88 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



pliia as eariy as 1800; bat it does uot appear that at that time they were 

 bred pure anywhere within the limits of the United States. A ram or 

 two would be introduced into a flock and half-bloods produced, which 

 would show great improvement; but nowhere was there a pure full- 

 blood New Leicester flock. The only known flock in America was 

 owned by Eev. Mr. Toofy, an enterprising clerical farmer from England, 

 who brought a few choice Bakewell sheep, rams and ewes, to Quebec 

 about 1799 or 1800. A gentleman of Maryland was offered the privilege 

 of some from the same flock, but declmed to avail himself of it on the 

 ground that it Avould entail too much trouble. 



In 1806 John Hart, of Cheshire, Mass., succeeded in getting from 

 England a ram of the New Leicester breed, and in the t>.atumn of 1807 

 offered half-blood rams of his get at $30 per head. Some half-bloods 

 are noted at about the same time at Philadelphia and also in Virginia. 



About 1805 or 1806 Capt. Beanes, of New Jersey, succeeded in ship- 

 ping some rams and ewes from England, full-blooded New Leicesters. 

 He disposed of them to Capt. G-eorge Farmer, a retired sea captain and 

 shipowner, then living on a fine farm on the banks of the Earitan 

 Eiver, opposite New Brunswick, N. J. The worthy sea captain was an 

 intelligent and progressive agriculturist and a carefal breeder, maintain- 

 ing a pure flock which became widely known and fully appreciated. 

 Miles Smith owned a farm adjoining Capt. Farmer's, and purchased 

 from him some of the new sheep. 



Capt. Farmer sold his rams at $1,000 each, and made some few sales 

 at these figures, but his usual mode was to let them, which he did 

 readily at from $150 to $200 the season. By the sale of a few rams and 

 ewes and the letting of others the New Leicester or " Farmer's sheep, " 

 as it became known, was distributed throughout New Jersey and par- 

 tially through Pennsylvania. In December, 1808, one of the rams 

 hired at $200 for the season by a farmer near Newton, was killed by 

 dogs. He weighed 250 pounds, and his fleece 10 pounds. A ewe of 

 Miles Smith's flock was shorn at the fair of the Pennsylvania Cattle 

 Society in the summer of 1809, by James Mease, and attracted much 

 attention by its exhibition of the points of the New Leicester — small 

 head, small bone, and plump body. Crosses on the native sheep or on 

 those imported from continental Europe were frequent. In May, 1809, E. 

 Smith, of Freehold, N. J, sheared from 11 yearling ewes, d. cross between 

 Farmer's Leicester and native ewes, 81^ pounds of washed wool, and 

 in the same month the produce of Helder ewes and a full blood 

 Farmer's Leicester ram made this showing : One ram gave a fleece of 

 8J pounds, and weighed on the hoof after shearing 163 pounds. A ewe 

 weighed on the hoof 128 pounds and gave a fleece of luj pounds. Sir 

 John, a yearling ram, clean washed and dry, weighed on foot 175s 

 pounds, and his fleece weighed 11 pounds. It may be noted that these 

 sheep were brook-washed and then dried just before shearing. 



A successful breeder of sheep was Joseph Cooper, of Plemington 



