346 SHEEP 



year. In 1805 Livingston returned to America and began breed- 

 ing pure and grade Merinos. He was very successful in his 

 breeding, and his sheep attracted wide attention and brought 

 high prices. He had great social influence and was a famous 

 politician, so that he induced many to take up sheep husbandry. 

 In 1809 he wrote an Essay on Sheep, which was ordered 

 printed by the New York legislature. Through his influence the 

 legislature also passed an act in 1808 to encourage raising and 

 breeding Merinos. In 1809-18 10 William Jarvis of Vermont, 

 United States Consul at Lisbon, Portugal, shipped at different 

 times a total of about 4000 Spanish Merinos, of which 1500 

 came to New York, 1000 to Boston and Newburyport, and the 

 remainder to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Alexandria, Richmond, 

 Norfolk, etc. "Indeed," says Mr. Jarvis in his correspondence, 

 " I was disposed to distribute these valuable animals to every 

 state which would be likely to profit by their acquisition." All of 

 these were sheep of superior breeding. They included Paulars, 

 Aguirres, Escurials, Negrettes, and Montarcos. Jarvis placed 

 400 head on his farm in Vermont, in the care of Paular shepherds, 

 and he writes that " I bred the respective flocks separately till 

 18 16 or 18 1 7, when I mixed them together, and have so bred 

 my Merinos ever since." The importations of Humphreys and 

 Jarvis distributed Spanish Merinos widely over the northeastern 

 states, and from these our American Merinos received their im- 

 portant early start. Each of these men bred most successfully, 

 greatly improving their flocks. 



A mania for Merino sheep began to develop, and in 18 10 both 

 Livingston and Humphreys sold rams at ^1000 each, while the 

 latter sold two ewes and two rams for ^1500 each. Then came 

 a great craze for fine-wool sheep, and it is stated that in 18 10 

 over 10,000 were shipped to America ; Cochran Johnston, 

 Goo Id Brothers, and Charles O'Neil importing from Lisbon, and 

 R. W. Meade and others from Cadiz. It is estimated that from 

 April I, 1 8 10, to August 31, 18 11, there were brought to the 

 United States 19,651 Merino sheep. 



The early improvers of the Merino began with Adams and 

 Humphreys, but during the middle of the century a few men 

 rendered very great service in the improvement of this sheep. 



