276 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



and 1866, and in the ewe lambs when six months old in the same years 

 was 1.14, 1.14, 2.03, 2.04, and 1.14 inches, respectively. 



In following the progressive improvement of this flock, after the time 

 that the first American importation was made from it, the object has 

 been to preserve the unity of its history and for convenience of refer- 

 ence in subsequent pages. 



In 1839 D. C. Collins, of Hartford, Conn., was traveling in Europe, 

 and upon a visit to the Bambouillet flock was struck with the marked 

 superiority of the Merinos composing it. He determined to procure a 

 small flock of breeding sheep, with a view of raising rams to restore 

 the fine-wooled flocks of his own and neighboring States to their 

 original character for strength of constitution and weight of fleece, 

 together with excellence of quality. He succeeded in purchasing, in 

 1840, 2 ranis and 20 ewes that had passed the age when they were 

 used as breeders in the Eambouillet flock, otherwise they were choice 

 sheep. These he brought home with him that year and established 

 on his farm. They had large, loose skins, full of folds, especially around 

 the neck and below it, on the shoulders, and not unfrequently over 

 the whole body; the wool thickly covering the surface of the forehead, 

 cheeks, and legs clear down to the hoofs, giving the fleece the appear- 

 ance when shorn and spread out of having been taken from a larger 

 animal than the sheep. The fiber of the wool was fine. The fleece 

 opened of a brilliant creamy color within, on a skin of rich pink, and 

 was soft, glossy, wavy, and very even over the whole body; was exceed- 

 ingly close and compact and had a yolk free from gum, and easily 

 liberated when it came to be washed. It became of the purest white 

 when scoured by the manufacturer. The sheep were one-tenth larger 

 than Paular Merinos and were equally thrifty. 



At the head of the small flock was Grandee. At three years of age, 

 in France, he sheared 14 pounds of wool. His fleece, which was suffered 

 to grow from 1839 to 1841, weighed on shearing 26-^- pounds, unwashed 

 wool. One year's fleece in 1842 weighed 12f pounds. He measured in 

 a direct line along the body, from the setting on of the horns to the 

 end of the rump, 3 feet 8J inches; height over the rump and shoulders, 

 2 feet 5 inches. His weight when in fair condition was about 150 

 pounds. The ewes were proportionately large, and were great milkers 

 and the best of nurses. 



In September, 1842, the flock consisted of 37 ewes and 13 rams, 

 including lambs. They were then of unusual size for Merinos, but their 

 chief excellence was in their immense fleece of fine wool. The average 

 fleece of each ewe in 1842 was 6 pounds 9 ounces, or allowing one-quar- 

 ter for loss in clean washing 4|| pounds. The Saxony sheep at that 

 time did not exceed 2J pounds, and the Spanish Merino 3 J to 4 pounds. 



This flock did not long remain in Connecticut. It was sold to L. G. 

 Bingham, of Williston, Yt. Four of the imported ewes were living in 

 1846, and no full-blooded ewe had at that time ever been sold from the 



