366 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



blankets. In New England it was the same the manufacturers wanted 

 good combing wool, and it was very hard to find. One reason there was 

 why the Merino breed had so monopolized the public attention that all 

 other breeds had been allowed to run together; none were kept pure, 

 and the wool was badly mixed. 



The first well-established Leicester flock in New York is said to have 

 been kept by Christopher Dunn, near Albany. Previous to the war of 

 1812 some ewes and a ram were smuggled from England by a Mr. Lax, 

 of Long Island, and sold to Mr. Dunn. During the war of 1812 some 

 very superior Leicester sheep, destined for Canada, were captured by 

 an American privateer, sent into New York, and sold at auction. Mr. 

 Dunn bought one of the rams at a very high price. He added fresh 

 importations and selections and established a superior flock, which was 

 kept up many years. In 1826 John S. Skinner imported a ram and two 

 ewes of the New Leicester breed, and their weights have been pre- 

 served, as follows: 180 J, 171, and 161 pounds. In 1831 D. Stockdale, 

 of Murray, Orleans County, brought with him from England one ram 

 and three ewes of the purest Leicester blood. In 1835 John Baker, ot 

 Wayne County, imported two rams and four ewes from the best Eng- 

 lish flocks, and William Hallock & Bros., of Ulster County, were the 

 owners of a fine Leicester flock. Mr. Adcock, of Gilberts ville, had a 

 flock of Cotswolds and Leicesters in 1836, and Mr. C. Dunn had also 

 added some Cotswolds to his Leicester flock. By 1837 the Leicester 

 was found in almost every section of the State, and their mutton was 

 seen every spring in the city markets, where it surpassed all others for 

 fatness. 



But as early as 1836 the Leicester and Cotswold were so crossed and 

 mingled in most flocks that, except to the practiced eye, the distinc- 

 tion between the two was lost. Some of the best flocks were those of 

 Mr. Dunn and Mr. Wilkinson, of Albany County, Mr. Adcock, of Gil- 

 bertsville, and Mr. Clark, of Otsego, all of whom gave much attention 

 to the Leicester. The average product of their wool was 5 to 6 pounds, 

 though individuals were found carrying fleeces of 10 and 12 pounds. 

 Mr. Dunn crossed the most of his flock with the Cotswold in 1834, 1835, 

 1836, and 1837, to improve the fleece and increase the size. His Cots- 

 wold ram was imported in 1832, and was perhaps then the largest sheet) 

 in the country, weighing 250 pounds, and giving at one shearing 15 

 pounds of wool 14J inches long. The cross of this ram on his Leicester 

 flock increased the yield of wool one-fourth. Mr, Cowlen, of Cortland 

 County, imported some superior Leicesters, and in 1839 had a yearling 

 ram which gave 10J pounds of wool, and from 20 ewes he sheared 145 

 pounds of clean wool, or 7 pounds per head. Ten yearling rams gave 

 him 97 pounds. 



The Leicester sheep spread rapidly through the State, by sale and 

 by the various crosses, and commanded good prices. At Rochester, in 

 March, 1835, ram lambs 1 year old and under sold from $25 to $50 ; 



