298 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



the flock was divided, a portion falling to the share of his widow, Mrs. 

 Sallie D. Eobinsou, and a portion to his son, Darwin E. Eobinson, and 

 these were bred as they previously had been and contained a prepon- 

 derance of Paular blood, and made the foundation of several superior 

 flocks. E. E. Eobinson was an excellent judge of sheep, a very judi- 

 cious breeder, and made great improvements in the flock which he 

 established and bred with so much credit and profit. Sheep of his 

 breeding were in demand, and no better certificate could be given to 

 prove a sheep meritorious and pure-blooded than one that certified it 

 was a pure-bred Eobinson sheep.* 



Tyler 'Stickney, to whom Charles Eich sold 12 ewe lambs in 1836, 

 founded his flock in 1834, previous to which he had been in copartner- 

 ship with Mr. Eich in breeding sheep, and when they divided, one ewe, 

 that afterwards became celebrated as the dam of Hero and Fortune, 

 fell to the share of Mr. Stickney. This, with the 12 ewes purchased in 

 1836, formed the basis of his flock, which has been kept together and 

 the breeding directed by one person, for over forty years; and the flock 

 has a longer continuous existence than any, save one. The same year 

 that Mr. Stickney purchased the 12 ewes of Mr. Eich he selected from 

 the flock of William Jarvis a ram lamb, which Mr. Jarvis stated to be 

 the first selection he had ever permitted from his rams of any year , 

 before selecting for his own use; this ram Consul was used for eight 

 years, and after this rams of Atwood, Hammond, Eich, and Eobinson 

 blood, great care being taken to use none but pure Spanish Merinos. 

 The improvement of the flock is shown in the facts that whereas Con- 

 sul, bred in 1835, sheared about 14 pounds unwashed wool at his 

 best, Fremont, in 1868, sheared 24J pounds, the latter the heaviest 

 shearing ram of his day, and for years not equaled in weight of fleece, 

 also from an ewe shearing only 8 or 9 pounds unwashed wool to one 

 shearing 20 pounds in 1878. The Stickney is one of the leading and 

 generally recognized best lines of Merino blood. Tyler Stickney died 

 in January, 1882, and the flock he bred from 1834 to the day of his death 

 is still in existence. 



Hero, a noted ram, was bred by Tyler Stickney in 1840. His sire was 

 Consul, a Jarvis ram, and his dam a pure Cock ewe, bred by Charles 

 Eich. He was sold when 2 or 3 years old to A. L. Bingham, Cornwall, 

 Vt. His heaviest fleece weighed 13 pounds. Fortune, also bred by 

 Mr. Stickney, had the same sire and dam as Hero. He was sold to L. 

 C. Eemele, by Mr. Eemele to Jonathan Wilson, and by him to S. W. 

 Jewett, in whose hands he attained great celebrity. He weighed about 

 160 pounds in full fleece, and gave at his third shearing 13 pounds 4 

 ounces of wool, imperfectly washed in the brook. General Fremont was 

 bred in 1865, and was one of the most remarkable and heaviest shearing 

 rams of his day, but was not as widely known as his merit deserved, on 



* Register of the Vermont Merino Sheep Breeders' Association, Vol. i. 



