EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 67 



These Arliagton sheep yielded a pound of wool to every 14 pounds 

 7 ounces of carcass, while the old country kind yielded only a pound to 

 every 30 pounds gross weight. 



Mr. Custis tooli great pride in his sheep and in his annual shearings, 

 and embraced every opportunity of calling the attention of his countrymen 

 to the importance of sheep husbandry and of homemanufactures. When 

 the difficulties growing out of the European wars were cutting off 

 our usual supplies from abroad, and the public attention was being 

 turned to home manufacture, he wrote and published in 1808 " An Ad- 

 dress to the People of the United States on the importance of encourag- 

 ing Agriculture and Domestic Manufactures." In this little work he gave 

 an account of the improvement of the Arlington sheep, also a statement 

 of the sheep on Smith Island, which he claimed had much credit for 

 good wool. 



THE SMITH ISLAND SHEEP. 



These sheep roamed perfectly wild on an island of the name lying off 

 the coast of Virginia, near the capes. The island contains between 

 3,000 and 4,000 acres, and one-half of it was woodland when Mr. Custis 

 wrote. The origin of the sheep inhabiting this island is unknown; 

 they were probably put there about 1780, and fostered and improved 

 by the hand of nature, for, that its wool was superior to the average 

 wool of Virginia seems to admit no doubt. It was even described as 

 the first in the world, and as exciting the praise and astonishment of 

 all who saw it. In 1807 James Madison says of the fleece: " I have 

 always considered them as among the best in point of fineness, though 

 not of weight, which the American flocks yield." It was longer than 

 the Spanish, being in full growth from 5 to 9 inches In length, and in 

 some instances, much more. In quantity it was vastly superior, the 

 sheep yielding twice as much, and frequently more. If the Merino ex- 

 ceeded it in fineness of grain, yet the island sheep carried wool so fine 

 as to answer every purpose to which the other could be appropriated, 

 and so much larger in quantity as to yield a better profit to the breeder. 



The soil of Smith Island, though sandy, was in many parts ex- 

 tremely rich and productive of a succulent herbage, which supported 

 the stock at all seasons, and this, completely sheltered by the wood, 

 was not parched in summer nor frozen in winter, thus preserving for- 

 age the year round. Along the coast also were abundant scopes of 

 pasturage, producing a short grass in summer, which was peculiarly 

 grateful to the palate of the sheep. In addition to the grasses of the 

 inland glades and of the coast were various shrubs and plants, par- 

 ticularly the myrtle bush, upon which the animals appeared to browse 

 with great relish. Access to salt was a great advantage. The stock 

 on the island were wild cattle and sheep principally; hogs were pro- 

 hibited because they destroyed the lambs; and of some horses put 

 on to breed many years before, but two remained in 1808. The sheep 



