EAST OF THE ^MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 381 



their fleece to lose so large a percentage in weight when cleaned for manufacturers' 

 use. Experiment-* made with the two kinds of wool by reliable and experienced 

 manufacturers have proved that as much cloth can be made of the same number of 

 pounds of unwashed French Merino wool as can be made of an equal number of 

 pounds of brook-washed Spanish Merino wool in the condition it is usually sold. 



Their wool is generally of a cream color, or has a yellowish cast, and the oil or 

 yolk iu their fleece is a similar color ; still, when washed their wool is of a pure white. 

 The wool of some of the French sheep is naturally quite white when opened on the 

 body, without being washed, but I have invariably found those having the whitish 

 wool (when alike in other respects) were the lightest shearers. 



Regarding the cross between the French and Spanish Merinos, Mr. 

 Patterson had succeeded beyond his expectations. Indeed, as a wool- 

 growing sheep in the hands of most farmers, and to be kept as sheep are 

 generally kept throughout the country, he had never seen a stock which 

 he thought as profitable, both for wool- grower and manufacturer. He 

 had bred them since 1848. Most of the time he had more of this kind 

 than all others, although he always kept a flock of pure Spanish and 

 always put French rams to French ewes, making his cross by putting 

 French rams to his Spanish ewes, not that he thought that principle 

 of breeding the best, but it cost much less money to do it. And while 

 this cross with him resulted in a very profitable wool-growing sheep, 

 he could also say that he had seen crosses from these long-legged, slab- 

 sided, narrow-chested French rams as miserable and worthless as could 

 be imagined. 



There were other importers and breeders of French Merinos in New 

 York and they spread with great rapidity, but obtained no strong foot- 

 hold and disappeared rapidly. In a short time no sale could be found 

 in the State for the increase of the flocks. Some were sold to breeders 

 in Washington County, Pa., and many found their way into Ohio, 

 northern Illinois, and southern Michigan, where they did better than in 

 New York. Among those from Michigan who purchased of Mr. Patter- 

 son was Mr. Stanton, of Oxford, who bred his purchase pure until his 

 death, when the flock was purchased by Mr. S. Cooley, of Oakland 

 County, who bred them with great care and to a marked improvement. 

 The flock is now (1892) in possession of Mr. Henry Grinnell, of Oakland, 

 and forms the foundation of the American Eambouillet Association of 

 Michigan, and will be noted at more length when the sheep of that State 

 come under review. In 1859 Mr. Patterson took 30 rams and 22 ewes to 

 California, where they were highly appreciated. He sold 3 rams at $1,500 

 each; 1 at $1,000; 2 at 3800 each, and 18 from $700 down to $300 each. 

 Fourteen ewes were sold for $4,500, or an average of $321 each. Mr. 

 Patterson subsequently disposed of his entire flock in California, and by 

 1870 it was a matter of doubt whether there was a single pure-blood 

 or even high-grade French Merino in New York, or in fact in any of the 

 Northern or Eastern wool-growing States, and among breeders a 

 French cross in a Merino pedigree, though ten generations back, would 

 be esteemed a fatal taint. "Never," says Dr. Randall, " did a breed of 



