242 



MERINOS. 



Register on proving either ancestral purchase from Stephen Atwood, or their direct 

 descent through the importations of W. S. and Edwin Hammond, R. P. Hall, W. R. 

 Sanford, and C. B. Cook from his flock, to the satisfaction of the Executive Board." 



The flock of Stephen Atwood was founded in 1813, when he pur- 

 chased of John Riggs a six-year-old ewe, raised by Col. Humphreys, out 

 of one of his imported ewes. Mr. Atwood's account of his sheep 

 which is attested by reliable gentlemen who were familiar with them is 

 given as follows in the Atwood Register : 



"I bred the Riggs ewe and her progeny to rams I knew to be of pure Humphreys 

 blood, till 1819," and at that time he states : "I bought from the Leman Stone flock, 

 that he raised from Col. Humphrey's flock, five ewe lambs that I selected ; and with these 

 five lambs and the ewe I bought first, I have raised my flock of sheep." 



PURE-BRED ATWOOD MERINO RAM, CLINGSTONE ad, 401. 



Weight of third fleece, 30 Ibs. ; sold to South America, 1886; bred by GEORGE HAMMOND, 



Middlebury, Vt. 



While Mr. Atwood was fortunate enough to preserve the blood in 

 its original purity, to Edwin Hammond belongs the credit for most of 

 the great improvement which the Atwood sheep have undergone. Mr. 

 Hammond was born in Middlebury, Vermont, May 20, 1801, and lived 

 within a short distance of his birthplace until his death, December 31, 

 1870. He was a man of excellent judgment, and is placed by some on 

 an equal footing with Bakewell (of Leicester fame) as an improver of 

 sheep. The Hammond sheep are directly descended from the flocks of 

 Stephen Atwood, and thus it happens that on proof of Hammond breed- 



