200 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Merino breed, sLipped by William Jarvis, American consul at Lisbon." 

 As these "sheep were shipped from Lisbon before Jarvis purchased any 

 Aguirres, it may be assumed that all, or nearly all, were Paulars. It 

 is barely possible, though not probable, that a few may have been Via- 

 dillos, or the unknown variety purchased in connection with Gilman, 

 O'Neill, and Coolidge & Co. Capt. Cufte was master of a vessel, one 

 of those to whom Jarvis sold sheep, and of whom Coolidge & Co. com- 

 plained that they were carrying so many sheep that they depressed 

 the prices. Chapman says: "Some of the older citizens of Newport 

 remember Capt. Cuffe as a sea captain of tall, commanding appearance, 

 who came to the meeting of the Friends when in port; and they also 

 remember that he was generally accredited with importing into New- 

 port from Spain Merino sheep, from which the flocks of David Buflfum, 

 William Bailey, and others, principally sprung, though there is a proba- 

 bility that blood from the Humphreys importation may have been also 

 introduced into some of the flocks at Newport." October 18, 1810, 

 David Buffum offered for sale 60 full-blooded Merino sheep. 



Of the four arrivals at Providence, aggregating 315 sheep, but little 

 can be added to tlie facts already given in the table. On January 21, 

 1811, Messrs. Blodget c& Power advertised for sale 65 rams and ewes, 

 fiill-blooded Transhumantes, shipped by William Jarvis from Lisbon, 

 and notice was given that as the original cost, expenses, and average 

 loss on the passage, exceeded the price then obtainable, of course the 

 importations must cease or the price enhance. Nothing is known as to 

 the cargo arriving November 24, 1810, at Warren, E. I. The 111 sheep 

 by the Orion from Cadiz, which arrived at New London, Conn., Sep- 

 tember 10, 1810, were undoubtedly part of those purchased by Mr. 

 Hall from the Duke de Infantado, and it is believed that they were sent 

 to Mr. Hall's home at Pomfret. 



During the period under consideration four vessels, carrying 284 

 Merino sheep, landed their cargoes at New Haven, Conn. The first 

 was the schooner Ulizabeth Little, sailing by way of Turks Island and 

 New York. The sheep were noted on their arrival, about the middle 

 of November, 1810, as " 60 genuine Merino sheep, selected from the 

 best flocks in Spain," and they were offered for sale by Prescott & 

 Sherman and Norton & Bush, to whom they were consigned. They 

 were sold at auction November 30, but we have no record of the pur- 

 chasers and prices. 



The next arrival was the brig Geres, Capt. William Pairchild, from 

 Villa Real, Spain, in forty- five days, with 150 Merino sheep consigned 

 to F. Woodward, C. Peck, and the captain. Upon the day of their 

 arrival, December 27, 1810, 78 of these sheep were advertised to be 

 sold at auction Januixry 9, 1811, by Joel Atwater, auctioneer. The 

 advertisement reads : 



These sheep were selected from the Duke lufnntaflo's floek of 1,500 by a person 

 who went from this country for the purpose, and are said by judges to be superior to 

 any that have been irupoited. 



