168 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



As early as 1796->97, Dr. James Mease, of Philadelphia, secretary of 

 the " Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture," au enthusiastic 

 writer on agricultural subjects, impressed with a sense of the impor- 

 tance of the Merino breed of sheep, sent two orders to Spain for a Merino 

 ram. One order received no attention, but a friend saw that the other 

 was executed and the animal shipped. It reached the capes of Dela- 

 ware safely and was there washed overboard in a storm. He sent still 

 another order in 1801, for a pair, and in December, 1803, two pairs 

 reached him, but to his great disappointment they were black. Having 

 at the time no land available for them in the vicinity of Philadelphia, 

 he placed them on the farm of Joseph Cooper, in Gloucester County, 

 N. J. In August, 1804, he fixed his price at $1 for every ewe brought 

 to the ram. Not a ewe was brought ; such was the indifference exhibited 

 that not one farmer for two years had the curiosity even to examine the 

 wool. This indifference was probably attributable to the total ignorance 

 of the farmers as to the nature and qualities of the sheep, and to that 

 shyness with which they viewed novelties of all kinds. Mease was 

 inclined at first to think the black color might be the objection, but 

 the equal indifference of the farmers to a white ram of Col. Humphreys' 

 stock, which he afterwards procured, convinced him that the time had 

 not yet come for the conviction of the value of the breed. Trusting, 

 however, that the public mind would be awakened to the importance 

 of the object, and satisfied that he was, at least, doing good service to 

 the country, the zealous doctor determined to proceed, and to infuse 

 the wool of his Spaniards into as many fine American ewes as he could 

 procure. In July, 1805, he bought a flock of sheep, selected fourteen 

 fine-wooled ewes, which he put with the Spanish rams, and sold all the 

 rest. One of his Spanish ewes strayed away and was lost, the other 

 yeaned her first American lamb November, 1804, another the same time 

 next year, and a third in June, 180G. Her example was followed next 

 year by several of the half-blood ewes, progeny of the Spanish ranis, an 

 occurrence altogether novel on the part of American sheep, and attribut- 

 able, probably, to the constant high keep of the flock. At least, so 

 thought Dr. Mease. 



The owner was pleased to find that notwithstanding his rams were 

 black, yet that those which were the produce of a cross with white ewes 

 were in many instances white. In some cases of twins one was black 

 and the other was white ; in others the wool was dark gray or rather 

 pepper and salt. 



Improvement in wool was evident. The effect of the cross was appa- 

 rent, not only in the universal coating of the body, but also in the form 

 of the progeny. The American ewes were long legged and narrow 

 backed, but the very first cross gave them some resemblance to the coin- 

 pact figures of their sires, which increased in proportion to the increase 

 of blood. Some were killed and the mutton pronounced delicious. 

 Having no demand for the progeny of his black rams for breeding pur- 



