- 

 phreys and Mr. Jarvis the American Merino, with its numerous sub- 

 divisions or families, has arisen. 



From the United States Merino Sheep Register we take the follow- 

 ing authoritative 



DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTERISTICS. 



"There must be a perfectly authenticated line of ancestry extending to one or more 

 of the importations of Merino sheep from Spain, made prior to 1812, without admixture 

 of any other blood. The constitution is indicated by a healthful countenance ; expanded 

 nostril ; short, strong neck ; deep chest ; round barrel ; strong, short back ; strong loin ; 

 heavy bone of fine texture ; muscle fine and firm, and skin thick, soft and of a pink color. 



"Under the term fleece must be included quantity, quality and condition of the 

 wool, as shown by the weight of fleece, the length and strength of staple, crimp, fineness 

 and trueness of fibre, evenness throughout, freedom from gare, and the fluidity and 

 amount of yolk. 



"The term covering includes the extent and evenness of the fleece over the whole 

 body, legs, belly, neck and head ; the quality, lustre, crimp, density and length of wool, 



