500 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



furnished nearly all the fine wool that was grown, the location being 

 favorable, the land well cleared, and the pastures clean, hilly, and 

 healthy. 



In 1822 John McNary, of North Strabane Township, bought of W. 

 E. Dickinson 1 rain and 20 ewes, selected from a flock then on their 

 way from the East to Mr. Dickinson's farm in Ohio. These were the 

 first Merino sheep introduced into that neighborhood. They were good 

 sized and healthy, with very fine wool, and were bred by Mr. McNary 

 with great care. As the flock increased other rams were used from the 

 flock of William Brownlee, which were descendants of the Dickinson 

 stock, and afterwards from the flock of George Murray, of the Meade 

 importation. In 1828 the flock was divided, part of it passing to W. H. 

 McNary, and the remainder to James S. McNary. The latter added to 

 his flock selections from those of George Murray, William Brownlee, 

 and William Davis, all being descendants of the Meade importation, 

 through the Alexander Eeed flock. No other blood was introduced 

 until 18GO, when a Spanish Merino ram was used, having been selected 

 with reference to fineness and length of wool. In 1870 another Spanish 

 ram was selected from the flock of J. M. Miller, and another from the 

 Black-Top flock of J. M. Berry. But the principal part of all breeding- 

 done outside the flock has been from the flocks of R. H. Russell and 

 John C. McNary. 



William H. McNary, who, in the division of John McNary's flock, 

 received part of it, added to it the same year 20 ewes and a ram from 

 the flock of George Murray, his father-in-law, these being direct 

 descendants from the Meade importation. W. H. McNary was an 

 excellent shepherd, and when it was first proposed to introduce the 

 Vermont Merinos looked with much disfavor upon them, preferring the 

 old smooth-bodied, black- topped, and fine-wooled sheep. To a certain 

 extent, however, he yielded. In 1860, from this flock of 300 sheep, J. 

 0. McNary selected 50 ewes for the foundation of a new flock. To 20 

 of these ewes he bred a Yermont ram of oily wool and large frame, the 

 other 30 ewes being bred to a long-wooled ram. The cross with the 

 Vermont ram was satisfactory, especially as the war so stimulated the 

 wool trade that coarse and fine wool brought the same price, making 

 weight more necessary to profit than fineness of quality. 



The union of the Dickinson and Meade sheep in the flock of John 

 McNary was the first step leading to the formation of the comparatively 

 new Delaine Merino. It is claimed by the breeders of this sheep that 

 no deep interbreeding has been practiced, and that the sheep are, there- 

 fore, free from all taint of weakness so frequently traced to incestuous 

 breeding. No pretense is made of line-pure descent from a single sheep 

 or a single flock, but on the contrary the breeders pride themselves in 

 having secured in combination the blood of the best flocks in America 

 and Spain, but at the bottom of which is the R. W. Meade importation. 



About 1827 Ebenezer McClelland purchased of Alexander Eeed, of 



