THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



165 



dish government, for the promotion of this race, 

 insliluied a school oC shepherds, under the care 

 of Mr. Alstrocmer, (who first introduced the Me- 

 rino sheep into Sweden in 1723,) and puhlic 

 funds were appoinied lor granting premiums to 

 those who sold rams of this breed. These pre- 

 miums were coniinued up to the year 1792, when 

 being no longer necessary, they were disconti- 

 nued. 



Merinoes were iniroduced into Saxony as early 

 as 1765, and they were attended to wiih such 

 assiduiiy, skill and judtrment, that the flocks o( 

 that country, in point of fineness of staple, soon 

 came to excel the finest Spanish Merinoes. 



" These examples did not escape the notice of 

 France. In 1776, this celebrated breed of sheep 

 was iniroduced into that country by Mr. Tran- 

 dain, intcndant of finances, under the direction of 

 the celebrated naturalist, d'Aubenfon. This ex- 

 periment succeeded so well as to convince 

 the government, " that it was easy to introduce 

 and preserve a race ofsheep in Prance, producintT 

 superfine wool ; and in the year 17S6, a selection 

 of 376 rams and ewes, fi-om the finest flocks in 

 Spain, was made and were conducted under the 

 care of a mayor, to the farm of Rambouillet." 

 It was not until after all these experiments, that 

 an eflorl was made to introduce these celebrated 

 shfep mio England. The first efforts were made 

 by individuals in 1787, but the importation then 

 made attracted but little attention, and scarcely 

 excited any interest. "The sheep, however, 

 (says, an English writer,) lived, though treated in 

 the Enerlish manner, and the wool had not dete- 

 riorated.'' These facte having proved that the 

 Merino race of sheep could be naturalized in 

 trreat Bntain, the then reijrning monarch, Geo. 

 III., in 1792 obtained from the Marquis of Cam- 

 poalonjo, five rams and thirty-five ewes of the 

 Nigrette race." 



It might have been supposed, now that the so- 

 vereign of the country had taken a personal in'er- 

 eM in introducing the Merino breed ofsheep, that 

 nil prejudices against them would have subsided ; 

 hut such was not the fact. " Althoucrh the woo! 

 WRs admitted to be equally fine, with the best 

 wool imported from Spain," yet the manufactur- 

 ers would not give the same price for it, " fearino' 

 mat It miyht not prove equally good when manu^ 

 actnred;"and the king was compelled to have 

 his wool manufactured on his own account, « to 

 demonstrate its fitness for superfine cloth." So 

 slow IS the proorress of truth in overthrowintr 

 prejudice ^nd error. The merits of the Merino 

 ureed finally triumphed over all obstacles, and thev 

 are now deservedly held in Great Britain in the 

 very highest repute, both as regards the pure 

 breed and the crosses upon the best En<^lish stock 

 It his been ascertninpd that a cross o7 the be^t 

 Merino rams upon the finest Rveland ewes, re- 

 quires>i'e crosses to produce as fine wool fi-om the 

 mixed breed as from the pure s'ock. Thus a cross 

 upon Kyeland ewes, bearincr wool worth 3s will 

 produce a breed bearing wool worth 3s. 7d and 

 each subsequent cross will add 7d. to the value 

 o( the wool, so that after the fifth cross, the off- 

 spring will bear wool worth as much as the Span- 

 ish, that IS 6s. per pound, provided the rams and 

 ewes are of Ibe finest quality at the commencement 

 of the cross. This shows the error of the opinion, 

 that the new Leicester, or any other of the 



coarse long woolled sheep, will furnish a good 

 cross for the Merino race. Next to the Ryelande, 

 Southdown ewes of the finest quality furnish 

 the best cro^s of any of the native sheep of Great 

 Britain. The United States not having com- 

 menced manufacturing fine wool, at the'' period 

 when the Merinoes were introduced into England 

 had not the same inducement to make an^eff'ort 

 to nntunliz- that valuable race. But not long af- 

 terwards. Chancellor Livingston, our embassa- 

 dor at the court of France, studying to promote 

 the interests of his country, by all the means in 

 his power, turned his attention to this subject, and 

 in the year 1802, selected " two pair of the finest 

 Merinoes he could," from the improved flocks of 

 France, " and sent tbem over under the care of 

 one of his own servants, intending to follow them 

 by others."* These, says Mr. Livingston, "were 

 the first couples ever imported into the United 

 Slates," 



Shortly after this period, Col. Humphreys, of 

 Connecticut, introduced directly from Spain, a 

 considerable number of this valuable race. These 

 importations laid the foundation of the Merino 

 breed of sheep, which are now so numerous in 

 ihe United States. Thpy were first introduced 

 into Kentucky by Mr. Seth Adams, in the year 

 1809. A small proportion only of his flock were 

 of the full bloods, the balance being the produce 

 of a cross upon the native sheep of the country. 

 Shortly afterwards, Mr. Prentice, Mr. Lewis 

 Sanders, and other spirited gentlemen, intro- 

 duced a number of the pure blooded Merinoes. 

 In Ihe year 1829, the Hon. Henry Clay imported 

 from ihe western part of Pennsylvania, a flock 

 of fifty full bloods, hrina a selection from one of 

 Ihe best in Washinaton county. These and 

 other importations have laid the foundation of the 

 Merino flocks in Kentucky, and nothins is now 

 wantincr. but sufficient attention and skill, in the 

 management of our sheep husbandry, to secure 

 to us a full participation of the great advantages 

 which must accrue to the United States from The 

 rearing of fine woolled sheep." 



"The poliiical contests of the day and the self- 

 ish views of ambitious aspirants, may for a time 

 depress the interests of agriculture and ofsheep 

 husbandry in particular, but it is impossible, that 

 this can continue to be the case for any great 

 length of time. When we look at our present 

 population and take into consideration the well 

 established fact, that it increases in a ratio of 33i 

 per cent, every ten years ; that our exports except 

 in a single article (cotton) instead of increasing 

 in a ratio with our population, is continually di"^ 

 minishing, whon we see the results of our pre- 

 sent system, (depending upon foreigners to manu- 

 faciure for us what we could so easily manufac- 

 ture for ourselves) a system encouraged and pro- 

 moted by the legislature of the national govern- 

 ment ; to the periodical reversions in trade of the 

 most alarming and distrcpsing character, arising 

 in a great degree, from too extensive' reliance 

 upon foreigners to supply us wUh clothinsr, blan- 

 kets, and other necessaries. * * * When we 

 shall learn wisdom from experience, we shall be 

 compelled (though perhaps not until after long and 

 severe suffering) to do as all wise nations liave 

 done before ue, protect our agricultural interest 



* Livingston's Essay on Sheep, p, 9. 



