356 SHEEP 



discussed separately further on. There are also several other 

 families, which are now of less importance than formerly, not- 

 ably the Atwood and Paular. The former was established by 

 Stephen Atwood and later was especially promoted by Edwin 

 Hammond. It was a type having many folds and was very 

 popular from 1845 to 1895. The Paular comes from Spanish 

 stock imported by Andrew Cocks and later improved in the hands 

 of Jehiel Biedle, Tyler Stickney, Erastus Robinson, and the Rich 

 family of Vermont. This also possessed many folds and a large 

 amount of oil in the fleece. Both the Atwood and Paular families 

 are important strains of the American Merino stock. The Saxon 

 Merino at one time had some popularity in America, especially 

 in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, but this family has now 

 but very few pure-bred representatives and these mainly in Penn- 

 sylvania. It deteriorated so in weight of fleece and constitution 

 as to be generally discarded. 



