386 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



in great quantity; not overlooking nerve, whereby not only the value 

 of wool, but the weight and volume also are enhanced. "While the im- 

 provement of the sheep was so closely followed the improvements on the 

 farms were not neglected ; pastures were sown with grass and clover and 

 large quantities of fodder were housed for the winter, which amply sup- 

 plied the flocks with food. Through a proper culture of pasture land 

 they were able not only to furnish a more abundant food, but a more 

 healthy one. Another advantage gained by this system of improving 

 the pasture land was that the wool developed itself more perfectly, 

 according to the established fact that the better and more regularly 

 sheep are fed and taken care of the more uniform and healthy the wool 

 becomes, and its superior qualities remain without deterioration. 



In 1811 Ferdinand Fischer, of Wirchenblatt, Silesia, visited Spain 

 and purchased 100 ewes, the best he could find of the Infantado flocks, 

 and 4 rams from the Negretti flock, and took them to SUesia, and up to 

 1851, when the first American importation was made, bred them pure 

 without crossing with any other flocks or blood; but they were crossed 

 within the two families. The mode pursued was to number every sheep 

 and give the same number to all her increase. An exact record was 

 kept in books, and thus the owner was enabled to give the pedigree of 

 every sheep owned by him, running back to 1811, which was positive 

 proof of their entire purity of blood. The sheep of this flock were, 

 perhaps, not as large as they would have been had a little of other 

 blood been infused, but it was claimed that entire purity of blood was 

 indispensably necessary to insure uniformity of improvement when 

 crossed on ordinary wool growers' flocks, and such was the general 

 opinion of wool-growers in Germany, Poland, and Eussia, which 

 enabled Mr. Fischer to sell at high prices as many rams and ewes as 

 he could spare. 



In 1851 George Campbell, of Vermont, was traveling in France and 

 Germany looking for a flne-wooled sheep adapted to American hus- 

 bandry. In Silesia he saw the flock of Mr. Fischer, and was attracted 

 to it. The sheep composing it possessed great sameness and uniformity 

 of appearance, denoting purity of blood. They retained a remarkable 

 degree of evenness of staple over the entire body, and were finer and 

 more compact, especially on the belly, than any other sheep of that 

 time. The staple was not quite so long as in some other flocks. The 

 surface presented a dark appearance, and on opening disclosed a beau- 

 tifully white oily wool. The oil was sufficient to give the sheep a desir- 

 able dark surface, but, unlike some of the Spanish, was wholly removed 

 by washing in cold water. The ewes were nearly faultless in shape; 

 the rams were less perfect in this respect previous to maturity. They 

 were of medium size, the ewes weighing at maturity 80 to 100 pounds, 

 and the rams from 100 to 150. The weight of fleece was about the 

 same as the best Spanish flocks, 19 ewes from this flock producing 

 14:5t^5 pounds of unwashed wool of ten months' growth, which would 



