74 



SHEEP 



volumes have been issued. In 190 1 the Von Homeyer Associa- 

 tion of Rambouillet Sheep was organized, this registering only 

 sheep of breeding tracing to the Von Homeyer flock. This 

 association has issued one small flock book. There is also a 

 Franco- American Merino Association, organized in 1900, in which 

 blood lines combine the Rambouillet and American Merino. 



Prices of interest for Rambouillet sheep date back for over 

 half a century. In 1853 John D. Patterson of New York pur- 

 chased a ram in France for $600, from the flock of M. Cugnot. 

 He also paid Victor Gilbert $400 each for two rams. In the late 

 fifties, when Mr. Patterson sold his sheep to California buyers, 

 it is reported that he received $1500 each for three rams, $1000 

 for one, $800 apiece for two, and for eighteen others, prices 

 ranging from $300 to $700. Fourteen ewes also brought $4500, 

 or an average of $321 per head. These probably represent the 

 highest prices brought by individuals of this breed, either in 

 America or Europe. A. L. Bingham of Vermont, between 1847 

 and 1853, paid John A. Taintor $37,500 for 161 French Merinos, 

 or about $232 a head. The more modern Rambouillet has never 

 brought such high prices, although some rams in recent years 

 have sold for as much as $300 each. 



