THE PATENT OFFICE REPORT. 553 



Conneclicut, the Grants of New-Hampshire, the Perkinses and the Browns of 

 Ohio, the Edgingtons of Virginia, &c. &c. ? We may perhaps better judge from 

 his own admission, whether he possessed the requisite facilities for knowing that 

 would seem to be necessary, to justify him in so summarily pronouncing against 

 the care and intelligence of the American wool-grower. Immediately after the 

 extract above, he continues: 



"As far as my own observation goes, I have fonnd that the wool grown in the United States, 

 has a remarkable softness. / have not yet seen wool from very highly im-proved sheep ; the sam- 

 ples which came to my notice were, with the excerption of a few, from good half-bloods ; but evea 

 that coarse kind had a high degree of softness." 



Our climate has done much for us : even our half-blood wool is uncommonly 

 soft — the fault is all, as he seems to think, in the badness of the sheep originally 

 imported, and in the ignorance and carelessness of our breeders ! and thus it 

 would appear that he judges rather hastily, as we respectfully think, without 

 farther investigation, after inspecting samples of our half-blood ivool ! 



Had Mr. Fleischmann ever heard of Henry D. Grove, who unfortunately died 

 in the very prime of his manhood, some four or five years since, in Rensselaer 

 County, Mew- York ? Born in Saxony, the nephew of an extensive wool-grower, 

 on whose farm he was brought up, educated to the care and selection of choice 

 Saxon sheep from childhood, a man of concededly exquisite judgment in sheep 

 —-who doated on them, and spent his life among them — a man of intelligence and 

 of an integrity which was never even suspected: what does he say about the 

 sheep imported to this country from Germany ? He says he imported "picked 

 sheep from the choicest flocks in Germany. True, many of these were adultera- 

 ted by being bred in this country, with mongrels imported at the same time. — 

 But not so with Mr. Grove's own flock. He selected them in Germany, imported 

 them himself, and bred them pure. And we are farther knowing to the fact 

 that but a few years before death, he sent his experienced and trusty shepherd, 

 to the most celebrated flock of Germany to procure, without regard to price, 

 rams to improve his flock — that the shepherd returned without purchasing, as 

 he decided that he could find no rams which would improve Mr. Grove's flock. 

 Mr. Grove repeatedly sent specimens of his wool to Germany to be compared 

 with that of the best flocks, those thought to combine the most good properties, 

 and the comparison never resulted to his discredit. Now one thing is certain. 

 We can name a number of other flock-masters in different States who breed as 

 fine wool, and as good sheep in other respects, as did Mr. Grove. 



Was Mr. Grove ignorant of his business or careless? The results already 

 stated show. And equal results among American breeders, show as much in 

 their favor. 



We grant that finer wool is occasionally grown from a little, delicate pound, 

 or pound and a half, fleeced sheep, in Germany, than it is common to grow in the 

 United Slates, though it is not unusual to see such individual sheep here. Our 

 flock-maslers usually exclude such feeble, over-bred sheep from their flocks. 

 Their wool will not pay for the cost of producing it. Had Mr. Fleischmann have 

 Raid, therefore, that it was not common to grow as fine Saxon wool in the United 

 States, as is sometimes grown in Germany, we should have taken no exceptions 

 to his remarks. Mr. Grove and our other breeders have thought it took some- 

 thing besides extreme fineness of wool to make good sheep. The price of labor 

 and wool here, will not permit sheep to be nurtured with more care than our 

 babies ! But when he asserts that " few highly improved sheep have been im- 



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