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■white when scoured by the manufacturer, and still retains its 

 mellow, oily touch, so grateful to the handling of good judges. 

 Its felting properties are beyond dispute, making it a choice 

 material for the manufacture of fine cloths." 



This description will apply to the fine-woolled sheep of Ver- 

 mont and other sections of our country. 



In Switzerland, the best mountain sheep are mixed Merinos. 



In Saxony, Merinos have reached a great degree of perfec- 

 tion since their first importation in 1764. They have been 

 preserved with great care, and have been closely bred for the 

 purpose of improving their fleece. The sheep-husbandry of 

 Saxony somewhat resembles that of the United States. And, 

 although the importations of Saxonies into this country have 

 been in many instances unfortunate, they are still found to be 

 valuable animals, in their native regions. Mr. Grennell says 

 that : — " Although the Saxony wool is of superlative fineness, 

 the sheep are not hardy, the fleece being so light as not suffi- 

 cient to protect them from cold and wet, or to be generally 

 remunerative, averaging through the country only two pounds 

 and two ounces to the fleece." The account given by Mr. 

 Carr of their in-and-in breeding, and their enervating treat- 

 ment, will readily account for this. 



The sheep of Prussia have been brought to an excellence 

 rivaling the Saxonies, by the introduction of Merinos. Pre- 

 vious to this, they were of a very inferior character ; whereas 

 they now form a most important part of the agricultural indus- 

 try of that kingdom. The same is true with regard to the 

 sheep of Silesia, of Hungary, of Sweden, of Denmark, of 

 many parts of Russia, and, also, of Australia ; in all of which 

 places, the profits of sheep-husbandry are found to arise, not 

 from " artificial feeding," but from the pasturing of large tracts • 

 of land for the production of wool. 



The introduction of Merinos into the United States, in small 



numbers in 1801, and more largely in 1809-10 and 11, was 



the commencement of the wool-growing interest in this country. 



The history of this introduction is too well known to need 



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