120 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



States, and nothing seems wanting but an adequate supply of materials to render 

 the manufacture commensurate with the demand. 



A promising essay towards the fabrication of cloths, cassimeres, and other woolen 

 goods is likewise going on at Hartford, in Connecticut. Specimens of the different 

 kinds which are made, in the possession of the secretary, evince that these fabrics 

 have attained a very considerable degree of perfection. Their quality certainly sur- 

 passes anything that could have been looked for in so short a time and under so great 

 disadvantages, and conspires, with the scantiness of the means which have been at 

 the command of the directors, to form the eulogium of that public spirit, persever- 

 ance, and judgment which have been able to accomplish so much. 



To cherish and bring to maturity this precious embryo must engage the most ardent 

 wishes, and proportionable regret as far as the means of doing it may appear difficult 

 or uncertain. Measures which should tend to promote an abundant supply of wool 

 of good quality would probably afford the most efficient aid that present circum- 

 stances permit. 



To encourage the raising and improving the breed of sheep at home would cer- 

 tainly be the most desirable expedient for that purpose; but it may not be alone suffi- 

 cient, especially as it is yet a problem whether our wool be capable of such a degree 

 of improvement as to render it fit for the finer fabrics. Premiums would probably be 

 found the best means of promoting the domestic and bounties the foreign supply. 

 The first may be within tne compass of the institution hereafter to be submitted. The 

 last would require a specific legislative provision. If any bounties are granted they 

 ought, of course, to be adjusted with an eye to quality as well as quantity. 



A fund for the purpose may be derived from the addition of 2$ per cent to the pres- 

 ent rate of duty on carpets and carpeting, an increase to which the nature of the arti- 

 cles suggests no objection, and which may at the same time furnish a motive the 

 more to the fabrication of them at home, towards which some beginnings have been 

 made. 



Early in 1792, when Hamilton's report was published in England, it 

 created such apprehension that meetings were called in the manufactur- 

 ing towns to consider it, and Manchester alone, at a single meeting, so 

 it was stated, subscribed 500,000 toward a fund to be invested in Eng- 

 lish goods and shipped to this country for the purpose of glutting the 

 market and blasting in the bud the hopes of American manufacturers. 

 Whether from this fund or from others we know not, but, at this time, 

 machinery of one or more woolen mills of New England was purchased, 

 taken out, boxed, and shipped to England ; some woolen and cotton 

 mills that were burned were charged to that influence, and it was alleged 

 that British agents busied themselves in Ehode Island, Connecticut, 

 and Massachusetts, and in parts of New York and Pennsylvania, in 

 buying up the finest wooled sheep and selling them to the butchers. 

 Those which they could not persuade Americans to eat were salted down 

 and sent as provisions to the West Indies. 



In 1792 the town of Ipswich granted land to John Manning upon 

 which to build a woolen mill, and subsequently made an additional 

 grant, and in 1795 the town confirmed to Dr. Manning the land under 

 the building. This building was 105 feet long, 32 feet wide, and two 

 stories high, of wood. The original design was to make woolen goods, 

 and for a few years broadcloth, blankets, and flannels were manufac- 

 tured j all the carding, spinning, and weaving were done by hand, but 



