218 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



About 1803 or 1801 some of the Humplireys sheep were taken from 

 Connecticut into Frcanklin County, Mass., and bred pure in direct blood, 

 by Capt. David Dennison, of Colerain, as late as 1860, and these sheep 

 preserved their excellence at least until 1857, for at that time five ewes 

 were shown at the annual fair and were allowed " a gratuity of a vol- 

 ume of the Eeport of the Commissioner of Patents." A premium was 

 withheld because the rules required a pen of six sheep to be 'shown, 

 and Capt. Dennison paraded but five. Many flocks of the best sheep 

 of Massachusetts derived their blood from the Dennison flock. 



In 1807 Elkanah Watson purchased some Merinos from Chancellor 

 Livingston and began the formation of a flock at Pittsfleld, Berkshire 

 County, which he thought by 1810 would number 1,500, including 

 crosses. He also made purchases of Humphreys and Livingston in 

 1808 and 1809, and formed a good, pure-blood flock, from which he dis- 

 tributed rams and ewes over the entire county to improve the native 

 sheep. Mr. Watson's breeding was an incident of his woolen manu- 

 facture. He embarked in the making of woolen goods and sought to 

 grow and encourage the growth of the raw material at the doors of his 

 I'actory. His breeding flock for this purpose was kept up until Berk- 

 shire County was changed from a coarse- wool district to a flne-wool one, 

 until her beautiful hills were covered with valuable flocks and the pop- 

 ulation so completely absorbed in growing wool and manufacturing it 

 that other branches of industry were practically abandoned. 



About the time that Mr. Watson began the foundation of his flock 

 and the operations in his factory the Berkshire Reporter, in a leading 

 article, called attention to the great importance of the Merino sheep, 

 especially to the intimate and vital relation they bore to the manufac- 

 turing interest and the prosperity of the country. Says the article : 



From this point of view and under a certainty that every pound of wool of the 

 Spanish-mixed hreed will bring into the country, direct or indirect, at least $i, and 

 if manufactured into cloths or hats double that sum, it would be well for every 

 thinking farmer to calculate how much his own interest and the substantial wealth 

 of the country could be advanced in a few years should the iuoreasejof our flocks 

 and the quality of our wool be universally pursued as a first object. 



An agricultural society was proposed for the county, represented by 

 two members from each town, chosen in town meetings, to assemble 

 once in each quarter, the object being the promotion of agriculture in 

 general; and as a first object to procure, if possible, for each town one 

 or two Spanish rams at the expense of the town and to prevent monopoly 

 by individuals. As raising sheep would require fewer hands than the 

 plow, an accession of hands would be gained for manufacturing, and all 

 females and children would find abundant employment at all seasons, 

 which would also have a good effect on the morals of the community by 

 checking dissipation and inculcating habits of industry. These sug- 

 gestions had their fruition in the Pittsfleld cattle sliow, one of the most 

 successful of its kind in the United States, and the model on which 



