APPENDIX. 427 



eily to do so ; but either would prefer to have it thawed before 

 using it, rather than perform that office in his bowels. 



when my sheep run in Jarge flocks without shelter, they were' 

 occasionally afifeeted with the scab, but since I have provided com- 

 fortable sheds for them, they have been troubled -with no serious 

 disease. This cHmate is well suited to sheep. 



TiETTER rROM STEPHEN ATWOOD, OF WOODBURY, CONNECTICtJT. 



Dear Sir, — I have made, agreeably to your request, diligent in- 

 quiries respecting the varieties of Merinos imported by General 

 Humphreys, but can learn nothing definite on the subject. I was 

 17 years old at the time of their arrival in this country, and think 

 Gen. H. called them Paulars ; but of this I cannot be positive. 

 I purchased a ewe from his flock, for which I paid him 120 dol- 

 lars, and put her to bucks sold by him into my immediate neigh- 

 borhood, and her descendants to bucks raised from his ewes, until 

 about 15 years ago ; since then I have used bucks of my own 

 raising. I have now a small flock of Merinos, in number about 

 150, about half of which are ewes, and the other half bucks and 

 wethers. They wiU consume through the winter about 18 tons 

 of hay. I feed the ewes, once a day, half a gill of com and oats 

 mixed, from the first of J3ecember until the first of May. I feed 

 the lambs the above given time with half the quantity mentioned ; 

 the rest of the flock hay only. I wash my sheep as dean as I 

 can in the river, and let them run 6 or 8 days, and then shear 

 them; we generally shear from 10 to 15 per day; indeed, I never 

 hired a man that sheared as many as 20 in one day. My ewes 

 will shear yearly 5 lbs. of wool per head, my lambs 5 lbs. each, 

 ai;d wethers 6 lbs.; my bucks will 'shear from 7 to 9 lbs. per 

 head. The heaviest ewe fleece last spring was 6 lbs. 6 oz., and 

 the heaviest buck fleece 12 lbs. 4 oz. I tag my sheep in the 

 spring, "but not so thoroughly as you do. The buck I sold you 

 was finer than my others would average. You will confess, 

 doubtless, that he is a noble animal. Since I began my fall- 

 blood flock, I have had three important properties in view to com- 

 bine, viz., constitution, quantity, and quality ; my success has at 

 least been satisfactory to myself. 



LETTER FROM ABNER BROWN, OP NORTHEAST, DUTCHESS 

 COUNTT, NEW YORK. 



Deal Sir, — ^Yours I have duly received, and now with pleasure 

 proceed tg answer some of your interrogatories. 



My flock of fine- wooled sheep is small, averaging for the last 



