EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 



69 



lamb that he was not ashamed to show. He exhibited one that weighed 

 on foot 159 pounds and produced a ileece of 9 pounds 6 ounces of washed 

 wool. On May 21, 1810, the second annual meeting was held, when iive 

 lambs were shown. 



Weight 

 on foot. 



Meece. 



David Eidgeway's lamb . . 

 Biohard K. Meade's lamb . 

 Dr. Robert Mackay's lamb 



Philip Nelson's lamb 



Do 



Pounds. 

 180 

 156 

 169 

 160 

 134 



Founds. 

 9i 

 9 



8i 

 8J 

 8i 



The fleeces from these lambs were weighed in the dirt. They were, 

 however, unusually clean. Mr. Eidgeway's and Dr. Mackay's were 

 about quarter-blooded Barbary. Mr. Meade's and Mr. Nelson's were 

 from Mr. Custis's Bakewell. Three months after this Mr. Eidgeway 

 weiglied two of his lambs, twins, at five months old. One weighed 115 

 pounds, and the other 116 pounds. There were descendants of his prize 

 ram, weighing 180 pounds. The wool of the Barbary sheep of Fred- 

 erick County was vastly superior in point of quality to the native wool. 



At the exhibition on May 28, 1811, the sheep showed an improve- 

 ment. The weight of the sheep on the hoof and that of their fleeces 

 are again given : 



Weight 

 on the 

 hoof. 



Weight 

 of fleece. 



D. Eidgeway's lamb 



Do!!'.'!"."-'.'.;."'.'.'-'-'. 

 Bichard K. Meade's lamb . 



Do 



Do 



P. Nelson's lamb 



Pounds. 

 185 

 187 

 176 

 165 

 166 

 124 

 164 



Pounds. 



-•lOi 



*8i 



t,54 

 17* 



'Unwashed. 



t Washed. 



D. Eidgeway was awarded the first premium of $30 for his 185-pound 

 lamb for size, form, quantity and quality of wool, and Mr. Meade was 

 awarded a premium of $30 for the " greatest average quantity of wool 

 shorn from the whole of his flock, consisting of 50 head at least." Mr. 

 Meade had 91 head of sheep, and they averaged 5 pounds 3 ounces of 

 washed wool. 



In 1828, Mr. Meade published a statement in a Winchester, Va., 

 paper, from which we learn that his flock was built upon the remnants 

 of an English breed imported before the Eevolution (and highly cele- 

 brated for mutton qualities), crossed by the Arlington long-wooled, im- 

 proved by Mr. Oustis from the Persian stock of Mounb Vernon. When 

 he began the improvement he had 124 sheep, averaging 8J pounds of 

 wool too long for ordinary purposes. The flock was next crossed by 

 the large French and smaU Spanish Merino, until, during the fine-wool 



