232 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Saxony rains and three ewes for Hon. Joseph Strong, of South Hadley, 

 Mass. 



In 1824, Messrs. G. & T. Searle, of Boston, imported seventy- seven 

 Saxony sheep. They were selected and purchased by a Mr. Kretchman, 

 a correspondent of the firm, residing at Leipsic, and were shipped at 

 Bremen on the American schooner Velocity. Henry D. Grove, subse- 

 quently an enthusiastic and honest breeder of the Saxons, in New York 

 State, was engaged to take charge of the sheep on the passage, and 

 also shipped six sheep on his own account. Mr. Grove says that fully 

 one-third of the sheep purchased by Mr. Kretchman (who shared profit 

 and loss in the undertaking) were not full-blooded Saxons. The cargo 

 was sold at auction as "pure-blooded Electoral Saxons," and thus, un- 

 fortunately, in the very outset the pure and impure became hopelessly 

 mixed. The average price realized per head was $69.35. At this sale 

 Samuel Hurlbert & Co., of Winchester, Conn., purchased seven rams, . 

 seven ewes, and a lamb, being the first to be introduced into that State. 



In the fall of 1824 Mr. Grove entered into an agreement with the 

 Messrs. Searle to return to Saxony and purchase, in connection with 

 Kretchman, from 160 to 200 Electoral sheep. He was detained at sea 

 seven weeks, which gave rise to the belief that he had been shipwrecked 

 and lost. When he finally arrived the sheep had already been bought 

 by Kretchman, and they were a shabby lot. On being informed of 

 what the purchase consisted, Grove protested against taking them 

 to America and insisted on a better selection, but to no purpose. Any- 

 thing was good enough for an American. A quarrel ensued, and 

 Kretchman went so far as to engage another to take charge of the sheep 

 on this passage, but Mr. Grove's friends interfering the trouble was ad- 

 justed, and finally Mr. Grove was induced to take charge of the sheep 

 across the water. The number shipped was 167 ; 15 of them perished 

 on the passage. Eighty one rams, 57 ewes, and 20 lambs were sold at 

 Brighton, near Boston, July 14, 1825, and the prices realized averaged 

 $158.80 per head, excluding lambs. The highest price was $425, which 

 was paid for a buck by Judge Pendleton, of Dutchess County, N. Y. 

 Judge Effingham Lawrence, of Long Island, paid $235 for a ewe. The 

 whole cargo found ready purchasers from the New England States and 

 New York. Says Mr. Grove : 



A portion of this importation consisted of grade sheep, which sold as high as the 

 pure bloods, for the American purchasers could not know the difference. It may be 

 readily imagined what an inducement the Brighton sale held out to speculation, both 

 in this country and Saxony. The German newspapers teemed with advertisements 

 of sheep for sale, headed "Goed for the American Market," and these sheep, in many 

 instances, were actually bought up for the American market at $5, $8, or $10 a head, 

 when the pure bloods could not be purchased at prices less than $30 to $40. 



In 1825 (exact date not known), a miserable lot of Saxony sheep ar- 

 rived at Portsmouth, N. H. Fortunately, there were but 13 all told. 



In March, 1826, 191 Saxony sheep arrived in New York by the brig 

 Wittiam, on German account. They were sold on the 26th of that 



