102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



and consideration for his household by having a hundred 

 sheep slaughtered for their daily maintenance and enjoyment. 



Sheep probably found their way into Europe by the 

 Hellespont with the early civilization of its inhabitants, and 

 after a long interval into Italy; they were early cultivated 

 in Spain, having probably been introduced there from Africa 

 long before the founding of Rome. The more northern part 

 of Europe was a great forest, unfavorable to the growing 

 of sheep, and their numbers seem always to have been small. 

 The Celtic tribes paid more regard to the ox than to the 

 sheep, and the flocks of the early inhabitants of Europe 

 never equalled those of the Syrian and other Asiatic shep- 

 herds. 



As the sheep of this country (except the Merinos) mostly 

 came from England, it would be curious and interesting to 

 trace their introduction to that country. Unfortunately this 

 is shrouded in the darkness which envelops the British 

 Islands prior to' their invasion and conquest by the Romans. 

 During that dynasty, however, wool was spun and woven 

 and woollen fabrics were made in Britain ; and in course of 

 time the woollens of Winchester, which were said to rival 

 the spider's web in fineness, attained the highest reputation, 

 and maintained it for centuries ; but there is no record of 

 the sheep from whose fleece these were spun and woven. 

 It is believed that the Hibernians had from the Phoenicians 

 acquired the art of spinning and weaving long before the 

 invasion of the Romans upon England, and while the people 

 of the larger island were still clad in the skins of wild ani- 

 mals, and of oxen and sheep, after their untraceable intro- 

 duction. From that time to the improvement of sheep and 

 the settlement of this country is a long interval. Either 

 the sheep were not very early introduced here, or the chron- 

 iclers of that day did not see fit to make any special mention 

 of them; horses, cattle, and, strangely, goats, are much 

 earlier and oftencr noticed than sheep. 



In 1629 permission was given to ship from Southampton 

 one hundred and forty cattle, horses, sheep and goats ; 

 how many were landed, if any, does not appear. July, 

 1631, from Barnstable in Devonshire were shipped eight 

 heifers, a calf and five sheep. June 15, 1633, thirty-four 



